In Episode 11 my guest is fellow South Walian Josh Dragone. Josh has had experience at tier 1 football academies in the UK along with teams in the Welsh Premier League, national skiiing programs and now is helping to develop the next generation of tennis players in South Wales. We talk about his experiences across a range of sports and the similarities and differences when it comes to coaching athletes in these sports. Some topics we discuss include the importance of injury prevention...
In Episode 10 I speak to professional lacrosse player Mike Bender who recently signed with the Conneticut Hammerheads in the newly formed MLL (Major League Lacrosse) League. Mike was a member of the Maryland Lacrosse program, finishing as Division 1 runners-up in 2015 where they lost to a strong Denver University in the final, having beaten their biggest rivals Johns Hopkins 12-11 in a closely fought semi-final 2 days prior. We talk about the preparation for NCAA D1 sports and how they focus...
In this episode I speak to an S&C coach with a background in Physical Education across a number of different countries including China, Peru and Greece. We first met at the Asia Pacific Physical Education Conference in 2017 where I was presenting on children using the weight room. We talk about how he got in to S&C coaching and especially his recent work with youth athletes. We discuss how he has managed to keep his young athletes engaged during COVID, using zoom and how he's m...
In this episode I speak to Jon Redding, Director of Sport and Extra Curricular Activities and Physical Education teacher at South Island School in Hong Kong which is part of the English Schools Foundation (ESF). We chat about the disruption of the education system in Hong Kong by COVID19, with reference to Physical Education lessons in particular. We discuss how PE deptartments have adapted and been innovative, especially when it comes to the practical aspect of PE that might not be as impor...
In this episode I speak to someone I had the pleasure of working alongside in 2013-2014 as part of the coaching staff for Hong Kong U20 men's rugby World Junior Trophy squad; Craig Wilson. We talk about his journey, how he got involved in rugby in the UK and how he ended up in Asia coaching rugby. We talk about coach education, what he feels are some important takeaways for players and his experience of coaching in Asia and North America, discussing the similarities and differences. We also...
This special episode covers a hot topic in sports at the moment - early childhood specialisation. I talk to Chris Ivany, a teacher in Hong Kong and Karen Lo, sport psychologist and founder of Inner Edge HK. We chat about the pros and cons of children playing only one sport from a young age with focus on the physical, social and psychological effects including injuries, burnout and stress. We talk about some of the reasons why people think early specialisation is a good thing and which type ...
For all UK ice hockey fans, this is a treat! In this episode I talk to Colin Shields, a member of the Great Britain ice hockey team who won promotion to the top tier of IIHF ice hockey last year and current all-time top point scorer in the EIHL with 338 points. We talk about his start in hockey, how he used Strength & Conditioning to help him stay at the top of his game for his entire career and what it was like to beat France in overtime to secure promotion to the top tier in wor...
In this episode I talk to Hiroki Wakabayashi, a netminder specialised coach from Japan but now living in Phoenix, Arizona. We talk about his journey to the US via Hong Kong and his work with netminders from the AHL, Olympics, NCAA, national teams and NHL drafts. We focus our attention on netminders, their mindset and what specific physical training they need in comparison to skaters. We discuss how young goalies should specialise in being a goalie and how parents should approach the developm...
In this episode I talk to head of S&C for the Welsh Rugby Union 7s team about his start in S&C and how he progressed from a player to leading the S&C program at the WRU 7s. We talk about the different demands on 7s against 15s rugby and how a travel team such as Wales 7s cope with the demand of long distance travel while playing on the international 7s circuit. We discuss the habit of 'chasing numbers' in the gym and how this crosses over into game play on the field, how he mana...
In Episode 3 I talk to Jeremy Hartman from Hartman Performance in Indianapolis, Indiana. We talk about his start in S&C training to help improve his wrestling performance and how he fell in love with the sport of powerlifting, going on to win 6 US National championships and become a 3 time member of the US World Team. We talk about his 355.5kg raw deadlift in 2008 and how much more he feels humans will lift after Thor's impressive 501kg deadlift recently. As well as his own career we al...
In Episode 2 I talk to Brandon Wong about his experience of Strength & Conditioning throughout his hockey career. Brandon discovered his love of Hockey at age 5 while skating and playing road hockey with his parents. Over the years, Brandon paved his path to the Pros when playing Juniors, College NCAA, and 9 Years Professionally. Brandon has playing experience at NHL Training Camps, the AHL, the ECHL, and KHL/VHL. Teams to note: Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings...
Recorded live on Instagram live, in my inaugural episode I speak to Andrew Kacsor, the current S&C coach for the Kunlun Red Star Vankye Rays ice hockey team who recently won their first WHL championship. Starting his S&C career under the tutelage of one of the biggest names in S&C Matt Nichol, founder of BioSteel Nutrition, learn about Andrew's journey and about some common issues seen with ice hockey players, how he trains professional athletes and what players can do at home to...