Imagine having a job where you can travel the world and work with some of the top sportspeople in the world.
Well, that’s what Laois man Patrick Harding has, he’s a performance coach working with some of the top performers in the world.
Patrick is from The Rock, just a few miles outside of Portlaoise, and trained in IT Carlow for a few years on his way to his current progression.
His academic background includes a Diploma in Applied Physiology and Health Science, a BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy, and an MSc in Strength and Conditioning.
Work
For the past 12 years, he has been involved in an elite sporting environment, starting out in contact-based sport, previously working in professional rugby union and Australian Rules Football in Sydney, Australia.
In recent years he has moved into motorsport in particular Formula 1 and is a performance coach with the Red Bull Racing team.
He works with driver Alex Albon, the British/Thai driver who lost his seat at the end of last season but remains as a reserve and test driver for the team this year and will be driving in DTM.
Drive to Survive
Patrick appeared on this season’s “Drive to Survive” series on Netflix where they go behind the scenes of Formula One and show footage from the previous season.
Here are Patrick and Alex from behind the scenes.
Other Sports
Patrick also works with professional boxer Michael Conlon and has been on the European PGA Tour amongst others.
This year, he will again be involved with Team GB’s canoeing squad having been their lead physiotherapist for the Rio 2016 Olympic cycle.
He also spent two seasons with Arsenal Football Club towards the end of Arsene Wenger’s time there.
Watch the full interview below:
