John Tiernan Interview

As pre season draws ever closer, iSTAT took the opportunity to chat with Strength and Conditioning coach John Tiernan about the season ahead.

How did you become involved with Athlone Town?

On a personal level I’ve been going to Athlone Town matches since I was 6 years old, Athlone Town has played a major part in my childhood and later years. I can genuinely say I have always had a love for Athlone Town and the League of Ireland.

On a professional level I first qualified as a fitness instructer in 1999, and since then I have been constantly upskillng and been involved with various sports persons and sports teams in the midlands area.

The two key jobs I targeted over the last five years was to work with Roscommon GAA senior team and Athlone Town fc, both of which i have achieved.

Initially I was brought in by Tommy Hewitt and Dermot Lennon to whom I am grateful for the opportunity and have been more or less at the club since apart from serving in Chad with the Irish Armed Forces.

Looking back how do you think last season went from a fitness point of view?

Initially i met brendan at the start of last season and it was obvious he expected extremely high standards, and wanted a major emphasis placed on the players conditioning.

The squad undertook a gym programme under supervision and also participated in outdoor circuit sessions and progressed well on a week to week basis. I can honestly say I surprised by the level of fitness and conditioning of the players which in my opinion was below par for League of Ireland footballers. Which resulted in a major emphasis on core strength training.

Players gave 100 percent in every session and I would like to think they got the benefit from it. Proof of the benefits that proper strength training was beneficial could be seen in Des Hopes performance and lack of injuries throughout the season.

Unfortunately I had to go to Chad with the armed forces halfway through the season.

You have experience at Inter County GAA level, how does the LOI compare?

Having spent time working with senior inter county gaa players and various elite individual sports people I feel that the League of Ireland falls behind in its level of preparation in relation to strength and conditioning.

It is clearly obvious that a lot of time is given to the tactical and skill side of playing but I feel there is a fall off when it comes to strength and conditioning training. Having discussed this with Brendan and Padraig its an area where we really hope to step up another three or four levels and really push it on this season.

From a fitness perspective what are your plans for the season?

Firstly, and most importantly I have installed a fully kitted gym into the club which is available for use by all the members of the squad and will be of huge benefit for players returning from injury.

Myself and the club physio will be working closely with each other to ensure all the players will be in peak condition throught the season.

I intend to insure that there is wide variety of training techniques incorporated, to insure players get maximum enjoyment with maximum benefit. Everything is in place for a succesful season so hopefully players,management,club and supporters all pull in the same direction.

Hard training, easy combat. Easy Training, hard combat.

My ultimate aim for this season is to produce the fittest and best conditioned Athlone Town team ever.