First team physio Anthony Coole joined the club last November from a background in South African rugby, and he tells us about some aspects of his role at the Abbey Stadium.

Ant grew up in South Africa and lived in Cape Town for most of his life, graduating from University with a double major in biochemistry and microbiology, followed by a four year course to qualify as a Chartered Physiotherapist.

He worked in sports physiotherapy for three years before moving to England, including a season and a half as assistant physiotherapist for Western Province, a major rugby side comparable in size and support to a Premiership football club with crowds of between 40,000 and 50,000.

From there he moved into a private practice in Cape Town where he spent two years treating athletes from a range of sports: "Everyone from Olympic swimmers to ballet dancers to Davis Cup tennis players," he explains.

After two years the 29-year-old was ready for a fresh challenge and moved to the UK, intending to look for work in rugby, but he was put in contact with Cambridge United after Stuart Ayles left and began full-time work at the Abbey at the beginning of December.

Asked about the differences between working at a major rugby club in South Africa and a smaller club in English football, Ant says one of the best things is the family atmosphere at the Abbey Stadium.

"When you're in a bigger club like that obviously you have bigger finances. I was working as the assistant physio to the main physio and we had the team doctor with the team at training and on match days. We'd have the two physios and also a full-time masseur, and for matches we were also very privileged to have an orthopedic specialist at the ground in case anyone came off and needed to be assessed immediately.

"But working at a club like that you don't have the personal contact you have at a smaller club, and it's one of the things I've noticed. It's more of a family and everyone knows everyone - the office staff know the ground staff and the training staff - whereas there you only knew the people you dealt with. You would never meet the chairman, whereas here I met the chairman in my first week and I've met all the directors and it's far more personal."

Ant has been busy dealing with the wear and tear of a busy season and works to a routine which allows him to spend a good deal of time with each injured player: "I have the players in one at a time and I try to see them for a minimum of 45 minutes, so you're devoting quite a bit of time to them."

For example, as you may have seen from photographs on the website at the time, Ant saw Shane Tudor (hamstring) and Warren Goodhind (thigh) in the morning before the match at Leyton Orient last month. They both received treatment for their injury in the physio room adjoining the dressing room, before a session of specific rehab for their damaged muscles in the gym.

The gym is equipped with an impressive range of equipment sponsored by a company called IPRS, whose owner David Bingham initially put Ant in contact with John Taylor last year.

"It's all designed to be linked to a computer - which is why we're appealing for a computer at the moment for the physio department," Ant explains.

"There's a software program to measure the exact work the guys are doing in the gym, so we can sit in the office afterwards and see from the graphs what they need to work on and be more specific in their rehabilitation and strengthening. It would be very useful because ultimately rehab for injured players would be quicker and would enable us to get them back on the pitch quicker, and it will help us be more specific in pre-season, too."

With a constant stream of midweek games, Ant has introduced a change of routine for players and takes them swimming at Greens as part of the recovery process after a Tuesday game.

"The idea is to get them into a buoyant medium so you're getting the weight off their legs," he explains. "You're also using muscles in a different manner to when they're on ground and taking their full weight, but the main reason is to get the muscles moving again in a nice, easy way so they can regenerate quicker.

"There's no swimming involved. They start off with a bit of jogging, so they're working quite hard to move in the water, then general movement to get the blood flowing, and then work on specific muscle groups, followed by jogging and stretching to cool them down.

"We found with the rugby guys that we got them back into training quicker that way so we're trying it out here and they all seem to be responding quite well. It's also a change of environment from the club and keeps them mentally stimulated as well as physically."

Ant is enjoying his new role and is looking forward to the rest of the season and beyond, already planning ahead and hoping to introduce more ideas for next pre-season.

"I moved to Cambridge at the beginning of December and I'm enjoying working with the guys. I think I've settled in quite well with the playing management and the players and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and hopefully the next. I'm enjoying it very much."

Extended interviews with the players and staff are archived for you to listen to on our U's World multimedia website - click on the link for more details.

Previous Main Features:
11Jan03  - The Management - One Year On
07Dec02 - The Chairman's Column - An Update
09Sep02 - Abbey Gates At Ten Year High
08Aug02 - What's In Store? A Look At The Season Ahead
12Jul02  - Harwood: There's Good And Bad News
14May02- Summer At The Abbey Stadium
02May02- Family Day A Huge Success
21Apr02 - Fans Groups Call For Direct Action
06Apr02 - League Chairman Thanks Fans For Support
30Mar02 - ITV Digital - Crowd Statistics & Viewing Figures
24Mar02 - LDV Vans Trophy Final Photo Feature
17Mar02 - Follow The U's To Cardiff!
10Mar02 - Away Day Blues
03Mar02 - The Best Of The Best?
24Feb02 - The Future of Football?
17Feb02 - U's Fans On Sky TV's Soccer AM
10Feb02 - U's Fans Feature On ITV Digital Quiz
20Jan02  - U's Players Get Darth Vader Treatment
13Jan02  - Kit Carson Explains His 'Head of Talent Development' Role
05Jan02  - Dale Brooks Enjoying New Role
04Dec01 - U's Players Try Out Premiership Physio Machine
10Nov01 - U's Launch New Away Kit

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