Innovation Visual have been sponsoring young Taekwondo star, Phoenix Goodman over the past few years and we are delighted that she keeps us up to date on her progress!
Phoenix has had a fantastic few months and has been to several training camps since lockdown. Here’s what she has been up to in 2021 so far.
By Phoenix herself:
Online Training
Since January I have been busy training with GB Junior Development Team doing online zoom sessions as well as training in Manchester. I was able to do this because I am considered an elite athlete therefore I was privileged enough to train indoors. I have also been training online and outdoors with my local club ‘Team LMC’ 3 times a week for an hour, doing circuits and hill sprints and private sessions with my club in Doncaster ‘Team Ultimate’ an hour a week. Around mid-April I finally was able to attend indoor training with my local club LMC too.
In February there was a ‘Steady the Ship session’ with the GB Junior Development Team where we had a workshop on how to manage nerves and ultimately be the best version of ourselves, in terms of mental stability during the situations that were current at the time.
I also attended an S&C session with the GB Junior Development Squad where our S&C coach trained us for an hour. The training was based on the strength and conditioning plans he had made for us to complete during lockdown. We mainly focused on activating our muscles in our legs by doing squats, lunges, calf raises, press-ups and glute bridges but doing them a different way each time to build up our muscle strength.
On the 11th February, ‘Steady the Ship’ number 2 took place on zoom; building on from the previous week, but that day we focused on how to put it into a dynamic plan and they gave us some helpful tips on how to stay focused.
Then on the 18th there was a second S&C session where we did the same thing but in different forms again. This same session followed again on the 25th February!
My First Post-Lockdown Training Camps
In March I travelled to Manchester for a one day camp with the GB Junior Development Team for 2 sessions of 2 and a half hours. It was very exciting seeing as I wasn’t allowed to train indoors at that time, so it was a breath of fresh air to kick people and be around people who do Taekwondo. We maintained covid rules and sanitised everything we used. We also were sending through lateral flow tests to the manager regularly to make sure we were all kept safe!
At the next camp we were again separated into three groups and focused on movement, pad-work and conditioning which is high intensity training either kicking each other or on pads which is very tiring, however extremely beneficial!
I travelled to Manchester several times for training all day and in each camp, we focused on something different. However, in the April camp, we mainly drilled how to set up and score a punch. Whereas in the May camp we focused on how to avoid the punch and how to get around it. Because of these sessions, I feel more confident throwing punches and trying both aspects of it.
During all of this, as I’ve mentioned I completed outdoor sessions twice a week with my local team ‘LMC’ however, fortunately, I was able to attend indoor sessions from the 13th April too. This was amazing as it gave me the opportunity to get back doing what I love. We do weekly test matches on a Saturday to get back into sparring and work on the electronic systems in order to get our heads around it to prepare for upcoming local competitions. These should begin mid-July which is very exciting as I have missed fighting on the mats very much!
On the 25th April I travelled to Doncaster with some of my local LMC teammates to attend a three hour session with ‘Team Ultimate’ which I found extremely beneficial as we did pad-work for around an hour and a half, following with sparring for an hour. This was great as there was a variety of athletes from across the North who came down to spar!
My Latest Award
I am also very privileged to announce I have been awarded the prestigious ‘Backing The Best Award’ which will provide me with unceasing opportunities to do what I love! Because of this, I will have ongoing zoom sessions hosted by different and diverse people to express their personal stories in their sports and give us young athletes advice on how to stay motivated, focused, nutrition, sleep tips etc!
I want to say a massive thank you for your continued support as I will always be grateful for what you do for me.
Keep Up With Phoenix Goodman
We are extremely happy to be supporting Phoenix’s journey, she is an exceptionally skilled athlete. You can keep up to date with her progress on her Facebook page.
