In focus: Paul Johnson

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josie andrews
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In focus: Paul Johnson

Post by josie andrews »

Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach Paul Johnson provides an insight into his role at the Club.

Former Wigan player shares his thoughts on pre-season, working with Adrian Lam and how the new players have settled in.

Johnson: “As opposed to doing conditioning sessions like running up hills, we’ve done a lot more on field, which I think has stood us in good stead.”

Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach Paul Johnson believes “refreshing” ideas have benefitted the Wigan squad in their pre-season preparations.


Having previously worked as Head of Strength and Conditioning for the Under-19s whilst studying at UCLAN, Johnson, alongside Head Physiotherapist Tom O’Malley, has taken up increased responsibility of Strength and Conditioning, following the departure of former Head of Performance Mark Bitcon in 2018.

Johnson’s passion for training and ability to maximise player performance will be vital when working with Head Coach Adrian Liam, as the Warriors are less than three weeks away from beginning their Super League trophy defence.

Johnson said: “It’s been working really well. Our job is to physically prepare the players for each game and it has to fit with the coaches and their style of play. So far, it’s fitted really well, and we’ve done what we wanted to do. We’ve worked to Adrian’s (Lam) visions and it’s been refreshing to use different ideas and inputs. The lads have responded well to what we’ve thrown at them.

Our preparation has been slightly different. We’ve done a lot with the ball because we wanted to get up to speed with how we wanted to play and get used to Adrian’s ideas. As opposed to doing conditioning sessions like running up hills, we’ve done a lot more on field, which I think has stood us in good stead.

“The lads look like they’re ready for the start of the season. Sometimes we sort of feel our way into the first few games, but hopefully this season we’re ready straight from the off, as there’s some tough fixtures early on.”

A Wiganer born and bred, Johnson was able to cover in a variety of positions during his playing career, including the wing, centre and second-row.

He started at Wigan as a 17-year-old in 1995 and featured in the 1998 inaugural Super League Grand Final victory over Leeds Rhinos.

Up until 2003, Johnson made over 100 appearances in the Cherry and White jersey, before going on to play for Bradford Bulls, Warrington Wolves and Wakefield Trinity. He finished his career with Crusaders RL in 2011.

And he believes his experiences of being a former player helps him in his role at the Warriors.

“The lads have respect for me, as they know I’ve done similar things to what they’re doing now,” he said.

I can almost empathise with how their feeling at certain times and during games. The lads like to know why we do certain things in training and it’s good to have that background knowledge to tell them. To sell how we want to train and get them to believe in it is one of the main things for us as coaches and physios. If they don’t believe in you then they aren’t going to buy into what you’re selling.

I don’t necessarily think you always have to have experience of whatever you’re working in, but it does give you different qualities that other people don’t have. Some people don’t have that insight and are unable to draw on past experiences and I think it’s priceless, as it gives me the edge in devising drills and being in the gym.

“I’ve been there and done it and I know what’s worked for me and teams that I’ve played for. When I look at the way I want to do things and what models I want to follow, my past experiences will influence me on the direction I take, as I always analyse myself if I was still a player now.”

Johnson also revealed how pleased he is with the three new arrivals at the Club.

“The lads who have come in have been brilliant. Zak’s (Hardaker) a real talented player, I played with Jaz (Jarrod Sammut) in my last year as a player and I coached Joe Bullock when he was in the Academy, so I know all three of them really well. They’ve fitted in seamlessly, but we did lose some quality players and they’re going to take some replacing. I’m really happy with the lads we’ve brought in though.

“I’ve been very happy with the young lads too and it’s almost like people have got to move on to give others a chance. I look at it as a positive thing and it’s time for the likes of Liam (Byrne) and Ollie (Partington) to step up and take those opportunities.”

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https://www.wiganwarriors.com/news/2019 ... u2F0j5d.99
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morley pie eater
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Re: In focus: Paul Johnson

Post by morley pie eater »

I sincerely wish PJ well in his new job. To be fair, he didn't write the article and he does say that they're doing things "slightly" differently.

The way the piece reads seems to suggest that someone has come in after Mark Bitcon and is going to make a significant improvement on training and preparation. I'd be happier if the story was more like "We're going to try and keep things pretty much the same, we'd be happy to be anywhere near as good as MB."

The only reason to change anything Bitcon did may be with the props to adapt to the reduced substitutions this year. Imo Bitcon has been a major factor in our success, and the outstanding conditioner in SL.

Unless it's a case of "When I met you I was but the learner. Now, I am the master."?
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