Students put York City Knights through their paces

The university students have been helping with fitness testing to enable the club’s coaches and physiotherapist to ascertain the fitness levels of players. They have also helped to identify any past or current injuries, and made sure that the players’ current training at York St John’s sports facilities on Haxby Road is working. The fitness testing also helped with the creation of training programmes which will be reviewed and modified throughout the season.

Professor Andy Smith MBE, head of sports performance and participation at York St John University, said: “We have a fantastic partnership with York City Knights, which offers our sports students incredibly valuable professional learning experiences. The students helping with the fitness testing have really enjoyed putting the theory they’ve learned into practice with a professional Rugby League club. The players are certain to benefit from their new programmes and we hope they have a great season.”

Gary Thornton, York City Knights head coach, said: “We’re working hard in our pre-season training and the players are responding well. I want us to be one of the fittest teams in the championship and our partnership with York St John is helping us get there. The use of the University’s sports facilities on Haxby Road is going well and we really appreciate all the support they’ve given us. The students have shown great enthusiasm and their input into the process has been fantastic, we look forward to working with them again.”