Steffan Jones is a sports performance coach and former professional cricket and rugby player, and he is one of the leading fast bowler development coaches in England. He is considered a master integrative trainer for fast-bowlers (“pitching” at up to 100 mph in cricket). He is the last athlete in England to play professionally in both cricket and rugby. Steffan is the owner of cricketstrength.com.

Coach Jones is the “go to” coach in England when it comes to his specialty of bowling. He is one of a small number of people who hold an ECB Level 3 qualification, and he also holds a UKSCA certification in strength and conditioning. Jones earned a sports science degree from Loughborough University and a postgraduate certification in physical education from Cambridge University

Jones discusses his use of isometric strength training for potentiation and skill development. He gives us his thoughts on integrating all forms of training into a singular model, general versus specific strength, the role of ankle stiffness in fast bowling (and as a universal model), and cueing. Many of the topics he discusses have a direct correlation to the javelin throw in track and field.

In this podcast, Coach Steffan Jones and Joel discuss:

• His beliefs on early specialization in sports.
• His process of combining strength and skill work for his athletes.
• Sport-specific energy training in his sport.
• Strength versus elastic and reactive abilities.
• The use of cluster training.
• Aspects of sport-specific training for the fast-bowling athlete.

Podcast total run time is 1:30:55.

Jones can be found at his Pacelab Academy. 

Keywords: cricket, isometrics, general strength, cluster