Recorded Webinar – Recorded on 6 Feb 2026

Prepare Like a Starter: A Proactive Approach to Keeping Non-Starters Match-Ready

Recorded on Friday, 6th February 2026

What happens when your next starter hasn’t played a match in three weeks and gets called on tomorrow?

As a coach, you can’t afford to wait until match week to find out whether a player is ready. That means ensuring every player can tolerate the full physiological demands of competition before they’re called upon.

Live webinar was held on Friday, 6th February 2026, with Jake Gillies and Jonathan Ward from Bristol Bears Rugby Club, as they revealed how they ensure all of their team’s non-playing players are ready to start on match day.

During this live session hosted by Firstbeat’s Christoph Rottensteiner, Jake and Jonathan discuss:

Proactively managing non-starters to keep them match-ready
Managing return-to-play protocols supported by physiological data
Supporting rehabilitation and overseeing players who are unfit or outliers
Simplifying metrics and data, and communicating them effectively to players
What to do when coaches intervene in real time

Speakers

Jake Gillies First Team Sports Scientist, Bristol Bears

Jake Gillies is the First Team Sports Scientist at Bristol Bears. He has spent 10 seasons working in professional Rugby Union and prior to that worked in British Basketball. His role primarily operates within the Athletic Performance department at the club, but also spans across Medical, Coaching, and Analysis.

Jonathan Ward First Team Athletic Performance Coach, Bristol Bears

Dr Jonathan Ward (PhD) is an Athletic Performance Coach with 15 years of coaching experience. He currently works as a First Team Athletic Performance Coach at Bristol Bears, supporting the physical preparation of professional rugby players.

Previously, Jonathan has worked internationally across elite rugby environments, including Provence Rugby, FC Grenoble, and the Queensland Reds. Alongside coaching, he is a peer-reviewed author with a strong interest in linking research to day-to-day performance practice.

Christoph Rottensteiner PhD, Manager, Professional Sports Sales EMEA, Firstbeat

Christoph Rottensteiner holds a doctoral degree in sports science from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. From 2010 to 2014, the native-born Grazer worked as a research assistant at the Finnish Olympic training center KIHU in a national longitudinal research project. His passion for scientific analysis of physiological data, technological innovation and professional sports in all its facets finally brought him to Firstbeat, where he has been head of the German-speaking region since 2014.

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