Success stories

James was in sole charge of fitness related matters, organising and implementing training programmes... also provided players with mentoring and advice on nutritional needs. He varied the programmes and was keen to keep ideas fresh and designed activities suitable to help young rugby player's progress. James was keen to put time into the thought process of his ideas and carry out to a very high standard.

For the past 2 years, as Head of Athletic Development, James has made a significant contribution to the development and understanding of athletic development among our sports programmes. With knowledge and passion, he has continually championed best practise in relation to the athletic development of young athletes, and been unstinting in the rigour of its delivery. As a coach, James has made a direct contribution to the development of several prominent individuals, as well as more broadly to our squads.

As well – and invaluably – James has committed time and energy to educating our community, through individual time with coaches, interaction with our PE department, and the development of resources. This has enabled us to impact on a wider group of athletes that one coach could ordinarily reach, and also to provide on-going learning. As James leaves us, this will perhaps be his legacy: our increased awareness of best practise supported by some tools for implementation.

I had the pleasure of having James as my first s&c coach when I was at University in Plymouth. I worked with him for 3 years and learnt everything I now know about training to the best of my ability.
When I first saw James I was identified as a talented rugby player but had various injury and illness problems to contend with. By the end of my time with him I had become an athlete and later received my first international cap against the U.S.A.

I have since gone on to get 20 caps for my country and hope to gain many more in the future. I owe a lot to James for my development as a player and still use many of his training techniques and stay in touch when I need advice.
James is very knowledgeable and takes a lot of pride in what he does.

The young athletes in the southwest are very lucky to have him as a coach!!

"James worked with the Exeter and Taunton based Southwest Talent Centre scholarship athletes. He is deeply knowledgeable about strength and conditioning and has excelled at working with young athletes. His sessions are challenging and fun and he has succeeded in blending a group of athletes from a diverse range of sports into a cohesive training group.
James has grasped the nettle of long term athlete development and his athletes are reaping the benefits: to highlight just a few of the successes from his training group, two fencers have progressed onto the TASS programme and one has won a U23 world cup medal, while two athletes from athletics who were injury prone prior to their involvement with the Talent Centre have won English Schools Athletics Championship medals and titles. I have no hesitation recommending James."

I feel that training with South West Talent and James Marshall has been the best thing I've done for my basketball career so far.
It has greatly improved my overall athleticism which has been a real benefit to me when on court.
More importantly, however, the training has enabled me to continue playing whilst suffering from a back injury which has caused me real problems over a number of years.
It has made huge improvements more recently and I am
confident that I will be in good shape to play this coming season.

James has been my strength and conditioning coach since June 2009 and during this time he has provided me with constant support and helped me develop as an athlete, from Under 17 international level to senior international.
He is currently helping me with my transition from fencer to Modern Pentathlete.

I first met James at a South West Gymnastic conference and thought he was superb then, and still do!
Jame's ability to adapt to different sports and levels is excellent, and he is superb at getting his message across to different ages of gymnasts.
He did a workshop at our club for our competitive gymnasts and it was superb, His work was of great value to a wide range of ages and levels, with a tremendous emphasis on posture and injury prevention.
We have been able to put his training methods into practice and are seeing an improvement in the all round strength and fitness of our gymnasts.

James has a huge breath and depth of knowledge on fitness issues. He is able to implement this knowledge into a practical course both making the task of fitness and conditioning both different and interesting from other fitness training that most are familiar with. He understands the safety issues when dealing with young adults strength and conditioning programmes. Programmes he sets are tailored to the individual needs of the group. There was a huge amount of progress made with some of these individuals in terms of their understanding of fitness and their own fitness levels.

James is an excellent and experienced Strength and Conditioning Coach. He is able to draw on these experiences to adapt and meet each client’s specific needs. James is known for his engaging and dynamic style that has proved effective in producing results. Having worked with James, he is both organized and efficient. He also is an evidence based practitioner happy to engage in debate and take on new ideas. James rightly demands high standards and a good work ethic which reflects his own contribution to each situation