Top young athletes visit National Sports Academy
Monday, August 27 2007
The Scottish Borders Sports Academy 2007 took place for the first time ever at the prestigious National Sports Centre at Largs this month.
The event, which is in its sixth successive year, is an intensive three-day residential training camp aimed at developing the region's young sporting talent. This year, 113 athletes took part and were treated to a unique experience at the academy, where many national squads prepare for major international events.
The youngsters represented a wide range of sports including football, athletics, hockey, badminton, swimming, tennis and cricket and were specially selected to attend the academy by the regional sports-specific development groups.
Event Co-ordinator Neil Renton, of Scottish Borders Council's Sports Development Unit said: "The coaching programme of the Borders Sports Academy has been designed to provide its participants with the best possible opportunity to acquire and develop new and existing skills. This year’s academy was special as it was held at the National Sports Centre at Largs, which is an exceptional facility where the youngsters benefited from some of the best facilities and training opportunities in the country.”
During their trip, the athletes took part in top-class training sessions, various workshops and unique experiences such as a visit to the Soccer Circus (the World’s first ever fully interactive football attraction at Braehead) which was hosted by England legend Kevin Keegan. They also enjoyed a presentation from the Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2014 team, who are bidding to host the Games. Both local and national coaches led all the training sessions and were very impressed by the attitude and abilities of the Borders youngsters, several of whom have been identified as potential internationalists of the future.
Councillor Graham Garvie, Executive Member for Sport, Culture and Community Education, was very supportive of the event: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the Academy. For our young athletes in the Borders to have visited the National Sports Centre was a great opportunity and I am sure the youngsters will continue to develop and learn from it. The commitment and dedication of the Council’s Sports Development Unit, coaches and all who contributed to such a successful event was quite superb. Based on this experience I am sure the event will continue to go from strength to strength,” he said.
This year, the Academy was supported by SBC, the four local Sports Councils, the eight regional sports-specific development groups and the National Governing Bodies of Sport.
For more information, please contact the Sports Development Unit on 01896 756274.
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