We had the pleasure of welcoming back Mr Ian Roberts, one of the ‘Youth England’ Athletics Coaches, back into Dixie Senior School on Thursday 4 May for an Elite Athletes Training Day.
Making the most of our stunning sports ground, Ian worked with groups ranging from Year 6 through to and including Year 10 on a variety of events and techniques.
Year 6 and 7 started the day off with a session on Relays through a ‘Fun Game Approach’ which led onto some work on their change over technique. They thoroughly enjoyed their time on this activity and although they were worn out by the end of the session, their skill level had definitely improved.
Year 8 spent their time with Ian working on the Long Jump and used a variety of techniques to improve their ability to focus on the jump phase of this event, with some great successes.
Year 9 and 10 had a split session, firstly on the track looking at sprint techniques and training and then by complete contrast, working on the High Jump. With some small adjustments and confidence boosters, many of the group achieved a technically better jump at a higher measurement than previously.
As a school, we are involved in two major Athletics Events in the coming weeks, plus some local school matches and are hoping that the students involved yesterday will reap rewards for their hard work and we will see the impact of high level coaching on their performances.