Strength and Conditioning Coaching
Strength and conditioning (S&C) is a term used to describe the gym, track or field based training used to improve sports performance by improving an individual’s athleticism. Whether this means improving someone’s strength, speed, aerobic or anaerobic fitness, balance agility or any other aspect of performance is determine by the needs analysis of their sports as well as their individual strengths and weaknesses.
Improving an athlete’s sports performance is something I take great pride in being able to do, and I have worked with many men and women from all different sporting backgrounds including elite triathletes, elite squash and racketball players, rugby players, powerlifters, martial artists, football players and many more. My academic background has taught me how and why different training methods are used to train aspects of an individual’s fitness which will specifically improve their sporting performance. My years of experience working with sportsmen and women has taught me how best to apply my knowledge to get the best results possible from their training.
As an example, below is a breakdown of how my training improved the squash and racketball game of elite squash player, and UK number 1 racketball player Dom Hamilton written by the performance squash coach Neil Guirey at one of the UKs top squash clubs. “After observing Dominic over the last 12 weeks I feel his progress has significantly improved in several areas:
Stability: Dominic appears far more stable (ability to hold a balanced position) when striking the ball. This aids quality of shot and recovery to mid court.
Strength: He also seems to have greater ability to lunge out which gives him a better position and also option of position when striking the ball. This also allows him to volley more which takes time away from his opponent and applies pressure.
Speed: He seems consistently quicker around court which allows Dominic to take the ball earlier when attacking, but also to get more balls back when defending.
Flexibility: Dominic appears more flexible in his movement which allows him to stretch out; taking the ball earlier but also gives him the ability to reach more balls. This obviously helps him to prevent injury also.
Endurance: Dominic is able to combine all the above elements, and consistently repeat it over an entire match (up to 90mins) due to the improvement in his overall endurance.
The improvement in Dominic’s fitness has seen a big increase in his performance. In the period he has been working with Chris, he has won the Yorkshire Racketball Championships, the North East Racketball Championships, the overall UK Racketball Championships and also qualified for the National Squash Championships.”