The Athlete Academy Reviews

Anna Baginska 2026.05.26

     

Thank you for supporting Liliana. She has thrived so much since joining the academy. The training complements her swimming perfectly, and she is achieving PBs regularly. She has everything it takes — she just needs to believe in herself. Last weekend, during the EMF, she completed a 2k run with her brother and both did superbly. With no running training and deciding to do it spontaneously, she pushed through a stitch halfway through the race and still finished in 8:16. She placed 63rd overall but an impressive 13th girl — her time was not far off those of the athletics club pupils. I can't tell you how shocked we were. I thought it would just be a nice, relaxed run for her! A big thank you to you and all the coaches. I hope to speak to them in person before we head away for hols, but just in case I don’t get the chance — thank you all!

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.05.26

Thank you very much Anna! Brilliant to hear how the training is helping her with her swimming performance- especially lots of new personal bests!

Jo Anne 2026.05.09

     

Rob & his team at AA have been monumental to my son’s development. As an active boy - the understanding of exercising outside his football, building on his strengthening and conditioning as well as looking after his body & overall health has been a massive benefit and mindset change for him. Thank you.

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.05.09

What a glowing review thank you so much! So glad you’ve seen an impact both physically and mentally!

Mia Mackenzie 2026.05.09

     

As an S&C coach, I’ve had multiple conversations within the industry where Rob’s name comes up in discussions around youth S&C and long-term athlete development, and I’ve been told more than once that I need to chat with him and go and see what he’s created. I recently had the opportunity to go down to Edinburgh to visit Rob and observe the programme and coaching environment in action. The environment he has created is extremely well structured, with athletes clearly understanding expectations, session flow, and how they progress through the system at The Athlete Academy. With a strong emphasis on education, movement quality, and long-term development, athletes are comfortable and confident being independent within the gym, while still being well supported by the coaches. No matter the sport, the focus is on developing capable, well-rounded young athletes who are given the tools and knowledge to train properly for life, not just for sport. The programme also supports motivation, habits, and long-term engagement, with structured milestones, goals, and progression helping to drive consistency and strong retention of attendance over time. It’s a brilliant environment for young athletes to develop physically, but also in their understanding, confidence, and independence within training. Thanks again for the visit, Rob!

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.05.09

Thanks for coming all the way from Aberdeen to visit us! It was great to have you come and observe what we do. I’m glad you appreciate the holistic nature of the program and I hope it’s been beneficial for your own coaching practice!

Farrel O'Sullivan 2026.05.02

     

I went up to Edinburgh to chat to Rob and view how him and his team have created such a high quality coaching environment. As a coach myself, I have to say that standard of coaching and knowledge of youth LTAD is second to none. Rob and the team not only do a great job of coaching in the gym but looking after each individual holistically as a person, aiming to build good eating, sleeping & organisation habits/skills. You can see each child not only receives great coaching but also enjoys being there. Lots of great work with laughs along the way. Truly great coaching that builds strength, speed and power in the and in their sport, healthy habits needed to be a health adult & an athlete as well as an environment that builds confidence in each individual.

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.05.02

It was great to have you Farrel! Thanks for coming all the way from Dumfries to see us!

Thanks very much for the kind words about the quality of what we’re doing, we really aim to be the best at equipping kids with the necessary positive life skills to fulfil their potential!

I hope it was a helpful visit and you took away some useful insights to add to your program at Per4m!

Anna Borthwick 2026.05.01

     

Thanks so much to Rob and the whole team - we love the Athlete Academy and feel grateful to have found a place where young people can fulfil their sporting potential and learn how to exercise and train safely. Thanks so much!

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.05.01

Thanks Anna! Great to hear how you value our safe and effective training environment!

Ashleigh Cairns 2026.04.19

     

My son absolutely loved doing AA, highly recommend to any sporty kid. He has learnt a lot of skills, not just related to being in an actual gym which will be useful in life going forward.

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.19

Thanks so much Ashleigh! So glad he has learnt valuable skills for life and not just in the gym! Great to hear how much he enjoyed his time with us!

Kateryna Rossikhina 2026.04.16

     

My son joined Athlete Academy in Edinburgh a month ago, and we’re already seeing such a positive change. The coaches give every child real individual attention, and my son feels supported and motivated at every session. His confidence has grown and we can already see physical results — he’s getting stronger and building muscle. He absolutely loves going to training, and we’re very happy we chose this academy.

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.17

Thanks so much Kateryna! So glad to hear you’re seeing changes already and not just physical strength but also his confidence!

Pete 2026.04.15

     

Finn has loved his time at AA and has learned an incredible amount in a fantastic and safe setting. Thanks to all their coaches for their support

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.15

Thank so much Pete! So pleased to hear your feedback on how much we focus on a safe environment to help build skills for life!

Vikas Joshi 2026.04.13

     

Highly recommend ! The Athlete Academy It helped my son in field hockey immensely, in terms of general fitness and agility also in remaining largely injury free. Huge shout out to Rob for his invaluable guidance to general fitness and hockey specific drills that has shaped my son’s hockey

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.14

Thank you very much Vikas! So glad you found our coaching program beneficial in reducing injury risk while building agility and fitness!

Fiona Hamilton 2026.04.13

     

My son has been attending The Athlete’s Academy for around 9 months now and loves it. He always looks forward to his sessions and talks about them when he comes out! We can see his stamina improving in game as well as his overall strength when playing against kids bigger and older than him. The staff are so supportive and encouraging and Rob is always quick to answer any queries (no matter where he is in the world). My son is very proud that he goes to The Athlete’s Academy and now has his sight set on becoming a member of the 50 club.

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.13

Hi Fiona! Thanks for the great feedback! We’re so glad to hear how he looks forward to coming! And great to know you’re seeing the benefits on court in his basketball too!

He’ll be at 50 in no time!

Imran Liaquat 2026.04.12

     

The coaches are very engaged and encouraging. My son came out from firsr session really motivated and positive

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.12

Thanks Imran! Great to hear your feedback about him enjoying his first session so much!

Yaoyao Tian 2026.04.12

     

The coaches at Athlete Academy are fantastic! They are energetic, patient, and great at making fitness fun. My kids absolutely love every session. Highly recommend them to any parent in Edinburgh!

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.12

Thanks Yaoyao! So pleased you appreciate the great coaches we have on the team! Great to hear how much they love the sessions with us!

Johann Du Plessis 2026.04.12

     

I have two sons who attend ‘AA’. The discipline, safe gym technique training and the positive male role models the instructors provide are invaluable. Highly recommend this for all teenagers, whether accomplished athletes or not.

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.12

Thanks Johann! Great to hear you appreciate the positive environment we've built as well as the focus on really equipping them with safe and effective training techniques!

Jonathan Macwhirter 2026.04.12

     

Rob and the team are great. My daughter loves the sessions. It’s very good as there are levels for them that ensure constant progression. It definitely helps her learn good techniques and prepares her well for football games.

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.12

Thanks Jonathan! Glad you like our focus on continued progress through our movement curriculum to build proper safe and effective technique!

Euan 2026.04.12

     

We are very grateful to Rob and his team. My daughter really liked all the coaches and the 6 months at Athletes Academy gave her a physical and psychological boost for her sport.

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.12

Thank you so much Euan! So glad we were able to have a positive impact not just physically but also psychologically!

Hailey Mcneil 2026.04.11

     

My Son Junior has been attending since last year, he absolutely loves his sessions and looks forward to them each week. Can see a massive difference in junior since he started!

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.11

Thanks so much Hailey! So glad Junior enjoys our group coaching sessions and you can see progress in his athleticism!

Craig Johnston 2026.04.02

     

My son has done 3 sessions and can see the difference already in gis confidence and mobility while playing football highly recommended and from the staff I have met you won't find better anywhere

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.02

Thanks so much Craig! So glad to hear he’s enjoying our group coaching sessions and his confidence and mobility anre already improving and you’re seeing the difference on the pitch.

Andy Lynch 2026.03.31

     

It was great to spend some time and soak up lots of learnings from my visit with Rob Anderson at the Athlete Academy last week. What an impressive programme, with friendly and enthusiastic coaches and highly engaged young athletes.

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.04.01

Thanks Andy! It was great having you across to observe our youth program! Thanks for the great feedback!

Lynzy Savage 2026.03.31

     

My son joined at the start of the year and has loved the sessions. Great team, always there to support him, keep him keen and engaged in the programme!

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.03.31

Thanks Lynzy so glad to hear he is enjoying our coaching program and the supportive coaches!

Jonny Elliott 2026.03.09

     

Rob has created a truly special program with The Athlete Academy. Edinburgh is blessed to have such a resource available for youth athletes. It is incredibly challenging to create both a culture and an environment that invites youth athletes to discover the best within themselves, and challenge both themselves and their peers to improve a little bit every time they walk in the gym. I have enjoyed observing it first hand; Rob and his stable of passionate and well informed coaches have achieved exactly that. This program creates a framework for these athletes to utilise beyond youth sport, but in life also and be autonomous in the way they approach not only their training, but their lifestyle, choices and habit forming.

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Reply from The Athlete Academy 2026.03.09

Wow Johnny thank you so much for your review! It’s made my day! So glad that you can see the value in what we are doing beyond the gym in helping kids build valuable life skills and positive lifestyle habits!