Kemp Recaps “Tough” Military Camp

Kemp Recaps “Tough” Military Camp

26 Academy players underwent Exercise Airlie Seahorse at the weekend

Centre of Excellence News

Callum Kemp told hullfc.com how he and his Academy team mates came through a “tough” test at a military barracks in Hampshire last weekend.

Hull FC’s Under 18s side spent three days at McMullen Barracks, Marchwood, located just outside of Southampton on the south coast.

Led by lifelong Hull FC supporter, Captain Paul Whiting, players were tasked with a number of drills on ‘Exercise Airlie Seahorse’, including setting up their own cot beds, cooking their own ration packs and taking part in a gruelling, early-morning conditioning activity.

Kemp, who has trained with the first-team squad this pre-season, was one of the key leaders within the group of 26 players across the weekend.

Catching up with hullfc.com, the 18-year-old halfback reflected on a challenging experience.

“It was a great experience, but one that was very draining to take part in at the same time,” he said.

“Not having our phones for the entire weekend allowed us all to fully focus on each other and develop our connections even further.

“But what made it all worthwhile was seeing everyone buy in. It was great to see everyone’s attitude being so positive when it got tough.”

He continued: “Pushing yourself through it when you’re not comfortable. That wasn’t easy.

“You’re waking up early and you don’t know what’s coming up throughout the day. That unpredictability plays on your mind.

“You would end up doing things you didn’t expect. A good example was after our massive conditioning session on the beach on the Sunday morning. We thought we were done and we got back on the coach to take us back to the accommodation. But we stopped halfway, got told to get off and then we were told we had to do a bronco test.

“We just had to show how much mental resilience we had as a group, and I thought we did really well in that moment and across the whole weekend.”

It wasn’t just in the day time that the players had to take part in exercises.

The youngsters were woken up several times on their first night in camp, with military staff checking all players had the correct kit.

In addition, players were required to work in 30-minute shifts on a rota throughout the night, manning the fire picket to ensure they weren’t without warm water.

“It was a struggle to get your head down. You didn’t know if you were going to get woken up and get told to do a drill in the middle of the night,” Kemp explained.

“You also knew that you had a half-an-hour shift on the fire picket in the night.

“You were exhausted, but you couldn’t get to sleep. I would say most of us never really managed to get to sleep properly because of the stuff on our minds. It was tough, but a great experience at the same time, and one that will hopefully benefit us by strengthening our mental robustness.”