Performance Nutrition Workshop

Thursday 2nd September

Marc Briggs, a lecturer from Northumbria University, held a day long workshop for the national coaches of Zambia at the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC). This type of theory is vital for the enhancement of their athletes if they are to compete on a national and international level.

The day began with an informal quiz to break the ice! There were five questions relating to nutrition and child malnutrition. Then Marc moved onto the goals of sports nutrition and common misconceptions in the area. This reinforced the OYDC’s goals of providing positive lifestyle opportunities for their athletes and coaches which will enhance their performance in their sport. The morning session ended with an interactive activity where Marc distributed paper plates and various foods (unfortunately not edible but of the paper variety!) and the coaches were asked to create the perfect meal for their athletes in various situations. Marc explained the purpose of this activity is “to see the level of knowledge they hold beforehand and then it allows them to learn from their mistakes”. He went on to say this type of activity is especially important as “it puts the theory into practice”.
After a long Zambian lunch the coaches returned for the afternoon practical session. Marc delivered this on the fantastic new out door basketball courts in the baking afternoon sun. The messages he wanted to communicate were the importance of dynamic stretches and the use of circuit training to warm up and exercise.

The Zambian coaches clearly benefited greatly from the theory in the morning and were very reciprocal to the new information they were been given. It was also clear that they learned new techniques from the practical session in both of the key areas. As stated it is vital that the coaches are informed on these areas. It was highlighted that they do have athletes who will be competing in the Common Wealth Games and the impact that the workshop had will hopefully contribute to their success in that and future international events.