Your role is to help athletes execute sporting tasks, not to make them powerlifters or weightlifters. Develop an adaptation focused philosophy
Understanding first principles helps you make decisions and cut through the noise. Learn what we have forgotten over the years as bodybuilding methodologies have infiltrated the sports performance system
Know what is important and keep the outcome in mind despite chaotic and changing circumstances
We shouldnt be replicating training methods from powerlifting, olympic weightlifters, bodybuilders or crossfitters. We should be using a veriety of tools to create the physiological adaptations needed to win.
Yet the majority of what you are exposed to in your education is often designed to interest the masses in the world of fitness, not for the optimisation of the role of being an S&C coach.
There is lots of debate over the role of strength training in perforance. Examples of olympic sprinters who didn't lift heavy, discussions choosing between strength development or speed mechanics, arguments about how strong is strong enough...
But there is oneimportant detail which is often missed, maximal strength is not the desired outcome of strength training for sports. It is just an outcome which occurs as a secondary effect for training other things. No we can all quote the need for rate of force development or power output, but knowing what variables matter, what adaptations are needed to improve them and exactly how to both train for them and determine which is a priority so easy.
As an S&C coach we need to identify what is important to impact the critical abilities of competition, profile athletes appropriately to identify the biggest area of leverage, design training to achieve the desired adaptations, monitor the effectiveness and review if our critical abilities have actually changed.
But too frequently we default to programming 5x5 and providing generic catch all sessions which look closer to bodybuilding routines than optimal athletic development.
Instead we need a better understanding of how to transfer our capacity development to stretch-shortening cycle effectiveness and to the required critical outputs.
But as with everything coaching. It depends… and when it depends, you need discussion, debate and opportunities to problem solve. Without this, what you learn won’t transfer to your coaching, no matter how many times you consume it.
That is why our curriculums are a semi-guided learning journey, allowing you to learn at your own pace and around your schedule, but with frequent support opportunities via both a commuity discussion platform and live events.
This is an opportunity to learn the methods of the greats from someone who learned directly from Verkoshansky and has experienced Eastern Block methods.
Verkoshansky once said "If you could take American athletes and train them with Easten Block methods you'd have the best athletes in the world".
A nod to the influence of american bodybuilding methods on training athletes back in the 1980's and where some woudl say things went wrong.
New methods re-hashed from old texts but often made more complicated or misinterpreted entirely.
Training lessons from texts which are barely available, conversations with people who are no longer with us and training environments only few have been able to experience. All this with direct access to suport and community discussion.
Be more confident in determining physiological priorities
Design training sessions with more clarity and adaptability knowing what your primary outcomes are
Add clarity to your decision making by seeing clear elite athlete data to support decisions and rationales
Be part of a community of coaches from various sports
Sports Performance Consultant
Experienced high-performance consultant and strength and conditioning coach. Mark has been involved in elite sports as a performer and coach for 30 years. He has worked with and advised elite athletes from a variety of sports that includes rugby union and tennis.
Sports Performance Consultant
Rich is a strength and conditioning coach and education professional who specialises in agility training, athletic movement, problem solving and coach education. Rich runs the S&C for Bristol Flyers Basketball but has worked across a number of sports over the past 10+ years.
"Cuts through the noise of social media fluff and gets right to the key principles that actually impact performance and injury risk - Nothing else like this on the market. Highly recommended"
- Ben Saldivar (ACL Specialist Physio, UK)
"One of the most informative and educational courses I've ever done - it's really clearer up an areas I wasn't as comfortable with. Would recommend it to everyone as the content isn't replicated anywhere else"
- Arthur Lawlor (S&C Coach, PE Teacher, Dubai)
"Can't recommend it enough! Great to speak to the experts and other attendees. Undoubtably one of the best courses I've done"
- Harry Jell (S&C Coach, Sheffield United, UK)
"It's immediately impacted how we do things and what we see at the club"
- Tom Ball (Senior S&C Coach, Premier League, UK)
"Head and shoulders above any course where the experts aren't available and you can't get deep into questions"
- Ned Partridge (S&C Coach, Bristol Bears Rugby, UK)
"100% recommended - I hugely benefitted from this course and have applied it to my practice of both sports medicine and performance enhancement"
- Nathan Stern (Dr of Physical Therapy, US)
"This course is brilliant! Various forms of content, guest sessions, opportunity for discussion and great value!"
- Ash Stoneman (S&C Coach at Bromley Tennis Academy, UK)
"Brilliant - COD and agility have always been one big gap for me and I've seen an immediate difference in my practice. The connection with other coaches is the cherry on the cake"
- Diogo Costa, (S&C Coach, Portugal)
"Rich's content is spot on the mark for anyone wanting to improve their agility practices. It's even helped me clarify my own thoughts. Certainly recommended"
- Warren Young (Adjunct Professor at Federation University Australia)
Will the course be sports specific?
The programme is suitable for anyone working in field of court sports. However, where possible we will create specific sport discussion spaces, working groups and networking opportunities to ensure that you can dive into the details with people who work in a similar context, but also benefit from the diversity of thoughts from coaches in other environments.
What level is the content pitched at?
The content is pitched at MSc level and above where detail, depth and debate are prioritised. The curriculum is not designed as a basic introduction. We recommend that all students have a foundational understanding of sport and exercise science and are actively coaching.
How long can I access the content?
Course content comes with lifetime access and then access to the ongoing guest sessions and discussion spaces is dependant on your chosen package
What if I cant attend the livee Q&A's?
If you can’t make the live Q&A's, you will still be able to network and communicate with your fellow students and ask questions through the online community platform.
I am a Sports Coach or a Physiotherapist, is this suitable for me?
If you work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to improve on pitch performance, and have outcomes which link to agility, there will be lots here for you. We cover injury risk, perceptual-cognitive expertise, and representative design. Plus, our mentors bring their own specific experiences and skills in application. If you would like to discuss more, feel free to reach out for a chat.
How will I be supported throughout the course?
There will be 2 x Q&A's throughout the 8 weeks of the course and an unlimited time to ask questions about the content on the community platform. 1 on 1 mentoring sessions are also available to students who wish to sign up for the mentoring package
Everyone is in a different place and wanting a different thing.
Choose a package below, all of which can be spread across multiple monthly payments!
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