⭕ Coaching service

From September 2022, RF-coach individual coaching program (ICP) works with a very reduced group of orienteers with high ambitions both at the national and international levels. The aim of this program is offering to the athlete a fully personalized and integrated training plan for the whole season, providing all the necessary development instruments towards the desired goals.

The profile with a better fit to be part of this program is a highly motivated orienteer (man or woman) from any country, aged between 18 to 35 years old preferably, with a solid training background in orienteering during the previous seasons in Junior or Elite classes at the national level. The residence place should grant preferably decent access to orienteering maps within short distances so that the athlete can have 2-3 technical sessions per week.

The athlete must have a decided goal in developing towards a high level within the next few years, and have the compromise for consistent and hard work along the training process. The philosophy is: dream high, work hard, trust yourself and make it happen!

Even if the idea of being a fully professional athlete in orienteering is still nowadays almost a utopia for most orienteers, the athlete should have a lifestyle compatible with the high-level sport, having enough time for the training sessions and proper recovery during all the phases of the training process (compatibility with work or studies).

Season plan.
A long-term strategy for all the season, where both the main and the secondary goals are clearly defined and will work as a guide to distribute efficiently the different training periods during the year and the training targets of every phase, in order to reach the main goals of the season in the best possible conditions to succeed.

Weekly plan.
Short-term program for every week, in accordance with the phase of the season plan, with a detailed schedule of the trainings that the athlete should do. This weekly plan will include:

– Physical sessions: Using a personalized range of intensity zones (heart-rate based) to impact efficiently on the right physiological indicators (VO2max, LT threshold,…) at every stage of the preparation. These workouts might be only physical or combined with orienteering (real or simulated).

– Technical sessions: Varied workouts for improving and consolidating different orienteering skills and their efficient application in any situation (type of terrain, mapping style, type of competition,…). It will include workouts (course-setting) for improving orienteering skills isolated (multi-technique) and workouts directly linked to the competition speed (intervals,…), depending on the period of the season. The possibility of the athlete getting access to different and varied orienteering maps (and files) will be important to maximize the technical preparation.

– Other sessions: Complementary (especially strength-based) or alternative sessions are often an important part of the preparation during the season, always adapted to the needs of the athlete.

Analysis of the trainings/competitions.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” (A.Einstein). One of the main requirements in the orienteering training process is analyzing deeply the way the athlete is using his/her orienteering system, the mistakes which happen (and their source) in order to adapt the training program to strengthen the weaknesses and reinforce the strengths of the athlete. A weekly online meeting athlete-coach will be scheduled for this purpose.

Theoretical preparation of the main goals.
Using all the existing tools and resources (old maps, autogenerated, previous courses, tracking,…) for the best possible theoretical preparation towards the main goals of the season. Throughout the training process, we will work on building the strategic, tactical, and mental sides for the “D” day.

Access to high-quality training camps.
For a high-level orienteer is almost “mandatory” travel often to get trainings in the most varied terrains and maps. Thanks to the cooperation with some partners (Maximus, Sun-O, and Halden SK) you will have easy access (free or with reduced extra costs) to high-quality training camps at any suitable time of the season.

The price for the athlete is 150 euros/month starting in November 2022 (even though we start working in October with the season planning). The coaching agreement is valid for 10 months period (until 31st August 2023), but it can be voluntarily finished either by the athlete or by the coach after 2 months (end of the year 2022). Other agreements might be done on request, before starting the coaching program.

This project, at least in its beginning, works with a very reduced group of athletes (4), and that is the reason for having a detailed selection process, in order to select those athletes who can benefit more from the offered coaching services.

The application period for the season 2022/2023 has finished, with 14 applications for the 4 spots offered. The selected athletes can be found in the section “Athletes” on this website.