The Founder

Damian Roden

Background

After six years working with the FA of Wales, where he helped transform the delivery of coach education, Damian was recruited to the reputable sports science department at Bolton Wanderers FC by the well-respected Sam Allardyce. It is here that he began to introduce his philosophy, ‘Fit For Every Game’.

For a four-year period, and with an ageing squad of players, they were the only team outside the ‘Big Four’ teams to finish in the top eight of the Premier League every season, qualifying for European competition twice.

Damian was then recruited as Head of Sports Science by Mark Hughes, first for Blackburn Rovers FC and then Manchester City FC. Hughes was one of the most forward-thinking British coaches at the time and, as with Allardyce at Bolton, steered both Rovers and City into European competition using the same methods.

In 2010, having been headhunted by the Australian Football Federation to become their Head of Performance and help develop a well-established national team structure, an almost fatal deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), suffered during his first training camp with the Socceroos, brought the role to an abrupt end.

However, the next year, the same role was presented to him with his home nation Wales, where he was reunited with colleagues Gary Speed (Bolton), Osian Roberts (FA of Wales), and Raymond Verheijen (Manchester City). Following an initial developmental period, Wales became the most improved team in the FIFA World Rankings, highlighting the progress made under Speed. Wales went on to reach the semi-finals of their first European finals tournament in 2016.

Following the tragic end to close friend Gary Speed’s tenure with Wales, Damian went back to the Premier League and spent four years with Stoke City as Head of Sports Science. During that time, Stoke had the fewest injuries of all Premier League teams. They also achieved the highest league position and points total in the club’s history, for three consecutive seasons.

In 2018, Damian then moved on to Seattle Sounders and as Director of High Performance, the club became MLS Champions, Western Conference Champions, and won the Cascadia Cup two seasons in a row. They had the best start, the best half-season in MLS history, and the best 25-game streak, including nine straight wins – additional MLS records. During Damian’s tenure, Seattle recorded their highest points total, highest overall league position in years, and the highest player availability in the club’s history.

Most recently, Damian was the Director of Performance at RSC Anderlecht and continued to successfully implement his philosophy and influence a forward-thinking group of coaches, practitioners and players. In two seasons the club managed to re-establish itself as a force, secured European football and achieved the highest player availability in the league.

Damian is now a Director and part-owner of the reputable ‘Radcliffe Group’ advising clubs and educating and developing coaches, practitioners and players alike.