Dr Mike Schofield, a bio mechanist and well-known strength and conditioning practitioner, has joined EIT | Te Pūkenga as a sport and exercise science lecturer.
A strength and conditioning coach to some of New Zealand’s top athletes has joined EIT | Te Pūkenga as a sport and exercise science lecturer.
Dr Mike Schofield, a biomechanist and well-known strength and conditioning practitioner for New Zealand Athletics and High Performance Sport NZ, began his role in July. It includes a partial secondment to the Hawke’s Bay Community Fitness Centre Trust (HBCFCT) as a strength and conditioning coach.
“I’ve coached multiple people to Olympic or World Championship Standard in throws. I’ve been a part of multiple programmes and coached youth and junior world and Olympic champions.”
“I grew up in the Wairarapa, just south of here and played sport since I was young. It was probably a failed sporting career and the want to figure out how to be better that led me into the sports science field.”
“From there it just evolved into me coaching athletes and then some of the results we achieved led to me being employed as a coach. I still coach a few of those kids that I started with when I was in Auckland as they’re now mature young adults.”
He says the coaching is via distance, with trips to Auckland for him and here for the athletes. His next focus is the Olympics where he is coaching a young thrower who has qualified.
His role at the Community Fitness Centre Trust is as a weightlifting coach.
“It means that I am keeping in touch with the practice elements while I’m lecturing which is pretty important. I’m currently leading the second year degree skill acquisition, biomechanics, and strength and conditioning papers.”
“I’ve always enjoyed education. I’ve done a few lectures here and there and always enjoyed lecturing. I think it’s a cool way to give back to sport and help the next generation of budding strength conditioning coaches or coaches to refine their skills.”
Mike says that while he had known about the EIT brand, he had no direct connection with the institute before he began teaching here. He decided to move here for a change of lifestyle and also to be closer to his parents who live in Masterton.
“My partner and I moved down here. I’m a little bit closer to my parents in Masterton, so I get to catch up with them a little bit more. Over the last few years of travelling, I haven’t really had a chance to see them much.”
EIT | Te Pūkenga Head of School for Health and Sport Science, Dr Helen Ryan-Stewart said: “It is fantastic not only for EIT | Te Pūkenga but also for the wider region to have attracted a practitioner of Mike’s quality to Hawke’s Bay. Experience working alongside elite level athletes is reserved to so few sport scientists in New Zealand, that Mike’s ability to share that with our students is exciting.”
“He has already started making some great connections with various sports clubs, and creating opportunities for our students to work with athletes of all standards and stages of development. This authentic, real-world learning is just what our students need to succeed in their future employment goals in the sports industry. Mike brings a unique approach to our team, and we’re excited to see the future developments in this space.”