Dr Nico Kolokythas has over 15 years experience in the athletic development of the adolescent in elite performance in a variety of sports (Judo, Netball, Basketball, Football, Taekwondo, Tennis). He is also currently the strength and conditioning coach for professional martial artists in Mixed Martial Arts. Based at Elmhurst Ballet School, U.K. he completed a PhD in injuries and the adolescent ballet dancer and also works as a consultant for Birmingham Royal Ballet. As part of his studies, he led randomised controlled trials in injury prevention in dance and has now developed an injury prevention intervention called “11+Dance”. He is regular presenter at the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science conference and a regular writer/contributor for One Dance UK’s magazine. Since, 2014, Nico has been a visiting lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton, and recently became a visiting lecturer at Bern University. His focus in teaching is on coaching and training methods as well as Motor Learning & Control.

In this episode Nico discusses:

• His interesting journey into coaching via a business degree and psychology degree.

• His initial perspective seeing weak bodies and injuries mount up in the ballet environment.

• The excessive workloads experienced in ballet from a young age.

• His initial mistake and overestimating the training capacity of young ballet dancers.

• How his first pilot study was a dramatic failure and let to him adapting his approach.

• The results of his research and the development of the 11+ Dance protocol.

• How mistakes have guided him to better decisions and better understanding.

You can learn more about Niko's work by visiting www.strengthmotionmind.com or by following him on Instagram: @strengthmotionmind .

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