STRENGTH & POWER: Testing, training and periodization in basketball

The Coach

Luka Svilar

Luka Svilar

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Luka Svilar is a PhD, MKin, CSCS *D.

He is an enthusiastic physical performance specialist, S&C coach, international author and lecturer. He earned his Master of Kinesiology degree from the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Zagreb, having won multiple awards for exceptional study achievements. During his master studies Luka also studied as an exchange student at Jan Komensky University's School of Physical Education and Sports in Slovakia as well as at the School of Medicine at Lund University in Sweden. He did his first full-season internship as a S&C coach in the basketball club Zagreb. After graduation, Luka was accepted for a lecturing position at the University of Zagreb. 

As far as his practical experience goes, he has worked with athletes in different sports, mainly in tennis, soccer and volleyball. However, Luka’s primary focus has always been on basketball. After his internship, he worked with youth and senior teams in Croatia and won a gold medal with the U18 team at the Eurobasket Championship in 2012. Luka also spent one season in Turkey with the basketball club Türk Telekom. In 2016, he moved to Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain to work with Baskonia, one of the most recognized basketball teams in Europe. At the University of the Basque Country in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Luka took the next step in his academic education in 2018 by successfully defending his PhD project called Load monitoring and management in elite basketball. The journey with Baskonia ended in 2020 with a big trophy – Spanish Championship. The following season Luka moved to Russia to work with Unics Kazan, reaching finals in both the VTB League and EuroCup. In the summer of 2021 Luka decided to take a new step in his career by signing with the German powerhouse, FC Bayern Munich Basketball.

Besides coaching, field-related writing is another passion of Luka. He has published several papers related to sports training, physical performance, injury prevention and load monitoring and he has also authored two books, Essentials of Physical Performance in Elite Basketball and Functional movement preparation for basketball. In the academic year 2017/2018, Luka received the annual FIEP Vladimir Findak Award for young researchers for his notable achievements in science. Luka’s professional goal is to help players achieve and maintain their peak physical performance as well share his knowledge with other enthusiasts in the field.

Luka is happily married to Dora, a School of Kinesiology alumni and a big sports fan. Their common mission is nurturing a loving and supportive relationship with each other and their son Patrik. Traveling is a big part of their life as well as following various sports. Whenever possible, Dora and Luka look for places with great coffee, food and wine.