MOVING FORWARD

The 100-day review held earlier this month at Loughry College once again proved to be a very worthwhile exercise. This time however it was for a different reason. Everyone went away feeling that things are now moving forward with momentum and many of the plans put in place during the previous two years were starting to come to fruition. Events over the last two months would add weight to this optimism.

Legal Status
On 14 September the new Sports Institute Northern Ireland Company was formed. The Company is limited by guarantee and is made up of two members, the Sports Council for Northern Ireland and the University of Ulster. Six directors are now in place under the chairperson, Mr Hugh McCaughey and the first Board meeting has taken place.

Expanding our Expertise - Quality Recruitment
Three new staff have been recruited and two new posts, Business Manager and Sports Science Coordinator will be advertised in early October. The new staff are:

Dave Lasini (Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach)
Phil Glasgow (Senior Physiotherapist)
Jo Hopkins (Generic Performance Manager)

New Athletes
Inductions have taken place bringing new athletes into membership of SINI. Medical screening and Performance Lifestyle have started to take place and these new athletes will soon be starting programmes at SINI. At the same time athletes have exited SINI. We wish them well in their future sporting careers and hope they will continue to put into practice some of the lessons learnt.

Delivering Results
It is hoped that the new athletes can continue the progress made by the five SINI members of the Irish U21 rugby squad who got to the final of the U21 World Cup and the twelve members of the Ulster U21 rugby squad who won the inter-provincial championships for the first time ever.

Developing a Winning Mentality
This the athletes and staff at SINI cannot do on their own. Recently representatives from the sports of Judo, Swimming, Lawn Bowls, Boxing, Gymnastics, Triathlon, Squash, Shooting, Table Tennis, Weight Lifting, Cycling, Badminton and Athletics attended an information evening at the University of Ulster. SINI needs these representatives to nominate athletes with this winning mentality to take up some of the thirty individual places to be managed by Jo Hopkins, our new Generic Performance Manager. Selecting the appropriate athletes will enable performance targets for SINI to be met and help raise the bar that bit higher.

Sharing Knowledge
Attendances at recent workshops and courses suggest that coaches are willing to listen and take on new ideas.

Twenty-three hockey coaches attended a workshop on heart rate monitoring and training for pre season and competition phases.

Seventeen coaches from a range of sports attended the second winning ways workshop on Fitness Testing and Periodisation.

Nineteen coaches attended the Australian Level 1 Strength and Conditioning course delivered by Phil Moreland, John Cleary and Dr Chris Bleakely.

International Links
Links have been established with

• New South Wales Institute of Sport where hockey player Mark Irwin is on a nine-month exchange.
• El Centro de Alto Rendimiento de Madrid where Dr Nigel Dobson, Strategic Director has established a useful link, which it is hoped can be expanded in the future.
• Isle of Man Sports Department who have requested some support for a small group of four high performance athletes and also sent a participant to the recent strength and conditioning level 1 course.

Expanding the Sports Science Service
With the appointment of a Sports Science Coordinator likely to take place in the next six months, Declan Gamble has increased the blood profiling for athletes and is working closely with the Performance Analyst in pioneering the Global Positioning System (GPS) with referees in Gaelic Football. Podiatry links have been strengthened within UU and the development of Sports Vision training is on the horizon.

Yes, momentum is gathering at some pace. By the next newsletter we hope to have positive news about our bids to the Lottery Sports Fund. The newsletter is circulated to 536 people, if you enjoy reading it then forward it to a friend and pass us on their name for future circulation.

Ronnie Smyth

Training with Men assists SINI athlete.

SINI goalkeeper Angela Platt has commenced training with Civil Service Men’s Premier League Team in an effort to raise her playing standard. The initiative is part of an overall training program, which has been designed to prepare her for the Interprovincial Tournament in November and the European Nations Cup in Dublin next year. Angela is currently the only goalkeeper in the Irish Squad with the retirement of Nikki King following the Celtic Cup in June.

After just one session with the Civil Service, Angela is very positive about the benefits of the higher intensity of training and ball speed. “ I did some defensive penalty corner work facing a series of drag flicks which I would rarely see training amongst the women. The higher ball speed will be really beneficial when we play top sides from Holland and Germany who have drag flickers and strong penalty corner hitters.” High Performance Manager Sally Bell is supervising the goalkeeping sessions at Civil Service. “ It benefits them and us. Angela trains at a higher intensity which is invaluable and in return I am able to help their goalkeepers with their training.” The sessions are part of a program that also includes an individual technical session, weight training and an indoor speed and agility session designed by Phil Moreland to improve footwork, balance and reaction time.

Angela was selected into the Ulster Squad last weekend along with other SINI athletes Suzanne Beaney, Katharine Maybin, Jenny McDonough, Bridget Mckeever and Kirsty McCollum. Nineteen athletes were selected with a final squad of sixteen due to be selected closer to the tournament. The program has been expanded this year thanks to a significant grant from SCNI. The grant will allow athletes to be tested and undertake a strength and conditioning program over the nine weeks.It has also allowed for an increase in pitch sessions, coaching staff and access to physiotheraphy treatment.

SOMETHING FOR ALL ENGAGED IN STUDY

As new academic terms kick in many of our athletes face the challenge of integrating academic study with their chosen sport. This challenge can be daunting, but is made easier if athletes can learn a variety of skills to help them function efficiently within the academic environment. Development of effective study techniques is obviously critical. In this article Performance Lifestyle Coordinator Peter McCabe recommends one web-based source that can help to develop such skills.

There is an abundance of web sites offering advice on study.
Many are excellent but it takes considerable time to evaluate these and extract relevant information. If you are short on time then I recommend that you go straight to one site that is an excellent hub for such information.

‘The Study Guides and Strategies web site’ (http://www.iss.stthomas.edu/studyguides).
is authored, maintained, and revised on an on-going basis by Joe Landsberger, academic web site developer at the University of St. Thomas (UST), St. Paul, Minnesota.

The author gives permission to copy, adapt, print, transmit and distribute the information in non-commercial settings that benefit learners.
The guides are also constantly reviewed and revised to keep up to the challenge of meeting student needs.

‘The Study Guides and Strategies web site’ has an index on its homepage that makes accessing individual Study Guides very simple and contains a useful link to other top rated study skills web sites.

I would recommend a look for any athlete or coach who is currently engaged in study. There are some valuable tips and tested strategies that can definitely improve your academic capacity.

NUTRITION NOTES

Nutrition notes is a new addition to the SINI Newsletter and plans to cover topics on how nutrition plays an essential part of any athlete’s preparation for training and competition.
To get started, this article outlines what sports nutrition is all about.

What is sports nutrition about?

Nutrition is the science of how the body gets and uses nutrients from food and fluid for growth, repair and maintenance of activities in the body. Nutrition for sport is about providing appropriate energy (calories), nutrients and fluid to support the demands of training and competition. The nutritional needs of training and competition vary from sport to sport and between athletes in the same sport.

Today’s top athletes train 6 or even 7 days a week and it is crucial that they fuel up and refuel well to support good quality training, and ultimately good performance in competition.

What does a Sports Dietician do?

Accredited Sports Dieticians - who are Registered Dietiticians with further qualification to translate their skills into the sporting arena - convert the science of nutrition, based on research evidence, into foods and fluids to be taken in the appropriate amounts and at the right times to allow hard training and good recovery. To do this we work with athletes, coaches, High Performance Managers, Sports Scientists, Strength and Conditioning coaches and Physiotherapists to make sure our piece of the jigsaw supports improved performance.
Our work aims to:

· Give suitable dietary advice, taking into account the athlete’s individual requirements and circumstances including age, type of sport and level of sport
· Monitor any weight changes along with body composition (ie fat and muscle) changes

· Advise on and monitor hydration, which can make a vital difference to an athlete’s performance
· Give guidance on the suitable use of nutritional supplements
· Help plan dietary strategies while travelling abroad
Education can be done in different ways and we use a combination of approaches to get our messages across. These can include squad sessions covering core information, individual athlete assessment, practical sessions such as supermarket visits and hydration monitoring and coach education.

Does what you eat and drink have a real effect on performance?

Yes it does - food is fuel. The primary concern for any athlete is energy or calories but what the calories are made up of is also important.
Particular attention should be given to carbohydrate foods - for example breads, pasta, rice, potatoes, cereals, fruit - as carbohydrate, or glycogen which is what it is stored as in the muscles and liver, is a major fuel provider during exercise. A high concentration of muscle glycogen will allow athletes to train hard and get the best training effect. Low glycogen stores is one reason for fatigue or tiredness during hard training, which will impair performance. Sufficient carbohydrate between training sessions will speed up recovery, so the timing of food intake is important.

Athletes need more protein than inactive people - for example meat, chicken, fish, dairy products - mainly to allow for muscle conditioning or building in order to increase strength and power. This is particularly important for athletes who do weight training as a major part of their training programme. Good food choices will provide adequate protein for most athletes.

Good hydration - enough fluids - is a must for all athletes as any degree of dehydration can impair performance. Training and competing causes sweating - the body’s way to keep cool - and fluids are needed to allow this to happen. Insufficient fluids mean that the body overheats and will have to slow down.
The hotter the weather, the more you sweat and the more fluids you need. But even in our climate, sweat losses can be high when exercise is of high intensity.

How are nutritional needs of athletes assessed?

Each athlete and each sport will have its own nutritional requirements - from how to achieve large intakes of carbohydrate to fuel endurance sports to helping weight category sports make weight prior to competition.

Nutrition requirements are assessed according to the demands of the sport (frequency and duration of training, competitive schedule), the need to maintain weight, lose body fat or gain lean mass or both. Dietary goals are set for carbohydrate, protein, fat and fluid intake, and ensuring they are getting sufficient vitamins and minerals from the variety of foods eaten.

It’s a case of getting to know the athletes and devising strategies to suit them.

How can you contact an Accredited Sports Dietitian?
Accredited Sports Dietitians work with the core sports at SINI and are available to work with National Governing Bodies of all sports not currently in this programme. They can be contacted through the SINI office or the Sports Council Northern Ireland.

Every athlete is looking to improve their performance by whatever margin, and that could be achieved by improving their hydration, having better glycogen stores, or changing their body composition. Nutrition has an important part to play in keeping athletes healthy and preventing fatigue and illness associated with poor recovery and under-fuelling.

Ruth Wood-Martin
Accredited Sports Dietitian

NEW SINI SQUAD INDUCTED

The Sports Institute GAA squad went through induction on 13th September. New athletes this year include Joe Keenan (Derry), Calum King (Down), Paul Quinn (Tyrone), Aiden Carr (Tyrone), Peter Donnelly (Tyrone), Eoin McCartan (Down), Andrew McClean (Antrim) Conor Foy (Fermanagh). The boys have started into their winter programme attendign the Gym two mornings a week from 7.00am - 8.30pm prior to their days work. We wish them every success in this years squad.

Patsy Bradley (Derry), Conleith Moran (Derry), Dermot Carlin(Tyrone), Paul Doherty (Antrim) have all moved on after two years in the Institute. All are now playing with the Senior County Squads and we wish them well for the incoming season and hope they become quickly established as first team regulars over the National League campaign.

The GAA Coaching Programme has begun with courses taking place throughout the Province. The L2 Program beginning Friday 1st October and on 6th October Games For Better Team Play takes place in Fermanagh and Antrim. All coaches from neighbouring counties are welcome. Consult the GAA section in the SINI web page for details of all courses.

Finally good luck to Institute athletes Finnina Moriarity, Gareth Smyth and Kieran O'Brien in the final of the All Ireland U21 Championship on Saturday 2nd October when Armagh take on Mayo in Cavan.

NEW ATHLETICS INDUCTION.

Four athletes from a wide range of events join the Athletics squad for 2004- 2005.
All four athletes have major championships on their mind for next season, as well as qualification for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Raymond Adams, 800m
Laura Kerr, Javelin
Rhiannon McNally, Hammer
Brendan McConville, Decathlon

Former GB junior international, Raymond Adams hopes to make the GB team for the World University Games in Ismir, Turkey next August. However also within his scope is the 147.25 qualifying time for the Commonwealth Games. Raymond transferres to UUJ from St Mary’s, London.

Laura Kerr has a target of the European U23 championships. They take place in Erfurt, Germany in early July. However she also will be looking at the Commonwealth standard of 50m. Laura is a first year student a UUJ

Like Laura, Rhiannon made huge progress this season in terms of her personal best. With help from the sports science team Rhiannon hopes to make the GB team for the European U20 champs in Lithuania in late July, as well as study Sports Studies at UUJ in the future.

Brendan Mc Conville hopes to retain his place on the British European combined events cup team next season in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Brendan achieved the Commonwealth Standard this season and a personal best next season will see him on the plane to Melbourne.

CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEW

Ulster Rugby is celebrating the magnificent achievement of its U-21 team, who defeated a Munster U-21 side and lifted their first ever U-21 Inter-Provincial title. This incredible feat occurred in the hotbed of Munster rugby in Musgrave Park, Cork.
Chris Henry, SINI Athlete and Ulster U-21 captain was asked for his personal reflections of this historic campaign:

“Winning the interpros for the first time ever for Ulster U21s was a Fantastic achievement for all involved. A massive amount of effort was put in from both players and coaches.

I believe that the biggest factor in our success was the tour to Gloucester, the weekend before the first interpros began. The tour provided the time and the resources to get everything fine-tuned. The majority of the players on the tour were already capped the previous year and thus there was plenty of experience. Now being a year older and wiser (and for some, uglier!), we knew we had the potential to have a very successful year. The professionalism and confidence within the group was key.

Massive amounts of effort from all the coaches and backup staff did not go unnoticed amongst the players and we knew there was a lot at stake. The atmosphere on the tour between both players and coaches was fantastic and by the start of the opening game against Leinster, I don’t think we could have been better prepared. Everyone in the squad got on extremely well and there was obviously a lot of trust amongst one-another.

Revenge against Leinster was an awesome feeling especially in front of a home crowd. Unfortunately, perhaps the success of that game brought a bit of complacency and a little too much confidence, as the following week Connacht came out guns blazing at the Sportsground and took the feet from under us. But that was our wake up call. Fortunately we knew, because of our bonus points, the championship would be between Munster and ourselves.

The atmosphere before the Munster game was very intense. Only those who were there can appreciate the moment; we all knew there was so much at stake. Defeating Munster in their home patch was a fantastic feeling and one I know everyone involved in will always remember. It just seemed everything was clicking for us in that final game and the boys produced the
goods. It was a terrific day and a brilliant night, had by all!

I wish that the 21’s season could have lasted all year but unfortunately it has to end. It was a team full of characters and we all have a lot of great memories of the season. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed playing rugby so much as I did during that time. Finally, I would like to thank all the players, coaches and background staff for all their hard work and commitment - it really was a magical season!” Chris Henry, Ulster U-21's captain.

As the dominant Province throughout the Championship, it would be hoped that the core of this Ulster-21 team should form the basis of the national Irish U-21 side for the tour to France in November, the Six Nations and ultimately to the World Cup in June. But for now, the players and coaching staff can reflect upon their efforts to date and enjoy the glory of an Inter-Provincial Championship victory gained against Munster, in Munster.

ENDURANCE AND STRENGTH TRAINING FOR FIELD BASED SPORTS

In an attempt to dispel the myths regarding concurrent endurance and resistance training, new research was recently presented at The F.A. 4th Fitness and Conditioning Conference, which was held at Lilleshall National Sports Centre. Norwegian professors, Jan Hoff and Jan Helgerud, presented alongside Mr Kenny McMillan, the exercise physiologist for Celtic FC. Through recent studies they revealed that strength and endurance training could be performed concurrently and illustrated the performance benefits that were associated with the training interventions. Interval training, performed in the afternoon, using an intensity at 90-95% maximum heart rate, in 3-8 minute bouts, with intervening recovery periods, was associated with improved performance in soccer, by increasing the total distance covered by players, enhancing work rate, and increasing the number of sprints and involvements with the ball during a match. Similarly, the resistance training, performed in the morning after easy technical sessions, using high loads (>85% 1RM), with few repetitions, emphasising maximal velocity in the concentric action of the half squat exercise, give high responses on both sprints and vertical jumps. The strength training also improved aerobic performance through enhanced work economy. The researchers challenged the coaches present to restructure their contemporary training practices to include both resistance and endurance training in an effort to improve the performance of players.

This new research was appreciated by the audience and has definitely reignited the training debate. The professors’ underlying scientific theories and these findings suggest that resistance and endurance training can indeed be performed concurrently during both the pre-season and competition periods. This evidence has also contributed to enhancing the conditioning programmes of SINI athletes as specific training practices are in the process of being developed.

Declan Gamble