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Welcome to the Excelsior blog. It is a mix of current research and thoughts on Athlete and Coach Development, Strength and Conditioning and personal reflections.
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Thanks for taking the time to read it.
James Marshall
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How to make Pre-Season Training Interesting, Relevant and More Fun
I Hate Pre-Season Training
This is often the thought of players who are forced to undergo various fitness tests and long slow runs as part of a pre-season fitness programme.
Doing repeated doggies, shuttle runs and various circuits, with barely a ball in sight is enough to put most players off.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
38 Comments | Read More | agility, pre-season, speed, strength -
New book published: ‘Coaches’ Corner’
Essays to help sports coaches and P.E. teachers. My latest book, ‘Coaches’ Corner,’ is now available to buy on Amazon. It contains over 50 essays about athletic development, coaching, and physical education based on my work over the last ten years as Head Coach of Excelsior Athletic Development Club. How and what I’ve coached has […]
0 Comments | Read More | -
Reflections from a Gymnastics assistant coaching course
A guest post from Kath Maguire. Kath is the parent of one of our club’s gymnasts. She asked about doing some volunteering a couple of months ago and whether there was a course she could do. Here are her reflections from the day. “I’ve been thinking about volunteering for a while now but as it’s […]
0 Comments | Read More | -
Getting Better at Practice: decision-making
Playing sports at any level requires making decisions. Sometimes they are tactical decisions such as when and where to pass the ball. Sometimes they are training decisions such as which technique to prioritise or how much weight to lift. Players need to be allowed to make decisions in order to develop and succeed. The sooner […]
0 Comments | Read More | athletic development, Coaching, LTAD -
How to get better at practice: Intention and attention
In our Freestyle Gymnastics classes, the young gymnasts spend the first ten minutes of each class working on their favourite skills. Some of them do so with a laser-like focus, repeating the same skill as often as they can, while others drift from skill to skill, using different pieces of apparatus for a few repetitions […]
0 Comments | Read More | -
Teaching Games in Primary School
Last week, a Primary School teacher told me of their experience teaching tag rugby to year 3s (7-8-year-olds), ‘We practised passing down the line a lot but, when it came to the game, they didn’t know what to do.’ Compare that to the advice given by the Department of Education and Science: ‘At about nine […]
0 Comments | Read More | athletic development, games, physical education -
What is the best way to lose weight and get fit for parents?
Parents are keen to get healthy In the last month, I have been asked by three different parents of young athletes ‘what is the best way to lose weight and get fit?’ Excelsior Athletic Development Club was set up to help young people develop their athleticism and skills but adults wanting to get fit have […]
0 Comments | Read More | goal setting, habits, home exercise, physical exercise, weight loss -
The oxymoronic Talent Pathway
How did people get good at sports before the existence of pathways and ‘talent’ academies? If you read biographies of a previous generation of sporting superstars there is usually a mention of a dedicated p.e. teacher or coach at a local sports club. Children discovered their love for the sport locally and affordably. They might […]
0 Comments | Read More | athletic development, health, LTAD, talent id -
My books of the year: 2022
Tough to choose just one book It’s that time of year (or slightly early as I am trying to help those looking to buy books before Christmas) to review and recommend what I have read. I started listing back in 2013 so that I didn’t read the same books by mistake. I have split the […]
2 Comments | Read More | book review -
New Course for sports coaches
Gymnastics for sport Over the past 5 or so years, I have been running Movement workshops for sports coaches and p.e. teachers. The participants have enjoyed learning how to teach movement and basic gymnastics that they can then share with their players and pupils. Players who are stronger, more agile and more adaptable can pick […]
0 Comments | Read More | coaching courses, gymnastics, movement -
Muscles Strengthening exercises: why the 5km run is not the health panacea.
Muscle-strengthening exercises such as bodyweight exercises, exercise bands, and dumbbell, barbell and machine resistance training exercises have been shown to impact a variety of health outcomes including: · Improved muscular strength. · Bone mineral density (stronger bones). · A decrease in all-cause mortality (the chances of dying from health-related diseases). · Improvements in cardio-metabolic health […]
2 Comments | Read More | healthy lifestyle, running
Client Testimonials
James has been our lead strength and conditioning coach for the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) at the University of Exeter since the scheme's inception. His attitude, professionalism and above all his drive and desire to help each sportsman and woman develop and reach their potential is exactly what we require. James shows a real interest in each of his athletes and helps them to aspire to be as good as they can and ensures that no goals are unattainable.
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