Dr Stuart Wilkinson
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Stuart covers all areas in high performance sports including elite sports coaching, building and managing multidisciplinary teams, psychological functioning of teams, athletic development, athletes' lifestyle and monitoring. He is also a national teaching fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
After 20 years of playing professional rugby league, he became an award-winning fitness manager with the National Health Service. Leaving mainstream industries, he moved into full-time sport in 1999 to become the first Player Performance Manager in rugby league with Leeds Rhinos. He was invited to join an elite group of rugby league coaches, the High-Performance Line, and was appointed onto the coaching staff of Great Britain Academy, the first team to beat New Zealand and Australia.
Stuart has also coached the full England national team who won the federation shield beating France, Samoa and Tonga. Following this he went on to coach the full Welsh national team winning the European Nations. He went on to work with France in the World Cup and finally helped develop both the Russian and Serbian national teams and their coaching staff. He is currently on the coaching staff with Salford Red Devils.
Stuart has completed a chapter on talent development for the best-selling coaching book 'Foundations of Sports Coaching' by Paul E. Robinson and Ashley Gill. He has just completed his own book and is in the process of getting it published.
- Sports Science, Leeds Metropolitan University, 2010
- PGDip Elite Coaching Practice, University of Central Lancashire, 2011
- PGCE Sport and PE, University of Central Lancashire, 2011
- MA Sports Coaching, University of Central Lancashire, 2013
- PhD Elite Coaching, University of Central Lancashire, 2023
- Stuart was part of a team of fitness professionals who won the Nye Bevan Prize for Health and Well-being for delivering a high-quality service for people suffering from mental health problems for the National Health Service.
- Talent development
- High-performance leadership
- Multidisciplinary teams
- Elite athlete development
- Elite coach development.
- Coaching consultant for the European Federation
- Coaching consultant for the Serbian Federation
- Coaching consultant for the Super League Europe
- Coaching staff with Salford City Reds
Stuart is currently researching high-performance leadership while managing elite multidisciplinary teams in professional rugby league.
He has the following publications:
Wilkinson, Stuart G and Palmer, Clive Alan (2010) What Am I Doing and Why Philosophy to Practice-personal Observations about coaching rugby. Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies, 4 (1). pp. 57-64. ISSN 1754-2375.
Wilkinson, Stuart G and Ellis, Luke (2014) Is talent development a matter of design or desire Sports Monograph 151-160. In: The sports monograph: critical perspectives on socio-cultural sport, coaching and Physical Education. SSTO Publications, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, pp. 151-160. ISBN 978-0-9566270-6-3.
Wilkinson, Stuart G (2014) Rugby League Talent Development: How to make Chicken soup out of chicken poop: not battery farming for rugby league champions. In: The sports monograph: critical perspectives on socio-cultural sport, coaching and Physical Education. SSTO Publications, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, pp. 161-168. ISBN 978-0-9566270-6-3.
Wilkinson, Stuart G and Grecic, David (2019) Talent development for professional rugby league: observations and analysis from a career in rugby’s high-performance environment. Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies, 13 (1). pp. 135-174. ISSN 1754-2375
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Telephone:01772 895487
Email: Email:Dr Stuart Wilkinson
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