Welsh Academy Training
The aim of the Academy is to put athletes on to the GB performance pathway who will go on to represent GB teams and to win medals at major competitions.
The Academywill be lead by the Performance Development Coach. The Assistant Performance Development Coach and selected other coaches will help deliver the programme.
The Academy is primarily for youth and junior athletes and will be split into three squads; Talent, Development and Academy Member. The Talent squad is for junior athletes who are proven performers, who are top 8 male and top 5 female performers in National Series events and looking to be selected for GB teams. The Development squad is for youth and 1st year junior athletes with identified potential, who should progress in to the Talent Squad as the reach the junior ranks. The Academy squad is for other athletes who have shown a commitment to the sport of triathlon and will be racing at a GB National level, but have not met the selection criteria for either the Talent or Development squads, but are of value to the overall programme and will be invited individually to training that is suitable.
The Programme
The programme will be individually tailored to develop the athletes in the following 6 areas:
- Technical excellence
- Tactical awareness and knowledge
- Physical preparation
- Mental preparation
- Nutritional knowledge
- Leadership and personal development
The Academy will meet monthly either as a training day or during School holidays for longer residential camps of 3-14days.
Talent Squad athletes will also receive extra support from the Performance Development Coach or Assistant Coach, where necessary. This will be individually tailored to the athletes’ needs. Additional visits to these athletes in their home training environment will be conducted so that they see a Welsh Triathlon Performance Coach at least once a month, either at Academy training, Development Squad training or as a home visit.
Competition
A variety of racing is deemed necessary to put in to practice class room knowledge and to learn from real experiences to improve race skills and tactics using various multisport, single discipline, National Youth and Junior Super Series, GB selection events.
The Academy Squad
| Talent Squad |
|---|
| Alex Matchett-Jnr |
| Iestyn Harrett-Jnr |
| Josh Harris-Jnr |
| Morgan Davies - Jnr |
| Liam Lloyd - Jnr |
| Megan Withers - Jnr |
| Zoe Thomas - Jnr |
| Development Squad |
|---|
| Deri Stewart – Yth |
| Ieuan Cooke - Yth |
| Liam Bradley - Yth |
| Michael Lewis - Yth |
| Sam Withers - Yth |
| Callum Beare - Yth |
| Ffion-Haf Harrett - Yth |
| Caitlin Thompson - Yth |
| Betsan Jenkins - Yth |
| Academy member |
|---|
| Kieran Sinnett - Jnr |
| Ellie Plumley - Yth |
| Alice Russell-Stretch - Yth |
| Kieran John - Jnr |