Testimonial

Jas & Stephen ran a lengthy training session for a local junior AFL team, of which I am Asst Coach. The session was held at the club’s home ground. Jas & Steve assessed the ground layout and facilities and immediately came up with a range of activities using the resources at hand, combined with gear they brought along such as tyres, ropes & logs. They were even creative enough to fill up sandbags from a nearby dirt pile, which the boys ended up carrying around during their “Bootcamp” style session.

From the outset, the 20 boys responded to Jas & Steve with enthusiasm and interest and showed respect to them. As the Coach and I watched Jas & Stephen put the boys through their drills, we could hear the encouragement from all, with Jas and Stephen emphasising team work, good work ethics and trust. The boys responded brilliantly to their instructions and advice.

To see instances where the boys had finished their tasks but went back to help their mates who were struggling or falling behind was very rewarding. Jas & Stephen urged them to do so early on, but as the session continued the boys adopted that strategy without prompting. That was very pleasing.

Prior to the session, some of the boys expressed apprehension about the “boot camp”, however afterwards they were all keen for another session later in the season. Despite the sweating, huffing and puffing, all the boys spoke about how “good” it felt to have worked their bodies hard, performing all sorts of strength and conditioning work for the legs, upper body and abs. It was a very different experience for them and certainly a session that broke up the usual week to week routine they are accustomed to.

The boys all enjoyed the professional and approachable style of Jas & Stephen, topped off with an excellent and inspiring speech at the end. No doubt the Coach will remind the boys of the session and the comments of the trainers in tough matches later through the year to get them over the line when needed.

Many thanks to Jas & Stephen from Sydney Survivors, for inspiring the boys. Several of them now want to start doing some upper body strength workouts to better themselves. Great stuff and good luck to the team at Sydney Survivors. We are all looking forward to the next “footy boot camp”.

Mark Simpson