Week 5.

Internship Life.
Week 5.
21.7.14 - 25.7.14.

This week was absolutely mental! I needed to get that out there and off my chest to start. There have been several different schedules being worked through all at the same time, so mentally and physically this week has been very draining and challenging, but brilliant at the same time.
There was the schedule for the players who had been back for the duration, a slightly different schedule for the Academy players (just to stop over-crowding of training areas - mostly in slots such as weights/therapy), a separate schedule for the EPDG, and then we also had the returning players this week as well - those players who had been in New Zealand with England Senior team, and also 2 players back from England Under 20 World Cup success.
With the returning players, they were put on a schedule similar to the main group, but they had slightly different training outcomes as they were coming off a 4-week break, so they were doing different weights sessions, conditioning sessions etc.

So this made for a very interesting week. Everyday we would have our morning meeting, then within a few hours something would have changed and the whole plan would change. It's now very clear why S&C teams are so large in Elite level sport because without the amount of coaches in our team we would have been very stretched for some sessions.

It's also been a very interesting week in the sense that it's good to see the difference between those regular squad players, and those who are involved with England. Also, even between those involved with England themselves. For instance, the England players went through a very similar week to the original returnees 4 weeks ago. So it's been awesome to gauge the difference in caliber by seeing them do the exact same sessions and see how they react to it and how they continue throughout the week.
So on the Monday, the returnees had a conditioning session which I got to be involved with which was awesome! And it's pretty impressive to see how these guys can be clearly in pain by working so hard, but not even slowing down, no complaining or anything. That seems the difference, they just do every little thing to the best of their ability.
On Friday they finished the week with the Prowler challenge that the other group have now done twice, and again - some of them just seem a cut above. Even within the England group you could see a difference between the more seasoned internationals and those who were new to the EPS. Two players who play similar positions both took part in this, and as part of the same team. One has a fairly good amount of international experience, the other not a lot, and the difference between the two on this challenge showed a lot and I think it's a credit to the England coaching structure at the moment to the culture that they are creating.

There was also an "Adidas Launch" this week. This was basically a big Media event with the players and coaches, along with Adidas, to launch the new partnership between Quins and Adidas. I didn't get to sit in on the event itself, I was busy inputting data - much more interesting ... but there was also a BBQ afterwards which was good. I took plenty of food home with me which is always a bonus. They had on show all the new Adidas boots for the season, and I believe the new jersey got unveiled (but I'm not 100% on this one).

I got my hands on a pair of Adidas Predators from the club as part of my kit allowance. They're very nice, and happen to be my first pair of Predators so I'm pretty chuffed. I tried them on, and having fat feet I often struggle with Adidas, and these seem no different. They're definitely going to take a lot of stretching out before they become anything close to comfortable. But when they do, I'll be showing them off as much as possible as they're damn flashy as far as boots go.
Luckily I got given the mostly black and white pair, which I'm very happy about as I'm quite old fashioned with regards rugby boots and have only ever owned black boots - so this trend continues.

On Wednesday the players took part in a Swimming Challenge that my boss called "The Great London Swim". It sounded really good, and the 2 or so minutes of it I got to watch looked cool, but I didn't get to see it all. In all honesty I was pretty annoyed about that as I was really interested in watching it. But not the end of the World eh, you win some and lose some.

What else what happened this week ... Oh yeah! Rugby started!
Now that sentence may not seem genuine, but I almost actually forgot to mention that rugby training was back in the schedule as of Thursday this week. You can tell it's been a long week now right?

The atmosphere of the squad was totally different on Thursday morning, it was similar to how it was over those first few days back in week 1. The players all seemed excited to be back into rugby training, which is great to see. I've always wondered how players would respond to it as it is their paid job, but they all genuinely live to play rugby.
The training itself was mostly covering shapes and patterns that they are looking to bring in this year - obviously I can't into detail on any of this - but what really impressed me is just the attention to detail and the sheer quality of all the players. At one point I kept my eyes on one of the most high profile Quins players, one who has fewer international caps than he deserves because of a certain superstar in his Homeland, and his skill level for the first session back is just incredible. I know these guys are top level for a reason, but I was expecting things to be a little rusty, but these guys simply just flick a switch and it's rugby time. It's incredibly impressive.
I'm genuinely looking forward to watching more of these sessions and seeing the whole team come together and have a successful season.
My role in these sessions is mostly to hand out and collect GPS units and HR, and then also to play the role of Bobby Boucher A.K.A The Waterboy!!! The interns are in charge of supplying water during any breaks in training - which this week when it's been absolutely scorching - has been very frequent. Gives me a chance to have a listen in on the conversations going on in the huddles and hearing the opinions of the coaches and players.

So that sums up this week, and I'm going to finish off by saying this ...

It's going to be a damn good season!
#COYQ

'Til Next Week Folks