SRFI National Camp held between 5th and 10th May 2014

The SRFI national training camps were held at the ISA from 5-10 May 2014. A total of 38 juniors from around the country participated in the camp.

The 3 seniors who were invited to participate in the camp were Harinderpal Singh Sandhu, Deepak Mishra and Aparajitha Balamurukan.

Maj. (R). S. Maniam was the director of the camp and was ably assisted by the National Coach, Cyrus Poncha, along with 8 other coaches. A significant inclusion among the coaches was former National Coach Ritwik Bhattacharya whose contribution was noteworthy.

The theme of the camp was “Training to Train”. Essentially, this meant that participants were exposed and guided to the basic requirements of the 4 key areas of training, namely, technical, tactical, psychological and physical aspects.

Details of some of the sessions are as follows:

Technical

Players were taught concepts and different types of pressure drills, conditioned games & different forms of match play sessions.

Tactical

Here players were introduced to tactical drills, conditioned games & video analysis.

Physical

In addition to being briefed on the physical aspects of the game of squash, players underwent 2 physical tests (multi stage fitness test and the core & strength fitness tests). Players were also introduced to aqua training at the ISA swimming pool.

Psychological

A session was held to introduce participants to the basics of mental training for competitive performance. Mr. Krishna Prasad a Neuro Lingustic Program master was invited to speak to the children. A practical session on breathing techniques, visualisation & relaxation was also conducted.

Other Areas

Suhasini Viswanathan from Qua Nutrition spoke to participants on diet and nutrition with emphasis on eating before, during and after a match.

WSF Referee K.S. Srikanth, ran through basic rules and player responsibility during a match. He supplement his session with interesting video clips.

OTA visit – this took place on the last day of the camp where participants were exposed to the art of military training where these young cadets depicted similar characteristics and qualities of an elite squash player; passion, dedication, discipline & commitment.

Summary

The camp was a huge success with participants expressing total satisfaction and in their feedback form indicated that such camps should be held frequently.

The rapport and social interaction among all the participants was outstanding.

Edited by Staff Editor