Building Athletes for the Game, Not the Gym | Stephen Walsh

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🏋️ Atlas High Performance Gym: https://www.atlashpc.ie/

In this episode of Coach’s Lab, I’m joined by Stephen Walsh – S&C coach and owner of Atlas High Performance in Limerick. Stephen works with athletes across 14+ sports, from GAA to soccer, Irish dancing to golf, and shares how he applies simple, effective training principles to very different contexts.

We cover:

• 🏋️ Stephen’s gym session framework and why it works across multiple sports

• ⚡ The balance between general athletic development and sport-specific training

• 👟 Practical examples: sprint prep, plyos, loaded jumps, strength & resilience work

• 📈 How to individualise training without overcomplicating it

• 🤝 The role of collaboration, coach education, and creating sustainable pathways for athletes and coaches

Whether you’re a coach, athlete, or parent, you’ll take away practical ideas for structuring sessions, avoiding over-specialisation, and building athletic qualities that transfer to the pitch (or stage).

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#GAA #StrengthAndConditioning #Coaching #AthleteDevelopment #SportsScience