Learning how to prepare and recover and everything in between can be just as important as practice, especially when trying to compete at the highest levels or develop the skills to reach top-flight status.
The South West District for Culture, Recreation and Sport has partnered with the Sports Medicine and Science Council of Saskatchewan to help out in that regard during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
The SWDCRS will be offering a series of free sport science classes, covering the gamut of mental performance, sleep, and nutrition in a weekly run beginning Thursday, May 14.
“These kind of courses are on our radar every year, and with the COVID-19 restrictions we’ve definitely shifted our gears to more virtual programs,” said Elizabeth Heatcoat, community consultant with the SWDCRS. “The folks at the Sports Medicine Science Council were very much on board with their courses being delivered to our communities so we’re happy to be able to offer them online.”
The courses came about out of a request by Chantelle Rouault-Gibson with the Thunder Creek Volleyball Club as she looked for further training opportunities for the her team. As the sports coordinator at 15 Wing Moose Jaw, Rouault-Gibson regularly signs on with the SWDCRS in order to have residents of Bushell Park use their workshops, and when 15 Wing closed down their athletic facilities due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the perfect opportunity arose to help both her players and the community in general.
“Most of our workshops are delivered by a request from the community so we know we have a core group of people interested in this,” Heatcoat said. “And when we had that interest, it was something that we felt was a good opportunity.”
Each of the six classes will be one hour long and will take place on the Zoom social media platform, with a registration deadline of 48 hours prior to the start of the workshop.
The courses offered include:
- Sleep and Performance
Thursday, May 14, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Sleep quality and quantity, deprivation, effects on sleep through travel, nutrition, exercise and mental, medical considerations and how to sleep better.
- Mental Performance – Goals
Tuesday, May 19, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Goal setting, setting realistic short term and long-term goals, monitoring goals.
- Mental Performance -- Stress and Relaxation
Tuesday, May 26, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Attention, emotional, and arousal control to deal with anxiety or stress.
- Mental Performance – Imagery
Tuesday, June 2, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
How to use mental imagery and visualization effectively.
- Mental Performance -- Routines
Tuesday, June 9, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
How to use routines and practices effectively.
- Sport Nutrition
Thursday, June 11, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Basic sports nutrition, importance of fluids, weight issues, pre/post-event nutrition, nutrition on the road, tournament and multi-event nutrition.
Registration has been going well since the announcement earlier this week, with the minimum 10 participants already exceeded and plenty more having signed on since.
For more information or to register, visit www.gosouthwest.ca and click on the What We Do link, which will take you to the virtual workshop class site. Scroll down to the Sports Science courses to sign up.
