Pacey Performance Podcast

Why speed should be at the top of the decision making tree in a performance based approach to rehab with Jonas Dodoo (Speedworks) & Alan Murdoch (Speedworks - Bath)

There’s double the expertise on this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast as Rob is joined by Jonas Dodoo and Alan Murdoch. Jonas is Director of Speedworks Training and Head Coach at Loughborough University, whilst Alan is Head Coach at Speedworks and until recently was Strength and Conditioning Coach at Bath Rugby.

On the podcast, they discuss what first led to them working together and the skills and techniques they’ve learned during the course of their professional partnership. This includes how they’ve pooled their collective knowledge by linking the often separate coaching worlds of rehabilitation and speed.

There are also some excellent deep dives into exercise selection, shin roll, ACL rehab, and why they actively avoid bad psychology in any group of athletes they coach. This week’s podcast is the place to get up to speed with what Jonas and Alan are achieving - and how it could influence your own coaching regime in the near future.

Topics discussed:

• How Jonas and Alan first started working together
• What they’ve learned by pooling their collective knowledge
• The transition from professional sports coaching to consultancy
• How they’ve amalgamated the two worlds of rehab and speed training
• Why speed training can influence decision making during athlete rehabilitation
• The ‘bum before back’ technique and making strength training more efficient
• Examples of how to integrate speed training into rehab
• The importance of correct exercise selection
• Shin roll, and why it is now such a big talking point for leading coaches
• The power of psychology, and avoiding harmful cliques developing in groups of athletes

Jumping and plyometrics; testing options, the importance of jump strategy and its link to speed with Joseph Coyne (Director of High Performance at Lindisfarne Anglican College)

On this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast, Rob speaks to Joseph Coyne; a man with a huge CV and an even bigger bank of strength and conditioning knowledge to draw from. Joseph has been Performance Director with the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai and was previously employed by the Chinese Olympic Committee as a Performance Manager. This is in addition to coaching with the Chinese Track and Field Association, Surfing Australia, and working at a school as director of athletics and athletic development.

As you can imagine, Joseph has expertise to share – which is exactly what he does on this week’s podcast when it comes to plyometrics, jump training, and how to customise your training based on the build of your athletes and the sport they’re training for. This includes co-ordinating jumps to maintain that all-important intensity but avoid needless injury, including subjective load monitoring and RSI.

Joseph also speaks about what it was like to coach with the UFC in China – a world away from his background in track and field and personal love for rugby. To gain this superb insight into plyometrics, jumps training and subjective load monitoring from a coach who’s seen it all, hit play on the Pacey Performance Podcast now!

This week’s topics:

• The story behind UFC in China
• Plyometrics and jump training techniques
• The increased popularity of 10/5 jumps versus 10 second repeats
• How to alter your testing options based on your sport
• Joseph’s process for developing force velocity profile – and how to improve it
• Identifying a low amplitude jump strategy
• How to co-ordinate jumps to maintain intensity but avoid injury
• The difference that floor surface can make in plyometrics
• The number of times a week athletes should be exposed to plyometrics
• Safe plyometric training for heavier athletes
• What team sports coaches can learn from track and field
• Joseph’s insight into subjective load monitoring

Harnessing ego to increase player and coach performance with Martin Buchheit (Head of Performance Research at Kitman Labs) and George Perry (athletics coach and sports writer)

On this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast, Rob speaks to Martin Buchheit and George Perry. Martin is well-known in sports science for his work as Head of Performance Intelligence Research at Kitman Labs and as ex Head of Performance at Paris Saint Germain. George is a sports performance specialist, businessman and writer from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Together, they have co-authored EGOals - a comprehensive guide to the impact and importance of the human ego in sport, including self-confidence and portraying a positive image as an influencer in an often-competitive industry. Martin and George share inside information into what they’ve found working with both coaches and athletes with a big ego.

Of course, it is possible for this to tip into arrogance – a dangerous trait in the world of sport. Luckily Martin and George are on hand to advise on how to balance confidence and humility and remain grounded as a coach. Listen to this week’s podcast to learn all this and much more.

This week’s topics:

• The book Martin and George are working on, and why it’s “the book they wish they had at the start of their career”
• How greater self-awareness will help in coaching
• Why the ego can be a powerful tool when harnessed in the right way
• The differences in ego between American, European and Australian coaches
• Dealing with – and coaching - Zlatan Ibrahimović and his big ego
• How big egos can drive performance standards
• Why Martin and George created fake, “egotistical” social media profiles
• Finding the right balance between confidence and humility
• The ‘made up’ job titles in the sports science and coaching industries
• Building up your “bullshit filter”

How to develop some of the Premier League‘s most promising young talent with Matt Allen (Head of Academy Physical Development at Tottenham Hotspur)

This week’s Pacey Performance Podcast sees Rob joined by Matt Allen, the Head of Academy Physical Development at Tottenham Hotspur. After initially working his way up as a student intern, he shares how he managed to bridge the gap between student life and a professional sports environment.

Matt shares some excellent knowledge about how to coach young athletes, including the techniques and drills that can turn a promising young footballer into a world beater, and the emotional intelligence to deal with both precocious young talent and demanding parents.

To learn more about his experiences at the top of the football pyramid with Spurs, the training sessions that will push young athletes to excel, and advice for younger coaches wanting to get into football, hit the play button now.

This week’s podcast topics:

• How Matt’s internship bridged the gap between student and professional life
• How training focus changes across the age groups
• How to coach a tall athlete who isn’t necessarily physical in playing style
• Managing periods of rapid growth, and when to alter things
• Emotional Intelligence when dealing with young athlete’s parents
• Linking training sessions together as an academy coach
• Strength sessions vs power sessions with youth footballers
• Speed training in football
• Advice for younger coaches wanting to get into football
• Insight into how to develop young players – and nurture the right attitude

Changing the way we think about training speed and agility, and implementing the methods of Frans Bosch with Leigh Egger (Head of Performance at Feyenoord Rotterdam)

This week’s Pacey Performance Podcast sees Rob speak to Leigh Egger, Head of Performance at Feyenoord Rotterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie. Leigh was formerly a semi-professional footballer in Australia, which has given him insight and empathy into both the emotional and physical side of playing.

Leigh discusses his time at Feyenoord, including how he has been influenced by Frans Bosch, John Pryor and Stijn Vandenbroucke. He goes in depth into the effective rehab framework the club’s coaches have been working on, including how to improve agility, speed and strength in footballers.

To learn some of Leigh’s excellent coaching practices for yourself, hit the play button now to learn what Feyenoord have been up to – and avoid some costly errors coaches often encounter.

On this week’s podcast:

• Why playing experience can be invaluable to coaches
• How Leigh moved into coaching in the Dutch top division from his playing career
• The rehab framework Leigh has been working on with Feyenoord’s influential coaching team
• The biggest technical errors Leigh sees in football
• The influence of Frans Bosch on Leigh's training philosophy
• How to implement hip lock to improve sprinting and movement
• Coaching techniques that develop agility
• Leigh’s templates and tips for developing acceleration
• The transfer of traditional strength training into sport
• Using aqua bags correctly and the common errors people make with them

Leigh can be found on Twitter @LeighEgger

Winning the Super Bowl, getting fired and making an impact in the NFL with James Hanisch (ex Director of Performance Science at Philadelphia Eagles)

On this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast, Rob speaks to James Hanisch of Hawkin Dynamics. James is the former Director of Performance Science at the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL, and with a Super Bowl win as a coach to his name his wisdom and knowledge will be ideal for any sports scientist or aspiring trainer.

James talks to us about what it was like making the transition between Australia and the United States, both professionally and culturally. American football fans will also be interested to know about his role in the 2018 Super Bowl win for the Eagles, and why togetherness and a long-term coaching staff can make all the difference in a successful team.

James also gets in the technical side of coaching, with tips on how to maximise power output, stamina and analyse data on a much smaller budget than the large franchises can afford. He also goes into detail on the methods the Eagles used at that time, and how it led to success on one of the biggest stages in sport. To learn how, hit the play button now.

 

On the podcast this week:

• Making the transition between sports and cultures
• Coaching differences between Australian and American football
• Why James decided to call time on his NFL coaching journey
• How the Philadelphia Eagles came to win the Super Bowl in 2018
• Why longevity in the coaching staff worked for the Eagles
• Communication and why it is key to successful team
• The importance of listening, trust and exit interviews
• The training techniques the Eagles used in the build-up to their Super Bowl win

Rethinking rehabilitation, tendon health and the rise in popularity of blood flow restriction training with Luke Vella (Lead S&C Coach at Melbourne Rebels)

Luke Vella is Rob’s guest on this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast. Luke has recently returned to Australia following his time with Edinburgh Rugby, the University of Bath, and Olympic track cycling in Malaysia. While in Bath, he coached multiple sports, showing that in addition to his roles in Rugby and Aussie Rules, he certainly has several strings to his strength and conditioning bow.

With a background in rehab, Luke lets us know how to manage tendon health by looking out for the tell-tale symptoms that lead to tendon injuries, and how blood flow restriction training can help relieve pain.

For anyone looking for a deep-dive into rehab techniques involving blood flow restriction and improving muscle hypertrophy, speed and strength, then this week’s podcast is for you. He’ll also tell you how to plan your rehab programme. Hit play now to learn Luke’s rehab tips of the trade!

On the podcast this week:

• Why switching between Australia and the UK was a good learning experience
• Whether to stick to one sport or become a multi-sport coach
• Tendon health and rehabilitation
• The symptoms to look out for in athletes with tendon issues
• How to test for tendon issues
• How blood flow restriction training can relieve pain
• The techniques coaches can use with blood flow restriction
• When not to use blood flow restriction
• Isometric loading protocols
• Planning a rehab programme

Weight machines; the most under utilised way to train in-season in the NBA with Cory Schlesinger (Director of Performance at the Phoenix Suns)

Cory Schlesinger is this week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast. He has over 20 years’ experience in basketball, including 4 years as a player and 15 as a coach at college level before moving on to his current role as Head of Strength and Conditioning with the Phoenix Suns in the NBA. With the experience of both playing and coaching at college level, Cory discusses what he’d do differently in terms of attitude if he had that opportunity again.

Cory also discusses the techniques he tends to use, including his love of machines in strength and conditioning, and how sports science helps him get the best out of his players. This also includes some inside information about how the Phoenix Suns use force plates and aqua bags effectively.

Finally, Cory talks about Instagram and how he started to build a personal brand online. For all this and much, much more, listen to the podcast to gain some insight into what it’s like to coach promising and top-level athletes for over two decades.

 

On this week’s podcast:

• What Cory would do differently if he had his time as a player again
• The misconceptions Cory has about the NBA
• Why certain coaching techniques wouldn’t transfer from college to the NBA
• The importance of strong leadership in top level basketball
• The differences between college basketball and NBA in terms of philosophy
• How Cory dealt with the difference between coaching adult athletes and college students
• The importance of avoiding judgement in weight training and strength and conditioning
• What the NBA needed from a college coach’s point of view
• Why Cory is a huge fan of using machines in S&C, and the techniques he uses
• The difference between sports science and S&C in terms of impact
• How sports science allows coaches to understand training efficiency
• How the Phoenix Suns use force plates and aqua bags effectively
• The low level plyometrics Cory favours
• How Cory chooses to periodise recovery and the exercises he would prescribe
• The use of Instagram and building a personal brand as a coach

Deceleration ability; testing, developing underpinning qualities and the braking strategy framework with Damian Harper (Lecturer at the Institute of Coaching & Performance)

Damian Harper is our guest on this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast, bringing with him a wealth of wide-ranging experience in coaching and strength and conditioning. Damian is currently working in the Institute of Coaching and Performance at UCLAN, supervising students on professional masters and doctorates in elite performance. He’s also a member of UCLAN’s newly developed football performance hub, developing the human braking research group following his PhD.

Prior to his time with UCLAN, Damian lectured in exercise physiology at York St John University, coached at the Bobby Charlton Soccer School, and earned his master’s degree while working with sports clubs in his local area. One of which was St. Albans Rugby Club, where he developed the 10/05 repeated jump test. This test, amongst other jump testing options, and deceleration testing and training, is what he discusses today.

With a huge depth of academic and first-hand experience of strength and conditioning harking back to his days as a footballer, there are very few individuals better placed to give their insight into S&C. Listen to this week podcast below to learn more about how Damian builds effective deceleration and change of direction, without succumbing to injury.

This week’s topics:

• 10/5 repeat jumps and why Damian uses them over other options
• Why deceleration is so important
• Why it’s important to ‘test the brakes’ of an athlete
• How to find the sweet spot of the acceleration-deceleration ability (ADA) test
• The tech needed to run the ADA test – and other options available
• Exercises that can measure an athlete’s ability to decelerate effectively
• How to improve deceleration performance
• The use of eccentric approaches during training
• Increasing intensity of decelerations during small-sided games
• Where to look and who to listen for on the subject of deceleration

The quadrant system; allowing creativity and structure in planning and periodisation with Daniel Bove (Director of Performance, New Orleans Pelicans)

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is Director of Performance for the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA, Daniel Bove. Daniel has previously worked for the Atlanta Hawks as their assistance strength coach, before moving on to the Phoenix Suns and then New Orleans in his current role. In line with his new book, Daniel talks about how to use the quadrant system as a visualisation tool in strength and conditioning training, including how it can be used effectively in regular, day-to-day coaching.

 

This includes the outputs that can be created, how to manage quadrants when games are close together, and also force plates and their use in the NBA - giving some insight into plyometrics in a sport where effective jumping is an absolute necessity. To learn all this and much more, hit the pay button now.

 

This week’s topics:

• The use of quadrants as a visualisation tool
• Daniel’s principles for periodisation and planning
• How to make the quadrant system fit into everyday coaching
• Creating an output using the strength training quadrant
• The use of machines during slow strength training
• Managing quadrants when games are so close together
• What to change in quadrants depending on the opposition
• The use of metabolic quadrants, and what each quadrant involves
• How plyometrics fit into the quadrant system
• Force plates and how they are used in the NBA
• How much info to feed back to athletes regarding rehab

How to incorporate eccentric training into a strength and power programme with John Wagle (Director of Performance Science and Player Development, Kansas City Royals)

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is John Wagle, Director of Performance Science and Player Development at the Kansas City Royals in Major League Baseball. Previously, he earned his PhD at East Tennessee State University, worked at DePaul University as a strength and conditioning coach, and spent some time prior to that as a baseball coach. John is here to talk about eccentric training – a subject he covered extensively in the PhD..

Eccentric training exists on a continuum, encompassing a large variety of methods from tempo training, to flywheel inertial training, accenuated eccentric training (AEL) and playometric training. John's PhD focused on AEL so discusses why it is specifically beneficial. If you’d like to know the timings and potential exercise selection that can bring greater muscle strength and recovery even to ‘lower end’ athletes, then this week’s podcast is for you.

Topics this week:

• The benefits of eccentric training
• Why eccentric training has been gaining in popularity
• The downsides of eccentric training to be wary of
• How to start focusing on eccentric training
• How coaches can develop their use of flywheel training
• Developing training programmes to lead into AEL (accentuated eccentric loading)
• Simple exercises anyone can do which involve AEL
• How ‘low end’ athletes can benefit from AEL
• When to apply plyometrics in an AEL programme
• Maintaining fitness levels while a team is ‘on the road’

Triphasic training, the ‘performance pillars‘ system, and choosing the right athlete assessments with Matt Van Dyke (Director of Sports Science, Houston Texans)

Matt Van Dyke joins Rob on this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast. As the Director of Sports Science for the Houston Texans, Matt is responsible for the management of training loads and other performance aspects implemented to each individual athlete in order to maximise performance and readiness. Prior to this, Matt has worked at the University of Texas and University of Denver, designing and implementing speed, strength, conditioning, and mobility training programs for men’s lacrosse, alpine ski, baseball, tennis, swimming and track and field.

Matt talks to Rob about performance pillars, testing, and monitoring – subjects that he has recently written about in one of his many books, articles and blogs. This includes the metrics that sports scientists and coaches should be looking at in regards to GPS data, and the six physical performance qualities he looks for when measuring improvement. Matt further explains how to incorporate specialist training when faced with constraints, such as time.

There’s also some outstanding insight into a range of exercises and techniques, including triphasic training, oscillatory training, isometric exercises as a part of that, and understanding physics when it comes to power development. Matt also gives us some examples of further reading in these areas, which will be invaluable to any coach.

 

On the podcast this week:

• The metrics to be looking at when it comes to GPS
• How to test and monitor to see whether an athlete is improving
• Matt’s 6 physical performance qualities
• How to incorporate sprints when faced with limited time
• Practical examples of preparing players when faced with constraints
• Triphasic training
• Oscillatory training
• Eccentric training
• Isometric exercises
• Understanding physics when it comes to power development

The psychology of physical enhancement, attitude, effort and energy with Dan Abrahams (Sports Psychologist)

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is sports psychologist Dan Abrahams. Dan became a psychologist following a stint as a professional golfer with an interest in the mental side of the sport. After calling time on his playing career, he became a coach and followed that up by gaining a master’s degree in sports psychology. He’s been working in this capacity for 16 years now, including for England Rugby, England Golf, and numerous Premier League football clubs.

Following the recent Olympic and Paralympic Games, sports psychology has been in the spotlight more than ever. Dan discusses the impact this has had on the subject, including how an athlete’s mental state can be rated on a three-stage ‘traffic light’ system depending on their current needs. He also addresses the theory that you cannot coach attitude, effort and energy - although the athlete is responsible for their own attitude, Dan explains how coaches and sports psychologists can create an environment that engages athletes and helps them maintain all-important intensity when training. If you’re interested in the mental side of coaching and sports science, then this week’s podcast is for you.

This week’s topics:

• How sports psychology is currently split between athlete performance, wellbeing and mental health
• Why sporting organisations need to address all three as psychology becomes more prominent
• Why sports clubs on a budget could spend time educating their existing coaches in sports psychology
• Why it’s said that you can’t coach attitude, effort and energy
• How coaches can engage athletes and maintain all-important intensity during training
• How to create a positive training environment that gets the best from athletes
• Building relationships with athletes – and maintaining boundaries between the personal and professional

Working with youth athletes; monitoring maturation, biobanding and training through rapid growth with Sean Cumming (Professor of Paediatric Exercise at Bath University)

This week’s Pacey Performance Podcase sees Rob joined by Sean Cumming; Professor of Paediatric Exercise at the University of Bath. He’s also been conducting a lot of work with the Lawn Tennis Association, Premier League, and the Football Association regarding the growth and development of young athletes. This is exactly what he speaks about this week, both in terms of physical and mental development.

For example, Sean discusses how a young athlete’s development can be shaped by the selection biases surrounding a particular sport, and how late and early development can be both beneficial and a drawback. Sean and Rob also discuss how training – both individually and as a group – can be adapted so everyone can meet their potential. This includes how to monitor maturation both with and without a budget – a must for many coaches at local and community sports clubs. For all this and much more, hit the play button now to hear more insight from this superb sports scientist.

This week’s topics:

• Selection biases in tennis, and how they apply in other sports
• Why selection biases are the reverse in gymnastics
• Why coaches should consider biological maturation versus chronological age
• Sean’s recommendations for creating a safe framework for early and late developers
• Adapting training to stop young athletes becoming injured during growth spurts
• The length of time it takes for early developers to catch up both physically and mentally
• How to monitor maturation in young athletes on a lower budget
• How to monitor maturation in young athletes on a higher budget
• Why background and ethnicity can influence how quickly athletes mature
• Use of bio-banding in football, and the cut-off points between each band
• Why encouraging young footballers to play below their age group can be beneficial

The modern football fitness coach and the importance of deep technical and tactical knowledge with Adam Owen (UEFA Pro Licence Coach & High Performance Director)

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is Adam Owen, a man who has had more experience than most as a coach, sports scientist, performance director and consultant at numerous football clubs around Europe and the rest of the world. Starting as a player at Wrexham, Adam has coached at Rangers, Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Servette, Lechia Gdansk, Benfica, Hebei Fortune and the Wales national team when they reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016.

With this experience, Adam gives us a superb overview of what it’s like to be a leading coach or assistant manager in professional football. Adam talks about the inner workings of coaching, such as man management, what a coaching qualification teaches us (and what it doesn’t), and how coaches can marry both the physical and technical side of the game. With several publications to his name, Adam explains how to take this profession beyond the academic. Simply hit the play button now to discover all this and much more.

On this week’s podcast:

• Why it benefits coaches and sports scientists to have a deeper understanding of football
• Why having a qualification in sports science or coaching isn’t always enough
• What the minimum coaching qualification is that can give you influence within a club
• Why it pays to know the physical side of football, not just the technical as a coach
• How coaches with a physical style can gain a technical side
• How to use experience gained in a pre-GPS time with that technology
• Common misunderstandings between the physical and technical sides
• Building rapport and trust with players by presenting a methodology
• How to extract the best information from the coaches available at a club
• How much a qualification, such as a UEFA A License, is dedicated to man management

#Bitesize - Testing and training deceleration qualities with Damian Harper

Damian Harper featured on episode #359 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where Damian discusses -

• Why team sport coaches should test and train deceleration
• The best deceleration tests to use
• How to improve deceleration with athletes

Check out the full episode with Damian here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/deceleration-ability-testing-developing-underpinning-qualities-and-the-braking-strategy-framework/

 

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Understanding and maximising the potential of the modern athlete with David Joyce and Dan Lewindon

This week’s Pacey Performance Podcast guests are Dan Lewindon and David Joyce. Dan has been the Head of Performance Science and Medicine at the Lawn Tennis Association for the past five years following time as a physiotherapist with England Rugby and several rugby union club sides. David runs Synapsing, his sports strategy and decision-making consultancy following over a decade as a performance director. Dan and David are the authors of the book ‘High-Performance Training for Sports’, with the second edition to be released imminently.

On the podcast, they discuss what’s new in their book, such as learning environments, learning strategies, coaching and queueing, and the use of language. They also discuss the chapter they wrote together about how to transition from direct athlete-facing roles to leadership positions. This includes the changes they’ve seen in coaching over the last two decades, and how strength and conditioning training has had to adapt to outside influences such as social media and the growing need to manage mental health. If you’re a coach who’s been in the industry for a while and looking to make that transition to a leadership position, then Dan and David’s insight could be exactly what you’re looking for.

On the podcast this week…

• Dan and David’s 2^nd edition of High-Performance Training for Sports’
• What’s needed to move into a leadership position
• What a coach will need to do to transition from a coaching to leadership role
• Why some coaches will reach a certain age and transition out of sport
• Why David Joyce took an MBA and the difference it made
• Changes in the relationship between medical science and sport caused by Covid-19
• What has changed in terms of athlete professionalism in the last two decades
• What could lead to athletes using external practitioners, rather than club staff
• Maintaining influence with athletes without constraining them
• Whether elite teams and organisations are set up to manage mental health and wellbeing
• A S&C coach’s role in an athlete’s extracurricular activities outside training

#Bitesize - Training speed with team sport athletes with James Wild

James featured on episode #204 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where James discusses -

• Why we should coach team sport athletes differently to sprinters
• How to profile team sport athletes
• How to develop a programme based on appropriate profiling

Check out the full episode with James here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-204-james-wild/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Anaerobic speed reserve; maximising training prescription (part 1) with Gareth Sandford (Physiologist at Athletics Canada)

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is Gareth Sandford, a researcher and physiologist for Athletics Canada, working with the Canadian Sports Institute, and the University of British Columbia. He previously earned his master’s in Sport Science and Physiology, where he did a year’s placement at Chelsea Football Club. He has also coached in the UK, US and in a tribal community in India. This led to a world tour which saw him observing and speaking to some of the best coaches in the world as part of his PhD.

Gareth is someone that you as a coach want to be listening to due to his education background and years of experience. This week’s podcast is a must listen/watch as Gareth talks about the anaerobic speed reserve, training models, athlete profiling (and its advantages) and tempo running vs maximal aerobic speed (MAS).

This episode is for all practitioners and coaches who want to maximise the conditioning work they do with their athletes. All you have to do is hit the play button to learn all this and much more.

This week’s Topics:

• What is the anaerobic speed reserve and why would you use it?
• Critical speed and what practitioners need to do to be able to look across the whole intensity speed continuum
• Different trainings models, strengths and limitations they have

• Tests you can use as a coach to help you best profiling your athletes

Timestamps

2:07 Topics learned from the world tour when getting his PhD and when was it

5:39 What anaerobic speed reserve means and what it does

7:14 The impacts of coaches exposing their athletes to anaerobic speed reserve with examples

10:34 The critical speed and what practitioners need to do to be able to look across the whole intensity speed continuum

12:38 Different trainings models, strengths and limitations they have, and what you can do

14:11 Important things to note as a coach when choosing the training model that works best for your athletes

22:13 How profiling your athlete can get them to the elite sport continuum

24:57 Tests you can do as a coach to help you do the best profiling of your athletes

29:39 The critical speed testing model and advantages and the challenges of using it

35:49 The types of models that you can use in developing athletes with aerobic qualities like footballers

40:50 Tempo run and ways in which a coach can use it successfully to train his or her athletes

#Bitesize - How to programme isometric training with athletes with Alex Natera

Alex featured on episode #267 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where Alex discusses -

• What are the benefits of isometric training
• What are the various types of isometric training
• How can we programme isometrics with athletes

Check out the full episode with Alex here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-267-alex-natera/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Anaerobic speed reserve; maximising training prescription (part 2) with Gareth Sandford (Physiologist, Canada Athletics)

This week on the Pacey Performance Podcast sees us continue last week’s conversation with Gareth Sandford. Following on from the topics of VO2 max, anaerobic speed reserve, training models and athlete profiling, Gareth continues by discussing building volume and endurance through anaerobic training. He explains how for team sports, this can differ, and athletes may need to be split into subgroups with some hybrid variations. He also explains why some coaches get this wrong and misunderstand – and what to do instead.

Gareth also tells us about how he would fit tempo training into an overall programme involving MAS and anaerobic speed reserve, and how to address the argument of sport-specific versus physiological training. For all this information and much more – including further expert resources and publications on anaerobic speed reserve – take a listen to last week’s instalment in addition to this one for Gareth’s outstanding insight.

This week’s topics:

• Interval training to increase running stamina over longer distances
• The subgroups of anaerobic training, and hybrid techniques
• Key misinterpretations of Gareth’s training theories
• How to avoid misunderstandings of anaerobic training
• When to avoid anaerobic training for certain athletes
• Where tempo training fits in between MAS and anaerobic speed reserve
• How to address the argument of sport-specific versus physiological training
• Profiling athletes in sprint training
• Further resources on the topic of anaerobic speed reserve
• The research publications to look out for

#Bitesize - Programming plyometrics and jump training with Boo Schexnayder

Boo featured on episode #212 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discusses -

• His philosophy when it comes to plyometric and jump training
• How to programme jump training with different sports
• Horizontal vs vertical jump progressions

Check out the full episode with Boo here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-212-boo-schexnayder/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Nordic hamstring exercise; can we trust the evidence and should we use it (?) with Rod Whiteley (Physiotherapist at Aspetar)

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is Rod Whiteley; he is a Specialist Sports Physiotherapist working as the Assistant Director of the Rehabilitation Department at Aspetar Sports Medicine Hospital in Doha, Qatar. He previously worked as a Physiotherapist in elite rugby league, rugby union, and baseball. After gaining his PhD from the University of Sydney in 2009, he has since diversified his research interests to football, handball, and volleyball.

Rod gives us an overview on three main subjects; ACL injuries, the changing trends in how physiotherapists are learning new best practice, and the performance benefits and research surrounding Nordics. Rod has noticed how physios are finding their information, research and new techniques from places other than formal training and conferences, and seeks to understand how effective this is and its wider impact.

He combines this knowledge with some great advice on ACL injuries and training that will prevent occurrences, plus how to know when an athlete is ready to return to action. He also explains why Nordics are not always a part of every coach’s training programme. For all this and more, hit the play button now to hear all this outstanding insight from a physiotherapist with over 30 years’ experience in the industry.

On the podcast this week:

• Why ACL injuries are the biggest burden for Aspetar
• How a sports culture is being created in Qatar
• Why courses and conferences are no longer the leading method of learning in physiotherapy
• How physios are learning new best practice
• Rod’s research into different learning methods to audit their effectiveness
• What research is like around Nordics
• Performance benefits of Nordics, plus injury risk reduction
• Why Nordics are not part of training programmes as a matter of course
• The growing influence of social media ‘gurus’ as opposed to conference learning
• The improvements in sprint mechanics regarding hamstring injuries
• Decision criteria for returning to play following an ACL injury

#Bitesize - What makes a good S&C coach with Eddie Jones

Eddie and Jon featured on episode #300 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where they discuss -

• What makes a good strength and conditioning coach
• Why all S&C coaches should see themselves as 'assistant coaches'
• What personalities excel in rugby

Check out the full episode with Eddie and Jon here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-300-eddie-jones-jon-clarke/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Enhancing change of direction speed and agility in the real world with Molly Binetti (University of South Carolina)

Molly Binetti is this week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast. She is currently the Director of Women’s Basketball Performance at the University of South Carolina following various roles as a coach at the University of Louisville, Purdue University, and the University of Minnesota. As a result, she’s ideally placed to provide her expertise on change direction performance and testing options, open and closed drills, what to look for in an athlete’s movement, and how to avoid ‘over coaching’ athletes. Molly naturally has excellent knowledge of how to specifically coach women, which she goes into here.

In addition, Molly also provides plenty of hints and tips on isometric training, eccentric training, and the ideal programming for different levels of athlete. Details like this are what makes Molly such a superb source of information and a fascinating listen. To hear all this and much more (including the best warm up games prior to a training session!) simply hit the play button now.

This week’s topics:

• The differences coaching in universities and with the general public
• Understanding change direction performance and testing options
• What Molly does with jump testing in change direction
• What to look for in a player’s movement on the court from a coaching perspective
• The aspects of her career Molly would have done differently to gain an even greater oversight
• Open drills versus closed drills
• Creating constraints to avoid ‘over coaching’ athletes
• Changing a session from change direction to agility
• The best warm up games prior to a training session
• The differences between coaching a men’s and women’s basketball team
• The nuances to consider when coaching female athletes
• The link between isometric training and eccentric training
• Programming eccentric training for different levels of athlete

#Bitesize - The function of tendons and how to best train them with Keith Baar

Keith featured on episode #348 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• How tendons function and what is their job
• Should tendon stiffness always be the goal?
• How should we best train tendons for performance?

Check out the full episode with Keith here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/training-tendons-implications-for-sprinting-jumping-and-rehabilitation/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Creating and developing a high school strength and conditioning programme with Joey Berles (JJ Pearce High School)

Rob is joined by Joey Bergles on the Pacey Performance Podcast this week. He’s the Director of Strength Conditioning at a high school in Dallas, giving him incredible insight into the developmental progress of younger athletes as they grow into older teens and eventually adults. This follows his time coaching college football at Texas Tech University, and women’s soccer and softball at Utah State as lead strength coach. Overall, this experience means Joey has seen coaching from the perspective of numerous skill levels, ages and abilities.

Joey’s knowledge will be invaluable for anyone coaching children at any level, for example how experiences at a young age can have a real knock-on effect and the five main movements that act as a start point for 12-year-old athletes. What’s more, Joey talks about how to keep kids engaged during training that can be perceived as boring or repetitive, and the games that will keep training fun. There’s also insight into how to build speed in younger athletes. To learn all this and much, much more, hit the play button now to hear real expertise in how to coach children and young people.

On this week’s podcast:

• The growth of high school strength and conditioning knowledge through social media
• Why Joey decided to coach younger athletes rather than collegiate level
• How experiences at a young age will influence an athlete’s future
• The five main movements that act as a start point for 12-year-old athletes
• How to keep kids engaged when training is repetitive and initially unrewarding
• How to provide quality advice when coaching larger groups of young people
• The story behind Joey’s “sarcastic” Instagram posts about sport-specific squats
• Methods to build speed in young athletes
• The games to use in training that build a sense of engagement

#Bitesize - Assessing and managing athletes through an ACL rehabilitation with Enda King

Enda featured on episode #287 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• Is an ACL injury a brain injury?
• What assessments should we use through the return to play process?
• The importance of eccentric qualities to reduce the risk of ACL reinjury

Check out the full episode with Enda here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-287-enda-king/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Speed, agility and social media gurus; reflections from 53 years coaching with Vern Gambetta (Coach and Founder of GAIN Network)

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is Vern Gambetta. It would be no exaggeration to say it would easier to list the things Vern hasn’t done – he’s currently the Director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems and has been a conditioning coach for several MLS teams, the Nike Oregon Project, Chicago Bulls, and was conditioning consultant to the US Men's World Cup Soccer team, plus much more.

Vern’s experience spans 53 years at all levels of competition after starting out in teaching. From here, Vern explains the value in the ‘old school’ attitudes and methods, and how that can translate into modern day coaching with skills that are now often in short supply. He also outlines how to strike a balance between being a specialist or generalist coach, with an interesting debate with Rob on how many coaches can be too quick to label themselves in a certain way.

Vern discusses how social media can be highly misleading for younger coaches, promoting a ‘perfect’ way of doing things that cannot be replicated in competition. However, he also talks about the opportunities available for coaches now that weren’t always an option. For all this and much more, hit play now to hear what someone who has done it all has to say about the industry.

On this week’s podcast:

• How Vern started in teaching, and how he calls upon that experience now
• How Vern believes younger coaches can tap into that educational background
• Whether it could be better to be a specialist or a generalist
• The importance of being adaptable in training and not turning athletes into “robots”
• Avoiding hamstring injuries from research dating back to the 1970s
• The influence of track coaches on team coaches when it comes to developing speed
• Why not to believe social media when searching for the “perfect” drills
• Potential opportunities for younger coaches in the next 5 to 10 years
• Where to find more advice from Vern’s vast experience

#Bitesize - Choosing the most appropriate recovery methods with Robin Thorpe

Robin featured on episode #335 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• How to determine the most appropriate recovery method
• What we need to understand to be able to do that
• What methods give the biggest bang for buck

Check out the full episode with Robin here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-335-robin-thorpe/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Creating a framework to maximise jumping and landing training with athletes with Dana Agar-Newman and Jeremy Sheppard

This week’s guests on the Pacey Performance Podcast are Dana Agar-Newman and Jeremy Sheppard. Dana is a senior practitioner at the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific, and a head strength conditioning coordinator at the University of Victoria. He has also worked in rowing and rugby, including with the Canadian women’s rugby sevens team at Rio 2016. Jeremy is a strength conditioning coach with Canada Snowboard, previously having also worked with the Canadian Sport Institute.

The duo have recently written the jumping and landing training chapter in High Performance Training for Sports (second edition). Here, they discuss aspects of their research such as jump testing analysis and performance metrics, explaining the metrics to measure between differing sports and athlete levels. They also talk about tools to avoid, and whether to pursue variations in training.

In addition, the pair also talk about jump sustainability and what works in different sports and for different athletes. This includes what to consider when developing jumping exercises, force vectors, and landing evaluations. When it comes to jumps training, performance development and analysis, this week’s guests quite literally wrote the book on it, so hit the play button now for all this insight and much, much more.

This week’s topics:

• Jump testing analysis
• Tools to avoid due to their unreliability
• Differing sport-specific analysis metrics
• Differing metrics based on athlete experience and level
• The process for developing jumping exercises
• Arguments for and against lots of variation in training
• Force vectors and choosing exercises based on vertical and horizontal
• Jump sustainability, and the programming that influences it
• Landing evaluations and differences between sports
• What landings can tell us about other training variables, e.g., deceleration

#Bitesize -The underpinning characteristics of speed with Stu McMillan

Stu featured on episode #286 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• What are the underpinning characteristics of speed for team sport athletes
• How the underpinning characteristics differ for sprinters
• Why S&C coaches are more comfortable in the gym than on the field

Check out the full episode with Stu here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-286-stu-mcmillan/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Deciphering, understanding and optimising athlete movement efficiency with Matt Jordan

This week’s Pacey Performance Podcast guest is Matt Jordan. Throughout his career, Matt has consulted with more than 30 Olympic and World Championship medallists, and he frequently provides his expertise to high-performance sport organisations. Matt has been a strength and conditioning coach and applied sport scientist working with international athletes for over six Olympic Winter Games. In addition to being the Director of Sport Science at the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary, Matt is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary.

On the podcast, Matt discusses a topic he wrote about in High Performance Training for Sports (2^nd Edition) – efficiency of movement. Not only does Matt define what efficiency of movement is, but he also explains how experts apply it to training programmes. He also dives into the strength training framework for mechanical efficiency, and how isometric training should be adapted to apply to specific sports. Continuing the technical side of things, Matt also talks about loading for technical efficiency.

Matt also talks about some of the psychological aspects of sport science, such as why coaches need to remember that they are ‘servants of performance’ and not become transfixed on their own particular way of doing things. In a similar vein, Matt speaks about how coaches can detach from irrelevant information and see a problem for what it is, and avoid the pitfalls of following the same model again and again. To hear all this insight and much more, hit the play button now.

This week’s topics:

• What is efficiency of movement?
• Applying efficiency of movement to training programmes
• The strength training framework for mechanical efficiency
• Isometric training, and how specific exercises need to be for certain sports
• Why coaches need to remember that they are ‘servants of performance’
• How to detach from irrelevant information and see a problem for what it is
• Loading for technical efficiency
• How to avoid the pitfalls of being transfixed on a specific model

#Bitesize - Recommendations for training athletes during growth spurts with Sean Cumming

Sean featured on episode #364 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• How to measure rate of growth in youth athletes
• Making changes to a programme during growth spurts
• When NOT to make changes during a growth spurt

Check out the full episode with Sean here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/working-with-youth-athletes-monitoring-maturation-biobanding-and-training-through-rapid-growth/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Warm ups and cool downs; maximising our impact as coaches with Rett Larson (Strength & Conditioning Coach at German Women’s Volleyball Team)

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is Rett Larson, strength and conditioning coach for the German women’s national volleyball team. He’s previously coached the Dutch and Chinese women’s volleyball teams, and worked for EXOS Athlete Performance for seven years. Prior to that, he learned his trade coaching younger athletes in strength training between the ages of 8 and 18 in Southern California.

Rett’s here to talk about warming up, cooling down, and why it can pay to coach younger athletes before moving on to adult-aged coaching. As well as the benefits of experience, coaches can really see how to engage with a group and notice the smaller performance details. With warming up, Rett is an expert in this field gives key advice on how to design effective warm ups, structure sessions, and why keeping things ‘messy’ can be more beneficial.

Rett also discusses cool downs, again discussing how to structure such sessions, keep the coach’s own ego in check relating to athletes’ attitude towards them, and how to maintain attention once the main training session is over. He also provides some bonus advice on percussive therapy devices, and the ones he uses. To learn all this and much more, hit the play button now.

This week’s topics:

• The benefits of coaching younger athletes before moving on to adults
• How Rett became the ‘warm-up’ guy
• The key to coaching effective warm-ups
• Why we need to warm-up
• Why coaches can keep warm-ups ‘messy’ rather than robotic
• How to structure warm-up sessions
• Ensuring flexibility through effective stretching
• Were stretching bands and activation exercises just a fad?
• Rett’s advice on cool-downs
• Percussive therapy devices, and the ones Rett uses

#Bitesize - Benefits and downsides to eccentric training with John Wagle

John featured on episode #361 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• Benefits of eccentric training
• Links to dynamic performance
• Downsides to ecentric training
• Where to start with eccentric training

Check out the full episode with John here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/how-to-incorporate-eccentric-training-into-a-strength-and-power-programme/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Gaining mobility and flexibility for sports performance with Vernon Griffith (Performance Coach)

This week’s Pacey Performance Podcast guest is Peformance Coach, Vernon Griffith. Previously, Vernon has been a consultant at Performance Explored, a Tactical Strength and Conditioning Association Presenter at the NSCA, and a High-Performance Director for basketball and football at Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School in Virginia.

Vernon has been a strength and conditioning coach for quite some time at various levels but had his first experience in coaching while enrolled in the military. Vernon talks about this time, and what led him to leave the armed forces for a new career. He also discusses how it has influenced his coaching style and taught him to value his time and what he can offer other people. Further to this, he tells us how he creates an environment conducive to coaching for those who may not necessarily enjoy team sports.

As part of his technical advice, Vernon discusses how to encourage movement exploration in the weight room, and the fundamental differences between movement and flexibility. What’s more Vernon and Rob talk about what athletes are capable of after recovering from injury, including how para athletes can influence techniques used with others. Finally, Vernon tells us about his online presence, and the content he finds value in sharing without feeling the need to generate controversy. For all this varied and invaluable insight, hit the play button now.

On the podcast this week:

• How to create an environment conducive to coaching
• How a military environment shaped Vernon’s coaching style
• Encouraging movement exploration in the weight room
• Determining what an athlete can and can’t do after injury
• How coaching para athletes can influence coaching style
• Changing a coaching environment to suit a professional athlete
• Differentiating between movement and flexibility
• Sharing online content to influence thought, not generate controversy
• Why Vernon left the military and started coaching
• Learning to value your time and what you can offer others
• The value in therapy and how it has become more normalised

#Bitesize - Understanding the menstrual cycle to optimise performance with Georgie Bruinvels

Georgie featured on episode #294 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where she discussed -

• Common symptoms of each phase of the menstrual cycle
• Working around each of the symptoms
• Supporting athletes in each phase

Check out the full episode with Georgie here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-294-dr-georgie-bruinvels/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Agility training, problems with change of direction testing & game speed with Ian Jeffreys (Coach Educator & Academic Director, Setanta College)

This weeks guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is Ian Jeffreys. Ian is a Coach Educator and recently appointed Academic Director at Setanta College. Ian is an internationally renowned coach, educator and author. An ex professional rugby player, where he played at the highest level for 15 years, he is regarded as a world authority in the development of speed & agility and conditioning for team sports. His Gamespeed system of sport specific speed and agility development, along with his RAMP warm-up protocols have revolutionised training in these areas and have been adopted by a wide range of coaches and organisations around the world. 

In this episode of the podcast, Ian dives into why change of direction testing is becoming more and more redundant as we know more about training true agility. He also details why change of direction ability is only one part of the puzzle when it comes to coaching agility.

Ian gives some real life, practical examples of how we coach agility in closed and more importantly open scenarios. 

This weeks talking points -

• The link between teaching and coaching
• Why isolated change of direction tests don't give us the full picture
• Ways to train agility in open and closed environments
• Using personal playing experience to develop coaching ability
• The development of gamespeed 

#Bitesize - Using fixed resistance machines in-season with Cory Schlesinger

Cory featured on episode #358 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• Using fixed resistance machines with elite athletes
• Managing in-season stress with fixed resistance machines
• What sports science has done for programmes in the NBA

Check out the full episode with Cory here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/weight-machines-the-most-under-utilised-way-to-train-in-season-in-the-nba/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Understanding and evaluating the return on investment from any sports technology with Sam Robertson (Professor at Victoria University)

The first Pacey Performance Podcast guest of 2022 sees the return of Sam Robertson, Professor of Sports Analytics at Victoria University. Prior to arriving at the university, Sam worked as a sport scientist in various roles in both Australia and the United Kingdom.

Since his last appearance, Sam has started his own One Track Mind podcast, exploring the science, technology, economics and politics of sport. Sam discusses a little about his podcast, including how he chooses guests and the topics they explore before moving on to the subject of sports technology. In addition to Sam’s definition of sports technology, he talks about FIFA’s criteria for choosing a sports technology partner, and how the data captured and advantages/disadvantages are often subjective to the individual coach or team.

Sam also discusses the democratisation of data, and how individuals can understand the return on investment of the technology they choose. There’s also debate on how sports data has affected fan engagement, and whether these developments have been positive for sport. Finally, Rob and Sam discuss how to subjectively choose a sports technology provider and the criteria we can all look out for. For all this insight and much more, hit the play button now.

This week’s topics:

• Sam’s definition of sports technology
• The data generated by sports technology
• FIFA’s criteria for choosing a sports technology partner
• The democratisation of data
• How individuals can understand the return investment on the technology they choose
• Is fan engagement driven by data going the right way?
• IMUs vs. player tracking systems
• Why the tech giants have stayed away from professional sports technology
• Creating frameworks to make better decisions on data collected
• How choosing a sports technology provider can be measured subjectively

As mentioned in the episode, you can be a part of a new initiative between Track VU and Sportsmith in the independant evaluation of sports technology by visiting sportsmith.co/tech

#Bitesize - The power of social media in getting (or not getting) a job in elite sport with Dave Slemen

Dave featured on episode #322 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• Using social media to your advantage when looking for a job
• How social media can put recruiters off
• Why are wages so low for performance staff and what we can do about it

Check out the full episode with Dave here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-322-david-slemen/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

The future of sports science and the sports scientist in professional sport with Jose Fernandez (Mahd Academy)

Joining Rob this week on the Pacey Performance Podcast is Jose Fernandez, leader of Sports Science at the Mahd Academy in Saudi Arabia. The Academy is part of the Ministry of Sport and has been tasked with developing athletic potential in the country. Previously, Jose was Head of Sports Science at Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros. Jose talks about his five-year journey, and how he’s moved from baseball to his current role. This has given him insight on how sports science in baseball differs from other sports, and how he built trust with the technical coaches at the Astros.

Jose also shares his views on athlete profiling and how training can be customised through data. We also talk about what Jose believes will be the next technological advance in sports science, whether wearables still have a future in data analysis, and the importance of biomechanics. There’s also some discussion on the ever more overlapping roles within professional sports, such as the crossover between data scientist, sports scientist, strength and conditioning, and recruitment of talent. For all this and much more, hit the play button now.

On this week’s podcast:

• Jose’s five-year journey
• How sports science in baseball differs from other sports
• How Jose built trust with the Houston Astros technical coaches
• Examples of how to save coaches’ time
• Athlete profiling and customising training through data
• Athlete profiling specific to baseball
• What Jose believes will be the next technological advance in sports science
• The future of wearables in the field
• Data analysis and the importance of biomechanics
• Transitioning between roles of data scientist, sports scientist and strength and conditioning coach
• Jose’s views on sports scientists infiltrating other areas of a team, e.g., recruitment

#Bitesize - What is the anaerobic speed reserve and how can we use it with Gareth Sandford

Gareth featured on episode #367 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• What is the anaerobic speed reserve
• How is it being used by performance coaches around the world
• Why is it more beneficial than other testing and prescription options

Check out the full episode with Gareth here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/anaerobic-speed-reserve-maximising-training-prescription-part-1/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

The deceleration vaccine, and understanding and improving deceleration ability with Tom Dos’Santos and Alistair McBurnie

Alistair McBurnie and Tom Dos’Santos join Rob on this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast. Alistair is a sports science analyst for Manchester United’s first team, having worked his way up from coaching at academy level. Tom is a lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he teaches strength conditioning and sports biomechanics. Previously, he’s worked at the University of Salford, England Northwest and Manchester Thunder netball squads. They’re currently collaborating on research on multidirectional speed.

Alistair and Tom discuss how their partnership came into being through their university work, leading to their two-part review article being published in the Strength and Conditioning Journal. They then go into detail about multidirectional speed training, and how when done correctly it can reduce injuries such as muscle strains. Alistair and Tom also talk about how to sequence horizontal decelerations, and how to monitor them.

In addition to this, there’s also discussion on key metrics to look out for when using technology during testing, and the advancements in technology that is being adopted by football clubs such as Manchester United. Bearing in mind that this is only part 1 of Rob’s chat with Alistair and Tom, be sure to check back next week for even more expert insight.

On the podcast this week:

• Tom and Alistair’s work in multidirectional speed
• The importance of training deceleration
• Reducing injuries, including muscle strains
• Sequencing horizontal decelerations within a training cycle
• Monitoring and testing deceleration
• Key metrics and KPIs in deceleration testing
• Advancements in technology that help measure athlete output
• Key musculature for coaches to target

#Bitesize - Why is the Nordic hamstring exercise so controversial with Kristian Thorborg

Gareth featured on episode #309 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• What are the risk factors for hamstring injury
• What are the barriers to Nordics being used
• Why are Nordics so controversial

Check out the full episode with Kristian here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-309-kristian-thorborg/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Change of direction ability; testing, developing physical qualities and maximising on-field transfer with Tom Dos’Santos and Alistair McBurnie

This week’s Pacey Performance Podcast is the second part of Rob’s conversation with Alistair McBurnie and Tom Dos’Santos. Just as a reminder, Alistair is a sports science analyst for Manchester United’s first team, having worked his way up from coaching at academy level. Tom is a lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he teaches strength conditioning and sports biomechanics. Previously, he’s worked at the University of Salford, England Northwest and Manchester Thunder netball squads. They’re currently collaborating on multidirectional speed.

The conversation continues with more insight into the world of change of direction, including its definition and the key positions athletes and coaches should be aware of for effective change of direction. This includes effective training of these key positions, and how to coach them in an applied setting. There’s also discussion into how to build an athlete profile, and how technological advances have led to developments in on-field change of direction testing.

Furthermore, Alistair and Tom talk about whether change direction testing is becoming less prominent following recent findings from their peers. Overall, if you’re looking for incredibly detailed discussion in this area of coaching, including drills, coaching plans and how to measure output, this week’s edition of the podcast is ideal for you. For all this – plus where to find even more information – hit the play button now.

This week’s topics:

• Definition of change of direction
• Key positions when it comes to effective change of direction
• Effective training of key positions
• Coaching change of direction drills in an applied setting
• Whether change of direction testing is becoming less prominent
• Building an athlete profile during change of direction testing
• How technological advances effect on-field change of direction testing
• Change of direction deficit
• Signposting for more insight from Tom and Alistair

#Bitesize - The beliefs and practices of the Arsenal Academy performance department with Paudie Roche

Paudie featured on episode #228 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• How they structure S&C sessions in the academy
• Paudie's thoughts on weightlifting for youth athletes
• Movement screens and their use in the Arsenal academy

Check out the full episode with Paudie here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-228-paudie-roche/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

Developing the ”how” as well as the ”what” of coaching, self reflection and expanding deep knowledge with Jonas Dodoo and Jamie Taylor

This week’s guests on the Pacey Performance Podcast are Jamie Taylor and Jonas Dodoo. Jamie is the former head of Academy at Leicester Tigers, now working with Grey Matters as a Senior Coach Developer. Jonas is a regular on the podcast, a world-renowned speed coach and the head coach and founder of Speedworks.

Jamie and Jonas have been working together on a new education process for optimising coaching and talent development. The pair discuss some of the theory behind what they’ve learned over the years regarding the more reflective side of coaching, and how to make the right decisions at the right times. This includes critical thinking about coaching techniques, the work of peers, and even ourselves.

At the heart of this thinking is the balance between gaining a wider knowledge, such as hoovering up advice and tips on social media, and gaining a deeper knowledge of specific techniques, exercises and sports. A healthy balance allows coaches to adapt exercises through knowing their environment and players, and being able to find the ‘sweet spot’ where athletes understand and trust in training, even if they don’t particularly enjoy it. For all this and where to find out more about Jonas’ and Jamie’s programme, hit the play button now

This week’s topics:

• How COVID led to the growth of Speedworks
• What led to collaboration between Speedworks and Grey Matters
• The questions Jonas receives about how to implement his teachings
• The coaching appraisal process – self-reflection on training sessions
• Critical thinking, on both peer reviewed papers and ourselves
• Utilising technology to provide an objective view of coaching
• Personal development and next steps for Jonas
• The importance of being able to recharge
• Wider knowledge vs. deeper knowledge
• Being able to adapt exercises through knowing your environment and players
• The ‘sweet spot’ where athletes understand and trust in training

#Bitesize - Why change of direction and agility testing doesn’t provide valuable information with Ian Jeffreys

Ian featured on episode #377 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• What testing change of direction DOES give us
• Why other ways of understanding movement strategy may be better
• Assessing agility performance

Check out the full episode with Ian here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/agility-training-problems-with-change-of-direction-testing-game-speed/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.