UK Sport

Fast-Track Practitioners graduate as report highlights impact of programme

FPP graduate Michael Naylor
UK Sport

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Jessica Whitehorn 02 October 2008

As the fourth group of Fast-track Practitioners graduate from the UK Sport programme, and turn their attention to building on the knowledge and experience they have gained on the one year scheme, a report has been published highlighting the success of the initiative.

The Fast-track Practitioner Programme (FPP) - which operates in partnership with the Home Country Sports Institutes, National Governing Bodies, British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association - aims to assist in the training and development of young practitioners across the disciplines of physiotherapy, strength and conditioning, physiology, nutrition, performance analysis, psychology and biomechanics, who are starting out on their careers within elite sport.

Michael Naylor, one of 22 graduates this year, has already secured a permanent position within the English Institute of Sport (EIS), where he spent his 12 month internship working as a nutritionist with British Disability Swimming (BDS). Michael was one of the FPP interns that were asked to travel to Beijing this summer in support of the British team.

Michael said: “The holding camp with BDS prior to the Beijing Paralympic Games was the highlight of my internship. The non-technical skills I acquired from the FPP proved to be particularly valuable at this time as it was my first experience of a holding camp environment and I had to quickly adapt to this unique environment to deliver effective support.

“The majority of the technical nutrition support had been conducted prior to the holding camp, so most of my time was spent reassuring the athletes that their diet was optimal in the final stages of preparation. When working with the swimmers at the camp my delivery style had to be constantly adapted to suit individual athletes as personalities often differed from when in the home environment.”

Participants work with mentors in their day to day environment who help them refine their technical skills and implement the non-technical or behavioural skills, acquired through the six workshops they attend throughout the year, to enhance the impact of their technical delivery.

Michael’s mentor Catherine Gilby, a Performance Scientist for the EIS also working with BDS, said: “It is hard to believe that Mike has only been working with the EIS, and more specifically the BDS team, for just a year. His personal and professional development during this time has been remarkable.

“The work Mike has delivered to BDS during the 12 months leading into the Beijing Paralympic Games has been outstanding. I mentored Mike in conjunction with Nigel Mitchell, which I believe resulted in a unique and highly successful mentoring process. My previous experience of being a participant on the FPP three years ago was extremely beneficial in moulding the mentoring process for Mike.”

The report published to coincide with the end of the fourth year of the programme covers the findings of a recent project designed to provide some understanding and hard evidence of the impact of the Fast-track Practitioner Programme (FPP). Past graduates, mentors and managers who have been involved in the programme were asked to complete an online questionnaire.

The main results showed that 88% of those that responded felt that the FPP had a moderate to major impact on preparing participants for their career in high performance sport while 71% felt the programme had had a moderate to major impact on technical skills. The report also highlighted that 73% of participants used the skills, knowledge or insight gained at the workshops at least once a week and made specific recommendations as to how the programme can be improved, which will be of benefit to the 08/09 intake.

Kirstie Moore, EIS FPP Coordinator and South West Regional Manager, who was on the steering group for the project said: “The FPP facilitates a young practitioner’s insight into the world of performance sport. Working in an applied and mentored manner in this environment allows practitioners to embark on a journey of development that is structured and targeted to the discipline and often the sport that they aspire to work within.

"The skills and knowledge acquired across the course of the programme are highly transferable, as has been proven by the employment opportunities that previous participants in the programme have secured. For more senior staff the opportunity to mentor and support the learning of the next generation is a rewarding and stimulating experience.

"The research report has drawn together feedback from a diverse group of professionals in high performance sport. In doing this it has been able to articulate and reinforce the feedback of the practitioners that have participated in the FPP.”

Sarah Craven, UK Sport’s FPP Coordinator and also a member of the project steering group, said: “The report shows that the FPP’s strong reputation as a key stepping stone to a career in high performance sport and the journey towards excellence is well justified. It aims to equip the practitioners with the skills, knowledge and experiences needed to operate as effective practitioners, making a positive performance impact.

“This is reinforced by the fact that some individuals on the programme this year have already been given the unique opportunity of working with athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic holding camps and Games - an experience which will prove invaluable to them as they now prepare for London 2012.”

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