Naval Tata Hockey Academy Odisha (NTHAO), the Hockey High Performance Centre (HPC) in Bhubaneswar, today announced that they had hired IAAF Level-5 Coach & Strength and Conditioning Expert, Eric Dixon for a five-week programme on strength & conditioning.

Dixon landed in Bhubaneswar, essentially to help cadets in their foundational requirements. He will also be chalking out the road map for the Hockey HPC in the area of strength & condition with a special focus on biomechanics. He said that NTHAO cadeta have the potential to make it to advance level.

A proper strength and conditioning program is essential and has numerous benefits for athletes, most important being injury prevention. Every coach and athlete has to work together to avoid sustaining injury as it impacts the overall performance of an athlete, participation and the outcome of a game.

Rajiv Seth, Project Director, NTHAO, said, “At NTHA Odisha we constantly strive to give exposure to our cadets in advance level of expertise and Eric Dixon with his background has made a great contribution in this short phas. We hope girls will benefit from his valuable advice and workouts. The coaches and staff have also been upgraded in their knowledge base on the subject. Our HPC also plans to depute a dedicated resource in this domain soon.’’

Following his first session with the cadets, Dixon said, “Love the facility here, love the coaches and the athletes are great. They have top of line equipment. It’s a great opportunity to build a strength training programme and collaborating with Hockey HPC.  The athletes are on a good level right now. I believe all of us working together with support from the Government of Odisha can help the athletes here advance to the next level and enhance their future performance.”
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PHOTO: IAAF Coach & Strength and Conditioning Expert, Eric Dixon at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on 28 October, 2020.