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Gavin and the Cheshire Life!
Gavin Roberts APC Academy Head Coach, pictured in action for Cheshire County Team against Macclesfield. Gavin plays at outside centre for Caldy RFC and following selection to Cheshire this season has played a part in the County Teams success and will be appearing at Twickenham this Saturday, 30th May 2009. APC would like to wish Gavin, the boys from Caldy selected to represent the County, and the Cheshire RFU team all the best for Saturday. |
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SPECIAL RIDING CENTRE GOES THE EXTRA FURLONG
6 May
2009
A Wrexham based charity is helping to get children
with special needs into the saddle, with a little
help from a London 2012 Paralympics hopeful and
funding from the Sports Council for Wales.
The Sports Council for Wales has supported Clwyd Special Riding Centre (CSRC) with a Sportsmatch Cymru grant worth £3,250, which has allowed the Llanfynydd based centre to train nine additional instructors and introduce mentoring and volunteer training sessions.
CSRC Manager, Tess Chew said:
"Thanks to the Sports Council for Wales and the
Sportsmatch Cymru funding we have increased the
number of instructors and riders at grassroots
level, which is where we are strongest."
 "We
continue to be successful because we have good
resources, a variety of coaches and horses to meet
all needs and we have lots of positive role models."
One such inspirational figure
is Paralympic dressage rider and London 2012
hopeful, Natalie Povey, 20, from Wrexham who mentors
youngsters at the riding centre and competes on one
of their horses - Westpoint First Lady or Fizz.
Povey said: "I like to support
the younger riders at the centre and watch them
riding. They watch me sometimes to pick up tips."
Ms Chew adds, "Natalie has
been very supportive of the younger athletes and is
an excellent role model."
Born with spina bifida, Povey
has been riding for six years, competing in para
equestrian dressage for the past four years as a
grade 1b rider, which means she is required to walk
and trot.
She is supported by the
Federation of Disability Sport Wales (FDSW) and is a
member of the 2009/2010 World Class Development
Programme* for Para Equestrian Dressage and has
represented Great Britain at four international para
dressage competitions over the past three years.
Sportsmatch Cymru is designed
to encourage more business backing for grassroots
sport by matching new or additional sponsorship.
Chair of the Sports Council
for Wales, Philip Carling, said:
"With funding and support from
the Welsh Assembly Government and the National
Lottery, the Sports Council for Wales is helping to
transform the sporting landscape in Wales. The
considerable investment into community sport,
facilities, equipment and coaches has impacted on
communities throughout the principality and is
helping to raise participation rates across the
board.
"We want to hear of bright
ideas and projects that will help us continue our
mission to get more people in Wales more active,
more often."
For more information about
Clwyd Special Riding Centre, contact 01352 770446 or
info@clwydspecialridingcentre.org.uk
Mark Lewin comments, "Nat has been funded by Elite Cymru to assist in her Olympic dream and benefits from strength and conditioning coaching at APC. A highly competitive sport with massive technical emphasis, body control via great balance strength is a key ingredient to success. We wish Natalie well for the forthcoming season and look forward to working with her toward London 2012". |
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Director of Coaching at APC, Mark Lewin, has
been contracted to provide sports science
services to the Welsh Canoe squad this year
in his role as Lead S&C Coach for NWRIS.
Mark comments, "working with the squad this
year has been fantastic fun, I have been
working with their Performance Director,
Richard Lee, on the development of a
programme for the athletes that seamlessly
ties in with existing training on water and
preventative 'prehab' routines for shoulder
management, developed by the teams
physiotherapist. The squad is full of
talented athletes with a fantastic work
ethic and intent to succeed. I will watch,
with great interest, the results posted this
season and look forward to continuing
support with Welsh Canoeing into the
future".
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Mold rewarded for hard work with youngsters
Apr 17 2009 by
Richard Clifford, Western Mail
LADIES European
Tour star Breanne Loucks was on hand as Mold became the
10th club in Wales to achieve the top status for
developing junior players – and earned tickets for next
year’s Ryder Cup. It puts Golf Development Wales a third
of the way towards their target of getting 30 clubs to
reach the Junior GolfCert standards by the end of the
year. All clubs who get the award before next year’s
Ryder Cup will get a share of 1,000 tickets for the
practice days at the biggest event ever to be held in
Wales.
Mold’s junior work
moulding the stars of the future has reached the
necessary standards for Golf Development Wales and the
Golf Union of Wales to accredit the club with its Junior
GolfCert – a seal of approval which marks the club’s
commitment to junior golf. “Mold have a great track
record for producing and nurturing junior golfers, many
of whom have gone on to represent junior Wales squads,”
said Golf Development Wales North Wales officer Dilwyn
Griffiths. “The application documents were to the
highest standard and the club can be commended for that.
“Both John Roberts and Gaynor Jones are also the county
junior organisers for boys and girls and both deserve a
mention for their long-standing contribution to the
sport, not only at Mold, but on a North Wales basis.”
The award will
allow youngsters from Mold to experience first hand the
excitement of the biennial contest between Europe and
the United States the first time it comes to Wales.
All Welsh clubs
that have achieved the Golf Development Wales-sponsored
Junior Club Accreditation Scheme will get an allocation
of tickets for one of the practice days of the
tournament enabling them to take groups of junior
golfers to support their golfing heroes playing Celtic
Manor Resort’s TwentyTen Course. Director of Golf
Development Wales, Hannah James, said: “The Junior Golf
certificate aims to recognise and reward those clubs who
are striving to increase the numbers of young people
playing and enjoying golf. “Linking Ryder Cup tickets to
the scheme is a great way to reward those clubs
investing in the future of their clubs and the game of
golf and provides a exciting chance for juniors in these
clubs to see the Ryder Cup players in action in their
home country.” Loucks is herself a product of the North
Wales golfing system and has just joined the Ladies
European Tour after turning professional at the start of
the year and coming through qualifying school. She is
also on the Board of Golf Development Wales to
demonstrate her commitment to golf in Wales.
Director of coaching at APC, Mark Lewin comments, "Mold
Jnr's have fantastic representation at County level and
have been utilising APC for their winter training with a
focus on core strength, conditioning and movement
strength. The lads have put in a massive effort during
the winter and will certainly be reaping the benefits
during the competitive season. A significant number of
players have cracked the Welsh boys squads in recent
years and the work that John Roberts has put into Junior
development at Mold Golf Club and County Golf is the
foundation required for young athletes to develop great
habits and enhance their performance".
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Mold 16's won
the North Wales Cup on Sunday 10th May 2009. APC is one of the teams
sponsors and APC Director of Coaching, Mark Lewin, was on hand to
warm-up the team prior to the game. Mark comments, "the boys have
demonstrated tremendous committment this season, on and off the
field. Their attitude to training and team spirit is second to none,
recently back from a fantastic tour in France, the boys have got out
there and put in another win to seal off the season. The coaching
staff, team management and parents have put in a tremendous effort
in this and seasons past and the results the boys have attained
exemplify what can be achieved when young athletes are given every
opportunity to improve".
"My
sincerest congratulations to the team on a job well done and the
North Wales Cup title is the icing on the cake for a hard fought
season of rugby. I am looking forward to coaching the boys again
this off-season and pre-season and have no doubts they will
further strengthen the Youth squad at Mold RFC in addition to
the significant representation in the Regional Squad of players
from this team. Well done boys!"
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Two of
APC's athletes won awards, Daniel Font won Junior Sportsman
of the Year and Christina Hughes won Junior Sportswoman of
the Year. Again, APC sponsored category winners and have donated 3 FREE coaching sessions at the Athlete Performance Centre to 6 of the categories. Mark Lewin, Head Coach and founder of APC comments, "I am very pleased to provide sponsorship for this event for the second year running, it is a testament to the dedication of athletes, coaches and volunteers in Flintshire that each category is stocked full of talent. For our part at APC, having the opportunity to see athletes we have the privilege of coaching be nominated and win, is like winning a gold medal ourselves. We, again, have put in over £500 of FREE coaching vouchers to six of the categories, enabling winners to experience our coaching methods and give informed consideration to utilising our services and fantastic facility in the future; for those category winners with whom we already coach, it is an opportunity for them to receive more high quality coaching to support their competitive endeavours in 2009. Flintshire is a tremendously sporting county, I have coached in this region for 20 years and the sheer number of sports clubs and representation at all levels is exactly the basic infrastructure necessary to unearth, nurture and develop sporting talen t toward the London 2012 Olympics and beyond. Flintshire's Sports Personality Awards is an opportunity for the county to highlight the depth of coaching and sporting talent available and I am proud to be associated with such an event. My congratulations to all of the category winners." |
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| Tragically,
Paul Hopkins, 'Little Hoppo', one of Mold Rugby Club's most popular
players, passed away on Wednesday March 18th 2009. The funeral will be held at St Deiniols Church in Hawarden on Monday 30th March 2009 at 10:45am with the wake being held at Mold Rugby Club. Our thoughts go out to Christine, Richard, Mark, Clare and David and all of Paul's family. |
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Coming Soon
at APC In response to increasing demand we are converting a large storage area at the facility into a 'mini studio' space. With more of the top of the range SoftFloor cushioned sports matting, this 30sq/m space will provide the following uses:- - An additional training space available for hire to personal trainers, instructors, martial artists, etc (Maximum of 8 participants) - Highly competitive hire rates (£10 per hour before 4pm and £14 per hour after 4pm) - Perfect space for the growing number of MMA fighters training at APC to work on groundwork skills - Ideal for yoga, pilates, tai chi, stretch classes, etc - Rehab space for small groups This addition to our extensive facility adds yet another layer of provision to our concept of 'training spaces within a space'. It is an area we will get great use out of with group training sessions and provides local instructors with a functional space to deliver workouts to small groups of clients. Any boxing, kick boxing, ground fighting, MMA, fitness instructors, etc wishing to branch out and hire this space, please contact us.
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Mark Lewin, Head Coach at the Athlete Performance Centre is
one of the guest speakers at the Welsh Golfing Union coaching
conference, alongside:-
Sir Clive Woodward:-
Sir Clive Woodward is the Director of Elite Performance at the
British Olympic Committee. In 1997 Clive became the Head Coach
of the English Rugby Team and many see him as the
man that transformed England Rugby from where it was into the team that was capable of winning the World Cup in 2003.
Peter Cowen:-
Peter is recognised as one of the best coaches in the world; and
in terms of player victories the most successful coach on the
European Tour. Pete continues to work with a host of top
players, including Tour winners such as Henrik Stenson, Colin
Montgomerie, Simon Dyson and John Bickerton, and seasoned
winners and Ryder Cup veterans such as Lee Westwood, Darren
Clarke and Thomas Bjorn.
He also is currently working with a number of young and talented players from all corners of the globe such as South Africa's Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen. Closer to home he also works with homegrown talent such as Ian Garbutt, Mark Foster and more recently 2008 European Ryder Cup rookie Oliver Wilson. Dr Paul Hurrion:- A varied and active sporting life and sports / injury related studies gave Paul the grounding to build a company (www.quintic.com) with his father providing a range of quality performance analysis software used at the highest levels in sport, health, and education across the world, and producing top class coaching CDs. Paul specialises in biomechanical analysis using high-speed cameras, force platforms and computers and is a leading biomechanist contracted to UK Athletics, International Cricket Council (ICC), English Cricket Board, and British Diving. Currently, Paul heads biomechanical analysis for the ICC’s consideration of legal bowling actions.His passion for golf has led to a specialism in putting analysis and advice, assisting European Tour Professionals and holding PGA accredited Putting Clinics. Through his work with Padraig Harrington, he advised Hi-Tec on the biomechanical design dynamics of their new CDT Golf Shoe. Paul has recently designed his signature range of putters for GEL Golf, for more information please visit www.gelgolf.com / www.gelgolf.co.uk Joanne Elphinston:- Joanne is an international lecturer, author and Performance Consultant specialising in technical movement optimisation, injury prevention and rehabilitation for treatment-resistant injury in elite athletes, professional dancers and musicians.Drawing from the fields of applied biomechanics and motor control, manual therapy, philosophy and psychology, Joanne addresses movement from a multimodal and holistic perspective. Her clients include professional footballers, professional and top amateur golfers, and elite athletes across a spectrum of sports at Olympic level, nationally and internationally. Mark will be teaming up with Simon Harling of Elite Fitness in Cardiff, Simon delivers strength and conditioning input to members of the Welsh team in the South, with Mark delivering to athletes in the North. Mark comments, "this is one of those moments, as a sports industry professional, you absolutely dream of. The opportunity to present alongside speakers of this caliber is one I will treasure for a long time. I look forward to sharing my insights and coaching methods in strength and conditioning for golf performance with delegates and just hope I won't fall off the stage or say anything inappropriate! But seriously, this is going to be a fabulous experience and my role in our National Team is one that I regard with great pride." |
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