Better Never Stops - An Interview with Sam Wardrop
We caught up with Sam Wardrop - the Scottish, professional football player, with a mission to educate, inspire and motivate through his Player Programme.
Sam has a 10-year professional career playing for Celtic FC, Dundee Utd, Dumbarton FC and Airdrie FC. At the age of 24, he decided to pause his career as a professional football to instead pursue a career in coaching and podcasting through educating and inspiring the world of football.
You began your own fitness sessions over zoom, after recovering from a serious knee injury. What is your advice from rising above setbacks?
Only after a setback can you appreciate that it was a blessing. It offers you the chance to test your resilience and build evidence in your own head that you can endure, recover and excel post setback. You gain full confidence that when that next setback comes around, and it will, you will be just fine. This was the lesson I learned after working through an ACL injury.
What inspired you to set up your own coaching company?
There was a gap in the market. As a professional footballer I always felt there was a level of support missing. I'm trying my best to fill this gap and support footballers through mindset, training and nutrition coaching.
Tell us a little bit about what your programme includes?
The Player Programme essentially offers an online mentorship experience for male and female players at every level of the game. Footballers across the globe can work with our team of coaches, some of whom are currently playing professional football, to enhance their performance and educate themselves on best practices for looking after the mind and body.
What does the next 6 months have in-store for you and your programme?
From a business perspective we want to continue to develop The Player Programme to ensure it provides our members with the best possible experience. We want it to be a simple, efficient and highly effective way for players to change their lifestyle and game fast.
On a personal note, I want to continue to increase the media work I'm doing. I've been working on some pretty cool projects for Soccer Supplement and the Scottish FA in front of the camera.
What does your day-to-day look like?
Rise 5AM: walk, read, coffee. 6AM: work. 7AM: train. 9AM: breakfast. 10AM: work... pretty boring but routine is key for me when I have to be my own boss!
What is your secret to staying motivated?
Routine. Every evening I will spend 10 minutes blocking my next day. I know this isn't for everyone but it makes life easier for me. I do this for every day, except 1 day during the week (my day off).
What is your favourite Castore product and why?
A difficult choice. I particularly love the look and feel of the Core Tech Training T Shirt and my favourite bottoms are the Onyx Metropolis Stretch Chinos for office days. They are smart and comfy.
Check out Sam Wardrop's training programme here.