Returning to the Trent Bridge fold as Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach, Zak Bess feels familiarity will be beneficial as he aims to gain an in-depth understanding of Nottinghamshire's class of 2025.

The 31-year-old former Devon all-rounder - who was regularly involved in the Somerset pathway before taking up a strength and conditioning internship with the Wyverns - was appointed to the role at the beginning of the year, having been assistant to former Lead S&C Coach Liam Price from 2021 to 2023 before taking up a lead role at Worcestershire.

“It’s really great to be back,” Bess smiled, “It's been nice to come back into the fold and still know how things work around here.

“When I left Notts originally, I didn't necessarily want to leave; I was loving it here and I enjoyed working under Peter Moores - I thought Mooresy and the coaches were awesome.

“But I knew that I needed to go and lead at a pro team from a progression point of view.

“I loved my time at Worcester, it’s a great club with great people. Then Trants [Phil Tranter, Head of Science and Medicine] gave me the call about the opportunity to come back to Trent Bridge, and I knew I couldn’t turn it down.”

Though he returns with a new level of seniority at the club, and more leadership experience under his belt, Bess emphasised the need for a pragmatic approach to his post.

“I don’t want to just dive straight in and start chopping things up and changing things,” he said, “I haven't seen some of these boys physically for probably a couple of years now, so I'm very careful in terms of going in and just changing something for the sake of it.

“You want to have a good impact when you enter an environment. For me, it always comes down to the nature of my role which is to make the best decision possible for the player, who has got to come first.”

With the turn of the year, a pre-season tour to Abu Dhabi is on the horizon and the County Championship campaign is now less than three months away.

“It’s a good opportunity to spend time with the lads," said Bess of the upcoming trip overseas.

"I think that quality time just helps to reconnect with those guys I haven't seen as much since I left, and then build relationships with those new lads that have joined since I've been away, particularly on tours like that where you really get to see the detail of people's habits.

“You see what gets them going in the mornings, what sort of things they eat at breakfast, and all of that just adds another layer of detail into my role, which then helps put the foundations in for the season.

“The last week or 10 days, I've prioritised simply getting eyes on the boys: having conversations about where they're at physically, having a look through their testing data, getting eyes on them in the gym and seeing how they're lifting weights, checking their technique and their intensity,” Bess explained, “I’m trying to observe all their behaviours and how they're going about their business, to give myself a complete picture of where they are as individuals.

“We've had Kevin Paxton [a physical performance expert and consultant] here for the last block, who has been working really hard with the lads whilst we've had that gap between Liam Price leaving and myself coming in. He has done an excellent job with them, really nailed down the basics with them and made a really good base to push on from.”

Still a club player for local side Plumtree CC - and previously a full-back for Leicestershire-based Rugby Union side Syston - Bess’ personal experience of playing high-standard sport has been an influence on his career path in physical coaching.

It, in addition to having the necessary charisma, is a highly useful tool in providing the best guidance possible for Nottinghamshire’s athletes throughout the toil of the cricketing summer and the months spent away from the square.

“It’s helpful to have experienced those different environments and understand how you feel when you're playing those long format games," he explained.

"You’re tired, you’re travelling a lot, and you've bowled 20 overs in the day, for example. It’s helpful to understand how your body actually would feel in those situations.

“I just think that helps me understand the players side a little bit more. And then when it comes to the actual finesse of S&C work, picking exercises and stuff, you’ve got a little bit of experience in terms of how those exercises make you feel as an athlete. When the lads have little niggles or whatever it is, you can fine-tune and make your plan B as close to plan A as possible.

“Mooresy would say to me that if you understand cricket, and you can show the lads the movements that you're looking for in a specific context, it’s much easier to get that buy-in from the players.

“The biggest part of being an S&C coach is the relationship that you build with players,” he continued, “If you have a good relationship and you can understand them and their personalities and what they're trying to achieve, then it enables you to hopefully get the best out of that athlete.

“Ultimately it’s their career, so you have to be doing it for them.”

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