Castleford Tigers have confirmed the club’s partnership with Leeds Beckett University will continue into its second year.
The Tigers linked up with the university at the start of last season to improve the provision for the club’s emerging young talent, with the first 12 months of the relationship proving to be a roaring success.
As part of the partnership, Leeds Beckett University students supported the club’s Scholarship players around nutrition and mental skills development, with this offer now being expanded to include diet and nutrition provision to our part-time Under-18s and Reserves players for 2020.
Furthermore, Castleford Tigers’ Academy mental skills support will be led by Cameron Bains, this follows Cameron working for the club on a voluntary basis as a postgraduate Masters student undertaking required contact hours as he worked towards registration as a qualified sports psychologist. The club can also confirm they have again received an extremely high number of applications from aspiring practitioners looking for the opportunity to gain experience in an elite level setting working under Cameron.
Castleford’s Head of Youth Performance Darren Higgins said: “It’s with great pleasure we see our partnership with Leeds Beckett University continue and evolve. The support and provision provided to our young players last year was hugely beneficial and of a very high standard which is a great reflection on the university.
“As a club we aim to develop our players holistically, in order to give them every chance of pursuing a career in the game. The provision provided by Leeds Beckett around sports psychology and nutrition plays a big part in this and we once again look forward to utilising their skills and expertise around these key areas.”
Debbie Smith, Lecturer in Applied Sport and Exercise Nutrition at the Carnegie School of Sport said: “Leeds Beckett University are delighted to be working with Castleford Tigers for another year, providing psychology and nutrition support to their junior players.”
“It’s a great opportunity for our Masters students to gain experience of working in an applied environment. Students are mentored through our psychology practicum module and sport and exercise nutrition applied practice programme to develop their professional skills.
“As a result, players receive education workshops and one to one support where appropriate, informed by the cutting-edge research undertaken at Leeds Beckett, enhancing their development on their journey to play at a senior level.”
Source & Image: www.castlefordtigers.com
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