British Fencing British Fencing Page 1 of 36 British Fencing – National Academy “Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't, it's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” Barack Obama “Our only sustainable competitive advantage is our ability to learn faster than the competition.” Arie de Geus "The more I talk to athletes, the more convinced I become that the method of training is relatively unimportant. There are many ways to the top, and the training method you choose is just the one that suits you best. No, the important thing is the attitude of the athlete, the desire to get to the top." Herb Elliott "The most important key to achieving great success is to decide upon your goal and launch, get started, take action, move." John Wooden "I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you're a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you'll win--if you don't, you won't." Bruce Jenner "I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come." Michael Jordan "The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur." Vince Lombardi “Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent.” Sophia Loren “Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.” Richard Bach British Fencing Page 2 of 36 British Fencing – National Academy Contents Contents .................................................................................................................................... 3 Foreword ................................................................................................................................... 4 National Academy Staff – August 2010 ................................................................................ 5 Strength & Conditioning Assessment & Training ............................................................. 12 Teams for Games ................................................................................................................... 14 Training Diaries ...................................................................................................................... 15 Daily Training record ............................................................................................................. 16 Introduction to Long Term Athlete Development .............................................................. 17 Appendix I – Age data from Beijing Olympics ................................................................... 18 LTAD Summary Table ........................................................................................................... 19 The Fencing Development Pathway .................................................................................... 22 How to Pass Weapon Checks .............................................................................................. 23 Core Stability Training .......................................................................................................... 30 Overall Timetable ................................................................................................................... 35 Notes ........................................................................................................................................ 36 British Fencing Page 3 of 36 British Fencing – National Academy Foreword I am very pleased to welcome you all to the formal launch of the British Fencing National Academy. The Academy has been established to help us deliver our vision of becoming a “world leading fencing family”, and has three areas of focus: Talent Development, Education and Club Development. This week is not a one-off summer camp, rather an ongoing national programme which will develop over the next few years. It will eventually deliver support to fencers, coaches and parents through a national and regional framework and will have support through a “virtual Academy”, with resources online. The aim of the Talent Development strand of the Academy is to provide an opportunity for fencers with talent and desire to develop and prepare for life as an international athlete. It is based on the Long Term Athlete Development Framework (LTAD) for Fencing. It is not a fencing camp, but rather a holistic training and education programme which seeks to give fencers the education and skills to reach their full potential as a successful senior athlete. It aspires to bring world leading experts in a range of fields such as psychology, strength and conditioning, injury prevention, rest, physiotherapy, nutrition, balancing education with sport and planning. We have an excellent range & breadth of some of the best experts in fields that fencers need to prepare them for a successful fencing career and I look forward to seeing them work together for the benefit of the next generation of talented young fencers. I wish all fencers attending the camp the very best success during the week and in their future fencing careers. Piers Martin British Fencing CEO British Fencing 1 Baron's Gate 33-35 Rothschild Road London W4 5HT t: 020 8742 3032 f: 020 8742 3033 e: [email protected] British Fencing Page 4 of 36 National Academy Staff – August 2010 Fencing Coaches Linda Strachan Lead coach for the National Academy programme As a Competitor. Been to 2 Olympic Games (1988 and 1992), 7 National Titles (5 in succession), Been to 6 Commonwealth Games (winning 6 golds, 2 silvers and a bronze), Best International Results: L8s in senior world cup events As a Coach/Teacher. Coach three of the GB Cadet Foil Team, Coach of Newham Swords Fencing Club, PE Teacher at Lister School Peter Barrett Peter began fencing at the age of 12 at Haverstock School in Camden, he joined The Polytechnic Fencing Club in the late 70s and with coach Bela Imregi started his most successful competitive period, representing Great Britain at international competitions. Under the guidance of Bela, Peter began his coaching career. Leaving the 'Poly' Peter returned to his roots and was responsible as co-founder and senior coach of the Haverstock Fencing Club, one of Britain's most successful epee clubs. After more than ten years as head coach at Haverstock Peter joined London Thames Fencing Club. Peter's pupils - Cadet, junior, senior, veteran and wheelchair fencers - have won numerous national, international and Olympic medals. Peter has travelled to events with the Great Britain U20 men‟s epee team over the last few seasons and has a Masters Degree in 'The Science of Sports Coaching'. Sue Benney Sue is a 3 weapon master of the British Academy of Fencing. She coaches at Glastonbury and Bath clubs and at Millfield School. She has been coaching the national women‟s epee team, cadet and juniors, for the last 15 years, including coaching at world and European championships. She still fences, sabre, for the British vets team and was a member of the gold medal winning team at the European Championships this season. Steven Davey Steven has been coaching full time for 15 years and he has coached many fencers onto GB squads of various age groups over the last decade. He has recently had the pleasure and privilege of working directly with Istvan Lukovich in Hungary. Steve holds a master's diploma from the International Coaching Course in Hungary Glen Golding Glen is 32 and has been involved in fencing for 25yrs, firstly as a competitor to international standard then as a coach, he currently coaches at Millfield School, Bristol Uni and Bristol Grammar and is the lead coach at the South West Centre of Excellence. He is currently involved with many GB Internationals from Cadet through to Senior level. Over the last 10yrs he has travelled extensively to many International events (World Cups and Major Championships) as a coach and has a gained an extensive knowledge of modern foil tactics. Pierre Harper As a Competitor. Been to 3 Olympic Games (1980, 1984, 1988), 6 National Titles, Been to 3 Commonwealth Games (winning 3 Individual and 3 Team Events in a row, spanning 12 years - this has never been equalled!!), Best International Results: 11th in Los Angeles Olympics, L8s in senior world cup events As a Coach. Coach to current National Cadet Men's Foil Champion, Coached the Cadet Men's Foil Team who took silver at this years Cadet European Championships, Coach three of the GB Cadet Foil Team, Head Coach of Newham Swords Fencing Club Neil Hutchison Neil started fencing at Bath Sword club when he was 7 years old. He fenced foil up to the age of 16 & represented GB in several international events before switching to sabre. At 17 he qualified for the U20 world championships in Sabre in his first year of competing. At 19 he moved to London & started coaching at university. He finished University in 2006 and currently works as a coach at Escrime academy in London, and at Bath sword club, whilst training as much as possible. He has represented GB at 5 European and 3 World championships, and is currently ranked 90th in the world. This year he achieved