Strength & Conditioning Coach (Return To Play)
Victoria, Canada
Role involves working within the National Men’s Sevens Program where I am accountable for enhancing the recovery of injured rugby players and optimizing their graduated return to play. As the Return to Play program coordinator I work closely and collaborate with the Team Doctor, Head Physiotherapist, Head S&C Coach, and external providers (e.g. nutrition, surgeons, specialist therapists). Through the return to play process I assist the medical department in the acute and rehabilitation stages, taking lead of the end stage rehabilitation and integration to training and performance stages. I joined Rugby Canada National Men’s Sevens Program prior to the beginning of the 2015-16 season which was an Olympic year. I was tasked to ensure that the Head Coach had the largest pool of players within the squad available for the Olympic Qualifier which took place at the end of the regular competitive season. Successes included contributing as part of a multi-disciplinary team in significantly reducing the total number of injuries that occurred in the 2015-16 season compared to 2014-15 season. Attributing to this outcome, I designed fully operational return to play frameworks, protocols, GPS training-load analysis, injury surveillance system, and player monitoring system.Additional responsibilities include:- Reporting on squad and individual player tracking – daily and annually- Design individualized return to play planners with set exit criteria and timelines- Rugby and S&C session modifications, and direct coaching delivery to injured players- Assist the Head S&C Coach in the delivery of squad physical preparation training sessions- Implement a squad injury reduction strategy