Joel Brannigan is an experienced coach and manager, having worked in strength and conditioning since his retirement from professional rugby in 2004, with a career that say him playing for Edinburgh, London Welsh RFC and Newcastle Falcons RFC and representing Scotland at international level. Accredited in 2007, Joel has worked with success across a diverse range of organisations and has a depth of experience in elite and professional sport, NGBs, education settings and the private sector. He has been delivering workshops for the UKSCA since 2012 as a tutor and is also a practising assessor on the current accreditation process. In addition, he has been involved in several UKSCA working groups on the subject of early years practitioner development; he is also part of the team who has taken the new UKSCA Trainer Award from its infancy to product launch.

In this episode Joel discusses:

The big impact a PE teacher had on him in his youth as a "big" kid.

How being "consistently average" helped him become a professional rugby player.

The influences key mentors played in his development as a coach.

The various changes in the Northumbria program over the years in relation to funding at the university.

The challenges encountered when working with student athletes.

The trends he has noticed emerging with student athletes arriving at university.

You can keep up to date with Joel via Twitter: @joelbrannigan03 .

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Joel Brannigan (Northumbria University): Commit to consistency.