SAINTS Australia Tour squad have taken part in a two-day team building camp in the Lake District.
As preparations for October’s tour step up a notch, the Brathay Trust in Ambleside invited them to test their mental and physical strength as well as team dynamics.
The trip got off to a fast start as within 20 minutes of arriving the players were put in teams of eight in boats on Windermere, with no instructors!
As the day progressed the intensity increased with the lads focussing hard on their communication skills in order to complete complex tasks.
On day two they took to the trees to challenge some fears and then finished with a trip to Coniston for some gorge walking.
“I can’t speak highly enough about the Brathay Trust,” Neil Kilshaw, Saints Player Performance Manager, said. “The whole trip exceeded our expectations of what team building exercises could actually achieve. The opportunity to take the lads away from their natural environment to help foster relationships has been invaluable.
“The three instructors, Pete, Mac and Lucy were amazing in their ability to draw things out of the players and the gains were truly remarkable. This trip has enabled our squad to really focus hard on the massive task ahead of us all in October.
“The Australians will be waiting, smarting from previous defeats and we know that with every trip our task gets even greater. The tour is now only a matter of nine weeks away and our preparations are in full swing as we ensure that the players will be in peak physical condition and their skills honed.”
He continued: “Once again I’d like to thank the Brathay Trust for their support, and Aly for looking after the lads whilst they had no mums! The support we receive from our local communities continues to astound us and these trips really would be impossible without this support.”
Saints Academy will take on St George, Central Coast, West Tigers and Penrith Panthers in October.
In tours to date their record is won 13, drawn one and lost one.
To date 31 tourists have played in Super League for St Helens.
