The ASDC - Calgary and Capital Regions collaborate with Rugby Alberta to develop more players.

(CALGARY – September 6, 2011) The Alberta Sport Development Centres (ASDC) – Calgary and Capital Region have recently signed a partnership agreement with Rugby Alberta to provide sport science services to the Rugby Alberta Academy to help produce male rugby players in Alberta.

The ASDCs in both Edmonton and Calgary have teamed up with Rugby Alberta to develop a program that will help emerging male athletes move to the next level. The Rugby Academy program supports male players in everything from strength and conditioning, to sports psychology, to video analysis of technical skills.

“The agreement is very important as it shows the impact a network of centres, working together, can positively affect the outcome of an athlete's experience on their way to the national level of their sport,” said Michael Cook, manager of ASDC — Capital Region.

The one year partnership, which can be renewed in the future, started in July 2011 and will support ten high performance athletes in the Edmonton and Calgary regions.  The players meet twice a week — focusing on strength and conditioning on Tuesday and Thursday nights at Mount Royal University and the University of Alberta.

“Hopefully at least one of the players makes it to the national team as they definitely have the potential and with the added sport science support, it gives them a decent shot at this target. I would also like to see the partnership expand as we have already been in talks with Rugby Alberta to better streamline the delivery of sport science to their younger athletes, along with the older athletes who are on the cusp of the National Team,” said Cook.

So far, Cook said the results have been great from the players’ perspective. “The guys who show up consistently are making huge leaps and bounds in their development as an emerging athlete and what makes it more than worthwhile is that they enjoy it. They are definitely hungry for more and when they are seeing the results and gains that they are, it is only natural to want more.”

Over the duration of the program, athletes will receive strength and conditioning support, access to sport psychologists and a registered dietician aimed at introducing topics and strategies to improve performance on the field. Athletes will also be put through a battery of testing protocols from Rugby Canada. These protocols are established for emerging, high performance athletes across the country to aid in the tracking and monitoring of Rugby athletes.

 “Initially I seek nutrition buy-in or getting the athletes to understand the importance of nutrition.  Next we take ownership of their food choices.  I use real life scenarios to help drive the message home.  They learn how to read labels and make informed decisions about what they are putting in the body and how particular foods meet their body’s demand.  Each athlete personalizes the information to suit his or her training and health needs,” said Kelly Draper, a sports nutritionist consultant with the ASDC – Calgary Region. 

Technical Director for Rugby Alberta, Aaron Takel indicates, “These athletes have shown advanced skill on the field and have received quality rugby specific training but if they are going to advance further in their rugby careers it is vital that they start to work within a program like this offered by ASDC Calgary and Capital regions.  The program is extremely user friendly for the sport and the staff are very accessible and knowledgeable of the needs of our sport.”

“Having the ASDC - Calgary and Capital regions provide and coordinate the strength and conditioning element for the athletes is a crucial part of the program. Rugby Alberta does not have the knowledge required to safely and efficiently provide the training for these athletes. This will also aid the Rugby Alberta staff to be able to focus on the Rugby specific training element of our program knowing that the S&C is in very good hands”

The ASDCs in Edmonton and Calgary will also provide Rugby Alberta athletes with Winning Edge Seminars that focus on long term athlete development, injury prevention and drug awareness.  

 Information Release

For more information visit www.asdccalgary.ca.

About Alberta Sport Development Centre - Calgary Region

The Alberta Sport Development Centre (ASDC) - Calgary Region is a partnership between the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks, Wildlife Foundation and Mount Royal University to coordinate and enhance sport science and sport medicine services to Alberta’s emerging athletes and coaches. The ASDC - Calgary Region offers a fully integrated sport science environment allowing rural and urban area athletes to develop and train at a high level without leaving home. The ASDC - Calgary Region office is located within Mount Royal’s Department of Physical Education and Recreation Studies.

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Contact:

Reid Bilben 
Alberta Sport Development Centre - Calgary & Region 
Mount Royal University 
Office: 403.440.8668
rbilben@mtroyal.ca

 Aaron Takel
Director of Rugby
Rugby Alberta
780-415-1774
 a.takel@rugbyalberta.com