Oman Sail’s coaching squad headed to Masirah Island for a week-long training camp to enhance their skills in strong winds ahead of a busy second half of the year. Twelve Laser and Optimist coaches took part in tactical training, fitness and injury prevention and a series of technical drills designed to be taught to their students at Oman Sail’s sailing schools and those who are part of the promising Omantel Youth Programme.
“Masirah Island is the ideal place to train in windy conditions. It is important to prepare coaches to teach before teaching the youngsters to sail, especially in windy conditions which requires planning, appropriate equipment and tried and tested safety routines, as well as suitable training exercises,” said Mohsin Al Busaidi, Youth Programme Manager.
“Our aim is to develop a cohesive training regime to test the sailors and allow our coaches to develop as a group, sharing their knowledge before passing it on to our students.”
During the coach training camp, the team discussed the training camps and competitions earmarked for 2018, plus an overarching long-term training plan including a shared language for techniques and tactics that will be consistent across all age groups.
Al Busaidi also believes the training camp is incredibly valuable for developing new training methods: “The coaches all left the camp with better confidence in their knowledge, and understood the importance of attitude and how to present their ideas to the young sailors they will go on to teach. We all shared new ideas and worked on solutions to help keep the sailors progressing, and help the coaches transfer their methods to our champions of the future.”
The Omantel Youth Programme squad is scheduled to take part in the Laser 4.7 Championships held in Kiel, Germany, in June, before preparing for the Optimist World Championships in Thailand and Laser 4.7 World Championships in Nieuwpoort, Belgium, both taking place in July.