Coup Droit wrote:

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As said on the other thread, Stirling - from what I've seen, and other players and sportspeople's remarks - has excellent strength and conditioning facilities and coaching, and this is included for scholarship students, as well as physio, nutritionists, tennis coaching etc. etc.

Maia has done a lot of work - she is fit and strong. But she is very small and light compared to Emma and Harriet - about half their size. The comparison to Katy Dunne is more apt - different body shape, and Maia is shorter, but overall not too different. Whereas Emma and Harriet are far taller and broader in the shoulder (even pre wokouts).

Stirling is miles off just 'letting the kids do a bit of tennis on the side', it's a serious, all round programme.

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Sunday 11th of November 2018 09:55:00 AM

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I totally disagree re Harriet having seen her and Katy D in Wimbledon Qualifying back in 2015 they both had very similar builds. 

Emma R again as a younger junior was very slight, obviously one cannot predict how people grow but obviously if that is impacted by physiological stressors constantly varied in timing, volume and nature as part of a perfectly balanced conditioning programme including an optimal diet, the outcome is immensely different. I dont think this an accident it has been expertly delivered.

Just looking at the work Andy Murray has done particularly to his lower body, the goals he sets and the comparisons he draws when comparing his performance to that of other elite athletes shows what can be done and how critical it is. The commitment to conditioning by other athletes and level of understanding by their teams is variable. I note Evos comments about sport medicine being a waste of time if you cant hit it in but feel to a certain extent that is Dan verbalising inner demons he continues to battle in an attempt to secure a period of elite performance. It is not just a question of being fit It is a question of sculpturing every tool in you armoury to its optimum to consistentl deliver an elite performance.  

I have no understanding of the level of experience of the conditioning team at Stirling and how it is incorporated into her training programme ie. is hers specific or is there a generic programme for a group. How much variation is there in the programme, is the timing appropriate etc.. Stirling and Maia should know how her performance in a number of domains has changed since she enrolled. TCU prepared Cam beautifully to transition to the pro game which he managed in 12 months, the skill and expertease of his coaches there are well documented in the College threads of 2016 and 17 as are the resources and level of collegiate competition available to him that facilitated that step.

Maia is performing at a very high level but having spent time at University her time window to make the next step is relatively short, she needs the same level of preparation and conditioning to progress beyond 25K, only time will tell her well Stirling has prepared her. All that said I like the shift of emphasis in England to centres at Bath and Loughborough (I dont think there is any question that more generally in terms of sport that expertease sits there, they do have a collaboration with a relatively pathetic Div 3 school in the US, with an apauling track record for producing elite athletes )