High Performance Squad Camp

High Performance Squad Camp

30 April - 2 May, Red Beach SLSC

The High Performance (HP) Squad came together for their second camp of the season at Red Beach SLSC.  The new HP Squad structure sees athletes (youth and open) and coaches come together from ocean, beach, pool rescue and IRB. The camp provided the opportunity to connect athletes with common aspirations, build knowledge across the sport disciplines and within, and provide different perspectives when learning.

54 athletes and 13 support people attended the camp with the focus being connection, learning (technical, people and environment) and pressure. As the camp took place after the Australian border opened, some of the open athletes were able to return to NZ for the first time since 2020 Nationals.

Team building, technical workshops anti-doping education and team challenges were among some of the activities. Several coaches from the HP Coach Network assisted at the camp, building stronger links with HP coaches and athletes,  and taking learnings back to their own club environments.

Bringing a wide range of athletes together who are at different stages of their athletic careers provides a great opportunity to address athlete development gaps through coach-athlete and peer-to-peer learning. For the more ‘seasoned’ athletes, re-connecting and continuing to foster the strong ethos around the ONE legacy was equally as important. A thorough debrief has identified many learnings which will help to direct individual, Campaign and HP System improvements moving forward.

HP System v Campaign

HP ‘System’ activities will include HP Squad camps and technical workshops for each of the sport disciplines. These activities are generally about developing athletes and building the ONE culture and values.

Campaign activities will specifically target event preparation (such as Lifesaving World Championships) for selected teams or smaller squads identified with potential for NZ team selection. As events get closer, the focus on team preparation will increase.

The HP Coaching group work together to plan both HP System and Campaign activities to ensure that even while preparing for specific events, up and coming athletes have the chance to develop and learn too.

Who is in the HP Coaching Group?

Each sport discipline has an HP Coach Lead and each Campaign has a Lead, ultimately responsible for preparing and taking a New Zealand representative team to pinnacle events.

HP Coach Leads:                                                                  Campaign Leads for LWC 2022:

Ocean – Cory Hutchings                                                        Black Fins: Dan Grant

Beach – Arna Majstrovic                                                        Youth Black Fins: Zac Franich

Pool Rescue – Jonelle Quane                                                  NZ IRB Team (Black Props): Jaron Mumby

IRB – Jaron Mumby

SLSNZ HP Coach Network

The HP Coach Network is about better connecting coaches ranging from internationally experienced in surf lifesaving sport though to coaches aspiring for high performance, or those working with HP athletes at their clubs. Being part of the network is a way to develop and exchange knowledge, pass on learnings from experienced to developing HP coaches, and a way to get know our coaches better. If you are interested in joining the SLSNZ HP Coach Network, or a looking for further information about the SLSNZ High Performance Programmes, please get in contact with Tanya Hamilton.

Acknowledgements:

The following people enabled the camp to happen through their hard work, support and generosity. Thank you!

The SLSNZ HP Coaching and Operations team, assistant coaches, SLSNZ Medical and Physiotherapy, HPSNZ, TuTa Ltd., NXT Level, Under Armour, Clear Protect Group Limited, Red Beach SLSC,  and of course…all the athletes.

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