The S&C staff changed this summer
This summer, FC Grenoble Rugby has changed its S&C team. Arrived from the Ospreys, Johnny Claxton took the direction of it, which is also composed of Benjamin Simond-Cote (specializes in speed), Patrick Chassaing (who still manages bodybuilding) and Robin Panisset (injured players and GPS ).
Born in New Zealand, Johnny Claxton has over 15 years of experience in various sports (rugby league, field hockey, rugby sevens). He served as a S&C coach for two years at Leinster, then worked for the Welsh Ospreys Province for the last 3 seasons before joining the FCG. "Johnny brought his method, it represented a real wind of freshness for us, which makes us progress well" rejoices Benjamin Simond-Cote.
"Our role is to provide sports staff and coaches as many players as possible in the best possible shape," said the New Zealander. "We also have to adapt the work depending of the position they play, as well as the way coaches want to play. "
Many criteria to consider
FC Grenoble wants to compete in the postseason of Pro D2. "We have this goal in mind. But it is a long-term goal. To achieve that, we must focus on daily work. It's a cliché, but we have to manage our team game after game. There are some positions where we are a bit short right now. So we have to pay attention to the workload that we give to players, that's part of our job. "
The age of the players is also a parameter to take into account by the S&C team: "The elders are more in the maintenance of performance, while the young are still in search of progress. They have quite different programs, we manage their weeks in different ways: young players work more than the old ones. For us, it's a little exercise to manage "says Benjamin Simond-Cotte. The former FCG Espoirs player has been working as a S&C coach for 6 years with players from the Grenoble Academy. This is the first season he is full time with the pros.
The S&C coaches manage the doses and the intensity of the work done by the players, according to their participation, or not, in the next match of the FCG, the position of this match in the calendar. They also adapt the work of injured players, in a group called "Return to play": "I do not like the term 'injured', which has a too negative connotation," says Johnny Claxton.
A favorable calendar to recover
With only one competition to play, the Grenoble staff has an easier job, in the structuring of physical preparation throughout the season, "the structure of the calendar by block allows us to work in depth, that players can benefit from rest and regeneration time. "
In Pro D2, the issue of travel is more present, with many trips that are made by bus, for periods of 7 or 8 hours. "We have to focus on recovery then," explains Johnny Claxton.
The importance of dialogue
GPS, app, tests, etc. S&C trainers use different technologies to assess the fitness of players. Thus, each morning, the players must, via an application installed on their phone, answer several questions about their sleep, their possible pain, etc. But the preps do not stop at this relationship through "computer": "The human side is very important. Players have a tendency to come to confide, to give us their feelings. We try to be a maximum listening, to stick to their needs "specifies Benjamin Simond-Cote. An area where Johnny Claxton has still some trouble, because of the language barrier: "I work on the language, but it gives some difficulties, especially to receive feedback from players. " But in a few months, he has already made tremendous progress in this area.
After this week of vacation, players will find the sports and fitness staff Monday morning. In particular, a body fat test is planned ...
Auteur : FCG Rugby