Rubbing shoulders with giants

Wednesday 17 May 2017

Massey University's James Amon is off to the United States to rub shoulders with giants in the strength and conditioning field.

Rubbing shoulders with giants - image1

James Amon.

Last updated: Thursday 2 June 2022

Massey University’s James Amon is off to the United States to rub shoulders with giants in the strength and conditioning field.

The Sport and Rugby Institute’s lead physical conditioner will attend the United States Olympic Committee Strength and Conditioning High Performance Symposium in Colorado next week.

Only 100 candidates are accepted each year, and Mr Amon will be in good company with attendees from the Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Portland Trail Blazers, West Bromwich Albion, USA Volleyball, NZ Cricket, and even the United States Marines.

The three-day course will include a combination of presentation-style lectures paired with highly interactive breakout group discussions from some of the best in the business, including United States Olympic Committee senior strength and conditioning coach, Tim Pelot.

Mr Amon was selected out of a pool of 600 applicants based on his experience working with elite athletes.

“It was quite humbling to know how many people applied and I made the final cut! It’s a great opportunity to rub shoulders with the world's best strength and conditioning coaches and learn their unique processes and applications in dealing with world class athletes.

“America is well known for producing the best athletes in the world and I get the chance to have a peak into how they do this. It’s also a great opportunity to chat with the big American universities to see how they implement their campus's sporting academies to bring the best out of their student athletes.

“The US Marines Special Operation Command are sending their head strength coach so I’ll make sure I get some tips from him. I could certainly use this to my advantage as it might strike some fear into my athletes when I get back.”

The United States Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs is spread over 35 acres and the main gym is 36,000 square feet; containing nearly 15 tonnes of weight training plates and dumbells.

Mr Amon hopes to bring back his leanings and pass on the knowledge to Academy of Sport and high performance athletes at Massey. He also hopes to lure international athletes to New Zealand while overseas.