Name: Aaron Kellett
Profession : Sports Scientist – Strength & Conditioning Coach
Team: Cricket Australia – Centre of Excellence
Greatest achievements as a trainer:
The friendships I have maintained with people I have worked with in sport
My favorite memory so far would be from the AFL, seeing the boys from the Western Bulldogs win their first finals game in 2006 in front of 84,000 spectators after finishing outside the Top 8 for the previous 6 years.
Years in the Industry : 13 years across a variety of different levels
What strength coach or trainer has had the most impact on you and why?
David Buttifant for giving me the first exposure to elite sport as a 3rd year undergraduate in 1996.
Justin Cordy for being an interview panel member in my last two appointments!
And although I haven’t met him, I thank Dan Baker for his applied research in our field
What are the positives of being a Strength and Conditioning Coach / Trainer?
Getting paid to have fun. (Example – the other day I swam and bodysurfed at a beach in New Zealand during a team recovery session I had scheduled – and I get paid for this!!!)
Working with great people, being able to share amazing experiences with them.
What are the negatives?
Difficult for wives/partners to pack up and move cities/states/countries for our work
Time away from home
What advice would you have for those wishing to become a part of the industry?
Keep learning, be organized and work hard
Focus on assisting the growth and development of the people around you (be they your athletes, your staff members or colleagues) – the side effect will be that it will also help your own.
Always remember that there are many roads that lead to Rome
What is your favorite exercise?
Due to the needs of a number of the athletes I am working with at the moment, multi-planar lunge progressions seem to be flavor of the month
Favorite piece of equipment you have in your gym?
Olympic Bars – sounds silly, but they really are the foundation for a large number of my exercise choices, be it traditional lifts or rotational variants
If you could change one thing what would it be?
For us to continue working to build a stronger sense of community within our profession. How many times have you heard someone sniping a fellow S&C Coach?