Jobs4football meets Vlade Bendic
Jobs4football meets this week focuses on Strength and Conditioning coach Vlade Bendic, a coach who is currently working in the Saudi Pro league but who started his career within football in his native Croatia.
Vlade is a highly qualified candidate who boasts a masters degree in Faculty of Kinesiology whilst also maximising other educational courses such as FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine and becoming a performance specialist of EXOS. In addition to his impressive education he also is proficient in GPS analysis, strength training, injury rehabilitation, return to play protocols as well as training monitoring.
An impressive resume also displays a career pathway with trajectory. He started his career within academy football in Croatia and progressed to First team opportunities at third tier side NK Hrvace. However the mindset was also to further develop his career and moving abroad was an opportunity he could not refuse In August 2021 he joined Saudi Pro League side Damac initially within the Academy until he was eventually promoted into the First team environment due to the quality of work he delivered. 2023 saw a change of team, as he undertook a new role at another Saudi Pro League side Al Tai.
Vlade has achieved a lot within a short tenure of working experience. He has worked in Europe and in the Gulf, he has engaged with First Team and Academy environments and on top of that managed to learn a number of languages on the side!
Jobs4football were fortune enough to ask Vlade a number of questions about his career thus far, covering his attention to Injury Rehabilitation and Return to Field Protocols, experience of Team Collaboration and Communication as well as understanding multilingual and Cultural Adaptability in football.
Q: How would you describe your overall training philosophy and approach to strength and conditioning, especially in the context of working with athletes in the Saudi Pro League?
A: My training philosophy aims to minimize the possibility of injury. Injuries are an integral part of sports and there will always be them, and no matter what we do, we can never say that an injury will not happen. I try to reduce the possibility of injury to a minimum by systematic and planned work of the entire staff and individual methods in prevention training, strength training and training load monitoring. In addition to the above, the goal is to improve the physical performance of the players, which will give a better impact in the performance on the field.
Q: Can you elaborate on your experience with GPS analysis and IT skills in the context of monitoring and enhancing athletic performance? How do you use technology to optimise training programs?
A: Every training, the players wear GPS devices. At the end of each training session, in addition to the parameters recorded by the GPS devices, I also take a subjective rating of perceived exertion for each individual player, which is used to assess the difficulty of the training session. With the help of the training load monitoring system in Power BI that I developed, I make a report at the end of each training session. This gives me a simple insight into the effort invested in the training of an individual player. Also, through continuous monitoring and the live system of GPS devices, the head coach receives information about players who are potentially overloaded, and with his decision, that player is dosed in a particular exercise.
Q: Could you share a specific example of a successful injury rehabilitation case from your work with the Damac U-15 or Al Tai First team? What strategies did you employ to ensure a successful return to play?
A: The most common injuries in football are hamstring injuries. When the injury occurred, the rehabilitation process always begins with the medical staff. With the help of diagnostics, the doctor determines how severe the injury is. Accordingly, the first part of the rehabilitation process takes place through therapy with medical services. When the doctor allows the transition to the next stage, then the player begins the rehabilitation part with me. The first 3-4 days we spend with strength training in the gym. After that, the rest of the process of returning to the field takes place on the field itself. Before going out on the field, the player still spends a certain part of training in the gym and physical preparation for what awaits him later on the field. On the field, the training consists of a dynamic warm-up, dynamic technique, polygon with the ball, saq, acceleration and reaching maximum speed, and ends with interval runs, depending on each training session. Player wear a GPS device and the planned training load is controlled in real time. In daily communication with the doctor and after tests at the end of the rehabilitation process (in the gym and on the field), the player joins training with the rest of the team.
Q: With certifications such as the Functional Strength Coach Levels and the FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine, how do you ensure that you stay updated with the latest advancements in strength and conditioning and sports science?
A: I am constantly looking for opportunities to expand my knowledge and stay up to date with the latest developments in the field of sports science. I regularly attend conferences, workshops and seminars to ensure that my understanding of exercise physiology, biomechanics and sports psychology remains current. In addition, I regularly exchange experiences and thinking with colleagues who work at a professional level, which additionally contributes to my personal education.
Q: How do you integrate your academic background, including a Masters degree in Kinesiology, into your practical work with athletes? In what ways has your education influenced your coaching methods?
A: My education gave me guidelines for planning and programming training and for applying training methods and principles. This enabled me to further research certain principles and in that way to come up with my own system of working with athletes.
Q: Describe how you collaborate with other members of the coaching staff and medical team to ensure a holistic approach to athlete development and performance optimisation.
A: I have proven experience in effective collaboration with multidisciplinary teams consisting of coaches, physiotherapists and nutritionists in creating holistic and integrated athlete development programs. My strong interpersonal skills, along with my ability to communicate complex scientific concepts in a clear and concise manner, have enabled me to establish positive and productive working relationships within the sport. Quality communication on a daily basis enables positive results for the entire staff.
Q: Considering your proficiency in multiple languages, including English and Arabic, how do you navigate communication challenges and cultural differences when working with athletes and coaching staff from diverse backgrounds in the Saudi Pro League?
A: When I work in different cultural environments, the most important thing for me is to adapt to the environment and culture in which I work. I like to learn new languages and thus create a connection with people in the city where I live or at the club where I work. Also i learned Arabic language as a sign of respect for the culture and country where I worked.
There is no doubt as experts within the field of football staff recruitment, that we will see Vlade Bendic continue his positive approach to learning and that will reflect in the level of next role that he achieves in Europe, Gulf or Asia. Jobs4football look forward to the continuous support of your profile.