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Currently there are approximately 200 student-athletes in grades 7 through 12 who specialize in the sports
of football, athletics, squash, table tennis, sailing, judo, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, fencing, rowing,
shooting and golf. Football, athletics, squash and table tennis are considered “main sports” in which the
Academy provides a full-time coaching staff and year round training program. The remaining sports are
called “federation sports” in which the Academy provides strength and conditioning programs, performance
enhancement and other sports science services, medical services and Academy schooling but the athletes are
coached by coaches in their respective national sport federation. The ASPIRE sports program depends on a
comprehensive talent identification testing program and is fully supported by state-of-the-art sports
science services, a strength and conditioning program, and excellent medical and health services.
 ASPIRE’s long-term sports development philosophy is an inspirational quest to create a generation of outstanding sportsmen, and a sporting culture to match. Top junior teams are brought to Doha for friendly competitions and ASPIRE student-athletes travel all over the world for training camps, which include competition against the world’s most respected junior teams and individuals. An international team of highly-respected coaches, coupled with outstanding sports facilities, create the highest quality instructional environment. Add a team of world-renowned sports scientists, a top-notch medical and rehabilitation staff, sports nutritionists and a team of strength and conditioning experts, and the result is a recipe for success. Take a look inside our training camps. Learn about our strength and conditioning experts. Read our ASPIRE Coaches’ Blogs or select a sport using the search menu and meet our coaching staff.
MEET OUR ASPIRE COACHES
SPORTS FEDERATIONS COACHES
ASPIRE operates some of its sports as joint programs between the national sports federations and ASPIRE. ASPIRE provides the academic program, the strength and conditioning program and sports science services, while the federations’ coaches train the student-athletes.
 Three local and two international levels of talent identification exist to identify prospective Academy student-athletes. At the local level, ASPIRE conducts basic and advanced multi-sport and sport-specific sport skill development programs in the schools and at ASPIRE Dome for 6- to 12-year-old boys and girls. Also at the local level, ASPIRE’s sports scientists conduct a Talent Identification Program (TID), testing over 2,400 sixth grade boys to find athletes with potential. Finally, federation and Academy coaches observe athletes participating in existing youth sport programs, or federation programs, in Qatar, who are then nominated to participate in the Talent Identification Program testing.
Internationally, ASPIRE’s Football Dreams program screens over 700,000 footballers in underdeveloped countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Academy coaches in other sports also identify international talents through observation visits to other countries or at international youth competitions. These international programs result in the award of ASPIRE scholarships to international athletes who attend the Academy.
 ASPIRE’s state–of-the-art applied sports science program is anchored in a reliance on research-supported theory and fact-based data. In addition to conducting the ASPIRE Talent Identification Program (TID), the Sports Science Department provides international-standard applied sports science and sports medicine support to ASPIRE coaches’ training and instruction, and to student-athletes’ training and competition performance within ASPIRE’s long-term student-athlete development philosophy. Sports scientists are responsible for reviewing sports-related research and translating results and distributing this information to staff in a manner that can help coaches apply such information to improve instructional techniques and the design of high-level training programs. The Sports Science program also includes Strength & Conditioning and professional development programs for coaches, further education to keep them abreast of the latest and most effective techniques and theories, and to train the next generation of coaches following in their footsteps.
 ASPIRE Health Services staff members are responsible on a daily basis for the delivery of medical care to student-athletes. Most of Aspire student athletes are in the maturation and growth phase of their development. To support healthy long term growth and development we have used our unique data base from screening analysis, and injury recording systems to build comprehensive individual and collective prevention programs. Cross discipline collaboration within the Sport Science department with physiologists, psychologists and biomechanics give a great opportunity to develop a holistic approach of the athletes. In addition, particular attention is paid on medical clearance through regular compulsory medical examinations. Proximity with athletes allows medical staff to implement educational programs to emphasize healthy life style as hygiene, anti-doping and nutrition education. ASPIRE Health Services benefits from the close relationship and expertise with ASPETAR Sports and Orthopedic Hospital for radiological, surgery and podiatry support.
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