Meet Pete McKnight - Leicestershire's strength and conditioning coach

It would be easy to think that when the cricket season is over that Leicestershire’s cricketers take it easy for some time before hitting their straps again.

However, nothing could be further from the truth. Many squad members were back for strength and conditioning and general work before Christmas and preparation has now stepped up a notch or two as the new season gets ever-closer.

The strength and conditioning work is being overseen by Pete McKnight, who joined the club over the summer from Loughborough University. Pete replaced Susie Ellison as strength and conditioning coach after Susie took up a new post in the Lake District.

He started his career as a personal trainer and fitness consultant before moving on to become a strength and conditioning coach at PowerBase at Loughborough University.

There, he worked on the programming and delivery of strength and conditioning to teams and individuals across a wide range of sports including cricket, as well as tennis, netball, basketball, badminton, football, rugby league, rugby union, rowing, swimming, triathlon, hockey, athletics, gymnastics and volleyball.

It is an impressive CV and doesn’t stop there. Pete then worked as strength and conditioning coach at Loughborough for the English Institute of Sport (EIS) from September 2005, before working both for EIS and UK Athletics.

Pete worked with triathletes and rowers and collected two years of data of more than 50 athletes on the World Class Programme. His work has been crucial in helping professional athletes gain an edge through working hard on specific aspects of strength and conditioning.

As well as working domestically, Pete has a wealth of international experience. This includes working for the East Bengal Football Club in India and the Sports Authority of Thailand. He also worked on two tennis academies in Thailand and an Indian U19 rugby training camp in Kolkata.

His latest challenge at Leicestershire CCC is one he is very much relishing. Pete spent the first few weeks making assessments and getting to know each individual, and now he is putting his all-important winter plans into practice.

He said: “Over the first few weeks, I spent time with some of the injured lads, such as Nadeem Malik, Sam Cliff and Alex Wyatt. I also spent a fair bit of time with the second team, so it was good to get to know people.

“I also spent time with the first team, and attended some games to work on a matchday. It was all good experience.

“It always takes a while to get to know everyone, as each individual is different. As I joined in the middle of a season it was hard to do too much, but it helped me to get a good idea of what each player needed. We have then got to work on that in the off-season, which started in early November.”

Pete has spent a lot of his recent career working with athletes, so the switch to a team environment will have taken a bit of getting used to. However, he has embraced the challenge.

He said: “It’s always different working with a squad as opposed to individuals, but even within a team, it’s all about the needs of the individual. You can’t just proscribe one programme to each individual; it has to be done on an individual basis.

“So everyone has a specialised programme which will help them to achieve their individual targets. The lads are keen to improve and develop and it’s good to be a part of that.

“I came in at a time where the team were in the thick of it, but that was good. If you come in at a quieter time you don’t really see what it is like and that’s no good. A professional team are always going to be busy, even when they are not competing in matches.

“So coming in at the thick of it - being thrown in at the deep end – has been beneficial. I got to see how the club operates on a day-to-day basis during the season and have now plans into place during the off-season.”

After working with athletes a lot in his career, I wondered why Pete had decided to take on a cricket role. However, when you look at his CV, it is no surprise to see why.

During his time working for the EIS, Pete was heavily involved in cricket as well as helping athletes towards achieving their goals at the Beijing Olympics.

His cricket work included testing all ECB centrally contracted players, as well as providing Strength & Conditioning services to the England Cricket Academy. He also held the role as strength and conditioning coach for the England Women’s Cricket Team for two years.

Those experiences have stood Pete in good stead. He said: “I’ve worked in cricket for the England Academy at the National Cricket Centre in Loughborough and I really enjoyed it. When this opportunity came up, I decided to apply and I’m glad to be a part of the club.

“I was really glad when I spoke to Tim (Boon), he’s a great guy and sold the club really well. I could see myself working here, with the players and coaches. It has been a good decision and I’m enjoying getting stuck in.”

The Leicestershire players have all spoken of the importance of strength and conditioning work, and are enjoying working with Pete. His work will be critical over the winter and players will reap the benefits when the 2010 campaign starts.