1)
Please introduce yourself in ten
words or less
I’m Sarah Ramsden – I train
flexibility, core & functional movement.
(Or like most people you could
call me a yoga coach!)
2)
What is your current role?
I train football players at
Manchester City & Manchester United football clubs, here in the UK. I work
with senior players in groups &/or as individuals, reserves, U18 & U16
players.
I also run a couple of public
classes in my home town, where I work with amateur athletes.
3)
How did you initially become
interested in the work you do & then develop that interest into a role
working in sport?
I became interested in the role
of flexibility & the training of flexibility, whilst competing as a rower.
If you are a rower then you need length through the hamstrings for an efficient
stroke – it’s that simple. But watching elite rowing squads train, I couldn’t
understand why they weren’t training their flexibility.
As a yoga teacher - I offered to
do it for them!
4)
Football can be a difficult place
to introduce new concepts of training...particularly when you were starting
out. What challenges have you faced along the way & how have you
overcome them?
I came into football ten years
ago & I think I was lucky that it was at a time when football was changing
to become faster, more fluid & more athletic on the pitch. That has
certainly helped.
Obviously the whole ‘yoga’
connotations are a challenge in football – but I don’t talk about ‘yoga’, I
talk about range, I talk about movement, I talk about efficiency, I talk about
resistance & I talk about training to become more supple, better balanced
& more efficient in movement on the pitch.
I also use techniques from
pilates, Thai massage, functional movement, fascial relaxation…so I am a long
way from the stereotypical yoga teacher now!
5)
What are the most important relationships
to build as a consultant working in an elite sports club & how do you go
about building them?
Every relationship is important.
I don’t think about building relationships as such – rather about doing the
best job I can for everyone I work with & everyone I come into contact
with.
6)
If a player questions what
benefits he/she would experience by working with you, what is your answer?
To move more fluidly, reach
further, feel sharper, recover faster, injure less & play for longer.
7)
What is the most rewarding aspect
of your work?
That’s a hard one! I’m tempted to say “All of it”!
But maybe when a player who is
really tight & restricted, begins to loosen up & suddenly realizes just
how much he’s been fighting against his own resistance.
There’s the “OMG – I didn’t
realize it’s possible to feel this good on the pitch”’ moment.
That’s so rewarding to see.
8)
What has been the most satisfying
case you have worked with?
Probably working with older players
are the most satisfying cases.
So often players start losing
their fluidity & movement just at the point when their experience &
skill is at the greatest! That is such a
waste.
So helping a player to extend
their career & keep that experience on the pitch is fantastic.
9)
How do you see your work
developing over the next 5 years?
Probably to move into training
other S&C coaches in ROM training & also training yoga teachers to work
in football.
10)
If anyone reading this interview
was interested in learning more about your work, where can they find more
information & are you running courses to teach your approach?
They can learn more & contact
me via www.sportsyoga.co.uk.
I’ve got a workshop with the
Football Association coming up in the New Year – details will be on my website.
But I’d be really interested in
hearing from people looking to train in this approach so I can make courses
more specific to different participant groups.
You can contact me at sarah@sportsyoga.co.uk
