The 2018 Roundtable features four of the emerging leaders in Australasian strength & conditioning: Dr. Michael Speranza, Matthew Green, Paul Downes & David Watts. In the fourth part of the roundtable, we examine professional development.

ABOUT THE ROUNDTABLE

Paul Downes | Paul is the current Head Strength and Conditioning Coach with the Auckland Rugby Union in New Zealand. Prior to this he spent 4 years with the Hurricanes Super Rugby Franchise as well as leading the Wellington Rugby Academy between 2008 and 2010. More recently he was the Head of Strength and Conditioning with the Cardiff Blues in Wales between 2014 and 2016. He holds a Masters in Applied Sport and Exercise Science and is accredited with both the UKSCA and ASCA (Professional Coach Scheme – Elite Level 2).

Matthew Green | Matt is the current High Performance Manager of the Brisbane Lions Women Team. Prior to this he spent 7 years as the High Performance Manager with AFL Queensland's Talent Pathway programs. He also has extensive experience as an Exercise Physiologist in post operative orthopaedic rehabilitation and return to sport. Matt holds a special interest in load management of Women's AFL.

Dr. Michael Speranza | Michael is a Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) where he has worked over numerous sports including football, rowing, basketball, athletics and winter sports. Prior to his tenure at the AIS he worked at a semi-professional level in rugby league and netball. As well as a strength and conditioning coach, Michael is passionate about research in the field, which led him to complete a Phd through the Australian Catholic University, examining tackling ability in rugby league players from a strength and conditioning perspective.

David Watts | David began his strength and conditioning career at the Queensland Academy of Sport and worked across a broad range of Olympic sports from 2010 to 2016. Following the Rio Olympics, he moved into a rehabilitation and assistant strength and conditioning role at the Geelong Cats Football Club where he works presently. David holds a masters in strength and conditioning from ECU and is accredited as an Elite Level 3 coach with the ASCA. He maintains an active involvement with the ASCA, regularly presenting courses and actively mentoring younger coaches.

Shownotes

1) The most impactful seminars or conferences each coach has gone to and what they learned

2) The favourite books for each coach for both professional and personal development

3)Dr. Michael Speranza's tackling research and how stronger athletes tackle better

4) Getting in touch with the roundtable members

Martin Bucheit

Jans Bangsbo

Sophia Nimphius

Matt Jordan

Simon Sinek

Matthew Syed

Keegan Smith

Davd Joyce

Michael Boyle

David Watts