•  Darryl Muzyzcka represented Australia in the World Junior Championships in the HJ in July. He placed 13th in qualifying jumping 2.05m.
• Alice Goodberg & David Byrne both won the NSW All Schools XC Championships in the 17+ age group.
• Alice Goodberg placed 6th in the Commonwealth Games Trials 800m and ran 2:06.62. This time ranks her in the Top 9 women in Australia.
• We have new members to the Academy- Robert Mann u15 90m Hurdles 12.7, Chris Clifford u14 1500m Walk 6:49 and Caroline Blair u16 High Jump 1.70m.

Take time to set Goals both Long & Short Term. Make certain you are thinking of these goals on a daily basis. If you are not motivated by your goals they may be aimed to high. Make sure they are optimistic but realistic.


Train consistently. Record all training in a diary and take pride in what you are doing. 


Do things to increase the rate of recovery.


Sleep at the same time each day, Never sleep in over 1hr past normal wake-up time (it damages your sleep pattern.)


Consume a protein+carbohydrate drink within 15min of finishing a session.


Maintain fluid levels by drinking 150-200ml of sports drink every 15min before & during training.


Pamper yourself- spa, massage, relaxed swim, epsom salt baths, ice soreness.


Maintain good flexibility- do plenty of relaxed stretching.


Eat higher levels of carbohydrate within the first 2hrs of a major training session or competition. Also prepare by having carbohydrate 2-3hrs before training or competition.


Train with correct equipment e.g. Not too much in spikes and vary your training surface constantly.


Train and compete positively in warm weather. At first it feels more tiring but after a few sessions the heat may actually create improvement in your performance.  It is much more difficult to be in great shape from training in only cool weather. Appreciate and utilize the opportunity that hot weather provides by preparing for it smartly.


Take pride in developing mental toughness. This means embracing bad events with a positive attitude. See everything as a learning experience. Usually champions have missed out many times before and this has resulted in higher levels of desire to win next time. Athletics is not a sport for talented wimps. Be prepared for disappointment but maintain a determined and positive attitude. 


Careful management of your body can prevent many injuries. All serious athletes should consider seeing a Physiotherapist for assessment to identify any areas of tightness, imbalance etc that could later cause injury. Consider the money spent as an investment in your future. 


Too many athletes have poor posture and trunk stability. This is responsible for most injuries that restrict athlete’s careers. This area of training is recommended to all teenage athletes as the highest priority. The task is to develop optimum posture and high levels of trunk stability over a 3yr period. The latest methods that are being performed by elite international athletes are:

1. A variety of Trunk exercises (suggestion is 10 exercises) At least 5 days a week.
2. Medicine Ball – catches & throws.
3. Swiss Ball – a variety of balance exercises.
4. Athletes cannot expect to have a really good technique until they have developed adequate posture and trunk stability. In fact training to try to develop a good technique when poor stability will not allow it can mean that the athlete will learn  ways to compensate for the deficiencies by using incorrect muscles (i.e. Practising poor form) which means they are “training in”  potentially bad habits.  These bad habits can cause injury or at the very least mean that the athlete’s performance may be limited by the technique. The athlete and coach will need to then “train out the old habit” and replace it with the correct one. This becomes increasingly difficult as athletes age.

A great book on Training to improve this area is called Stronger Abs & Back by Brittenham & Brittenham. It can be purchased from a link on bookstore.htm