“This year, when planning the football provision, I approached ESP about developing an S&C provision for football, with the aim of educating & enthusing our footballers about the importance of fitness, strength & injury prevention. I had several productive meetings with them & expected an excellent plan but knew their commitment to other sports may limit involvement. However, from midway through the Autumn term they, unprompted, took on additional hours & built time into their schedule to support football. In the Autumn they led pre-season fitness sessions, which had an impressive average attendance of more than 25 boys. In the Spring they personally ran gym recovery & power sessions for 5th form – 8th form, 4 days a week (5 sessions). The survey feedback on these has been uniformly positive & pupils are enthusiastic about the more serious approach. The sessions were challenging but varied, ESP has a knack for making hard work fun. The attendance & uptake was better with younger age groups, highlighting the importance of educating pupils in good habits early on; I am certain that pupils will commit to his provision even more next year, as S&C becomes embedded in the sporting culture of the school. They were also hugely supportive of elite football, sacrificing Saturdays in-season, to prepare the 1st XI & lower age teams pre-match with engaging sessions. They often stayed on to watch the games, offering helpful insight. I cannot exaggerate how important ESP’s work was behind the scenes in making the football season a success, it is no coincidence that this season we achieved our highest ever average league position across all year groups.”
- Luke WarrinerHead Of Football – St Paul’s School