Danny Mawer quick to adapt in pursuit of excellence for Sheffield Steelers

It is no different for Sheffield Steelers, who finished the 2019-20 Elite League campaign as the sole winners of silverware when ending their 17-year wait to land the Challenge Cup.

Nowadays, behind every successful team, lies a strength and conditioning coach, who is expected to get the very best out of each individual.

Players and coaches rightly take the plaudits when success arrives but there are always other personnel who fly under the radar, quietly going about their job.

Most of the work done by Danny Mawer is carried out in between games, before the season starts even, but there is no doubt that the work he puts in behind the scenes has a major impact, particularly last season under new head coach, Aaron Fox.

It was one of Fox’s predecessors, Paul Thompson, who had the foresight to bring in strength and conditioning expert Mawer, partly through the two years he had spent coaching in Europe, and having recognised the benefit of adding such a key ingredient to a backroom team.

That first season under Thompson saw his team retain the EIHL regular season title before adding the playoff championship the following year.

Two barren seasons followed which saw Thompson succeeded by Tom Barrasso behind the bench in September 2018, with Fox being brought in last summer to rebuild the team.

That he certainly did, ending with the cup success in South Wales in March but, even though the hockey has stopped for a longer summer break than normal because of the coronavirus pandemic, there is little rest for Mawer.

Normally, at this time of year, Mawer would begin getting back into the gym with the British-based players – most of whom would have finished their seasons later than everyone else because of international duty with Great Britain.

Last year was even later than normal given GB’s promotion to the top tier to face the likes of Canada and eventual winners Finland but, this summer, Mawer is having to adapt to a new ‘norm’.

The social distancing rules currently in place because of the lockdown mean the 29-year-old is having to stage his workouts with players remotely, setting up regular live Zoom sessions both with home-grown players and the imports who are known to be heading back for whenever the 2020-21 season does get underway.

The situation has presented different challenges for Mawer, but ones he has quickly embraced, with special sessions being published on the club’s You Tube pagefor fans to join in from their own living rooms along with players such as Jonathan Phillips and Robert Dowd.

“It’s been great,” said Mawer, a former player himself with a number of years spent playing at lower levels before going full-time in his current role five years ago. “The boys have been great and they want it too because they are used to a structured routine and want that in their day.

“I’ve found it quite easy, I’m pretty tech-savvy and it’s not difficult to set up a Zoom session and get everyone on.

“We’ve done that many of them now, they know how I run my sessions. But what is great about it is that they can actually see what you and everyone else is doing, it’s not like you are just texting somebody a programme.

“They are all doing it together, they are all working hard and then they are having a chat together at the end of it, which is just like being back in the locker room during the season so they are also getting that social connection as well, which is vital.

“It’s not ideal, but we are just making the best of it right now and making sure we can be in the best position down the line.”

Heart monitors and use of associated fitness apps and programmes enable Mawer to keep track of each player both during the season and in the summer.

He liaises closely with head coach Fox and is able to provide the Steelers’ head coach with valuable information about players’ performance levels both during and in between games, as well as during midweek practise sessions.

There are many aspects to Mawer’s role, each providing its own challenge, some made more difficult than others because of the current situation.

“In the season, you can be at the rink 12 hours a day, seven days a week,” he added. “But when you love it, you don’t care about that.

“There’s a great sports science element to the fitness side of things these days which is what I studied in.

“But whether it is nutrition, bio-mechanics, rehabbing injuries, whatever – it’s all driven by making sure every player gets what they need in order to perform to the very best of their ability and ultimately making sure no stone is left unturned.

“Everything that we do is very structured, everything is driven by the process which, ultimately, is put in place by the head coach.”

And the head coach is quick to appreciate the vital role that Mawer plays for the Steelers’ organisation, throughout the whole year.

“I didn’t know Danny before I took the job here but he came as advertised, having spoken to a couple of players I knew beforehand,” said Fox.

“He has the heart, soul and passion and is a guy I don’t need to micro-manage at all. You know you are going to get top line stuff with Danny.

“He does an unreal job. Even over the summer here, this current situation isn’t easy and he finds a way to motivate and get these guys online, both overseas and here.

“He loves working for the club, we value him immensely and does an unbelievable job for us.”

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