Meet the Team
Elite coaches, clinicians and performance specialists — online, ready to support your sporting journey.
Our Network
A Global Online Team
The most important members of the athlete's team are the technical and tactical coaches, with the support of parents. At The Hub, we offer the opportunity to add new team members around the athletes who can add their skills and expertise to the coach and parents' team.
The Hub team are working with club levels athletes, junior, senior, all the way through to professional full-time athletes. Every team member of The Hub is incredibly experienced in working as an integrated team member, they understand how their expertise fits into the bigger picture of athlete programme development. Through the 'Hub Inner Circle Programme' you will be offered the opportunity to work with members of our team, online via live Zoom meetings.
Senior Hub Global Team
Nino Severino, Chris McManus PhD, Dr Ajit Mapari, James Reynolds, Ben Haining, and Wez Pooley are committed to supporting technical coaches, athletes, and parents, with their shared knowledge, ensuring that the need of the athlete or young developing sports person is paramount. As you can see from their profiles, they are highly skilled in this process.
The Senior Hub Global Team will welcome you as a new member of The Global Hub sporting community. You can feel totally confident that the Team have the expertise to ensure that you have access to incredibly valuable programme resource. Their objective is to also provide you, your team or your association with the performance solutions that can dramatically affect your sporting life.
Whether you are an aspiring club level junior athlete committed to simply improving your level, or an international senior athlete looking to put in place an online backroom staff, Nino Severino, Dr Chris McManus, Dr Ajit Mapari, James Reynolds and Wez Pooley are here, online to support you.
Nino Severino – Founder & Creator of The Hub
Former Olympic Coach, Programme Manager to Official EIS World Class athletes, Olympians and Professional Athletes. Prolific Programme creator, clients include Manchester United Football Club, UK PGA, LTA, ECCB and ABA, to name but a few.
Nino now dedicates himself to supporting coaches, parents and athletes in finding solutions to support performance. He has the ability to work with any level of athlete, Nino simply wants to work with any athlete who wants to be focused on improving their sporting ability.
Chris McManus PhD – Senior Hub Consultant
- Lecturer, School of Sports Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences
- Director, Human Performance Unit
- Design and deliver effective teaching and learning in creative and innovative ways appropriate to sports nutrition, exercise physiology and exercise testing.
- Engage in individual and collaborative research activity.
- Generate external research funding, including in collaboration with colleagues.
- Act as 'Radiation Protection Supervisor' (RPS) for the operation of the DXA unit.
- Oversee the strategic development and direction of the Human Performance Unit.
Publications
McManus, C., Venkatraman, P., Sandercock, G (2020) The measurement of interface pressure applied by sports compression garments: a comparative study of two portable devices. Measurement 156, 107592
McManus, C. J., Murray, K. A., & Parry, D. A. (2017). Applied Sports Nutrition Support, Dietary Intake and Body Composition Changes of a Female Athlete Completing 26 Marathons in 26 Days: A Case Study. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 16(1), 112–116.
Oral Presentations
McManus, C (2014) Performance, body composition and dietary intake of a female athlete completing 26 marathons in 26 days – a case study. British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences, St Georges Park.
Collison, J., McManus, C., Jones, B., Cooper, C (2015) A Comparison of the Moxy and PortaMon Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Devices at Rest and During Exercise. Endurance Research Conference, University of Kent.
Consultancy Projects
SKINS International Trading AG (2014 – 2017): Principle investigator across six consultancy projects, working with a sports compression company. These projects include assessing the impact of prototype garments on athletic performance, wear-testing and quality assurance processes relating to the amount of pressure applied by garments. Chris was required to design, oversee implementation, analysis, and reporting of findings.
GB Basketball – Senior Women (2015): Acting as consultant sports nutritionist for the squad; propose a plan for varied meals at a month long camp at Worcester, discuss the plan and implementation with two camp caterers (hotel and university caterers for dinner & lunch) and provide support and supervision to GB Team Manager and the Caterers during camp.
Dr Ajit Mapari – Senior Hub Consultant
He is working as a consultant sports & exercise medicine in Pune, India. His experience spans more than 20 years in the related field. He completed his masters in Sports & Exercise Medicine from University of Exeter, Devon, UK.
Professional Roles
Worked as a tournament doctor at south Asia's biggest tennis event the TATA Maharashtra Open ATP 250 in February 2022. Part of the medical team to the Indian Tennis team at the Davis Cup tie against New Zealand. Sports medicine consultant at the Tata Open Maharashtra ATP tennis tournament in 2019. The team doctor – FC Pune City representing the Indian Super League (ISL) from 2013 – 2018. Team Doctor for Dabang Delhi Kabaddi Club during the Pro Kabaddi league season 3 & 4. Sports Doctor for the first Indian Badminton league. Cricket DCO / Chaperon for the India-Australia ODI series 2013 & India – West Indies test match series 2013.
His area of work includes injury prevention & management, sports specific fitness guidance and program execution; covering events as a sports doctor.
He is a TEDx speaker, director at ISSRA (Integrated Sports Science Research Association) & also at the IRBF (International Roll Ball Federation).
As a founder of "iFit2Sport" he and his team work in this field for a better future in sports specific fitness & performance enhancement – help building champions from more than 16 sports disciplines including some of India's international medal winners are currently provided related assistance.
James Reynolds – Senior Hub Consultant
James has previously worked with: NHS, Private Practice, Ipswich Town FC, Crystal Palace FC, Manchester City FC, The FA, University of Suffolk. James was Head of Sports Science and Medicine at Ipswich Town Football Club, and has worked with a number of clubs as well as The FA. He has an exceptional understanding of the holistic needs of the athlete, junior and senior alike.
He was an important part of ITFC medical staff, offering medical support and physiotherapy to academy players. He also worked alongside first-team physios Matt Byard and Alex Chapman in ensuring all players have access to medical professionals. As a Clinical expert with over 15 years' experience in Specialist Sports Physiotherapy for Adults and Children, James specialises in Sports and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy and has many years of experience in Professional Football where he directed the development, treatment and rehabilitation of players at Ipswich Town Football Club.
Ben Haining – Senior Hub Consultant
Ben is an award-winning Athletic Development and Performance coach and Physical Educator who has worked with elite youth and adult athletes across sports at junior, professional and international level in his capacity as a Strength and Conditioning specialist for over 20 years.
Graduating from Loughborough University, Ben taught PE in Secondary Education before moving into professional cricket as Head of Strength and Conditioning at Sussex County Cricket Club. Ben was also a consultant to the England U19 Cricket team in preparation for the U19 World Cup. In 2004, Ben was Assistant Basketball Coach at the Athens Paralympics with the GB Women's Wheelchair Basketball team. In 2008 he worked in British Tennis for the LTA as Strength and Conditioning Co-ordinator for the South of England.
Ben remained involved in cricket as a consultant to Surrey County Cricket Club from 2009 to 2011. Ben continues to consult with elite athletes across sports and works in his full-time capacity as Head of Sports Performance Programme and Strength and Conditioning at Reed's School.
Wez Pooley – Senior Hub Consultant
FA England Women S & C, Premiership Football S & C, National Educator for Apec, Coach to Elite International Athletes, Wezley went on to develop into a Strength and Conditioning coach for International Rugby and Premiership/International Football teams, as well as now working with GB athletes.
Wez has a degree in Sports Science, Masters in Teaching and is a qualified sports coach. He has worked in the education and fitness industry for 20 years including being a professional athlete, personal trainer, class instructor and training trainers. He completed a Sports Science degree and played professional and international rugby before becoming an educator in the Health and Fitness industry. He is currently Performance Director for MUHDO Health, a DNA profiling company.
Dr Raphael Villatore Dias – Senior Hub Consultant
- Sports Medicine Specialist | Medical Director & Aspetar NSMP Physician
Dr. Raphael Villatore Dias is a highly accomplished sports medicine physician with a distinctive dual foundation in Physical Therapy (2005) and Medicine (2013), bringing nearly two decades of expertise in elite athlete care and performance medicine. He holds a Master's Degree in Football Medicine and is a FIMS-certified Team Physician, reflecting his commitment to delivering evidence-based, world-class medical care in high-performance sport.
Dr. Dias began his career in Brazilian professional football, spending three years with Criciúma EC (Serie B), where he gained extensive experience in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of elite athletes. He subsequently transitioned to the Middle East, where he has played a pivotal role in advancing sports medicine standards for leading professional football clubs over the past four years.
Currently serving as an Aspetar NSMP Physician, Dr. Dias combines clinical excellence with a multidisciplinary approach to athlete management. Through his role at Aspetar, he has cultivated a robust network of internationally recognised specialists in radiology, biomechanics, Ortho biologics, and performance science, enabling integrated, cutting-edge care for elite athletes. His expertise spans injury prevention, return-to-play strategies, and the optimisation of athletic performance, making him a trusted physician within professional sport.
Dr Saima Ajaz – Senior Hub Consultant
Dr Saima Ajaz leads the Hub Sport Online department focused on female athlete support. Female-specific sports programmes are essential because women have unique physiological and biomechanical needs that influence performance, training, and recovery. Hormonal changes and menstrual cycles can affect energy levels, strength, and injury risk, while differences in skeletal structure increase the likelihood of knee injuries, including ACL tears. Access to this tailored education and support through Dr Saima's knowledge will help female athletes better understand their bodies, optimise performance, reduce injury risk, and make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing.
Dr Saima Ajaz has contributed as a founding member of a global longevity forum, supporting international dialogue around innovation, early detection, and integrative models of care. In parallel, she remains actively involved in cross-border initiatives advancing women's longevity and preventive health programmes across the UAE and wider Middle East, with a focus on translational implementation, precision health, and sustainable system design.
Alongside this work, Dr Ajaz has led the development of a female-first genetic and epigenetic performance platform that addresses the unique physiological and biomechanical factors influencing female athletes. Specifically designed to assess structural integrity and ligament vulnerability, including anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk, the platform analyses collagen and ligament-related genetic markers to identify predispositions to tendon stress and connective tissue weakness. These insights enable personalised prehabilitation, training load optimisation, and menstrual cycle-informed performance strategies, supporting injury prevention while enhancing long-term resilience, recovery, and performance outcomes in female athletes.
Ready to Join The Hub?
Work with our senior global team online and give athletes, coaches and parents access to elite-level performance support.