Strength and conditioning support
Our passionate and driven strength and conditioning team work alongside our coaching staff and athletes to develop quality physical and athletic development programmes.
What is strength and conditioning support?
We have a team of strength and conditioning coaches working together with our high flying student-athletes, with the main purpose of ensuring that they are fit and strong enough to cope with the demands of their sport. The team are responsible in delivering a leading athletic development programme for the duration of the student-athletes’ time at Loughborough University, and are highly knowledgeable and experienced in a number of areas. The team of coaches also provide service and support to external teams and squads.
The staff has over 60 years of experience between them in over 30 sports. They have all obtained a postgraduate qualification in the field and are accredited through the UKSCA. The coaches assist with all aspects of training, from improving specifics like strength, power, speed, agility and general conditioning, as well as working to enhance athletes’ durability and reduce injury risk.
The team operates out of the University’s Powerbase Gym, which is fitted with state-of-the-art Technogym equipment, and they also offer bespoke sessions at the various sports facilities on campus. They have experience working with a wide range of sports, and cater for a range of athletes, from beginner to elite.
Student Placement Opportunities
Each year we take multiple students on placement with the Strength and Conditioning team. This gives them a superb opportunity to learn from our team and to build experience working with a range of high performing athletes. For information on these positions please contact Chris Thorpe, Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach via his email.
Our team
Nathan Bullock
Head of Strength and Conditioning
Nathan is a UKSCA accredited coach, alongside a BSc in Applied Sports Science and an MSc in Strength & Conditioning. Nathan’s previous roles include working at Manchester City Football Club, Calgary Foothills Soccer Club, Welsh Rugby Union, Namibia Rugby Union and Ireland Rugby Football Union, amongst other regional and national level athletes who competed in track and field, swimming and boxing.
Nathan has worked within the Basketball, tennis and athletics programmes here at Loughborough, he now leads Strength & Conditioning delivery for Lightning Netball.
Chris Thorpe
Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach
Chris is a UKSCA accredited coach who holds a BSc in Applied Sports Science and an MSc in Strength & Conditioning (S&C). Chris started his career as a S&C coach working in University sport before moving onto the Nike Football Academy based a St. George’s Park. He has almost spent the last decade working in professional football working for Nottingham Forest Football Club and in Qatar during the 2020-2021 season. At Loughborough University Sport Chris has worked within the Hockey and Badminton performance programmes and now supports the performance swimming programme.
Adam Burton
Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach
Adam holds a BSc in Sport and Exercises Sciences and an MSc in Exercise Physiology. He is also a UKSCA Accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach and was awarded “Emerging S&C Coach of the Year” in 2019. He has previously worked for Leicester City Football Club, Game Changer Performance delivering the Residential Rehab Programme at St. George’s Park, and also as a Physical Performance Coach for The Football Association supporting England youth teams. Adam is currently S&C Lead for Women’s Rugby.
Elise Davies
Strength and Conditioning Coach
Elise is a UKSCA Accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach who holds an MSc in Strength and Conditioning from Loughborough University. She has experience of working with a variety of sports and athletes, including working as a private S&C coach for UFIT Singapore and as Assistant S&C coach at the National Tennis Academy, Loughborough.
Elise has been working in university sport for 3 years with a previous role at Nottingham Trent University. Elise is currently working with Men’s and Women’s Hockey and Men’s Cricket.
Ryan Cartledge-Taylor
Strength and Conditioning Coach
Ryan is a UKSCA Accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach and holds a MSc in Strength and Conditioning. He has 8 years experience working with a variety of sports and athletes including, men’s and women’s professional and academy cricket and most recently working with International and Olympic athletes in Taekwondo and Cycling at the Hong Kong Sports Institute. Ryan currently leads the S&C for Lightning and Men’s football.
Matt Cooke
Strength and Conditioning Coach
Matt is a Loughborough Alumni and holds a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science. He has previously worked with Leicester Tigers, supporting the senior team with their Strength & Conditioning needs. Matt has spent the last 2 years working with Youth Athletes in the school setting, most recently heading up the Strength & Conditioning for Oakham School. Matt is currently supporting Mens Rugby and Cycling.
Jack Oaten
Graduate Strength and Conditioning Coach
Jack is a UKSCA and NSCA accredited strength and conditioning coach who has a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science. He is currently studying for a MSc in strength and conditioning and has 3 years of experience in the field. Jack’s previous professional experiences as a strength and conditioning coach include working at Millfield School, Worcester Warriors, Bath Rugby, Leicester Tigers and the University of Bath. Jack currently provides strength and conditioning support to the NFL Academy programme based at the university and Loughborough College.
Jack Clarke
Graduate Strength and Conditioning Coach
Jack holds a BSc in Athletic Rehabilitation and Therapy and an MSc Strength and Conditioning. Jack is currently positioned with Mens Basketball (D1 & BUCS) and Womens Basketball (WBBL & BUCS) and Lightning Wheelchair Basketball. He has supported athletes in their preparations for the Commonwealth Games, European University Games and World Championships.
Dylan Martens
Graduate Strength and Conditioning Coach
Dylan is a UKSCA accredited and MSc qualified strength and conditioning coach. He has previously worked with youth athletes at Denstone College and Oundle School, and in higher education at Sheffield Hallam University with a variety of different sports.
Dylan currently works with Women's Hockey, Pathway Netball and Lacrosse.
Meg Willoughby
Graduate Strength and Conditioning Coach
Meg holds an MSc in Strength and Conditioning. Prior to taking this role she spent 2 years on a paid placement with Loughborough Sport with the Men’s Rugby, Women’s Cricket and Lightning Cricket programmes. Most recently Meg has been working with the Boxing Centre of Excellence and Motorsport Division that train at Loughborough Sport.
Konrad Lipinski
Strength and Conditioning Coach
Konrad holds an MSc in Strength and Conditioning from Loughborough University. He has covered multiple performance programmes since he started his time here at Loughborough university including Athletics, Swimming, Women’s hockey, and Squash. Before joining Loughborough Konrad completed his undergraduate degree at Nottingham Trent University and completed an internship with Surrey Human Performance Institute. Konrad is currently S&C lead for TASS and Netball Pathway.