We heard from some of our Year 8 athletes on how they’ve managed to keep active throughout lockdown. Their commitment and perseverance are an example to us all.
Here are some of their comments:
“The sports I focus on, netball and hockey, are both team sports, so I wondered what I would do under lockdown restrictions.
My netball club Matrix put our training sessions on Zoom and together once a week we do fitness and ball drills. Meanwhile, my other netball club Abbey and Hawks hockey club didn’t give us instruction so I had to keep my own fitness and skills up.
I am lucky to have a resourceful father and he laid down astroturf at the back of the garden in order for me to practice hockey! My netball skills are practiced by passing my ball against my crazy catch so it has mostly been normal.
For general fitness, I have discovered my love for yoga and my enjoyment of running. I do a full yoga workout every Saturday and try to stretch on other days. I go on runs once a week too. Miss Ferrelly, my sports teacher gave me and other athletes an option to have a personal sports plan, which led me to discover many useful workout videos online, and Mr Gasper’s weekly sports focus session has been great too. I am enjoying this unusual yet self-sufficient sport from home but I can’t wait to be back to normal.” – Sofia (Year 8)
“During the lockdown, I’ve been preparing for the next season of sport. I would have been going to Athletics competitions on the weekend and training in the week so my club decided to have an online competition.
We had to train in events that would normally take place in the sports hall, I came in 1st place out of the whole club for speed bounce and was one bounce away from a new record! One of my events is Discus so I’ve been using my coaches’ training tips and going down to the park to practice.
My strength is also building up because I’m also training for a 30 Nations virtual rowing competition. All this training will really help me when the winter hockey season starts again.” – Imogen (Year 8)
“I usually train around 4-6 hours a day but it has really changed since the rink has shut. It’s really weird not waking up early in the morning and not being tired out by the end of the day.
I have been doing a little bit of exercise and put my skates on so I don’t lose the shape. I’ve had online skating lessons but the hours don’t compare to what I used to do. Everyone is really worried about getting back on the ice and not knowing if you can still do the stuff you were able to do.
In skating, you can’t really control what jumps you can do and can’t. You just have to work really hard and hope that you tried hard enough. Running through my program and keeping up your stamina is also something that I’m doing during the quarantine.” – Lowenna (Year 8)
“As I usually do at least one ballet class every day of the week, not having usual classes has been very different for me. Our teacher now runs classes on zoom, which is not ideal but very helpful for keeping up our technique!
We also have regular body conditioning classes on zoom, which are great for keeping fit. I have cleared a space in our living room so I can use it for ballet, and I use a chair for my barre. I also make sure to stretch regularly to keep up my flexibility levels.” – Iris (Year 8)
“During lockdown I have been trying a different variety of ways to keep my skills up. The sport that I have been practising the most is cricket, it is a bit different trying to play cricket with only two people but my brother and I found out ways to make it fun and original.
Of course we have stumps but we thought we would spice it up a bit and we got duck tape and drew some stumps on our blue bin, we did this on the driveway so the ball would bounce more. I wanted to practice my bowling so I got a plastic flower pot and put it above the stumps so I had a target for my ball to hit.
Another fun way to practice hitting. I got a long piece of string and tied the ball at the end and tied it to a string in my garden, and I wanted to try my slogs shots again.
Finally, a couple weeks ago I hurt my shoulder and I stayed of sport for a bit but I got an osteopath to check my shoulder and he worked on me standing up straight and staying tall. Overall i have had fun trying new ways to play cricket while you are in lockdown.” -Emma (Year 8)
“Lockdown has created many challenges for my sports. In netball there has not been any competitive match play or training with squad members since March.
Despite this, there have been opportunities to develop skills, make new connections and work on personal fitness. I have been able to train with different coaches via zoom and have changed my shooting technique and worked on lots of ball skills and fitness.
I have also been doing a lot more strength and conditioning. Some clubs have arranged Q&A sessions with international players as well as quiz nights for team building. Luckily, lockdown has not affected my horse riding too much. The biggest downside has been the inability to keep the ponies fit as there are no gallops or cross country courses open.
My development plan for the season has been taken backwards by 2 months. Even though there has been no competitions, I can still train 1 on 1, which has lead to developing different, more technical areas of my riding. I hope things return to normal soon.” – Isabel (Year 8)
