Founder of the technique of microStretching and Stretch Therapy, and currently consulting for the Hungarian Athletics Federation, Dr Nikos C. Apostolopoulos spoke about stretching and its importance as a tool for proper recovery and regeneration, at the Hungarian University of Sports Science (HUSS).
It's rare to meet an international expert at the Hungarian University of Sports Science (HUSS) who has worked in four of the world's top sports leagues: the NBA (basketball), the NFL (American football), the NHL (hockey) and the English Premier League (football).
His name is Dr Nikos C. Apostolopoulos, who gave a lecture entitled "microStretching for Recovery and Regeneration" at the university as part of the Coaches' Club on Tuesday August 22nd, 2023, one of the accompanying events of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
"I've been preparing for this presentation all my life," jokes the professional when he is asked how long it took him to prepare for his speech. "The whole idea behind microStretching was to heal myself following a motor vehicle accident and a subsequent C5-C6 spinal fusion surgery. After seeing the benefits on myself, I began to implement my ideas working with treating athletes and non-athletes. I have worked in the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, and the English Premier League and currently I work for the Hungarian Athletics Federation to help their athletes prepare for the World Athletic Championships 2023. Last year they brought me in to prepare the athletes for the European Championships in Munich. I have lectured internationally, and I would love to teach at your university. I have developed a whole course on microstretching both from a coaching perspective and also from a therapist perspective to teach therapists how to stretch people properly, which is in demand with regards to helping individuals recover from physical and even mental and emotional trauma.”
Nikos has worked for English football clubs such as Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. He has worked for professional teams and players in National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), English Championship League, England Rugby League, and Major League Soccer (MLS).
Regarding the Coaches’ Club, it is the first time he has been invited by Frank Dick. He believes it is a good forum to basically get the idea of the importance of not just coaching but everything else that supplements coaching: recovery and regeneration, nutrition, mental and physical therapy. He says you need to develop a team to help the athlete. The Coaches’ Club tries to bring a lot of people from varied backgrounds to be able to facilitate such an idea.
Nikos tells us he was at the official opening ceremony of the National Athletics Centre back in June. With Coach Loren Seagrave, a coach of renowned distinction, having prepared and coached Olympic and World Champions in Track and Field, Nikos has been instrumental in preparing the following Hungarian athletes:
- Lili Anna Vindics-Toth (1500 and 5000 m)
- Vindics Balasz (800 m)
- Huller, Daniel (800 m)
- Bundschu, Patrik (4 x 100 m relay - men)
- Pap Mark (4 x 100 m relay - men)
- Szabo, Daniel (4 x 100 m relay - men)
- Rappai, Fani (400 m & 4 x 400 m relay-women)
- Nadhazy, Evelin (4 x 400 m relay – women)
- Mohai, Regina (4 x 400 m relay – women)
- Kerekes, Greta (100 m hurdles – women)
- Czosti, Jusztina (4 x 100 m relays – women)
- Kocsis, Anna Luca (4 x 100 m relays – women and under 20 European bronze champion in 100 m)
Last year in preparation for the European and World Championships 2022 in Eugene Oregon he also worked with Xénia Krizsán, a HUSS Student who finished fourth at the women’s heptathlon at this year’s World Athletics Championships, Budapest 2023 and Rita Nemes, who finished 10th in the women’s heptathlon at this year’s World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023.
Besides working with Hungarian athletes, international athletes have also consulted Nikos during this year’s World Athletic Championships: Jasmine Comacho-Quinn (100 m hurdle-women Olympic Champion, Tokyo), who competes for Puerto Rico, Milan Trajkovic (110 m hurdles-men), who competes for Cyprus and placed 12th at this year’s championships, Veronica Shanti Pereira (Singaporean Olympic Athlete in 100 m & 200 m women), who set a new national record for the 200 m at this years Championships.
"There is still a lot to do, and I think it is important that Hungarian coaches need to be able to be open-minded to be able to reach out to coaches and therapists like myself and coach Loren Segrave. Open-mindedness is a very important thing. There has to be a trust amongst bringing in people like myself, to be able to see what we can offer to help. I think there is a lot of potential for a lot of athletes here.”
Before returning to the UK at the end of September, from which he will be based for a while, Dr Nikos C. Apostolopoulos will be a keynote speaker at this years United World Wrestling (UWW) (governing body of Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling) Science Symposium, being held in Belgrade, Serbia on September 20th, 2023. The name of his topic is: To Fight another Day-The importance of proper recovery and regeneration.
As known, the university is heavily involved in the World Championships Volunteer Programme, and the university’s brand-new facility in Csörsz Street is one of the official training venues for the World Championships. In addition to the Coaches’ Club, the World Athletics held a half-day scientific conference in the Athens Hall of the university on 22 August.
