The internship programme at Cranleigh School is entering its fifth year and can boast a 100% employment record within the industry for its graduates to date. This programme is designed for aspiring coaches to develop their coaching, testing and programming skills applicable to both sports performance and rehabilitation domains. During the year interns follow a fast track practitioner CPD programme to run alongside their higher education studies to increase post-graduation employability. The programme offers the opportunity to gain experience within a small and friendly multi-disciplinary sports medicine team including Sport and Exercise Medicine Consultants, Physiotherapists, and S&C coaches and is designed specifically to prepare students for the UKSCA accreditation process. Read on to hear the reflections of previous interns and what they are doing now…
Harriet ClaRk (Intern 2016-2018). Academy S&C Coach, Brighton & Hove Albion FC
The internship was great, I learnt an enormous amount within 18 months – particularly around the area of speed/agility training, with Simon having expert knowledge in this area. Throughout the internship Simon would always ask your opinion or challenge your knowledge on certain areas to create discussion. This would help reflect on your practice, but also continue learning. In addition to this, there was a lot of CPD on various aspects from youth athletic development, to common injuries. These were very helpful in continuing developing my knowledge, and the nature of the role at Cranleigh allowed you to put the CPD into practice.
One of the best things about the internship was the rehab clinic. This allowed me to work alongside Simon and a Physio in rehabbing injured athlete’s/pupils within the school. My anatomical knowledge increased, and I was able to successfully create suitable programme’s for various injuries at various stages. Having this knowledge, I believe is advantageous for a strength and conditioning coach, due to the crossover between physio and S+C coach within the field. Thanks to the Internship I have managed to land a job at a Football Academy, working full time. Without this internship I wouldn’t have been prepared for a role with youth athletes.
TOM MCCANN (INTERN 2017) s&c cOACH, SURREY SPORTS PARK
The internship at Cranleigh was an invaluable experience allowing me to apply my knowledge in a hands-on, practical setting with a great group of athletes. The CPD opportunities were outstanding. I found the rehabilitation sessions of particular interest and I have found the knowledge and experience gained in these sessions especially helpful in my current role. Simon was incredibly helpful in providing regular workshops and meetings. He was always approachable and helpful with any questions or issues. I cannot recommend this internship enough.
tOM FORSTER (INTERN 2015-2017) S&C COACH, LONDON HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY
The internship was a brilliant introduction to Strength and Conditioning. It addressed the coaching of key lifts in the gym, as well as speed and agility drills. The basics of session planning and programming was covered, as well as assisting in athlete testing, data collection and analysis. Just as importantly the internship exposed me to working as part of multi-disciplinary team and the building of relationships with athletes, physiotherapists and sport coaches.
Thanks to these experiences I secured a one-year part time contract as Junior Academy S&C coach at London Irish RFC whilst becoming UKSCA Accredited. I then became the Strength and Conditioning Coach of Royal Holloway University of London in a part time capacity for a year before the role became full time. Simon has played a significant role in my S&C career and as my mentor, with his guidance and advice, even after the internship finished, my career in S&C has progressed despite the difficulties that come with working in this sector.
aSH WISE (INTERN 2014) GRADUATE SPORT REHABILITATOR AND PERSONAL TRAINER
I had the pleasure of being accepted for a 6-month internship at Cranleigh School in 2014. It was a great experience to be able to work with some talented junior athletes, experienced physiotherapists and Simon (S+C lead). Simon was very open to talking through and sharing new ideas and made me feel as though I was always contributing to the programme. He was a terrific mentor and his passion for S+C is unparalleled, every conversation with him allowed me to upskill my knowledge and allowed me to continuity self-analyse my own practises. The internship programme opened up the opportunity for me to go on and complete my MSc in sport rehabilitation and although I do not work directly in the Strength and conditioning field I run a successful personal training business where my niche is injury rehab and prevention. Without the experience at Cranleigh that would never have been possible.
Anyone interested in applying for the Strength & Conditioning Internship are encouraged to contact Mr Simon Brearley (slb@cranleigh.org) for more info.