“I believe in data-driven coaching." - Kathit Sondhi

Our latest student story features Kathit Sondhi, a former international-level combat sport athlete now working as a performance coach at Netrin Sports Technologies and a student on the BSc in Strength & Conditioning.

Kathit shares insights into his sporting background, his philosophy as a coach, and the role data plays in supporting the athletes he now works with.

From High-Performance Athlete to Data-Driven Coach

Sport has always played a central role in Kathit’s life. Growing up in India, he trained within high-performance environments and developed an early awareness of sport science. He recognised a gap in the industry for skilled strength and conditioning professionals and decided to make the move from athlete to coach.

“I am an international-level athlete turned into a strength and conditioning trainer,” he shared. “I have trained in a high-performance sports environment, so I was pretty much aware of sport science. However, the industry was still nascent in India, and I realised that our country is lacking in S&C skilled professionals. That was the time I made my decision to pursue a BSc from Setanta and step into this industry.”

Drawing from his own experiences as an athlete, Kathit’s coaching is grounded in data and backed by science.

“I believe in data-driven coaching,” he explained. “During my training time, I saw how coaches were reluctant to collect data and were not utilising it to actually improve performance. I believe training backed by science and data can really help us make informed decisions and cater to the athletes more effectively.”

Performance Coach at Netrin Sports Technologies

In his role as a Performance Coach at Netrin Sports Technologie, Kathit mostly works with endurance athletes.

“I am mostly dealing with endurance athletes- long-distance and middle-distance runners. I am responsible for strength and conditioning programmes for them as well as to monitor and adjust progress based on the internal and external load data,” he explained.

“My approach revolves around objective monitoring, data interpretation, and individualised programming. We utilise HRV, HRR, resting heart rate, and load monitoring metrics to assess an athlete’s physiological state and readiness. By continuously tracking these parameters, I adjust training loads to ensure optimal adaptation while minimising injury risks,” he said. “In designing training programmes, I rely on GPS data, movement load, and internal load markers to create evidence-based periodisation models. This allows us to align training intensity with the athlete’s recovery status, ensuring sustainable performance improvements.”

While his main focus is on endurance athletes, Kathit applies the same foundational principles to all sport types. His programming is always sport-specific and guided by athlete profiling, ongoing monitoring, and load management.

“I tailor training programmes by combining data-driven insights with sport-specific demands,” he said. “My approach focuses on sport-specific analysis, athlete profiling, periodisation, and load management.”

Resilience Building

Given the high demands of endurance and combat sports, reducing injury risk is a critical part of Kathit’s work. He maintains a proactive approach, using data to manage workload and ensure recovery strategies are in place.

“I prefer to keep all the required data related to the athlete to manage overall workload and reduce injury risk from training,” he noted. “At the end of the day, injuries are part of the game, especially if you are in a sport like combat sports.”

Studying with Setanta College

Kathit enrolled in the BSc in Strength & Conditioning at Setanta College to formalise his practical experience and expand his theoretical knowledge. The flexible, online structure of the course has allowed him to continue working while advancing his education.

“I give all credit to Setanta College. The distance education programme is giving me the flexibility to work and study at the same time. Setanta has given me good quality and updated knowledge, which is helping me immensely,” he shared. “I’m looking forward to learning more.”

Advice for Future Coaches

For those considering a career in performance coaching, Kathit shares some advice.

“If you are looking to build a career in performance coaching, my advice would be: