Steve Black

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Topics:

• Leadership
• Motivation & Teamwork
• Peak Performance
• Sport

Rob Andrew calls him a ‘one-off’. Jonny Wilkinson lays much of the credit for his unparalleled success at his door. Graham Henry, the All Blacks coach, calls him “the best motivator I’ve ever encountered”. Steve Black describes himself as a chameleon - someone who is able to evolve to suit the needs of the persons he is coaching at each individual circumstance. Widely regarded as one of the UK's best fitness conditioning coaches, Steve is in great demand as a motivational and keynote speaker, drawing on his experiences in his successful coaching career. 

Early days

Steve first worked as a bouncer in Newcastle, before studying for a Sports Science degree and embarking on a career in sport. He has coached with Kevin Keegan at Newcastle United when they won promotion at the start of the Keegan Era, with Peter Reid at Sunderland when they won promotion to the Premiership and with Paul Bracewell at Fulham before they were promoted to the Premiership. But it was in rugby that Steve really made his mark.

Successful Career

Steve has coached at international level with Wales and the British & Irish Lions. Steve also coached with Rob Andrew at Newcastle Falcons. With his revolutionary approach, the Falcons won the League and the Tetley’s Bitter Cup. Word of Steve's huge succes began to spread, and Graham Henry, now manager of th All Blacks asked Steve to join him at Wales RFU. During his time with Wales the national team saw a renewed confidence peaking with an eleven match winning run, the longest in the side's entire history. Steve's next port of call was the British & Irish Lions rugby team. The 2001 tour to Australia further developed Steve's knowledge of elite sports competition. Steve returned to the Falcons with Rob Andrew where they went on to win the Powergen Cup. A coaching CV of some distinction, wouldn’t you agree?

The Times writes of him “Steve Black is acknowledged as the best conditioning coach in the world”. Steve’s unique approach to coaching people has been received with acclaim in all manner of different fields. The application of these immensely successful techniques into business, everyday life and even academia has consistently shown to lead to results.

An author

Steve's biography, ‘Blackie’ co-authored with Arthur MacKenzie, was published in 2004. The book has been serialised in The Times and has received very positive feedback.  His latest literary accomplishment has been to co-write Jonny Wilkinson’s book ‘Tackling Life’.

Steve presents keynote speeches, seminars and management conferences all over the world centred around five main topics. These are motivation, leadership, teamwork, top-level performance and effectiveness. Many people around the world benefit from his insights, ranging from Jonny Wilkinson in sport through to Siemens and John Lewis in business, and a host of people in between!