.png)
ABOUT
Common Principles
About James Farr — Founder, Common Principles
Most coaching starts with a programme. Common Principles starts with a person.
My career has taken me across elite sport, youth development, disability athletics, and general population health — working alongside championship-winning athletes, adaptive athletes, and young people at the very start of their journey. Each context has been different. Each has shaped how I coach.
That breadth shapes how I see every new client: with curiosity, without assumption. Whether the environment is a high-performance team or a one-to-one session, the same care and attention goes in.
Underpinning all of it is an academic foundation — I hold a Master of Philosophy from Auckland University of Technology (AUT) — which directly informs how I design programmes, manage load, and make decisions. I draw on current sport science and nearly two decades of applied experience to make sure every recommendation is grounded in evidence, and fits around the realities of your life.
Because what I've learned, above everything else, is that the best results come from genuinely understanding the person in front of you. Not applying a system to them — building from them. People are motivated differently, respond to challenge differently, and define success on their own terms.
That's what Common Principles is. Thoughtful, individualised coaching for competitive athletes, parents returning to exercise, young people balancing sport and school, and those navigating injury or working their way back to full training. Whether you're building performance, rebuilding confidence, or recovering from setback — no two programmes look the same, because no two people are.
Qualifications
-
BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science — Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU)
-
Master of Philosophy (MPhil) Sport and Exercise Science — Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
-
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) — NSCA
-
Accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach (ASCC) — UKSCA
-
World Rugby Coach Educator - Strength & Conditioning
-
Corrective Exercise Specialist
-
Sport Massage Specialist
Professional Experience
-
LTA Funded High Performance Tennis & Sport Academy (London)
-
England Cricket Board (ECB) — Disabilities Programme
-
Hurricanes Super Rugby
-
New Zealand Football