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After several months of confinement and after watching the Tokyo Olympic Games, the young rugby players had a tenfold desire to get out their spikes

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, August 12, 2021 — More than 30 young Mauritian players aged 12 to 16 years old were able to discover the professional world of high level sport through a 5-day training course focused on High Performance. After several months of confinement and after watching the Tokyo Olympic Games, the young rugby players had a tenfold desire to get out their spikes.

On the menu, 3 training sessions per day from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, a tailor-made program designed by Sevens Academy around workshops related to Technique, Physics, Tactics and the mental dimension. The young players were tested in the different areas and measured the efforts required. A lot of sweat and a lot of kilometers at the end of the training course on the Moka field, on average 7km per day punctuated by specific skills and touch games on the whole field. But above all, a lot of smiles and fun for all the trainees at the end of each day.

Recovery, the key to high level sport:

On the program, Stretching and treatment with ice baths after the sessions. The trainees discovered the benefits of recovery essential to high level sport, a novelty for many especially the ice baths at freezing temperatures.

Jean-Baptiste Gobelet, Director of Mauritius Rugby said:
It was an excellent camp for this first time here in Mauritius, the young athletes are very motivated to train and achieve collective performances.

The mission of this course is multiple, there was an urgent need to respond to the strong demand of our young people to be able to return to the field and prepare the players after several months of inactivity due to confinement. We were able to physically and technically test the players and see the areas to be improved for each of them. Most of them are targeted in the next generations of the Olympic Academy “Mauritius Academy of Sport” which opens its doors in September 2021 at the Mascareignes High School. It is a way to see their evolution, their motivation and their skills.

In addition, we have integrated young coaches aged 16-18 years in order to train them in coaching sessions. We work on the Mental and Tactical aspect, it is an age where the young player needs to understand the reason for the efforts required. Having them coached develops their analytical behavior. It also allows us to have more human resources in terms of coaching for the clubs.