Athlete Now was set up by former pro golfer Holly Calvert, and sports scientist Nicole Booth. You can register on Athlete Now on their website, and follow the organisation on Facebook and Instagram.
Whoever thought a car journey could inspire an idea? One that could potentially change the way athletes prepare, train and perform. Well, that’s where Athlete Now began.
Athlete Now was created by Holly Calvert, professional golfer on the Ladies European Access Series and massage therapist, alongside Nicole Booth, strength and conditioning lecturer and coach, sport performance analyst, weightlifting coach and avid climber. Together we form the female duo on a mission to help athletes get the support they need, both inside and outside the arena.
When sharing a long car journey we agreed there was a lack of support for athletes outside of structured club or squad environments. On closer inspection, and after a strong Costa Coffee at a service station, we delved even further into our own sporting experiences, finding that we had also felt significantly let down in certain areas of our growth as sportspeople. Some issues included, not being able to access the right qualified support at home and abroad, not being able to access the right career advice, a lack of athlete friendly employees and being able to trust the practitioners that you were using. This gaping hole became even more apparent after we surveyed athletes from over 40 sports, all of whom raised the same issues, from recreational to Olympic level. This encouraged us both to delve deeper.
With the athlete’s view in mind, we also surveyed a wide range of sports practitioners from all over the UK, finding that they too struggled with various issues in the sports industry. Many of the practitioners raised issues regarding clients and athletes not understanding what their role was; or worse, athletes going to others they’d found via internet search who were not suitably qualified or experienced. They also identified a difficulty finding further CPD opportunities that they really wanted, finding jobs in the industry to progress or transition to. Additional barriers existed such as a lack of marketing advice, the opportunity to connect with industry experts, or a place where they could reach out to fellow practitioners for further support and advice in their specialist areas. Issues that once again, we felt with the right tool could be solved or made easier.
Finally, and with two surveys completed, we decided to make Athlete Now the ultimate sports directory tool. The platform has been designed to connect athletes from all corners of the world with qualified, verified practitioners from physiotherapists, strength and conditioning coaches, sports nutritionists to highly skilled coaches, all with the aim of helping athletes excel both in their sport and outside of it. However, in addition to supporting athletes, Athlete Now also provides support to the practitioners involved, allowing them the opportunity to showcase their skills and services to a much wider audience of athletes. Whether it’s a physiotherapist with a specialism in a particular sport or a strength and conditioning coach with a proven track record, we feel that all practitioners can benefit from the extra exposure that Athlete Now will offer.
We believe that Athlete Now is a step forward in the right direction, particularly within the sports industry. The platform will not only give athletes and practitioners a safe and transparent place to connect and collaborate, but also provide a place where both can grow, develop, and strive to get the best out of themselves.
For Athletes we aim to provide:
For our Practitioners we aim to provide:
Here at LAPS we’re excited about coming on board as the Athlete Now careers partner, helping Nicole and Holly to support the athletes on their directory with vacancies and careers information; as well as giving practitioners a chance to be a part of our community of support staff.