Elite Sport

I have worked in the UK High Performance System since 2013. As the Head of Physiology at the English Institute of sport until 2020 I developed and delivered the pioneering SmartHER campaign, which empowered coaches, athletes and sports practitioners to better understand the exercising female, and how to capitalise and cope with her physiology and psychology in the context of sport.  I have been integral in passionately smashing the stigma and tackling the taboo’s that exist within sport, as they do within wider society, about topics such as periods and the menstrual cycle, breast health, pelvic floor health and women’s mental health. I firmly believe that there are significant gains to be made in athlete health, wellbeing and performance if everyone is better informed about female specific factors, and we create environments where performance conversations include these important topics.

You can now find our pioneering coach, practitioner and athlete development courses and consultancy at www.TheWell-HQ.com

 

CPD for Coaches & Performance support

I use my own experience, insight and cutting edge research to share the female specific factors which present opportunities and challenges for women trying to fulfil their performance potential in sport.

I cover topics such as what does good menstrual, breast and pelvic health look like in female athletes? How should women train, and can it be tailored to the menstrual cycle? Do female athletes have different nutritional requirements? How can you tap into the powers of the menstrual cycle for peak performance? How do you support the exercising female across different life phases? Are characteristics like motivation or confidence different in female athletes? Should I coach females differently to males?

I deliver CPD tailored to the needs of your performance support teams and the context of your sport.

 

Education and support for athletes

Education and support around female specific factors such as menstrual health, breast health and pelvic health, are so important for athletes and many are woefully uneducated on what ‘normal’ looks and feels like, let alone how these things affect and are affected by high performance sport.

It is empowering for athletes to become architects of their own health and performance through deepening their knowledge of these topics. Athletes leave these sessions saying “I wish we’d been taught that stuff before.”

I can work with squads, small athlete groups or in 1:1 sessions with athletes. Education and support can be delivered online, via talks and workshops, or across a longer programme of education and support.

customised
programmes

Science and support that is individualised to your sport, your people, your constraints and opportunities. Usually delivered for a minimum of 3 months.

Bespoke packages can include

  • Evaluating female-specific components of health, well being and performance in your athletes and monitoring these across seasons or training phases.

  • Education and development of anyone in your sport whether it be coaches, support staff, facilities managers or parents.

  • One to one work to develop individual athlete plans, personalised to an athlete’s experience of her menstrual cycle as well as her physiology. This might include individual nutrition, recovery, sleep or training strategies that can be integrated with your current programme of training and support.