James So

James So

Assistant Rugby Coach

Followers of James So1000 followers
location of James SoHong Kong-China

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  • Timeline

  • About me

    International Area Manager - Asia Pacific @ Unifrog

  • Education

    • Canadian International School of Hong Kong

      2010 - 2014
      High School

      Activities and Societies: School rugby team, Symphonic Winds (School band), Jazz Band International Baccalaureate & Ontario Secondary School Diploma

    • St Mary’s University, Twickenham

      2019 - 2023
      Master's degree Strength and Conditioning Merit

      Modules:Practical Techniques in Strength and ConditioningResearch Methods and Evidence Based PracticeBiomechanics and Skill Acquisition in Strength and ConditioningPhysiology of TrainingProgramme Design, Planning and MonitoringTopical Issues in Strength and ConditioningIndependent Project - Dissertation title: "Understanding surf coaches’ perceptions of using external vs internal focus of attention and its impact on their coaching language"

    • University of Bath

      2014 - 2018
      Bachelor’s Degree Sports and Exercise Science with placement year 2:1

      Activities and Societies: Mens Rugby Union Strength & Conditioning Coach 2017-2018 Mens Rugby Union 3rd & 4th team 2015-2016 Mens Rugby Union Committee - Kit Secretary 2017-2018; 2015-2016 Mixed Touch Rugby - 2014-2016 Latin & Ballroom Society 2015 Year 1 modules: Human physiology, Functional anatomy, The coaching environment, Intro to sport & exercise psychology, Intro to research design & statistics, Biochemistry, Intro to human biomechanics, Professional development, Intro to strength & conditioning Year 2 modules: Advancing research design & statistics, Biomechanics and motor control of human movement, Exercise physiology, Psychological demands of sport, Intro to sport medicine, Psychology of exercise and health, Performance… Show more Year 1 modules: Human physiology, Functional anatomy, The coaching environment, Intro to sport & exercise psychology, Intro to research design & statistics, Biochemistry, Intro to human biomechanics, Professional development, Intro to strength & conditioning Year 2 modules: Advancing research design & statistics, Biomechanics and motor control of human movement, Exercise physiology, Psychological demands of sport, Intro to sport medicine, Psychology of exercise and health, Performance assessmentYear 3: Work placement year at Sydney Uni Sport and FitnessYear 4 modules: Nutrition & metabolism, Biomechanical analysis of human movement, Contemporary research issues in sport and exercise science, Applied sports psychology, Clinical biomechanics, Interdisciplinary study, Research Project (dissertation)Dissertation title: Is there a relationship between training load and injury risk in university athletes in collision sports? Show less

  • Experience

    • Hong Kong Rugby Union

      Jul 2013 - Dec 2013
      Assistant Rugby Coach

      I was a volunteer assistant coach for the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union during the summer of 2013. My job was to assist the head coach in running rugby courses for school children in Po Leung Kuk School, which also acts as an orphanage for the children. I helped organise rugby drills, skills sessions and also acted as the translator (English and Cantonese) between the children and the head coach. I was also given the opportunity to lead a few training sessions as part of a learning process for my high school. I led the training sessions, teaching children the basics to rugby and generally my job was to introduce the game to them in a fun and safe way Show less

    • Catalyst Media Group Ltd.

      Jun 2015 - Jul 2015
      Assistant Executive

      Summer Internship 2015 (Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Shanghai)Position: Assistant ExecutiveOrganization: Catalyst Media Group – Sports event organizerDuties: Assisting in the organization, running and China liaison work of the International Champions Cup China 2015. As an assistant executive to the partnership, I was involved in working with various groups of stakeholders and departments during the International Champions Cup China 2015. This included organizers, players, event managers, promoters and publicity officers.The football tournament was held in 3 major cities in China (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Shanghai) and included an extra match held in Shanghai before the official tournament started. Initially I was based in the Hong Kong office during the pre-tournament preparations. Thereafter, I worked in China for 2 weeks travelling between the 3 cities tasked with ensuring the tournament would run as smoothly as possible. Duties involved: 1. The translation of official documents from English to Chinese and vice versa, drafting and editing promotional materials.2. Handling visa applications and official requests from the participating teams and organizing flight logistics for the various operations teams.3. In the lead-up to the tournament in all three cities, I helped out with broadcasting, pitch management, club liaisons, and general operational duties.4. Pre-tournament site visits, evaluation of venues, transportation support and booking of vehicles, co-ordination and administrative support during the tournaments and with clearing and wrapping up after the tournament.This internship was an extremely rewarding experience for me as I was exposed to the different areas that exist in sports and events management. The practicality of my role meant that I was able to gain an understanding of what is involved in organizing and managing an event and to grasp the importance of timely and effective planning to ensure an event is a success. Show less

    • Sydney Uni Sport & Fitness

      Aug 2016 - Jun 2017
      Strength And Conditioning Intern

      Worked as a strength and conditioning intern working at Sydney Uni Sport and Fitness as part of my 1 year work placement for my degree at University of Bath. I worked in the SUSF high performance department assisting both individual and team athletes in their strength & conditioning work in the gym and on the field, helping them with their lifting techniques, warm-ups, recovery and condition the athletes so that they were able to perform to their optimal level in their sport. Duties involved:1. Writing specific gym programmes for individual athletes and taking them through their programmes in the high performance gym. Continuously updating programmes to ensure that athletes are improving and developing optimally to their full potential.2. Using GPS Sport software system to record and analyse data during training and games for Sydney University Football Club (Rugby Union). Data collected includes total distance run, accelerations/decelerations, high speed metres, and collisions.3. Assisting senior coaches in regular day to day tasks such as collecting strength testing data from athletes, creating warm-up, cool down, and mobility drills, and supervising the gym when athletes are training. Show less

    • Hong Kong Rugby Union

      Jul 2017 - Aug 2017
      Strength and Conditioning Intern

      I worked at Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) over the summer as an S&C intern in the physical preparation department. I was working with the senior mens elite rugby performance (ERP) squad which is the full time program for the HK 15s team. During my time there, I worked with the players in the gym sessions helping out the lead S&C coach, leading warm-up cool-down and mobility routines, providing technical coaching to the players and helped out with on-field sessions as well.I also worked with the Podium Program which is the elite Rugby Sevens program for players aged 14-18 with the aim of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which this group of players. I took their S&C sessions, providing technical coaching to a younger group of athletes. Due to the exclusive nature of the group, I was coaching a smaller group of players which allowed me to focus more time with each athlete in coaching. Show less

    • University of Bath

      Sept 2017 - May 2018
      Mens Rugby Union Strength and Conditioning Coach (Student trainer)

      Worked with all 4 BUCS rugby union teams at University of Bath. - Was in charge of S&C for the BUCS 3rd and 4th team. Roles and responsibilities include writing gym programs, booking specific S&C sessions for players to train together in the gym, running on field fitness sessions and liaising with the coaches with regards to the general conditions of the players in the team. - Assisted the lead S&C coach delivering gym sessions with the 1st and 2nd team. During their sessions I assist players in their programs and coach them through lifting technique, deliver warm ups before each session and conduct testing batteries for players as well. On game days, I travel with the 2nd and 3rd team and lead their pre match warm up, bench warm up and cool downs. Show less

    • Team Bath

      Oct 2017 - Apr 2018
      Casual Fitness Instructor

      I work at the Team Bath gym at the Sports Training Village at the University of Bath. Duties include cleaning and maintenance of gym equipment, making sure that everyone in the gym is training correctly and appropriately in the gym, providing gym induction sessions to newcomers and helping out with any enquiries in the gym

    • Millfield School

      Sept 2018 - Mar 2020

      - Delivery of athletic development sessions for tennis, netball and triathlon including profiling and monitoring- Mentoring of graduate athletic development coaches and placement students- Taking part in weekly internal CPD meetings and external CPD opportunities such as poster presentation at UKSCA conference - Designing and delivering athletic development programmes for pupils - Working with athletics, netball, triathlon and rugby

      • Assistant Athletic Development Coach

        Aug 2019 - Mar 2020
      • Graduate Athletic Development Coach

        Sept 2018 - Aug 2019
    • Leeds United Football Club

      Mar 2020 - Sept 2021
      Academy Physical Development Coach (9-16)

      - Delivering the academy physical development programme for players in the U9-U16 age groups through implementation of gym-based programmes, on field conditioning, and physical profiling and monitoring in line with the EPPP requirements- Working as part of a multidisciplinary team closely with physiotherapists, performance analysts, psychologist, nutritionist, and age group football coaches to provide a holistic approach towards the physical development for academy players- Contribute to the academy internal and external CPD programme as part of my developmental action plan Show less

    • Appear Here

      Sept 2021 - Jul 2023
      Brand Host

      - Sales operations for retail spaces to exciting independent brands - Delivering customer service to solve problems that occur before, during, and after a brand’s tenancy

    • Flychain

      May 2022 - Aug 2022
      Outreach Coordinator

      - LinkedIn outreach to 3PL companies for a start-up specialising in logistics and eCommerce- Oversaw database management of connections and potential clients for future outreach

    • Uplinq

      Aug 2022 - Jul 2023
      Business Development

      Uplinq is the first, global credit scoring & assessment platform for SMB Lenders.- Performed sales outreach to small business lenders looking to make more informed decisions of loan applications using our credit decisioning support technology- Managed the outbound sales through calls (average 250 dials per week), emails, LinkedIn, and testing different outreach campaigns

    • Houst

      Jul 2023 - Jul 2024
      Sales Executive

      - Performed inbound and outbound sales to landlords looking for a short-let management service as part of a global sales team selling to national and international locations- Experienced in pipeline management, hitting monthly targets, sales CRM software and collaborating with wider divisions of the company including marketing, operations and customer success- Managed the outbound sales process for the company that included lead generation, cold outreaching and testing various campaigns to prospective clients through different channels- Interim sales manager for our global sales team covering for paternity leave (4 weeks), trained new joiners, and managed the monthly KPIs Show less

    • Unifrog

      Dec 2024 - now
      International Area Manager - Asia Pacific

      - Managing new and existing partnerships with international schools in the Asia Pacific region- Supporting staff and students with short term and long term strategies to ensure that they are getting the most out of the Unifrog platform

  • Licenses & Certifications

    • Accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach

      UK Strength & Conditioning Association (UKSCA)
      Jan 2019
    • Scuba Diver

      PADI
      Jan 2018
      View certificate certificate
    • Trumpet Grade 8

      ABRSM
      Jan 2014
    • Coaching the 15-a-side game (UKCC Level 2) Course - Rugby

      Rugby Football Union
      Mar 2014
    • ASCA Level 1 Strength & Conditioning Coach

      Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA)
      Oct 2017
    • ISAK Level 1 Anthropometrist

      The International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK)
      Mar 2017
  • Volunteer Experience

    • Project Assistant

      Issued by Ocean Recovery Alliance on Aug 2024
      Ocean Recovery AllianceAssociated with James So
    • Environment Fundraising Manager

      Issued by Better Together Indonesia on Aug 2024
      Better Together IndonesiaAssociated with James So