Trained by the Best: Winter Track Clinic Offers Unique Opportunity for Athletes
digitalsportsnews
| December 30, 2014
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A unique opportunity is available in Utah for local track athletes to participate in a winter performance clinic. The clinic is unique specifically because it is offering training for able-bodied and para-athletes ages 13 and older. “It’s unlike anything else we’ve done in Utah,” said Aaron Robison, program development director for youth clubs and camps. “It’s going to be pretty awesome.”
There will be a slew of acclaimed guests to train the athletes and provide them with valuable information to better their performance. Among the invitees, Dr. Keith Henschen, a professor of psychosocial aspects of sports at the University of Utah, will be speaking for the guests. Also in attendance will be Dr. William Sands,a biomechanist and physiologist, as well as former Brigham Young University head women’s track coach, Craig Poole, who was a member of the 2004 Olympic coaching staff. Poole coached American athletes in the heptathlon, triple jump, and long jump. The sponsor of the two-day clinic, the National Athletic Institute, will present some impressive coaches and speakers, as well as a sparkling roster of stand-out athletes working with aspiring and current track athletes. Among the group are sprinters Marsha Mark-Baird, a two-time Olympic Heptathlon, and Katie Walker, a 2013 U.S. Paralympic National Champion in the 100 meter. Two-time Olympian in the 5,000 meter and a seven-time American record-holder, Doug Padilla will be in attendance, along with Brittney Reese, a 2012 Olympic Gold medalist in the long jump and five-time world champion.
“The series and prominence of athletes is unique, and the other angle that makes this very different is that it’s for both able-bodied and para-athletes,” says Robison. “This is the first camp where they will be working and training together.” The cost of the clinic is $150, which includes all training sessions, a T-shirt and all events associated with the coaches’ clinic. Parents can watch the training sessions from the stands at no cost. The clinic will run from December 29
th to December 30
th in at the Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah.
The National Athletic Institute supports struggling U.S athletes. 100% of proceeds go towards funding the athletes’ most basic needs including: housing, nutrition, and equipment (para-athlete wheelchairs and prosthetics, shoes and apparel). They also assist with entry fees, travel to and from competitions, and lodging for both able-bodied and para-athletes. To learn more about the National Athletic Institute, please visit
http://www.nai-usa.com.
