The Readiness Camp delivers unique growing opportunities for young athletes

Mental strength, readiness and mindfulness have been recognised as crucial contributing factors to success in elite sport. With that in mind, 20 young snow sports athletes from all snow disciplines showed their commitment to self-improvement and mental preparation when they attended The Readiness Camp held at Casuarina, NSW last week. 
 
The six-day residential camp was a Snow Australia FUTURES initiative run at the Surf Australia High Performance Centre by Turn & Burn, the training camp and development program organiser. 
 
Participants immersed themselves in a rich program of unique experiences and activities under the guidance of some of the world’s best high performance athletes and coaches. These included sessions on acrobatics, surfing, skating, wakeboarding, slacklining and ropes course.
 
Turn & Burn Director Ryan Tiene said he was blown away with the level of hard work put in by all participants and ultimately by their progression during the week. 
 
“It was great to watch the campers put what they had learnt into practice and grow each day. The transformation we could see by the end of the camp was night and day,” he said.
 

Inspirational talks delivered by elite athletes and high performance coaches were also part of the program. Some of the contributions that resonated the most with the participants were Pro Wakeboarder Cooper Chapman’s talk on managing mental health and Elite Performance Coach and Motivational Speaker Nam Baldwin’s presentation on the importance of staying in the moment, which included a demonstration of breathing techniques.

Three-time Snowboard Halfpipe World Champion Scotty James took the time to connect with the group via Zoom for a Q&A session on mental strength. He shared some of his own personal struggles with the group and offered key insights on the best ways to manage the pressure of expectations in sport. 
 
Tiene, a former professional athlete and National Team Coach, also presented on the topics of fear and ego. He said the whole camp experience was particularly rewarding because of the holistic approach at developing talent.
 
“We are used to making kids better at riding on snow, but during the camp we felt as though we were also making better humans,” Tiene said.
 
In light of the success of the initiative, the Readiness Camp will be offered again later in the year. Dates are still to be determined, but the camp is likely to return at a time between the end of the domestic season and the start of the international season.  Visit the FUTURES webpage or follow @SnowAust on social media for updates and information on upcoming FUTURES initiatives.
 
Snow Australia FUTURES would like to thank all the participants, parents, coaches, and presenters that made The Readiness Camp possible.