Posted February 4, 2014

Cowdenbeath Football Club’s Under-17 and 19 squads have been attending Pitreavie Athletics Centre for a tailor-made strength and conditioning programme to support their on-the-pitch performance.
 

The programme is designed and delivered by Fife Sports and Leisure Trust – the region’s leading provider of sports and leisure facilities – and is being led by the organisation’s qualified team who are supporting the players’ development pathways from junior to senior levels.
 

The focus of the programme is to improve agility and speed as well as strength and overall fitness condition. Already, the players have seen marked improvements during matches and have bettered their winning success rate.
 

Over 50 players per week attend Pitreavie Athletics Centre under the supervision of Mike McKechnie, Fife Sports and Leisure Trust’s lead strength and conditioning coach. 

Mike said: “The purpose of the programme is to introduce additional elements to support the squads’ traditional football training and give the players a more comprehensive level of fitness.  We are delighted that Cowdenbeath Football Club has already seen the benefits of the training and confident that it will impact on the long-term development of players.

“The Scottish Football Association has also attended Pitreavie to review the programme and it was very supportive and impressed with the structure and content of the training. 

“We have recently started to work with East Fife Football Club’s Under-17 squad too, but the Trust’s sports development team is not only focusing on football, we are also offering tailored programmes for a range of sports including rugby, hockey and swimming.”
 

Derek Nicholson,  youth manager at Cowdenbeath Football Club, said: “The training package which the Trust has designed has been a real benefit to our players – the focus of the programme is already having an impact on playing performance with improved speed and strength during matches.”

To find out more about the programme, contact Mike McKechnie, Tel: 07984550559 or 01383 60221