Vikes Prep Athletic Development — Vikes Active Living

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Vikes Prep Athletic Development

What is it?

A physical training program for athletes between the ages of 13 and 18 that is consistent with the key principles of Long Term Athlete Development.

Where does it take place?

The program will primarily take place in the University of Victoria’s Varsity Weight Room, located under the stands in Centennial Stadium.

Which athletes would benefit from the program?

This program is open to ANY athlete, male or female between the ages of 13 and 18. You do not need to be playing in a Vikes league team to be a part of this program. This age-specific program will increase performance by developing competency of key movement skills like sprinting and jumping, decrease injuries by incorporating injury prevention training, and increase performance by developing strength and power. Athletes competing in volleyball, basketball, hockey, football, rugby, soccer as well any other sport that requires high levels of athleticism for success would greatly benefit from this program.

What is special about this program?

Expert Vikes sport strength and conditioning coaches working with the athletes.
No more than a 1 to 12 coach-to-athlete ratio.
A program that will progress each athlete to more challenging and effective exercises as they become physically capable of it.
A portion of each athlete’s program will be individualized to their sport and individual needs.
Regular testing to track progress with reports and debriefs available to participants and their parents.
The program is set up that the athlete will participate in four-month blocks, but athletes are encouraged to train year round in order to get maximum benefit.

Why is it important to be involved in long term physical training programs?

Fitness must be worked at all the times otherwise an athlete will detrain and lose all previous hard-earned improvements. For example, it has been suggested that commonly trained physical abilities decay in the following timeframes:

Short term physical training programs are beneficial for temporarily improving performance but when training stops, performance begins to decline and worse yet; risk of injury goes back up.

When does the program run?

This is a year round program that will be broken down into three blocks:

Block 1: September 19 - December 17, 2022 (13 weeks)

This program runs two times per week with the following option:
Session B - Invasion/Speed Power Sports Monday and Friday, 6:30 to 8:00PM

Invasion Sports are sports where you must invade an opponent’s territory (basketball, hockey, soccer, rugby etc.). These sports depend on the athlete’s capacity to repeat high intensity efforts, agility and ability manage contact safely.

*There are only 12 spots available per session so sign up early to ensure your spot.

Who will be training the athletes?

This program will be developed and administered by University of Victoria Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Dana Agar-Newman (PhD abd) and his Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach David O’Mahony. Dana came to the University of Victoria from the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific where he was the Lead of the Strength and Conditioning, overseeing the training of national team athletes. While working for the Canadian Sport Institute he helped develop the physical training model for the Canadian Sport School along with progressing athletes into NCAA scholarships and developing athletes World Cup, World Championship and Olympic medalists. He holds sport science degrees from the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Victoria, has written two book chapters on developing the vertical jump and testing and assessment in athletic populations, numerous peer reviewed journal articles focusing on talent identification and testing methods. Dana is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach with the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Originally from Ireland, David is completing a PhD in Sport Science, focusing on Force-Velocity profiling for sprinting performance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sport Science and Health from Dublin City University, Ireland and master’s degree in Sport Science with a focus in Sports Medicine from Lund University, Sweden. Along with developing athletes in strength and conditioning in New Zealand and Sweden, Dave spent 5 years working in the Netherlands with the Dutch Olympic Committee, assisting athletes in multiple sports to European and World Championship medals.