All Queensland Senior and Intermediate representative teams will be selected from the Development Groups.

All Development Group members shall sign a "Code of Conduct" and agree to abide by same.

Development Group membership can be altered at any time at the discretion of the Queensland State Selectors.

For consideration in these groups, players should contact their Zone Chairman of Selectors and they will contact the
State Chairman of Selectors, who will organise for State Selectors to see the player play at a carnival at the earliest possible convenience.

Player Development Group Training Weekends

The first Development Group Training Weekend was held at the Bunya Mountains, via Dalby in February 2008 [read report below]
and the second was held during the Monto Club Carnival.

The third training weekend was held at Chinchilla on 2nd & 3rd May 2009 for Players, Coaches and Managers.
The Chinchilla Club hosted the weekend and ran a canteen for smokos, lunches and cooked a wonderful Saturday night dinner.

INTENSIVE  TRAINING  WEEKEND  at the  BUNYA  MOUNTAINS

The Queensland Polocrosse Association conducted the inaugural State Player Development Group Intensive Training Camp at the Bunya Mountains,
via Dalby, between 1st and 3rd February 2008.

The aim of this initial camp was to achieve two results.

Firstly the camp introduced to Queensland the first formulated team Manager Training Program. Manager Training was conducted on Friday 1st February.

This training was designed to equip our volunteers with the knowledge and skills to effectively manage our state teams. Your elected Management Committee believe that a pool of well prepared managers will enhance the performance of our teams by allowing players and coaching staff to concentrate on their core functions safe in the knowledge that administrative and logistical matters are well in hand.

The delivery of this program to our Managers was co-ordinated and presented by Mr. Rodney GEPPERT (PAA Board member), Mr. Mick JARMAIN (Manager 2007 Australian World Cup Polocrosse Team), Mr. Noel CHALLIS (QPA Development Officer) and State President Mr. Philip HUGHES.

The managers training incorporated topics such as Negotiation, Conflict Management, Delegation, Job Description, Principal Responsibilities of a Manager, Leadership, Risk Management and last but by no means least, fostering a harmonious environment amongst the team and support groups.

The training was rather intense; however attendees indicated that they were better prepared to take on the role of Manager in the future.

The sessions were conducted over a 10 to 12 hour day which culminated in a hypothetical practical session facilitated by Mrs. Merilyn KENDALL. (Merilyn is a Music and drama teacher). These scenarios reflected situations that may be encountered by Managers and tested our newly gained skills.

The second aim, and main focus for the camp, was the development of our players that have been chosen by our State Selectors as ready to take on state competition. This part of the camp was conducted over the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd February.

The very basic aim of this camp was to provide our identified state level players within the Open and Intermediate Divisions with the knowledge and skills to better prepare them for state competition and further enhance their natural talent so as to achieve their full potential.

This phase of the camp was co-ordinated by our State Development Officer (Mr. Noel CHALLIS) and included presenters Russell LYNCH (Physical Education), Noelene YOUNG (Surf Iron Woman), Julia WATSON (Occupational Health and Safety), QPA Coaching Director (Mr. Alex REID) and Level Two Coaches Mr. Alex HALL, Mrs. Jodie HALL and Mr. Kent WELLS.

The sessions attended covered areas such as fitness levels, Psychology, Sports Fitness – Sports Safety – Sports Recovery, Patterns of Play, Horse Preparation and sustained Performance, Yearly Plan Development, Communication, Goal Setting and Discipline/Conduct on and off the field.

Again these sessions were conducted over a 10 to 12 hour day on Saturday with the final session on Sunday concluding at 3.p.m. Players were split into groups consisting of open and intermediate players and all rotated amongst presenters. The process was facilitated by members whom had completed the management training and this certainly assisted with flow of events given the tight time frames.

The final stages of the weekend saw the Development Groups come together with their respective peers to discuss goal setting and group dynamics. This discussion included topics such as performance management, development group criteria, player code of conduct and ultimately what each group saw as their underpinning aim. This was specific to each group and was an opportunity for all to have input into the future direction of Queensland polocrosse specific to their respective age and gender.

Feedback received from the groups was in the main positive and most were supportive of the initiative and believed that it should be continued in some form. It was also interesting to note that group members were desirous of maintaining an open communication network amongst their respective group members so as to build on the established momentum of the training camp.

Accommodation for the weekend was most suitable and the meals provided were of a high standard. Merilyn KENDALL kept us entertained on both evenings with a combination of scenario based exercises and a loose version of the ‘Red Faces’ concept.

A further highlight of the weekend was the presentation of two guest speakers.  Both men are leaders in their field of endeavour and have achieved great success.

Firstly the groups were privileged to hear from Mr. Trevor BENNETT – Mountaineer. Trevor has climbed some of the world’s tallest mountains in NEPAL and navigated his way through some inhospitable cold environments. Trevor informed the group that he attained his passion for climbing late in life and through enthusiasm, determination and physical training he achieved a number of goals. It was also interesting to note that these achievements could not have been attained without the assistance of others and the eye for detail. Sharing a belief in a common purpose and placing trust in others to achieve his goals was paramount to his success.

The second guest speaker was Mr. Anthony (Ant) WILLIAMS.  Ant is recognised as one of the world’s greatest Free Divers and has reached ocean depths in excess of 70 metres on one single breath of air. Again, Ant did not take up the sport until his later 20’s and the theme to his presentation mirrored that delivered by Trevor BENNETT. It was also interesting to note that in the main both these men were predominately self funded and were driven to achieve simply because of their respective love of the sport. Ant was able to simulate a dive situation that saw Intermediate Development Group member Chris HALL walk almost 50 metres on a single breath wearing a particularly attractive dive mask.

Whilst neither man were actively involved in polocrosse it was easy to draw a number of comparisons. Passion, dedication, persistence, formulated training, planning and a good support network go a long way towards achieving our goals.

In the main I would say that the Bunya Mountains Intensive Training Camp was an overwhelming success. I believe that all our athletes and managers took something away from the weekend that will ultimately improve not only their own polocrosse but that of their fellow club members. I would encourage all those that attended to pass on the knowledge that they have gleaned from the development weekend to their fellow club members.  A free and open flow of information will not only develop our elite players but players across a broad spectrum that will result in an improved standard and greater success for Queensland Polocrosse.

In conclusion I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all those that participated in the weekend.  Numerous people worked tirelessly to make sure it was a success and the QPA is grateful for their contribution. Rodney GEPPERT, Alex REID, Noel CHALLIS, Philip and Adele HUGHES and Sue TERPENING should be congratulated on a successful weekend.  The presenters too did a fabulous job in contributing to an enthusiastic and friendly atmosphere that allowed us all to gain maximum benefit from their sessions.

The QPA Management Committee is confident that the concept is a positive step towards the future development of Queensland Polocrosse and is excited to see the concept further develop in the future years.

Mark Paroz,
Senior Vice President QPA and State Manager Coordinator 2008.