There was a turnout of 60 coaches from all over the province of Leinster and the surrounding areas for the IRFU/Leinster Branch fitness workshop. It was the final in a series of workshops run in each province in conjunction with the provincial staff.
The workshop was aimed at coaches working at all levels from minis to adult.
The evening started with Des Ryan, IRFU fitness education manager, outlining the most appropriate methods to develop players at all stages of the long term development pathway and also examining the benefits of functional assessment for young players.
Paul Pook, Ireland strength & conditioning coach, then took the coaches through a very entertaining and informative presentation on monitoring workload and recovery.
Colin Buckley from the Irish Amateur Weightlifting Association finished the evening off with an eye-opening insight into the benefits of weightlifting for rugby.
The workshop was both theory and interactive based. It was of great use to coaches who wanted to know the most appropriate and practical method to develop young and old players.
Also the workshop was ideal for coaches who wanted to introduce something new and challenging to their training.
The topics that were covered are as follows:
Topic 1: Improving Function, Speed, Strength & Power in Rugby Players
Presenter – Des Ryan (IRFU fitness education manager)
Topic 2: Monitoring Workload and Recovery
Presenter – Paul Pook (Ireland strength & conditioning coach)
Topic 3: Introduction to Weightlifting for Rugby
Presenter – Colin Buckley (Irish Amateur Weightlifting Association coach development officer)
Coaches were advised to continue their development by attending the following IRFU courses:
• IRFU Certified Conditioning Coach Course • IRFU/ IAWLA Weightlifting Level 1
When the coach has the above completed, they are informed about the Setanta College courses to further develop their fitness coaching competences.