Our Strength and conditioning tutor Gareth Walton has years of industry experience and knowledge behind him. With this amazing insight, he has been working to help support Ukrainian athletes by providing a safe space for them to train. Gary’s coaching career has spanned over 20 years, from coaching a school’s athletics team to being a Biology teacher in 2002. From then, his interest grew to include work he could do to help improve the performance of individuals. As a Strength and Conditioning Coach educator, this work has taken him on a roller coaster journey of working in athletics, Rugby, Football, Squash, and racing.
Gareths work with Ukraine athletes
Cardiff Met recognised the need to create a safe and secure environment for Ukraine athletes to bring them the opportunity to continue training. This type of environment goes hand in hand with offering expertise on how athletes can maximise their training preparation for the European Championship in Munich. Gareth had previously created a good friendship with Sergiy Basenko (Ukraine Coach), which meant he was keen to support him in training his athletes in Cardiff.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Stanislav Kovalenko and his teammates have been travelling on the road, ending up in Wales. Gareth worked with Cardiff Met University using their running tracks to bring them educated and intense athletic training, using his fundamental knowledge in improving performance as a Strength and Conditioning Coach.
Gareth’s training experience was unique compared to his work over the previous 20 years, with just three and a half weeks to train as a team and grow as a group. This could always have been somewhat challenging on a small timeframe, yet it created an incredible and unique experience in Gareth’s Strength and Conditioning career.
How does S&C play an important role in training?
Gareth confirmed that Strength and Conditioning play a key role in supporting the development of an athlete’s performance through implementing what each individual needs. This could range from exercise selection to targeting the key facets which need developing whilst also developing and building on their strengths.
Strength and Conditioning can be considered the fundamentals of athletic performance. It is regarded as a determining contributing factor in athletes’ physical growth, safety, performance longevity and athletic ability.
