Students of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (CAFYD) of the Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic, UNEATLANTICO) attended the first Strength & Conditioning Clinic organised jointly by the HSI-Prevent Network, Athletic Club of Bilbao, the Strength Conditioning Society and NSCA Spain.
The clinic brought together leading strength and conditioning experts from top professional football teams to share their knowledge and experience in optimising performance in football.
The programme covered several topics. After a welcome from SCS President Pedro Alcaraz and NSCA President Ian Jeffreys, the first two sessions were followed by a panel discussion. They discussed physical preparation and rehabilitation in women’s football. The first session was led by Blanca Romero, physical trainer of the RFEF, and the second by José Mª Villalón, head of the Medical Services of Club Atlético de Madrid. Afterwards, Ms. Mirari Gandarias, physiotherapist of Athletic Club, joined the round table moderated by Dr. Laura Nieto, academic coordinator of the Master in Direction and Management of Sports Entities of the UCAM.
After a networking session between speakers and attendees, the third and fourth sessions took place, with their respective round table discussions on physical preparation in young football players. The third session was led by Dr. Urs Granacher, professor at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and the second by Dr. Des Ryan, professor at the University of Galway, Ireland. Also, Mr. Aitor Ugarte, coach and physical trainer of Athletic Club, joined the round table, moderated by Dr. Kostas Spryrou, professor of the Faculty of Sports at UCAM.
The fifth and sixth session was entitled ‘Let’s allow footballers to play’. The speakers were Dr. Francesc Cos, performance specialist at City Group, and Carlos Lalín, physiotherapist and rehabilitation specialist at Real Madrid. Dr. Hernán Giura, Chief Medical Officer of Club Atlético Rosario Central in Argentina, joined the subsequent round table, moderated by Dr. Cristian Marín.
To conclude, four other presentations were made under the title ‘Building performance in football’. The seventh session was presented by Dr. Javier Mallo, Physical Trainer of Rayo Vallecano. The eighth session was given by Dr. Íñigo San Millán, physiologist at Athletic Club. In the ninth session, Dr. José Antonio Lekue, head of medical services at Athletic Club and, finally, in the tenth session, Dr. Sérgio Rodrigues Gomes, radiologist at Al-Ittihad Club in Saudi Arabia, took part. The round table was moderated by the Director of the High Performance Sports Research Centre, Pedro Emilio Alcaraz, and Julio Calleja-González, Professor and Dr. in CAFYD at the UPV.