I have been working with a number of athletes recently who are in the final year at school. Like most of their peers they are currently engaged in the difficult process of deciding career direction which will in turn influence choice of Higher Education course and also venue. For many this process is compounded by the fact that they are just not sure which career direction to follow. School careers support in the resolution of this particular dilemma seems often to be relatively weak. This is not a reflection on the staff involved but rather a product of the numbers of students staff have to manage and the lack of time to engage in quality one to one interaction.

I feel very strongly that great care is needed when advising individuals about selection of career direction. The last thing anyone wants is to end up in a course or even worse in employment within an area that just does not satisfy their personal requirements. Career satisfaction ultimately depends largely on a significant match between the career profile and the individual’s own personal profile.
The tactics I use when interacting with individuals who remain uncertain about career choice is to begin by spending time with the individual to develop a Personal Profile. This is done by discussion and application of specific development tools so that by the end of the process we have a clarity regarding personality, skills, likes/dislikes, values & beliefs, education capacity, culture, family influences and of course sporting ambition.

The second step of the process is to help the individual to develop a Career Profile. Here discussion and further application of tools can clarify occupational interests and lead towards careers research when the finer details of working in certain career areas and roles can be identified. This research is critical to reveal the true nature of specific roles as opposed to the perception an individual may have of any role. Specialised databanks can be used at this stage to provide the individual with key information relating to specific careers for example essential skills, personal qualities, entry routes, expected salaries etc.

Sometimes there is time to make contact with individuals who already work in that field to benefit from their insight or even organise work visits to get a snapshot of the career at first hand.
The final step in the process is to discuss the individual’s personal profile and look for significant matches with career profiles that they have developed. Often at this stage it is necessary to manage expectation and help the individual clarify the thoughts they have. The final decision in terms of course selection is of course down to the individual themselves, but I try to facilitate making that decision by ensuring that they feel informed and are able to justify the decision in terms of fit to their own personal profile. The individual is also advised to consider their long term career plan in outline so that their likely sporting progression can be factored in.

Peter McCabe

Sporting success or failure often relies on the ability of an individual in their chosen sport, psychological ability along with good training practices to maximise these potentials. Historically, athletes have manipulated their diets in the hope of gaining a competitive edge, when they feel they have maximised the potential of training. There are a vast array of products making claims they will improve performance and special substances or treatments used in attempts to improve physiological, psychological or biomedical functions important to sports known as ergogenic aids.

There are different categories of supplements usually based on the quantity of a given nutrient present or what they claim to achieve:

Category 1 Dietary supplements

• provide nutrients found in everyday foods in a form that is convenient or practical
• or are designed to prevent or treat a nutritional deficiency
• allow athletes to meet a specific need in training or competition
Examples include:
• Sports drinks
• Sports gels
• Sports bars
• Liquid meal replacements
• Carbohydrate powders
• Multi-vitamins
• Iron supplements, Calcium supplements

Category 2 Nutritional Ergogenic Aids

• contain larger amounts of nutrients than would be typically found in everyday foods
• propose a direct ergogenic effect on performance through a pharmacological effect
• often rely on theoretical or anecdotal support rather than on scientific trials

Examples include:

• Level 1 Scientific support for performance enhancement
o Caffeine
o Creatine
• Level 2 Products under scrutiny
o ? Protein
o ? Individual amino acids
• Level 3 No scientific support
o The rest!

The most commonly used nutritional supplements used in all sports are commercial sports drinks. These solutions are a convenient way of providing and replacing glycogen to the muscles and they are an effective way of rehydrating before, during and after exercise of all types. They are useful but remember that athletes can make their own homemade drinks with dilute squash or fruit juice.

Nutritional ergogenic aids contain nutrients in amounts far greater than that generally found in foods. These aids serve to increase muscle tissue, muscle energy supplies and the rate of energy production in the muscle. Scientific evidence should be the starting point, which identifies the relationship between exercise and these substances.

However, many of these products show no evidence for the claims they are making. Few offer the physiological benefit although the placebo effect should not be discounted. On the other hand many products have been based on sound scientific principles and have been shown to enhance performance.

There is growing concern that athletes who take supplements may be putting themselves at risk of a positive outcome in a drug test. Specificially, there has been speculation that the positive drugs tests recorded by certain high profile athletes have resulted from the use of supplements and special sports foods rather than the deliberate use of banned products.

This speculation has been particularly strong in the case of positive tests for the steroid Nandrolone. Positive tests for this steroid seem to have increased in recent years, however, experts are divided over whether there has been a true increase in the rate of nandrolone positives among athletes or whether these tests are simply gaining more publicity.

The International Olympic Committee carried out some research in the area a few years ago. A total of 634 different product samples were bought from 13 different countries around the world. These were analysed for the presence of steroid hormones and their precursors. 94 supplements (14.8%) of the total were shown to definitely contain prohibited substances and for another 10% the analysis was not conclusive, but steroids may have been present. That’s close to a one in 4 risk. The names of the prohibited supplements have not been published but: Vitamins, minerals, protein supplements and Creatine. It is important that athletes be aware of the risks and follow some simple guidelines:

• Buyer beware
• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true
• Dietary supplements includes vitamins, minerals & herbs
• Multivitamins may help some individuals
• Less is known about herbs than vitamins & minerals
• High doses of some dietary supplements may be harmful
• “Natural” is not synonymous with “safe”

Food should be the starting point for any athlete. Supplements should be thought off as dessert rather than the whole meal. Eating well to achieve the nutritional goals of training cannot be over emphasised and you will achieve the best benefits from this. Start with getting the basics right and then think about supplements. You should always seek advice and always know why you are taking a particular product and what is in it.

Sharon Madigan
Accredited Sports Dietitian

And so with great gasbo the cream of Ulster Rugby’s crop ventured to the north coast for an action packed weekend where friendships could be created and bonds strengthened. With many of last years academy players graduating on to the senior ranks and an input of new lads straight from school, it was the ideal setting for newly appointed manager Gary Longwell to get to know his new pupils. At this time I would like to, on behalf of all the boys, thank Gary, Jonny Bloomfield and Simon Harland for their organisation and participation on what was a very enjoyable, if at times eventful weekend.

The weekend could hardly have got off to a more dramatic start. On arrival at our accommodation of Coleraine Army Barracks, we were delighted to be greeted by the scent of cooking meat beckoning from the courtyard. However, Paul McKenzie felt the full wrath of an overcooked, and in all honestly under chewed piece of steak which got lodged in this throat spreading panic throughout the camp. Even the bear like clutches of Gary Longwell could not remove the offending meat as the Heimlich manoeuvre failed repeatedly. Once the panic of choking had subsided, it was thought a trip to the hospital was the most sensible option. And so Paul McKenzie spent the next few hours listening to the tales of yore as Gary drove him across Northern Ireland to spend the night in Antrim Area Hospital. Once the meat was removed, he needed extensive treatment after nearly dying of embarrassment over what had happened, sorry lads.

The remainder of the party, those who can eat solid foods, spent the night being victims of their lack of knowledge at a quiz night where Ulster under 21 coach Terry McMaster made a guest appearance. Darren Cave and Stuart Philpott struggled throughout the night, clearly missing the brainpower of their third team member Paul McKenzie, who was at this stage chatting up senior staff nurses Maeve and Dorris. The ridiculously intelligent group of Jamie McGruggan, Stewart Megaw and Gary Maxwell took home the gold, their freakishly extensive knowledge of Northern Ireland sport making them more than worthy of the accolade. As bed time drew near laughter filled the humble dorms as Maxwell’s impressions lasted well into the night. As silence gradually prevailed, the lads were left to dream about what shenanigans the next day might bring.

Saturday began with journeys up and down the River Bann on rubber-rings and banana boats. Mark Scott tried the patience of many of the boys by continually tipping the boat and testing the temperature of the water. He also tested the water-based skills of Jamie McGuggan, aka ‘Water Gremlin’. Jamie flopping around trying to get back on the banana boat really was a sight to behold. An aquatic trampoline floating nearby was to set the stage for one of the greatest events known to man, the ‘Circle of Death’. The object being, to throw each other off the trampoline and into the water. Paul Marshall and Richard ‘Rusty’ Fegan, certainly proved their worth, and should these pair fail to make a career from Rugby, they may consider the route of cage-fighting.

The afternoon was whittled away at the beautiful Whiterocks beach. Some of the boys played football, the water-babies hit the sea, and others simply chilled out and relaxed. There was a 2 hour window before dinner in which three of the more adventurous headed into Portstewart for a round of golf.
The party dispersed on Sunday morning. We left with great memories of a brilliant weekend. The exercise had served its purpose as a team building experience, and stories from the weekend can frequently be heard floating around the SINI gym. Once again thanks to the management and the boys and here’s to a successful year for the Ulster Academy.

Paul McKenzie

The concluding workshop of the UK Sport Practitioner Development Programme (PDP) took place at the University of Ulster last week, and SINI was delighted to have the opportunity to host this event and welcome the participants and mentors to Belfast. This pioneering programme was aimed at “fast tracking” the development and enhancement of the skills and competencies necessary for sports science and medicine practitioners to deliver quality services within the high performance system. SINI was represented on the programme by Declan Gamble (physiologist) and John Cleary (strength and conditioning coach).

Over the last twelve months the participants attended six workshops at various locations throughout the UK, which included visits to Home Country Sports Institutes (HCSI). Loughborough University provided an ideal setting for the introductory workshop and the practitioners were given an orienteering exercise that also provided an opportunity to experience the excellent sporting facilities on campus. The skills that could be used to differentiate “leading” practitioners were highlighted by Peter Keen during his presentation and the remaining workshops were constructed around this central theme.

The following three workshops provided an opportunity to experience sports such as sailing and judo (Bisham Abbey), curling (Sterling) swimming (Edinburgh), Para-Olympics and rugby (Cardiff). Each workshop was designed to facilitate interactions between athletes, coaches and support staff and the practitioners were given specific tasks to complete within multidisciplinary teams. The penultimate workshop was held at the Olympic Medical Institute (OMI) in London and the schedule was accordingly developed around an Olympic theme. Athletes, coaches and support staff from the British Olympic Association (BOA) and OMI, provided an insight into their experiences at major Championships and this helped to reaffirm the aspirations of each practitioner to work with and provide support to athletes at this elite level.

In Belfast, the SINI programme included a Gaelic football session, organised by Dr Eugene Young, whereby the participants experienced the skills and characteristics of the game. A follow-up feedback forum was held, in which SINI staff Phil Glasgow (physiotherapist), David Lasini (strength and conditioning coach), Denise Martin (performance analyst), Sharon Madigan (nutritionist), Peter McCabe (performance lifestyle coordinator), Declan Gamble and Ronnie Smyth (head of high performance planning) contributed to the analysis of the session and ensuing discussions. The agenda also involved an end of year evaluation, the feedback from which is going to be used to develop the forthcoming workshop plan that SINI’s latest intern, Jonny Davis (strength and conditioning coach) is going to embark upon. A Go-karting activity was also organised and thankfully there were no serious injuries (apart from pride)! SINI’s resident rally expert, Clare Doyle, was unlucky not to win the competition. The SINI workshop was extremely well received and the participants left Belfast with a very positive experience.

Overall the programme offered a unique opportunity for practitioners to interact and learn through shared knowledge and experiences and also facilitated the formation of multi-disciplinary professional networks. The workshops facilitated the development and enhancement of the skills and knowledge required to engage successfully in performance consulting and the programmes at SINI have subsequently benefited as a direct result of attendance on this programme.

Declan Gamble