“OPERATION YOUNG OSPREY” DEEMED A HUGE SUCCESS

The idea behind the camp was to develop the Team Building skills that will be necessary to carry the players through a demanding fixture programme that sees them playing their fellow Regions on a home and away basis. Regional Performance Manager David Arthur said that “through observing the boys carrying out the challenges during the camp, it was obvious that they were learning to work as a team and appreciate each others contributions.

Occasionally a young player might let himself down because he failed to see the serious side behind a challenge, then later on he’d be sacrificing himself by going on his “all fours” to provide a bridge for another team mate to clamber over a 10 foot wall. The Team Building ethos was further enhanced when the players were faced with the challenge of completing a 5 mile log run and the assault course.

A number of players who were afraid of heights were cajoled and physically helped over 30 foot high rope ladder by their team mates, while one player carried the log the whole distance never looking to take a rest.”

Arthur emphasised that “another of the objectives was to put the players in unfamiliar circumstances where they would need to look after themselves. They were required to put up a canopy to cover them at night and those who failed to do erect it effectively got wet when the heavens opened on Sunday morning. If they couldn’t cook they went hungry or relied on a team mate to help them.

The idea of learning to cope and look after themselves will hopefully become evident later on in the season when difficult challenges arise in balancing their sporting agenda alongside studying for GCSE’s.”

Organiser Sergeant Major Richy Brown stressed at the end of the course that it had been a “pleasure to work with a group that was as dedicated and focussed” as this one had been and he presented each lad with a medal to remind them of their achievements.