The Team Behind the Team - Joe Hewitt
Joe Hewitt holds BSc and MSc in Sport Science and is a highly qualified Strength and Conditioning coach, working full time with Wales’ elite athletes at Sport Wales in Cardiff.
A former rower for Wales, Joe began his career in sport as a Sport Science Officer for Welsh Rowing which involved writing training and weights programmes for the rowers. After shadowing some of the strength and conditioning staff at Sport Wales his talent was soon spotted and he soon became a full time employee, working with some of Wales’ Paralympic athletes ahead of Beijing 2008.
Joe said;
“My role is to physically prepare athletes to meet the demands of their sports, so that when competition arrives they are in the best possible shape.
“Most of the work I do involves attending training sessions to discuss any issues, holding one to one sessions to coach and observe athletes, working at training camps and workshops.”
“I predominantly work with sports where strength and power are vital components of a successful performance, for example, athletics, boxing, cycling and gymnastics. A big part of my role is to enhance these physical qualities to ensure that athletes can compete at the highest level.
“In other sports, such as shooting, golf and endurance events, structural strength and movement efficiency are more important, so it’s all about understanding the sport and therefore knowing what each athlete requires for success.”
Although Joe mainly works with athletes from the worlds of boxing, cycling, gymnastics and from Disability Sport Wales, he inputs into each sport utilising the facilities at the Sport Wales National Centre, to not only aid his learning but also to provide athletes with the best possible service.
Joe works closely with some of Wales’ sporting household names, such as Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Sean Mcgoldrick, World Champion javelin star, Nathan Stephens and 11-time gold medal-winning swimmer David Roberts.
Sean Mcgoldrick said;
“Strength and Conditioning has become a major part of my training schedule over the last year. It’s used in all the World Class Programmes throughout the world, not just Great Britain and Wales.
“There are certain elements that Joe always concentrates on, like power strength. If I’ve got a fight coming up, we’ll do more work on circuit-based exercise, like strong man exercises. There’s a lot of science behind it but I just listen to what Joe tells me!”
Five members of staff from the Sport Wales Institute are being followed by BBC Radio Wales to look at the work going on behind the scenes in the build up to London 2012.
Find out more about Joe Hewitt and the work he does with Sean Mcgoldrick and other athletes here; their interview is at 2hr 45 into the programme:
