Rhodri S. Lloyd, PhD, CSCS*D, FNSCA is a Professor of Paediatric Strength and Conditioning and Co-founder of the Youth Physical Development Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Rhodri also serves as the Head of the Centre for Applied Sport Science within the Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences. His research interests surround the impact of growth and maturation on long-term athletic development and the neuromuscular mechanisms underpinning training adaptations and injury risk in young athletes, school children not involved in competitive sports, and autistic childen.

To date, he has published in excess of 170 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 35 book chapters and four textbooks on the topics of paediatric strength and conditioning and long-term athletic development, including the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Essentials of Youth Fitness, which is the ancillary text for the ACSM Youth Fitness Specialist Certificate. Rhodri was the lead author of the 2014 international position statement on youth resistance training and in 2016 led the inaugural position statement on long-term athletic development for the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Rhodri leads a large research group at Cardiff Metropolitan University, which works at the nexus between science and application to conduct research that directly influences practice. This research continues to influence the philosophies and programming within the Youth Physical Development Centre, impacting hundreds of young athletes over the last decade. However, his research has wider impact and he has previously consulted with external professional associations such as British Weightlifting, US Ski and Snowboard, the Premier League, Cleveland Indians and McLaren Applied Technologies to shape their approaches to long-term athletic development.

During his career, Rhodri has secured national and international research funding, has supervised 22 postgraduate research students to completion and is currently supervising 11 PhD students within the fields of paediatric sports science, strength and conditioning and sports medicine. He has previously been recognized both nationally and internationally for his contributions to research and education, including the UK Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year for Education and Research (2016), NSCA Terry J. Housh Outstanding Young Investigator of the Year (2017), NSCA Educator of the Year (2019), and the NSCA William J. Kraemer Outstanding Sport Scientist of the Year (2024). Rhodri is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and in 2021 was made a Fellow of the NSCA.