We’ve recently received the following from Liam Downes, writing from Gavirate in far northern Italy, close to the Swiss border
Dear Thames Charitable Trust, LYR and Clifford De Souza,
I am writing on behalf of myself and the other London Youth Rowing athletes who attended the Easter Training Camp in Gavirate, Italy to thank you for your contributions towards it. We had an absolutely spectacular time whilst we were there.
The training camp consisted of three sessions a day. The general pattern was one long session, one technical session and one speed work session. By the end of the week this was very difficult to maintain as the fatigue from each session built up gradually over the week. In spite of this, I can honestly say that we all came on leaps and bounds from the excellent coaching we received from Patrick Ryan and Dan Cooper.
We were lucky enough to have a conversation with three of the GB men, who were also training at the facility . This gave us some great insights on what professional rowing entails and just how hard it is to maintain a standard once you have reached it.
As we are all working towards some sort of qualification in May/June we had to do at least three hours of work a day. As onerous as that was, I am certain that it was beneficial to all of us.
As you can appreciate, training hard and working hard left little time for socialising. So when we did have that time available, we certainly made the most of it. I know I certainly forged friendships with people that I wouldn’t usually and I think it was a really good opportunity for the London Youth Rowing clubs to bond.
If I were to pinpoint the highlight of my week I would struggle greatly, as I loved pretty much every moment of it and I am sure the same can be said for many of the other athletes. However, below I have chosen some pictures which I believe represent exactly what the training camp was like and show some of the best bits.
Once again, thank you for your contribution as none of this would have been possible without it.
Yours Faithfully,
Liam Downes