I am a soccer coach, working at the youth and Olympic Development Program levels as well as technical consulting and analysis for youth and professional clubs in England.

 

I am working primarily with youth soccer players with an eye towards improvement in functional mobility, or addressing specific injury or historic patterns of injury.

 

YSS Case Study Research: Goal Keeper

My case-study was a yoga intervention with a professional goal keeper with a history of mild tendonitis and groin strains. In addition to the mat work, he altered his cooldown and played largely injury free for the season. With a stronger and more comfortable groin, a marginal performance improvement was observed in his kicking from the ground, adding an effective ten yards to his long distribution.

 

I incorporate the observational skills from Yoga Sports Science® into both my analysis and coaching. When observing opposing players, I identify physical tendencies, patterns of movement, and weaknesses that can be exploited. More importantly, with my own players, underlying patterns of movement are identified and YSS gives another tool for performance enhancement. My work on the mat informs how we train a player not only in the gym for pure physical performance, but also on the training pitch for applied performance. Indeed, even the players who don´t participate in yoga sessions benefit from the holistic approach of physical/mental/technical-functional that yoga informs.

 

My interests include the confluence of yoga, kinesiology, and psychology and the synergies between them in creating conditions for optimal athletic performance.