An ex-professional footballer who now mentors athletes to achieve their best will give the next in a series of lectures hosted by the Island’s Sport Coaching Development Programme.

Paul Jones’ talk at Keyll Darree Education and Training Centre on Friday 20th May (7pm) will cover often overlooked factors that influence performance.

Preparation and recovery, how the time of the year you are born can affect performance and designing training programmes are among the subjects he’ll speak about.

Trevor Christian, the Island’s Sports Coaching Coordinator, said: ‘To have a former professional sportsman take part in this programme is a real coup.

‘Paul’s ideas will enable athletes and their coaches to analyse how they are performing now and how they can improve.

‘By making athletes and coaches aware of these concepts and how coaching can be modified to account for them, our athletes will be better equipped to maximise their potential.’

Following his playing career, Paul was Head of Sports Science and Medicine at an English Premier League football club academy, responsible for development, talent identification, sports science, strength and conditioning, performance analysis, psychology, physiotherapy and medicine for young players.

He now runs his own business, Move to Perform, and works with top football clubs, world class athletes and internationally renowned businesses.

He leads the delivery of the Isle of Man Sport Aid Academy, which is nurturing up and coming sporting talent.

Trevor said: ‘Paul is passionate about helping Manx athletes become the best they can be and is a testament to the high quality sports specialists we can find right here on the Isle of Man.’

Places at the lecture are free and available on a first come, first served basis by emailing trevor.christian@gov.im. 

The Sports Coaching Development Programme was launched last year in line with the 10-year Strategy for Sport and aims to improve of coaching on the Island across all levels – from grass roots to elite.

Photo - Paul Jones.