Meet Jamie 👋🏼
I’m Jamie — founder of JJ Strength & Fitness and Youth Performance Coach based in Oxford, UK.
I help young athletes build strength, speed, coordination, confidence, and resilience — not just to perform better in sport, but to develop skills and habits that stay with them for life.
But beyond coaching, I’m also a dad, a weekend bread baker, a hot sauce enthusiast, and someone who genuinely enjoys learning new languages.
And if your child isn’t naturally the loudest, most confident, or most fearless athlete in the group — I understand that more than most.
Why Youth Coaching Matters to Me
When I was younger, sport wasn’t always easy for me.
I played rugby, but I wasn’t the teenager charging into contact or throwing myself into every challenge.
If anything, I was kinda the opposite.
I was the teenager who felt a bit nervous about contact on the rugby pitch. The one who often held back and avoided really getting stuck in all the time.
Not because I didn’t care — but because confidence, physicality, and belief in myself didn’t come naturally.
Looking back, I realise that what I lacked wasn’t effort.
I lacked physical confidence.
I didn’t yet understand how strength, movement skills, and feeling capable in my own body could completely change the way I approached sport.
That understanding came later — and it changed everything.
From Ski Bum to Strength Coach
When I was 21, I left university and moved to the Swiss Alps to become what can only be described as a full-time ski bum.
For six years, life revolved around skiing hard, partying hard, and avoiding anything that looked remotely like adult responsibility.
It was fun — until it wasn’t.
Eventually, I realised I was drifting towards a future I didn’t want.
I was unhealthy, low on energy, undisciplined, and nowhere near the person I wanted to become.
That’s when I discovered strength training and proper physical preparation.
Training gave me more than fitness.
It gave me confidence.
It taught me resilience, discipline, and what it feels like to trust your body.
And I often think how valuable those lessons would have been if I’d learned them earlier.
That’s a huge part of why I coach young athletes today.
Why I Coach Young Athletes the Way I Do
For me, youth athletic development isn’t about turning children into professional athletes.
It’s about helping them:
Move better
Build strength safely
Develop speed and coordination
Gain confidence in physical situations
Become more resilient and capable
Enjoy sport more and stay active for life
Some children arrive already confident.
Others are quieter, less physical, or unsure of themselves.
Both deserve coaching that helps them grow.
My goal is to create an environment where young athletes feel supported, challenged, and successful — whether they play rugby, football, hockey, cricket, athletics, or simply want to become more confident and athletic.
Youth Athletic Coaching in Oxford
At JJ Strength & Fitness, I work with young athletes across Oxfordshire to help them become stronger, faster, more confident, and more resilient.
I coach young people from:
North Oxford
Summertown
Headington
Cowley
Bicester
Kidlington
Woodstock
Surrounding Oxfordshire areas
Sessions take place in my private training space in Kidlington — a welcoming environment designed to help young athletes develop without the pressure or intimidation of traditional gym settings.
Because the goal isn’t just better sport performance.
It’s helping young people build confidence that carries into every part of life.
