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Over the winter break the VSSA coaching panel have reflected on season 2018/19; what went well and areas for improvement. Overall there were some very good Victorian results at Aussies with a number of finalists including top 10 results as well as some near misses. The VSSA squad trained intensively at Gunnamatta regardless of the conditions for much of February/March and did okay in the challenging surf conditions compared to other athletes. This was a really positive development.
We are keen to continue this positive trajectory! To support Victorian athletes and their club based training the VSSA program will focus on the following areas to maximise improvement for 2019/20.
1. Elite level surf skills - Weekly sessions at Gunnamatta from September regardless of conditions (limit of 6 foot aka 10-12 foot faces) will achieve this which will in turn have a big impact on our results at Broadbeach in 2020
2. Further improvement in our swim base particularly for iron/board paddlers. We had Zayne Hamill program our swim sessions last season with a city and Peninsula based squad. This surf specific swim program had a big impact and will be repeated and expanded out of Fitzroy and Pelican Park pools. Harriet Brown is also having input into the sessions!
3. Greater engagement with kayaking. We noticed the VSSA surf paddlers making Aussie finals all spent a lot of time in the kayak developing water feel, stroke efficiency and speed. The most successful ski paddlers at Aussies 2019 were also kayakers. Sprint kayaking in combination with elite surf skills is the easiest way of improving Victorian paddlers at Aussies and potentially setting them up for a parallel sports pathway with Olympic options (ie flat water sprint). We are lucky to have some great kayak coaches in Pete Gargiulo, Cameron McGill and Dave Ceddia to support the VSSA athletes! Sessions programmed by Jamo Porter and Pete Gargiulo.
4. More interstate racing. The VSSA squad is fully committed to 3 interstate carnivals plus Aussies for 2019/20. This is looking likely to be on the same weekend as the new Kellogs elite ironman series. We will be coordinating trips with athlete and gear transport as well as accommodation.
5. Different athletes require different gym programs and this year we are offering 2 different programs for iron/board paddlers and ski/kayak paddlers. Programmed by Jamo Porter, Zayne Hamill and Harriet Brown.
Its going to be an exciting season and its already underway! See the training sessions page for details. To keep in touch with sessions log onto the VSSA Team App site (search for Victorian Surf Sports Academy) or contact Jon on 0422 244 183/coach@vssa.info.
