It wasn't only the 56 talented young men who left the Hurricanes annual Under 17 Development Camp with a deeper understanding of what it takes to become a professional rugby player this week.

In addition to the region's most talented young players, their parents were included in a day that brought the players and parents collective dreams one step closer to reality.

The players, selected earlier in the year from the Hurricanes Under 16s tournament and coming from as far away as the East Coast and Poverty Bay, received expert advice on nutrition, mental skills, physical preparation, leadership and life balance.

Among the speakers on the day were New Zealand Rugby talent identification manager Matt Sexton, Hurricanes professional development manager Steve Symonds, general manager high performance Chris Stirling, assistant strength and conditioning coach James Dickie, nutritionist Karen Moore and psychologist Wanda Douglas.

Hurricanes head coach Chris Boyd was also on hand throughout the day to offer insights to the parenting group from a professional coaching perspective, while a question and answer session with current player Wes Goosen proved popular with parents and players alike.

Stirling said the camp was about providing players and parents with a set of tools to help them take advantage of their rugby talent by setting off on the pathway to a professional career.

"It's about understanding that talent isn't enough. There are a whole lot of other things they need to master including nutrition, strength and conditioning, personal leadership, mental skills and developing resilience.

"Hopefully having their parents here affects them in a good way. It is important. There is a lot of information and most of these boys are 16 and 17, so they are probably not going to retain all of it. Hopefully the parents can retain the rest of it and they can go away with some good learnings."

As they entered the Hurricanes training base, players walked past giant pictures of the team's 2016 championship winning season, while upstairs they sat opposite the club's honours boards.

The young hopefuls' lessons included a classroom session in the team locker room and they experienced physical preparation tips in the gym.

CAPTION: Hurricanes assistant strength and conditioning coach James Dickie takes a class on physical preparation in the team changing room during the club's Under 17 Development Camp.

Having that personal contact with the Hurricanes environment was important, Stirling said.

"It has evolved from a camp that used to be located in Feilding, to being here so we can really get that Hurricanes flavour."

Symonds said the goal was to get the players thinking about more than just the basic skills of playing the game, then applying the knowledge to their lives away from the training paddock.

"It's understanding that wider context. It's interesting that today they didn't throw a rugby ball around. It was all nutrition, mental skills, life balance, and a key thing is to take control and speak up.

"One of the Hurricanes drivers is we want people to leave here having had a good experience and being better people in the communities they go to when they leave."

Parent Terry McCardle said she hoped the day would enable her son to take more personal responsibility as he chased his rugby dream.

"They focused more on the nutrition, getting a good sleep and just taking good care of himself in general. It's putting a little more effort into his own organisation. You can leave behind being that everyday parent saying do this, do that... it's up to him now."

Goosen, who made his Super Rugby debut in 2016, provided a first-hand account of the sort of challenges a young player might face in making the step up from schoolboy rugby to the professional ranks.

Goosen said the amount of training and homework had been the biggest adjustments.

"I've never done so much home work in my life as I did this year in the Hurricanes," he said to laughter.

On a more serious note Goosen told the boys to choose their friends carefully, make sure they were not led astray by people who did not share their ambition, and not be put off by setbacks.

* The Hurricanes under-17 camp is part of the comprehensive programme for teenage rugby administered by the Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council on behalf of the region's eight provincial unions.