Charterhouse Athlete Programme

Charterhouse Athlete Programme

Our Charterhouse Athlete Programme (CAP), which looks at various elements of support in order to assist some of our top young sportsmen and sportswomen in the School.

Strands such as nutrition, psychology, sport science and monitoring are key parts of this programme in order to educate and develop these individuals.

All Sport Scholars are automatically enrolled on this programme and others are considered for enrolment by the Sports Department.

ENSURING PHYSICAL CHALLENGE AND PROGRESSION

Fundamentally, athletes at Charterhouse are growing athletes. We recognise that they may experience rapid and regular growth spurts. Our programme consequently accounts for these challenges and aims to enhance the physical literacy of our athletes in a way that minimises their injury risk to increase the amount of time they spend participating in sport, and improves their athleticism for competition. We consider these aims to be important in supporting not only sporting endeavour, but also in fostering a lifelong affinity for sport and physical activity.

Our Under School athletes work through three different movement paradigms that progress as they get older. These comprise 14 movement patterns, which increase in complexity across ten levels, and aim to improve strength, power and fundamental movement skills.

Our Upper School athlete’s complete performance programmes that are individually tailored to meet the specific demands of their chosen sport. The main aims of their performance programmes are to increase overall strength, power, speed and reduce the risk of sporting injury.

PHYSIOTHERAPY AND REHABILITATION

All CAP athletes have the opportunity to access a 15 minute triage. This triage offers an athlete the opportunity to follow a rehabilitation programme, or receive ongoing physiotherapy support via GP referral.

SPORT SCIENCE AND MONITORING

All athletes receive athletic profiling reports throughout the year. These reports assess power, speed, change of direction, aerobic fitness and also involve non-invasive maturity profiling.

Athletes also complete a daily wellbeing questionnaire, on a session by session basis, which highlights issues such as soreness, psychological stress and sleep. Together with their training load logs, these are used to individualise their weekly experience of sport and minimise overtraining-related injuries.

NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT

We have an onsite nutritionist who delivers sports nutrition seminars and cooking practicals to educate the athletes on the importance of good nutrition. Our nutritionist also provides individual support to our athletes if and when they require it.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT

We offer our athletes a range of psychological support and regularly run sports psychology workshops tailored to specific year groups. These cover a wide range of different topics, including emotional control and dealing with nerves, life after A levels, and parent-pupil relationships on and off the field.

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

Performance reviews are delivered remotely and involve a practical process of reflection wherein athletes identify strengths, weaknesses and gaps in self-awareness and tactical awareness as it relates to their sport. We also use data from the Sport Science & Monitoring Programme to create reports which include attendance statistics and attitude towards their development.

Athlete Expectations and Commitment

Athletes must be prepared to make sacrifices in their pursuit of sporting excellence. This means dedicating extra time to sports training, getting involved in extra opportunities to learn and contribute positively to the community and life of others across the School. It is as much about giving as it is about receiving.

All pupils on the Charterhouse Athlete Programme are required to: Be on time Make an effort Have a good work ethic Show energy Display positive body language Show passion Be coachable Be prepared Show good manners Do that little bit extra

School-wide behaviour, attitude and attainment will also be monitored to inform initial and ongoing enrolment on the programme.

Athletes must also demonstrate a high level of technical and tactical ability in their sport as etermined by specialist coaches.

Sports Award holders are automatically enrolled whereas non-Award holders can be nominated by their coach to be considered for enrolment at any point in the academic year.

The list below outlines your typical weekly commitments:

1. Any fixtures for your sport or additional technical/tactical training

2. Two weekly gym-based athletic development sessions

3. Any nutrition or psychology workshops, seminars or webinar

4. Participation in any other organised activity on the CAP

Some athletes may have many additional commitments in and out of School; these should be communicated at the earliest opportunity if an athlete wishes to be excused from any of the above.

We understand that life at School may present individual challenges but at the same time, we expect you to contribute to and uphold high standards for yourself and your peers. We are primarily here to support you and your academic endeavor with the additional support for your sporting and athletic development. However, suspension or exclusion from the CAP is possible and will be considered on a case-by-case basis with the guidance of all stakeholders in the athlete’s development. We aim to adhere to the school-wide approach to behaviour management; but this will be predominantly in the context of, but not exclusively as it pertains to sport.

What happens if I don’t adhere to what is expected of me?

Charterhouse Godalming Surrey GU7 2DX charterhouse.org.uk