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JDS camp review and pictures!



Click here to view a collection of photographs of the JDS Camp!

Below is an exclusive wrap of the JDS Camp from Harrison Roubin (Camberwell Malvern U15 Athlete) who has just completed his last JDS camp. Harrison has been involved in JDS since U12 and has been fortunate enough to attend 4 years of camp!

This year was sadly my last year of JDS camp and will be my last year of JDS. As an u/15 athlete I have been with the JDS program for several year now, in fact since I was in u/12. After the completion of my fourth JDS camp I can without hesitation say that these camps have been one of the best experiences of my athletics career so far.

This year, I once again (for the third year in a row actually!) was not only in but the captain of the 'notorious' pink group; the team competition winners from the year before and the current record holder of possibly worst possible score able to be achieved on SingStar (MC Hammer, Can't touch this)* awaiting verification. This year the team consisted of three boys and eight girls, our team leader Andrew Stirling has always been very good with picking the best events for everyone for the teams competition on the last day, which consists of several events where teams go head to head! This year we finished a respectable third. The entire teams environment makes training a little bit more fun and is great for meeting new people because you really have to get out of your comfort zone to know new people in your team.  

The four days of camp can't be explained within a few words. First and foremost we were there to train and improve, being coached by some of the best junior and senior coaches in the nation we were all taking training seriously. But once we left the track everyone was ready for some fun, because we'd train morning and afternoon; track session and generally circuit rotations, it was very on the go. The nightly activities this year were; the SingStar disco (on the last night), bowling and laser tag and offcourse our trip to Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. At the end of each night we had supper and went to bed, the majority of us were completely exhausted (except the u/12s?) as the amount of training we did in 4 short days is equivalent to A Month of some athletes training!

My memories of JDS will always be of great times, fun events and the experience of being treated like an elite athlete, with pool sessions, track work, gym sessions, recovery sessions. It really has prepared me for what my new coach is like.

There so much more that could be said about this camp, anyone that qualifies for JDS has to experience this camp, it is not an opportunity that you can afford to miss. I'm lucky enough to have experience it four times.  From an athletes point of view it is hard to explain how much less of an athlete I would be without it. It caters for everyone and I would say it is a must for any junior athlete. I may be repeating myself but I can't emphasize enough how great the experience of this camp has been and from what I have learnt I will carry on with me through the rest of my life. It's probably the thing I'll miss the most about Little Athletics.