Welcome
Welcome to the highs, lows and excitement of Strength and Conditioning.
Before getting started, let me introduce myself, my name is Tom Clifford. Since graduating from the University of Gloucestershire in 2012, I have spent the past 9 years travelling around the world, gaining valuable experience coaching in various sports teams and private facilities, while working with a wide variety of athletes ranging from kids just beginning their sporting career to full international and professional athletes.
This is my first ever blog relating to the strength and conditioning industry and on a small side note - I failed my secondary school English exam (GCSE’s in the UK) twice, so I apologise for my poor grammar now and forgive any schoolboy mistakes you may notice.
Now, where to begin?? This is the biggest question we ask ourselves as we start any new journey. Before you can answer this question, you must fully understand the reason why you want to venture down this new path and what you want to achieve. Where or how to begin is often the most challenging and difficult decision to make. I believe it can be approached through utilizing a method, we call in the strength and conditioning industry, reverse engineering.
The goal of this blog is to act as a platform to provide insight, guidance, thought-provoking questions, answers and ideas that may arise within the industry and where to begin, especially with relatively new Strength and Conditioning coaches. Through this process, I also hope to share the mistakes I have learnt from and help others avoid them. The blog topics will predominantly be based upon my experience and knowledge I have learnt but also share insight into different training philosophies, sport science and technology and other approaches with the aim to help develop athletes and their performance. I am also planning to chat with other leaders within the industry and share their thoughts on strength and conditioning and high performance.
The aim is to publish a blog every second Friday, with the next topic to focus on Spotlight Profile (click the link to find out more information).
Please feel free to engage with this blog in the comments below, on Instagram, Twitter, Email and share with any young Strength and Conditioning coaches who would benefit from these discussions.