Dr Courtney McGowan is an applied sports scientist currently lecturing in exercise and sport science at the University of Tasmania. Courtney is also the physical preparation coach for Surfing Tasmania and collaborates with various organisations to conduct applied research in the areas of performance physiology and athlete preparation. Prior to her current roles, Courtney was a post graduate scholar at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Physiology department and completed her PhD focusing on competition day preparation strategies to enhance competitive performance in swimmers.

QUOTES
“Shorter warm ups (15-30 min) may be better for sprinting events”
“The key things with the endurance sports is looking at switching on the right muscles and focusing on activate, mobilise and potentiate phase of the (RAMP) warm up is critical”
“It doesn’t take very long at all to drop temperature after the warm up, which is an issue considering the whole purpose of a warm up”
“The key thing with any post activation potentiation before competition is what the athlete has around them to use”
“For every 1 degree reduction in muscle temperature, there is a 3% reduction in leg muscle power in cycling”
“A re-warm up at half time is very important for contact based sports where you have to be mentally and physically prepared” 
“Really good research shows a significant drop in players' work rate in first 10—15 min after half time whereas teams that use short re-warm ups after halftime have the opposite effect”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Courtney’s journey in academics and sport
2)	Controlled frequency breathing in swimming
3)	Competition day priming and RAMP warm ups
4)	Strategies for call room or transition phases between warm up and competition
5)	VO2 kinetics, clothing and considerations around warm ups for both heating and cooling depending on the environment
6)	Field sport strategies for half-time and effects of re-warm ups on work rate after half time
7)	Ambient temperature manipulations and continuous glucose monitoring for optimising fuelling for athletes in different environmental conditions

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Ben Rattray
Keith Lyons
Ron McKean
David Pyne
Louise Burke
Julian Jones
David Martin
Liam Kilduff
Mark Burley
Andrew Jones
Stephen Faulkner
Christian Cook

ASCA Podcast #80 - Dr. Courtney McGowan

Emily Wilson has a master’s degree in Exercise Science (Maj. Strength and Conditioning) from Edith Cowan University and is an Accredited ASCA Level 2 S&C Coach. She was the strength and conditioning coach for the South Sydney Rabbitohs Harvey Norman Women’s rugby league team for the past 3 years as well as the 2020 Sydney Roosters NRLW team. Aside from her time in rugby league, she has coached and continues to work with youth representative netball players with Netball NSW and St George District Netball Association, and youth national level shot put and javelin throwers. Her areas of specialty are women’s health and performance, and youth development.

QUOTES
“Research has shown that if you talk about periods in that positive light, they are more likely to find a solution to any issues with the menstrual cycle”
“Don’t tiptoe around the subject of menstruation”
“If a female athlete is stressed, the effect on your cycle will not become apparent until 3 cycles later”
“If you a regular menstruator, you can plan out your training for the rest of the training year based on your cycle”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Emily’s journey from an athlete to a coach
2)	The relationship between puberty and development of the menstrual cycle
3)	What strength and conditioning coaches need to know about the menstrual cycle
4)	How to create a positive representation of the menstrual cycle with female athletes
5)	Alternatives to oral contraception and learning how to perform in and around the menstrual cycle
6)	The phases or four seasons of the menstrual cycle 
7)	Whether it is worth aligning the female athletes training cycle to the menstrual cycle and how you might accomplish this
8)	The myth of menstrual cycles aligning in a group of female athletes
9)	Using menstrual cycle tracking tools including apps like Flow
10)	Dealing with female athletes that are heavy menstruators
11)	How to approach female athletes with amenorrhea
12)	Resources for strength and conditioning coach around the menstrual cycle
13)	Incorporating skill 1 percenters in the warm up for gym sessions and lessons in leadership 

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Sophia Nimphius

ASCA Podcast #84 - Emily Wilson

Boyd Epley is one of the most decorated strength coaches in history and is the recipient of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN) Lifetime Achievement Award. Lindy’s National College Football magazine named him one of College Football’s Top 100 Most Important People of the Century after his training program helped produce five National Championships and 356 wins in 35 years of University of Nebraska Football. He is the founder of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and continues to be an advocate for strength coaches.

QUOTES
“There is greater serum GH release when utilizing 1 minute rest periods compared to 3 minutes”
“The rule of thumb is you do not start with 3 sets in this program or you may put someone in hospital”
“If the squat is done first, this offseason program becomes magical”
“Coaches can make things a complicated as they like, but it is easier to remember simple”
“Motivation is a big part of working with athletes and if you don’t take time to honor them, they’ll lose interest”

SHOWNOTES
1)	 Boyd’s journey in the weightroom from pole vaulter to the first ever NCAA college strength coach
2)	The college “power sports” and how to train for them
3)	The different influences of body building, weightlifting and research on Boyd’s programming
4)	How a Nebraska shot putter convinced the football team to attempt Boyd's offseason weights program
5)	The 10 in 40 metabolic circuit
6)	The “Epley” 1RM formula and its various uses
7)	The Performance Index, Strength Index and importance of relative strength
8)	The dangers of distance running for power sports

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Tom Osborne
Bill Kraemer
Bob Hoffman
Kevin Coleman 
Mike Arthur
Chris Eskridge
Ken Cooper

ASCA Podcast #88 - Boyd Epley

James Wild is a research & development and speed consultant with Harlequins Rugby Club and as a Lecturer in Applied Sport Science at the University of Surrey. Using a blend of physical preparation and biomechanics techniques with skill acquisition and motor learning principles, James has worked with coaches and athletes across a full spectrum of abilities, including medal winning teams and athletes at major international competitions. James is also a book author and has just completed his PhD in the biomechanics and motor control of team sport athletes during sprint acceleration. 

QUOTES
“We have to remember the (sprinting) technique is not an end unto itself, but should be seen as part of opportunity to create external force expression… to fit with a performance objective”
“Technique can potentially modify injury and pain whilst previous injury history and pain can also drive technique modifications as a coping strategy”
“You will find some individuals have a high step rate and rely on faster step rate for faster sprints so working towards their strength is key for that individual but you might also find the opposite”
“You’ll find the strength characteristics of the athlete will underpin the technique they are adopting when sprinting”
“I have previously investigated what effect resisted sprinting has on stride length or string frequency and for some individuals, it increases length, for others, it increases frequency and in some individuals, it hasn’t changed anything”


SHOWNOTES
1)	James’ journey into strength and conditioning and sprinting research
2)	The key performance indicators of sprinting biomechanics and how to assess acceleration
3)	Deciding if athletes are stride frequency or stride length reliant when sprinting and what to do with it
4)	Different contexts (e.g., injury history, aptitude) around using kinematic data from sprint analysis
5)	What to do if athletes are not getting faster from sprint interventions?
6)	The three strength qualities that are relevant to sprint performance and how to test them
7)	How and when to provide technique interventions with athletes 
8)	James’ philosophy on using resisted sprinting work with athletes
9)	Identifying opportunities for and then integrating speed work throughout a training week with athletes 

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Aki Salo
Ian Benzodis
John Goodwin
Pierre Samozino
JB Morin
Damien Harper

ASCA Podcast #97 - Dr. James Wild

Gareth Webber is a Strength and Conditioning Coach from Cardiff in the U.K. He has a BSc in Sport & Exercise Science and MSc in Exercise Physiology from Loughborough University and is a ASCA level 3 PCAS Elite coach. He has been involved in high-performance, professional sport for over thirteen years and has worked in three national institutes and two professional team environments across ten sports in five countries. His areas of specialty are the concurrent training of multiple physical qualities to maximize athlete preparedness for competition and the return to play process. He has presented at both ASCA and ICST conferences and has guest lectured at universities in the U.K., Asia and Australia. 

QUOTES
“Sometimes basic scientific theory, training principles and exercise technique does the world of good even in world class athletes.”
“It is a similar concept of stripping things back to a) protect athletes and b) to get some robustness into them so they could spend more time on the technical and tactical training”
“Athletes and coaches respond really well to competence and confidence in strength & conditioning coaches when first starting”
“With injured players, I try and keep the training process similar to what they would be doing if they weren’t injured… just working around the injury”
“I use a Gymaware as an extra level of data and an extra level of protection where I don’t need to go super super heavy with their lifting”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Gareth’s backstory and experience across multiple sports from rugby union to ten pin bowling
2)	The advantages of being a generalist in strength & conditioning
3)	Cornerstones of strength & conditioning that coaches should be competent in before trying to expand into other specialty areas
4)	Examples of reverse engineering robustness across different sports
5)	The softly-softly approach strength & conditioning coaches can use when first starting in a new position.
6)	Different heuristics and non-negotiables for strength & conditioning from Gareth’s experience 
7)	A typical week outline in current role as return to play process for Cardiff Blues
8)	Guidelines for bringing players back into full training from injury and examples of low-cost return to play criteria

ASCA Podcast #98 - Gareth Webber

Simon Harries is an accomplished performance coach, holding a PhD in Human Physiology from The University of Newcastle and accredited as an ASCA Elite L3 S&C coach. He currently serves as the Head of Strength & Conditioning at the NSW Institute of Sport, where he leads a team of Strength & Conditioning coaches to develop and deliver world-class performance support to Olympic sport athletes. With over 15 years’ experience in high performance sport across strength & conditioning, rehabilitation and sports science positions, Simon has coached elite athletes and teams across multiple sports, including AFL, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Rugby Sevens, Water polo, and a range of individual event sports. 

QUOTES
“Depending on your context, different rehabilitation models will suit and be more applicable than one or another”
“The roles in rehab are dependent on the people in each discipline, not necessarily what disciplines are involved”
“The main friction point in any working relationship is who is prescribing, who is coaching it and who makes the changes if they need to be made so to establish that at the onset helps a lot.”
“Rehab drivers are often the unsaid reasons why certain decision are made in rehab”
“Obviously when people talk about week-to-week change and acute to chronic ratios, that almost goes out the window in early parts of rehab otherwise the athlete would come back in 3 years’ time.”

SHOWNOTES
1)	How Simon’s career has progressed from PE teaching to the head of S&C at NSWIS
2)	The emerging role of a rehabilitation strength & conditioning coach
3)	Using the RACI model (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed) to get all staff involved in a rehabilitation of an athlete on the same page
4)	Examples of KPIs across different stages in rehabilitation
5)	The four rehab drivers: load, performance, medical and logistics
6)	End-stage rehab KPIs and volume benchmarks for running based field sports
7)	Shared decision making and communication with coaches
8)	Different rehab models and their suitability in different environments
9)	The importance of biomechanics for S&C coaches

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Tim Rogers
Dan Cleather

ASCA Podcast #113 - Dr. Simon Harries

Shane Lehane currently works as Athletic Performance Coach for the Sydney Swans Football Club in the AFL. Prior to this Shane worked in professional Rugby Union for 12 years in both Europe and Australia with Leicester Tigers, Melbourne Rebels, and the Wallabies. Shane graduated from Loughbough University  in Sport & Exercise Science and is currently a PhD candidate at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Shane’s studies are focused on Decision Making and the application of Systems Thinking for Strength & Conditioning Practitioners in the Team sport setting. Shane is also an accredited Elite Level 3 Coach with the ASCA.

QUOTES
“I definitely caused more problems than I solved by taking the performance model from Leicester straight to the Rebels”
“Rather than being solely a S&C coach tasked with manipulating physical variables, I see our role as being an assistant coach with job of managing the physical dimension within context of team environment”
“What differentiates practitioners is the understanding of the context of the environment they are working in”
“It is ok to embrace something that is less objectifiable and be comfortable in the fact that this physical quality will transfer across to the sport”
“Coordinative exercises and drills are a bridge between traditional strength training and a technical aspect of the sport”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Shane’s non-traditional start to a S&C career in the football codes
2)	The role of the S&C coach in modern team sport setting and “well-intentioned reductionism”
3)	Optimizing versus maximizing physical qualities in team sport athletes and how that fits with tactical and technical aspects of the game
4)	The factors that positively and negatively impact team sport performance from a S&C perspective and the point of diminishing returns on physical traits
5)	The balance between subjective and objective information with coaching vision and feedback for different players
6)	Reflective practice, its role in other health sciences and importance for S&C coaches
7)	Coordinative exercises and drills, dynamic correspondence, transfer and Frans Bosch 
8)	The different characteristics between rugby union vs AFL athletes and systems thinking

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Bryce Kavanagh
John Pyror
Lachlan James
Fergus Connolly
Russell Ackoff
Dan Howells

ASCA Podcast #114 - Shane Lehane

Dr. Max McKenzie
Max is a S&C Coach with the QAS Swimming Hub on the Sunshine Coast. Max has worked with elite swimmers for almost a decade across three Olympic/Paralympic cycles. Working within a multidiscipline performance support team servicing several swimming programs and coaches has shaped Max’s philosophy on the physical preparation of swimmers. In 2024, Max completed his PhD which investigated the impact of land-based warmup strategies on subsequent swimming physiology and performance.

Dr. Mark McKean
Mark started his career as a Physical Education teacher and still uses these teaching and coaching skills he learnt in many of his current coaching roles. Mark is a Master S&C Coach and completed his PhD in Sport and Exercise Science at UniSC. Mark has 30+ years of experience in various sports, including Sprint Kayak, Tennis, Swimming and Netball. Mark is a Senior S&C with the QAS Swimming Hub on the Sunshine Coast and is Head of Physical Performance in High-Performance Sport at UniSC. Mark has worked with UniSC's High-Performance swimming program since its inception in 2011 and has more than two decades of experience working with Olympic and Paralympic swimmers.

QUOTES
“One of our biggest concerns is swimmers, and it's like in any sport, their sport age is very different to their S&C training age, so you get swimmers that have been in the pool for five, 10 years, but when they come into our environment, they've got less than one year of good experience”
“If you ever spend any time around swim coaches, you'll hear the word connection probably on a daily basis and my interpretation of what swimming coaches are talking about is how efficiently are they sequencing together movements of their joints through water.”
“It is very common to hear swim coaches and swimming athletes talk about “what can you pull up?” but one of the things we are interested in is an athlete’s ability to pull their own body weight up as fast as they can for as many repetitions without a certain drop of velocity”
“So within about six weeks of major competitions, we're going through a set testing battery, which includes bench press velocity and bench press maximal strength, pull up maximal strength, pull up velocity and counter movement jump and squat jump performance”
“I've always believed one of the strength and conditioning coach’s biggest weaknesses is their general anatomical knowledge”

SHOWNOTES
1)	The back stories of Max and Mark including Max’s PhD research on swim performance and land-based interventions in the warm up
2)	The basics of athletic movements for swimming like streamlining and rotation control, and the importance of connection
3)	The adaptation of common traditional exercises like the pull up and reverse hyperextension to be more swim specific 
4)	The importance of monitoring vertical pulling speed and drops in speed in swimming
5)	Swimming strength and power profiling before major competition
6)	Strength ratios between upper body exercises and their influence on programming
7)	A look into the day-to-day process and weekly periodization at UniSC swimming program
8)	The power of the mind and influence of pre-competition lifting on swimming performance
9)	The importance of knowing anatomy as a strength and conditioning coach

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Scott Pollock
Dan Howells
Dr Mark Burnley
Adam Peaty

ASCA Podcast #116 - Dr. Max McKenzie and Dr. Mark McKean

Paul Comfort is a Professor of Strength and Conditioning at the University of Salford (UK) and an adjunct professor at Edith Cowan University (Australia). Paul is a founder member and accredited member of the UKSCA and was a board member of the NSCA from 2020-2023. He regularly consults with numerous team sports and has authored / co-authored >150 peer reviewed journal articles. His research focuses on training methods to enhance sports performance and the assessment of force production characteristics to monitor acute and chronic changes in neuromuscular function. Paul is also co-editor of the textbooks, ‘Advanced Strength and Conditioning: an evidence-based approach’, ‘Performance Assessment for strength and Conditioning’, ‘Laboratory Manual for Strength and Conditioning’ and recently edited the 2nd edition of the ‘Developing Power’ for the NSCA

QUOTES
“So one of the things we need to know is not just the what's the maximum force generating capacity, but how quickly can you produce that?”
“Normally we do some form of maximal isometric test and we'd also do a ballistic test, something like a counter movement jump, and then a reactive or rebound type test, whether that's a 10-5 test, a drop jump, counter movement rebound jump. They've all got some limitations with them, but we'll do some form of plyometric and reactive tests so that we've really tested across that breadth of force production capabilities that people might get within sport”
“If you've got velocity at take-off, that determines your jump height so you don't need to report velocity at take-off if you’re got jump height”
“Power doesn't determine jump height. It only explains around about 50 to 60% of jump height and it can change. You can actually have a decrease in power with an increase in jump height, which sounds really counterintuitive.”
“Look at the published data but also then make sure, right, did they use the same force plates? Did they use the same software that you're using? With the software set up have they analysed the data in the same way?”
“Biggest thing is make sure that whatever you're doing, you're standardising what you're doing and you're trying to compare to data, which is as close to what you do in terms of your testing protocols, so how you cue the athlete, how you coach the athlete, but also how the data is analysed”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Paul’s background in strength and conditioning and update since last episode
2)	The basics of measuring force production in athletes 
3)	Upper body options for force production assessment including the ASH Test
4)	Paul’s preference of the more common lower body force plate assessments like the IMTP or IsoSquat
5)	The best metrics to use across isometric, ballistic and reactive force production assessments and the importance of understanding net vs absolute force
6)	Considerations around contact/contraction time in different jump assessments
7)	Paul’s thoughts on the use of force production tests for fatigue and readiness to train measures
8)	The importance of starting simple and basic with testing and monitoring

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Greg Haff
Tudor Bompa

ASCA Podcast #119 - Professor Paul Comfort II

Cohen Crispin is the QRL Sport science coordinator and former strength and conditioning coach within Surfing Australia's high-performance program. Cohen is an ASCA Elite L3 elite coach and holds a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science. In addition to his commitments in surfing, Cohen is also an assistant strength and conditioning coach and sports scientist for the Queensland women's State of Origin team. With a multifaceted background, Cohen is dedicated to optimising athlete performance and giving back to the S&C industry.

QUOTES
“My footy coach at the time, Frank Baker, was Dan Baker's brother and he was talking to me one afternoon about what I wanted to do after school and he started telling me about what his brother did, working at the Broncos, strength and power coach. And I was like, is this a job?!”
“So when I started at sprint kayaking, Worko gave me the opportunity to write a program for Kenny Wallace. And I remember I spent all night and I was reading all the research and then I've delivered it to him and he's gone, no, I don't do those exercises. So I've walked away from it, just defeated! And Worko has gone to me, did you talk to him before you wrote that program or did you just go to the theory? So that was a perfect lens for why the practical experience was so important.”
“So it really makes our job about the need for engagement with the athletes. Engagement's our biggest currency and that engagement allows us to educate them and then a lot of our job is educating and giving these athletes all the tools that they need to be successful wherever they are, whether they're local or they're on the other side of the world.”
“I've found that athletes that are proficient in the counter movement jump, have the ability to generate more speed and are getting good scores in smaller waves”
“Whenever I'm writing programs, I'm always thinking what's the best exercise for the athlete, or what's the exercise that I can easily implement into their travel program. So we'll have a Monday, Wednesday strength and power session planned at the gym but if that doesn't work out, they'll then go to their body weight sessions that could easily be done in a hotel room using their bags and bands.”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Cohen’s journey from becoming a sparky in a small QLD mining town to a strength & conditioning coach for Surfing Australia
2)	The balance between practical and theoretical experience in learning the S&C craft
3)	Understanding surfing as a sport and the role strength & conditioning has to play in a surfers development
4)	The nature of working with surfers and the industry and the importance of athlete engagement and education in surfing
5)	The key strength & conditioning focuses for performance in surfing and how this may be manipulated based on different wave profiles
6)	The importance of paddle speed and conditioning for surfers and key tests and test standards for surfing athletes
7)	Why having a plan A, plan B and plan C in S&C programming is essential for surfers and the programming template at Surfing Australia

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Dan Baker
Deb Savage
John Mitchell
Glen Workman
Ken Wallace
Nick Winkleman

ASCA Podcast #120 - Cohen Crispin

Dr Gareth Sandford has a consulting business that helps Olympic, Pro & College coaches with individualized conditioning. Recent consulting clients include: Manchester City Football Club (EPL), England Football Association (International Football), Australian Institute of Sport (Olympic/Paralympic Sport), Melbourne Football Club (AFL), Kerry GAA (Gaelic Football). Prior to this, Gareth has worked for 14+ years across individual and team sports within three Olympic and Paralympic systems (UK, New Zealand and Canada) and three professional sports leagues (English Football, Cricket and Rugby), supporting over 450 athletes that achieved 23 Olympic, Paralympic and World Championship medals, and one world record. He was also scientific lead for the Canadian Olympic marathon and race-walk athletes at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. He holds a PhD in sport physiology and running performance from the Sport Performance Research Institute at AUT University in New Zealand and a ‘mini’ MBA from Simon Fraser University in science innovation and technology commercialisation.

QUOTES
“There are a number of things that we should be looking for. The first thing is the athlete profile. So that is where all your sub-disciplines come in, from a medical standpoint, what are we talking about? From a biomechanical, psychological standpoint, which type of personality are we dealing with? From a physiological standpoint, are we talking about a speed profile, hybrid or endurance profile?”
“So a common question you hear often is should conditioning be more sport specific or should it be more targeting the physical capacities underpinning the sport? But the reality of the matter is that physiology exists, whichever sport you're playing.”
“It is a very rare occasion in a team sport where you are short on the sport-specific exposure of chemistry”
“Sprinting speed is scaffolding for team sports. We can't build it and then let it go, because if we let it go, then the percentage we're working at when running goes up”
“The three metrics alongside team sport key training metrics I'm looking at are where's the sprinting speed? where's the MAS? where's the critical speed?”
“Athletes need to be exposed to all the stimulus, from low intensity to sprinting speed, probably for 18 months, two years at the low end, for us to be confident, this is the type of profile an athlete is.”
“The key metric for low and moderate intensity work is the effort, the internal effort, not the external speed and the answer is whatever speed elicits a five or six out of 10 feeling”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Gareth’s exploration of the anaerobic speed reserve which has taken him from the UK to NZ to Canada
2)	The framework for conditioning and importance of athlete profiling
3)	The relevance of middle-distance track events and their training for field sports
4)	Getting a clear characterization of what is happening in technical-tactical training sessions and unlearning “classical” physiology 
5)	Assessing the anaerobic speed reserve in athletes and the practical application of profiling
6)	The interplay between critical speed and maximal aerobic speed or velocity VO2max and Gareth’s preferences for measuring both
7)	How to use the ASR ratio as a screen of “spread” and benchmarking sprint and endurance physiology
8)	Principles versus models and the value of holding principles as loosely as possible until you understand exactly what type of athlete you are dealing with

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Peter Weyand
Phil Bellinger
Veronica Billat
Phil Scott

ASCA Podcast #121 - Dr. Gareth Sandford

The ASCA High School and Youth Podcast, featuring Rob Le Guen, explores his journey as an S&C expert and his role at Maribyrnong Sports Academy. Rob's career includes key positions at the University of South Florida, Manchester City Football Club, and as England Girls Youth Physical Performance Coach. At Maribyrnong, he focuses on integrating athletic development within the school environment, providing students with structured programs tailored to their growth and performance stages. The academy’s unique setup emphasises individualised athlete progress over team results, offering a comprehensive approach from foundational skills in younger years to elite-level preparation for senior students.
Rob highlights the importance of planning, simplicity, and engagement in youth S&C. Testing and programming are vital components at MSA, with quarterly assessments to track physical performance and growth. He also discusses the challenges of managing training loads, collaborating with clubs, and keeping youth athletes motivated. By blending structured training with fun, Rob ensures that students stay engaged and avoid burnout throughout their development.
Rob emphasises the value of long-term athlete development and mastering fundamentals before progressing to advanced techniques. His advice for coaches includes meticulous planning, fostering relationships with stakeholders, and maintaining a balanced approach that prioritises the individual athlete’s needs. The podcast, supported by AlphaFit, provides practical insights for coaches working in youth sports.

ASCA High School & Youth Podcast 2412 - Parnham + Le Guen

Dr. Jamie Tallent is the Director of the Human Performance Research Group at the University of Essex, previously holding the position of Associate Professor in Strength and Conditioning at St Mary's University. Jamie earned his PhD from Northumbria University, UK, focusing on corticospinal adaptations from eccentric and concentric resistance training muscle actions. Jamie has worked in professional sport, as the lead strength and conditioning coach at Derbyshire County Cricket Club. 
Jamie has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications and numerous book chapters. His research, a mixture of applied and mechanistic studies, includes leading various projects in collaboration with International Cricket Teams, Premiership Football clubs, International Rugby Teams, and world-leading ballet schools and companies. Recently, Jamie has also begun to explore the role of strength and conditioning in children with cerebral palsy.

QUOTES
“Micro-dosing is just splitting up your training sessions, your volume of work into small manageable chunks”
“I'm better putting in small doses that are going to enhance an athletes performance over long periods of time, rather than that scheduling in longer sessions that could affect their training in the subsequent days”
“I think the recommendation for micro-dosing I'd almost give is that go to higher rep work as with lower rep work, maybe that's not as easy to microdose in time constrained situations because you're going to have to spend so much time warming up’”
“What we've shown in ballet is that the groups that are training three times a week of 15 minutes versus 1 time a week of 45 minutes are getting slightly greater adaptations in strength, in jumping ability, in counter-movement jump.”
“I think it's important how we package things as S & C coaches and I think it's important that the athletes are aware that micro-dosing is still going to help them. The narrative to athletes is even if you do one set, even if you do two sets, it's still a positive kind of thing for your sport.”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Jamie’s journey into sport science and strength and conditioning
2)	The definition of microdosing and its use to reduce risk of injury or soreness
3)	The philosophy of getting as much work as possible into athletes and how microdosing aligns with this
4)	How time constraints influence microdosing sets and rep schemes
5)	The timing of microdosing S&C around sports training sessions and “clustering” sessions in a training week
6)	Examples of microdosing in cricket and ballet and the benefits of microdosing for training absenteeism
7)	Managing your communication in different environments and the future of data analytics

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Glyn Howatson
Nathan Spencer
Duncan French
Jess Turner

ASCA Podcast #122 - Dr. Jamie Tallent

In this episode, Wesley College’s high-performance manager, Dr. Daniel Hiscock, shares insights from his seven years at the institution, detailing how the school’s long-term athletic development (LTAD) program supports students from pre-kindergarten through year 12 in building athletic ability, healthy habits, and life skills.
Daniel highlights the program’s three-tiered structure, which caters to all students, from general participants to elite athletes competing at state and national levels. He shares inspiring stories of student athletes with lofty goals, such as a badminton player aiming for the Commonwealth Games and a footballer pursuing an AFL career. These examples demonstrate the importance of consistency, tailored support, and collaboration with families to help students achieve their aspirations.
The podcast also emphasises the inclusivity of the Wesley College LTAD program, which extends support to less advantaged students and those with disabilities. Programs like UniGym and early gross motor skill interventions are designed to foster lifelong habits of physical activity, ensuring that all students benefit, regardless of their athletic ability. Daniel further explains how the school integrates innovative training methods, such as isometric exercises, to enhance strength, accommodate injured athletes, and manage high training demands while minimising injury risks.
A significant focus of the episode is the collaborative mentorship approach taken at Wesley College. Dr. Hiscock underscores the importance of open communication with parents, external coaches, and club programs to effectively navigate the complex needs of high-performing athletes. He also reflects on the challenges of balancing resources and scaling programs, sharing practical strategies to optimise outcomes for a wide range of students.
Drawing from his diverse career, Daniel shares lessons learned, emphasising the value of foundational training principles, the need for athlete buy-in, and the importance of individualised programming. He explains how these principles have guided the program’s growth and success while remaining adaptable to the unique needs of each student.
The episode concludes with Daniel reflecting on the holistic value of sport as a means to build not only high-performing athletes but also well-rounded and resilient individuals.

ASCA High School & Youth Podcast 2501 - Pyke + Hiscock

Christian Bosse has over 20 years of experience in coaching athletes at the elite level, working with more than 20 Olympians, 13 Olympic medallists, 7 Olympic champions, and 23 World champions. More recently, Christian has worked as a Strength & Conditioning Coach for the German Cycling Federation, where he is responsible for the S&C support of the national track cycling team. Christian also educates and mentors the coaches of the German Cycling Federation to improve the strength and conditioning support in the regional training centres.
Prior to this, Christian has worked for different national and international governing bodies, including the National Olympic Committee of the Netherlands, Catalan Tennis Federation, the British Lawn Tennis Association, the International Tennis Federation, the Chinese Olympic Committee.

QUOTES
“I just looked at what can I build in the entrepreneurial space. They call it the minimum viable product, meaning a product that works. It doesn't have all the features that you need in the end, but it works and it should be at a minimal cost.”
“So I don't necessarily ask them to send in a video of every exercise they do. It's more like, okay, you have to improve whatever your turnover in the clean, you have to improve your posture in the squat or something like this. So then that person sends me the video regarding their points of improvement and the corrective exercises I've prescribed”
“I'm a big fan of limited amount of exercise selection, meaning one of my core philosophies as an S&C coach and that's probably opposed to many others, is just have a handful of exercises that you can dominate very, very well, and then do them as good as you can.”
“The innovation is not, yes, somewhere in the world we already know this. But over here, you don't do it. So the innovation is, in a way, we bring what we already know to that place where it's needed.”
“My point is is it correlation or causation that makes the cyclists legs big? I think it's more because of the stuff they do on the bike and… it's unlikely the work in the gym, it's more likely the work on the bike that leads to the big legs. So anyway that was definitely a challenge to get them away from, or to implement the thought of maybe we don't need that much of hypertrophy work for the legs”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Christian’s journey in strength and conditioning including stops in India, Spain, China, Netherlands, and Germany across tennis and cycling
2)	How limited resources drove innovation in supporting the German national cycling team
3)	The use of video feedback across a decentralized team model and the advantages of being able to stockpile and tag videos from athletes over time
4)	Technical coach strength and conditioning education and making sure old knowledge is being applied in the right places
5)	Differences between German and Dutch athlete preparation in cycling
6)	Christian’s long term athlete development approach through reverse engineering performance and rates of progression over developmental years for younger athletes
7)	Adapting to the demands of working with athletes remotely in different sports
8)	What a typical session looks like for strength and power development with German cyclists
9)	Staying away from right or wrong when working with coaches and athletes and Twan Van Gendt’s Bulgarian split squats

People Mentioned
Dietmar Schmidtbleicher
Katharina Dunst
Narelle Sibte
Reid Hoffman
Twan Van Gendt

ASCA Podcast - Christian Bosse

Andrew Lulham has been involved with elite sport for over 20 years working across multiple Olympic sports as a senior strength and conditioning coach for the Queensland Academy of Sport as well as working in professional football codes in Rugby (Wallabies and Western Force), AFL (Port Adelaide F.C.) and Rugby League (Brisbane Broncos). He is currently the Head of Athletic Performance for Ormiston College. Andrew is a Master L3 ASCA Strength and Conditioning Coach, Level 4 IAAF Level Sprints, Relays, Hurdles Coach and an IAAF Level 3 Jumps Coach and IAAF Level 3 Middle Distance Coach. During his time at the Queensland Academy of Sport, Andrew was also involved in the QAS Athletics program working as a Jumps coach from 2016-2021.

QUOTES
“What I want at training is I want them to think about what they're doing and get it precise. But then when I want them to race, when I want them to compete, I don't want them to think.”

“The eccentric strength stuff in our training for jumps or for sprinting is key. You know, like we have got to think about that we want them to produce as much as much force as they possibly can eccentrically”

“I could say they only do 90 seconds of hard work in a typical session. Like the session is actually not that hard overall, but the intensity has got to be so high when they do it and spot on and it's crazy in a sense when you're think of it like that they come do 90 seconds of work for around 90 minutes of training”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Andrew’s background in strength and conditioning, transition to an athletics coach and then the high school setting
2)	Identifying technical issues in athletes sprint biomechanics and developing a coaches eye
3)	Frontside and backside mechanics in sprinting, watching the sole of the foot and a Trae Williams case study
4)	Wickets, skipping ropes and high knee runs
5)	How Andrew sets up a typical training session for his athletes
6)	Eccentric single leg strength and the optimal knee angles to work at
7)	What Andrew would take back to football codes from athletics and a willingness to try new things as a coach

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Ian King
Dan Baker
Kelvin Giles
Gary Bourne
Ralph Mann
Patrick Castelli
Damien Harper



ASCA Podcast #128 - Andrew Lulham

Youth and High School Strength and Conditioning 

ASCA High School & Youth Podcast 2507 - Parnham Musolino

Dr. Gregory Haff is the Professor of S&C and the Director of the Strength and Power Research Group at ECU. He is the author of the ‘Scientific Foundations and Practical Applications of Periodisation’ & the co-editor of the NSCA’s Essentials of S&C textbooks. A central goal of his research is to bridge the gap between scientific inquiry & practical applications, with a research focus on the periodisation of training, resistance training programming strategies, and methods of testing and monitoring of the training process. His research focuses on methodologies for testing, monitoring, and programming resistance training interventions, as well as concepts related to periodization and training theory. 

QUOTES
"So they created linear position transducers, much like a gym aware, and they used it with weightlifters in particular, because obviously weightlifting, it has a speed component to it e.g., you've got to be able to move the barbell quickly and you've got to be able to move heavy loads very quickly."
"If we guided training solely by velocity, we couldn't get high end strength development. Could we improve power? Yes. Could we improve the speed of movement? Yes. Could we regulate training load? Yes. But we often missed that stimulus to actually increase maximal strength."
"So when we looked at our data, what we found is the slope of the load velocity profile changes from day to day with fatigue more dramatically than maximal strength capacity. So this is where it gets a little interesting. If I'm programming off the load velocity profile, am I actually programming off the maximal capacity or am I being hyper reactive to fatigue?"
"Velocity based training is no better than the percentage based. There's no more variability or less variability. They're about the same. So is it really adding to my training other than more expense because I've got to buy them, more technology because I need it, and more training for my staff? Potentially not."
"You might want to occasionally use a load-velocity profile to look at where the athlete's weaknesses are. It might inform you, but then you've got to contextualize it. Where am I in my training program? And what is my goal right now? So if I'm in a strength power phase and the velocity end is low, then I have got a problem. But if I'm in a hypertrophy phase and it's low… you know, I don't really care right now."
"I wouldn't use it with weightlifting exercises, especially when what I've what I found with people that use it with weightlifting exercises, they change their technique to chase speed. And what happens is they create an inefficient movement pattern."

SHOWNOTES
1)	Greg’s story, from growing up in the US as a son of a Marine to becoming a leading researcher in strength science
2)	The history of velocity-based training and its German / Russian origins
3)	Why we might have to be careful using VBT to estimate maximal strength considering the stability of maximal strength 
4)	Greg’s suggested strategies around using VBT to autoregulate load plus his preference for linear position transducers over accelerometers
5)	Strength stability across different exercises and the stages of over-reaching/over-training
6)	How and when to apply VBT during strength training periodization and using load-velocity profiles / critical minimum velocity thresholds across different exercises 
7)	The cognitive load of always using VBT and its effect on motivation as well as the effect of different athlete phenotypes on VBT
8)	Which exercises to use VBT with and potential applications for other populations besides athletes
9)	Using VBT to monitor readiness with a set load
10)	The biggest thing Greg has changed his mind on in recent times and the importance of mobility

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Mike Stone
Boyd Epley
Andrew Fry
William Kraemer
Carl Miller
Stuart Guppy
Dietmar Schmidbleiter
Nick Poulos
Dan Baker
Jonathon Weakley
Bryan Mann
Duncan French




ASCA Podcast #129 - Professor Greg Haff

Dry Land to Poolside: Developing Youth Athletes at Brisbane Grammar

This episode of the ASCA High School and Youth Podcast, hosted by Sophie Pidcock and featuring guest Lara Ponsi from Brisbane Grammar School (BGS), explores the design and implementation of a long-term athletic development framework for swimmers. Lara shares how she built the BGS swim strength and conditioning program from scratch after taking on the role in 2022. The conversation covers the journey from initial challenges to establishing a structured six-squad framework that integrates dry land and gym-based training with swimming development. The discussion emphasises athlete education, general athletic development for youth, long-term progression and collaboration with swimming coaches. They also highlight practical examples like games-based training for younger athletes, gymnastics integration and the creation of a games library. The episode concludes with reflections on athlete progression, enjoyment and the importance of preparing well-rounded, confident athletes both in and out of the pool.

Highlights

Background & Context

•	Lara Poncey started in 2022, taking responsibility for over 200 swimmers (ages 7–26).
•	Initially, there was no clear training structure or framework across squads.

Framework Development

•	Created a six-squad progression model aligned with both athletic development and swimming performance.
•	Focus on long-term athlete development rather than short-term results.
•	Designed to educate athletes about the “why” behind training and build confidence in the gym.

Early Stages (Micro & Junior Squads, ages 7–12)

•	Goal: Build fundamental movement skills and coordination.
•	Approach: Games-based, fun, low-structure “organized chaos.”
•	Sessions emphasize play, agility, body control, and enjoyment.

State Development Squad (12+)

•	Introduction to foundational movement patterns (squat, hinge, push, pull).
•	Low load, bodyweight-based, circuit-style sessions.



National Development Squad (14–15 yrs)

•	First stage in the gym setting.
•	Focus on building a broad athletic base and exposure to multiple training qualities (strength, power, endurance).
•	Not heavily swimming-specific; prepares athletes for any sporting pathway.

National Performance Squads (15–18 yrs)

•	Increased specificity and intensity, aligned with competition schedules.
•	Differentiation between age squad (strength/power development with support and guidance) and open squad (advanced training, stroke-specific focus, collaboration with head coach).

Gymnastics Integration

•	Weekly sessions in the gymnastics hall focusing on handstands, rings, dynamic balance, and body control.
•	Strong correlation to swimming starts, turns, and streamline positions.
•	Adds variety, enjoyment, and body awareness.

Programming Philosophy

•	Tailored to athlete age, development, and competition demands.
•	For younger squads: term-based training with holiday breaks to avoid burnout.
•	For older squads: programming coordinated with key competitions (nationals, trials).

Games Library

•	Lara developed a categorized library of games (activation, invasion, core, ball, etc.).
•	Provides variety, ensures coverage of different movement skills, and keeps sessions engaging.
•	Mix of researched, shared, and self-created games.

Key Takeaways

•	Importance of education and enjoyment at all levels.
•	Building confident, resilient athletes regardless of whether they continue with swimming.
•	Framework ensures progression, structure, and long-term benefits.
•	Positive cultural shift: swimmers now look forward to dry land training.



ASCA High School & Youth Podcast 2508 - Pidcock Ponsi

Ben has over 20 years experience across elite sport having been involved in the physical preparation of athletes since 1999.  His coaching experience extends across a wide range of sports both professional (AFL and cricket) and Olympic sports including leading the physical preparation for the Australian Beach Volleyball program for the 2013/15/19/21 World Championships and the Rio Olympics and Tokyo Olympics.  He has also had extensive experience in coaching developing athletes having worked at ASPIRE Academy and in his current role as Head of Athletic Development at St Peter’s College in Adelaide, Australia.
He has completed a PhD examining the neuromuscular effects and adaptations to maximal strength and power training and is an ASCA Level 3 and Master Coach and in 2023 was awarded Life Membership to ASCA.

QUOTES
"What is really clear is the neuro side of the neuromuscular is tough. And for good reason… It's because for a long time, our understanding of the neural system and its impact on performance outcomes, because again, that's what's important for us and our athletes, has not really been well understood."

"One of the things that we're starting to discover is that your gaze where you are looking, what you're doing with your eyes is a really powerful tool to help prime, for lack of a better word, your extension movement pattern."

"The top one percent that are going on to win medals at Olympic Games versus those that are not, it's not so much the force that they can produce or the force at velocity via their agonist muscles but it's how well they can turn off their antagonists and cycle through multiple movements."

"I think what we probably initially started to blame CNS fatigue on was more acute type of fatigue, when probably the only people that start to show significant levels of neuromuscular fatigue from a neural perspective are those that have been chronically overtrained for a significant amount of time"

"What I found was that the sprint cyclists had much greater ability to damage themselves, to put themselves into even just a short term performance hole compared with rowers based on the type of training they were doing." 

SHOWNOTES
1)	Ben’s background and journey in strength and conditioning  
2)	Understanding the neural side of neuromuscular training 
3)	Opportunities in training and practical methods to enhance the neural response to training
4)	The priming effect of gaze on different movement patterns and the role of coordination in peformance
5)	Periodizing methods to enhance neural responses in strength & conditioning sessions
6)	Neuromuscular assessments and Ben’s thoughts on neural fatigue
7)	The use of electrical muscle stimulation in training and the time course of recovery from high neural load activity based on level of athlete 
8)	Reframing strength as a skill and countermovement jump numbers in beach volleyball 


PEOPLE MENTIONED
Cal Dietz


ASCA Podcast #130 - Dr Ben Haines

Ivi is an expert in women's football and the founder of Casagrande Coaching, a UK based consultancy practice. A former professional player, Ivi has also worked as a performance coach with teams like Orlando Pride, Brighton & Hove Albion, Ireland Women’s Team, Brazil Women’s Team and US Youth National Teams. She now focuses on both early career and seasoned coaches via international coach education programmes, grassroots projects and progressive frameworks that create better environments for everyone to thrive. As such, Ivi delivers coach education for the Football Association of Ireland via a grassroots programme supporting young female football players, and with FIFA and UEFA as a Technical Expert delivering workshops for teams around the world. Since 2020 Ivi has also run her own Mentorship programmes to educate and empower coaches.

QUOTES

“So I think the best environments that I've been in, they have constant feedback loops between staff members and also players where they have debrief in forms of feedback surveys or a lot of conversations with players about what they need”

“if you're in an international team environment with camps, for example, at the end of each camp with Ireland, we would survey the players and it was very successful, we're going to do this debrief and we're going to see the trends”

"What are the non-negotiables for us as coaches, but also what are the things that we will allow the players to have more freedom, more creativity with and allow them to do different things in their training”

"I think on top of everything that we talked about in terms of creating an environment for players to thrive, we also have to create our own environment for ourselves to then thrive. Because if we're not creating that, we are not going to be able to have mental space to create that environment for the players”

SHOWNOTES

1) Ivi’s journey from professional soccer to coaching elite female football.

2) Zooming out to observe environments that are conducive for players and staff to thrive.

3) The importance of frequent feedback loops in high performance, including reflecting on every session you coach.

4) Observing athletes and their interactions in their daily environment.

5) How speaking the same shared language as coaches impacts high performance.

6) Creating autonomy in playing groups and the practical tools to use.

7) How to implement an education process with athletes to improve culture.

8) The importance of staff having boundaries with players and protecting their time.

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Dan Pfaff

ASCA Podcast #131 - Ivi Casagrande

Rob Anderson is an award-winning youth strength and conditioning coach with over 15 years of experience developing young athletes across schools, academies, and national governing bodies. He spent five years with Scottish Rugby as the Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Under 16, 17 and 18 National Teams as well as coaching emerging youth talent at the Borders & East Lothian and Caledonia Regional Academies. Rob then founded The Athlete Academy with the mission to provide world-class athletic development and coaching for young athletes. His dedication to improving youth athletic development is reflected in his recognition as the 2024 UKSCA Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year for Youth Sport. A leading voice in LTAD, Rob also mentors practitioners through Collaborate Sports, helping coaches implement best practices in clubs, schools, and private sectors. 

QUOTES
“It's not uncommon for guys and girls to be growing seven to 12 centimeters in a year. That's a huge physiological change. It's not uncommon during peak weight velocity for guys to be stacking on 10 kilos in a year. That's a huge physiological change. So in some ways, the training programs that we are putting on adult athletes, we know there's a level of adaptation that's going to change physiologically but we're probably getting the greatest physiological change during that period of adolescence, both for male and female athletes, with training”.

“If it works with kids, it works with adults but not the other way around”

"And sometimes it's going to be a bit deceptive for youth athletes because you might think, well, actually we've not changed training load. Like they're doing exactly what they were doing last year. But actually, last year they weren't in their peak high velocity and now they are. And so maybe their sensitivity has increased and that workload that was previously okay is actually now too much. And we just need to be smart about how we decrease that"

“So we need enough calories for the usual resting metabolic rate plus growth. Then what fuelling do we need for athletic endeavors? You know, it tends to be a lot more than parents think in terms of what the requirement actually is. And that's why, you know, it's not uncommon for athletes to be tired and under fueled because they don't realize that how much their calorie requirements are going through that period of training and growing.”

“I actually really love martial arts for an LTAD environment, because I think it's actually way more organic. You go into a Jiu-Jitsu class, for example, it's not all the white belts in one room or the brown belts in another room or the blue. It's like combined different ages, different experience levels. And it's actually a really quality LTAD experience and I've kind of borrowed from that.”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Rob’s progression in youth strength and conditioning, from his own experience to Scotland national youth rugby teams to opening Athlete Academy 
2)	Fundamentals of youth strength & conditioning and dispelling old youth training myths
3)	The impact of peak height velocity on different growth related conditions like Osgood Schlatters
4)	The difference between peak height velocity and peak weight velocity
5)	Organizing training and adaptation aims (e.g., neural vs hypertrophy) around pre, circa, and post pre height velocity
6)	The parent as the head of performance for the youth athlete
7)	The intake process at the Athlete Academy and putting youth athletes into the right level of a curriculum
8)	Micro-dosing different tests across different weeks 
9)	Addressing parent questions about what their kid needs and the value of unilateral work

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Avery Faigenbaum
Kelvin Giles
Dan Baker
Rhodri Lloyd
John Oliver
Shane Fitzgibbon
James Baker
Angela Jackson
Mike Boyle
Frans Bosch

ASCA Podcast #132 - Rob Anderson

Antonio Squillante earned a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. With over a decade of experience as a strength and conditioning coach at both the collegiate and professional levels, he now works as an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. In this role, he teaches evidence-based practice in the graduate program in Strength and Conditioning. Antonio is the Head of Sport Performance and Training for the USA Cycling National Track Sprint Program and serves as a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association Board of Directors. In addition to his academic and professional roles, Dr. Squillante is also a published author and an internationally recognized speaker and lecturer.

QUOTES
“If we look at the field of research, minimum effective dose is more technically called a dose response effect, meaning how much training load is necessary to see a significant increase in strength. So if I'm training someone, what's the minimum amount of volume, and intensity that is needed to drive adaptation?”

“I just don't want the idea of the word minimum to ever trick anyone or leave anyone to believe that it's very little volume by default. Minimum just says that among all possible combinations of load and intensity and sets of reps and frequency for any individual at any point in their career, we're going with the bare minimum that works.”

“The notion of strength and conditioning can be somewhat deceiving because it makes it sound like when it comes to the neuromuscular side of things, our goal is strength. Our goal is never going to be, and it's not supposed to be strength. Our goal is speed and power. We build strength because strength supports speed and power.”

“That velocity will tell me throughout the week, from week to week, and all year round, when it's time to go up in volume, when it's time to go up in intensity, and when it's time to go up in frequency.”

"The single biggest change, biggest in the sense that added both the greatest impact on results, but also the biggest paradigm shift in the way I go about training was reevaluating the importance of aerobic conditioning in resistance training and strength and power athletes”

SHOWNOTES
1) Antonio’s back story and how his experience playing American football in Italy brought him to S&C
2) The concept of minimum effective dose and its background in dose-response models
3) The influence of volume and intensity on minimum effective dose
4) Feedback loops and monitoring dose response and fatigue with athletes
5) Using velocity based training (VBT) to prescribe and monitor training adaptation
6) How to use VBT to decide whether to add volume or intensity to an athlete
7) The positive impact of aerobic conditioning on strength and power and its relationship with athletes ability to handle greater resistance training volumes

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Dr. Brent Alvar
Carmelo Bosco
Keijo Häkkinen
Fred Hatfield

ASCA Podcast #133 - Antonio Squillante

Tim Mosey holds a Master of Exercise Science (Strength and Conditioning) from Edith Cowan University and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement Studies) from QUT. He is an ASCA Level 3 Master S&C Coach with over sixteen years of experience across Olympic, professional, and youth development sport. Tim is currently the Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach at the NSW Waratahs, where he leads strength, power, and speed development, as well as rehabilitation programming for the Super Rugby squad. He has previously served in high-performance roles at the Queensland Academy of Sport, the Tasmanian Institute of Sport, as Head of Athletic Performance - Academy for the Waratahs, and as Director of Athletic Development at Brisbane Boys’ College. He has supported athletes to Olympic and international success in diving, rowing, archery, water polo, and skeleton, including preparing athletes for the 2010 Whistler and 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Tim’s areas of expertise include strength, power and speed development, return-to-play programming, and long-term athlete development. He has contributed to the field through published peer-reviewed research, mentoring emerging coaches, and presenting at national conferences.

QUOTES
“I'm a reluctant rehabber. I find it the most challenging and frustrating part of strength and conditioning. It doesn't excite me. It challenges me. I find it difficult I guess and that's weirdly why I wanted to dive into it”

“If we're thinking about aerobic type work, you can break it down into whether you want to do extensive or intensive type work. So maybe extensive work where the length of your effort is a longer, straighter effort versus an intensive type effort where you might have more shuttle-based work.”

“I've always lived off this quote from an old colleague, Nick Lumley and his comment was when the bombs are going off, you don't want blokes who've just been running straight line MAS, you want guys who've been getting off the deck and shuttling. So I guess I'm biased towards a little bit more shuttle-based conditioning work than straight line work”.

“The challenge of rehabbing someone in season is the coach wants him back and there's the old adage of are we returning to play or returning to perform? I don't think that really applies in a lot of instances when we're getting guys back out on the paddock, particularly in-season. I would argue that we return blokes that aren't ready to perform a lot of the time but they're ready to go back and play”

“I would start generally in the backend of a reconditioning block with more aerobic based extensive work and that might involve longer straighter efforts with maybe one turn. I might progress that down to more intensive based conditioning work with more turns, same sort of work to rest ratios, but more change of direction and off deck work, increasing to intensive anaerobic type work as they get towards the backend of the last third and fourth weeks.” 

SHOWNOTES
1)	Tim’s time in strength and conditioning, from Tasmanian Institute of Sport to Brisbane Boys College and QAS to the NSW Waratahs
2)	The basics of reconditioning and using an energy system adaptation led strategy
3)	The simplicity of four-minute conditioning blocks and the importance of shuttle-based work
4)	Skill work in re-conditioning?
5)	Building back into contact after injuries, especially for shoulder cases
6)	The difference between returning to play versus returning to perform
7)	Reconditioning periodization and the use of extensive and intensive days
8)	Tim’s favourite reconditioning drills and the challenges of adapting training to different athlete types within the same squad and sport

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Peter Culhane
Paul Larsen
Martin Buchheit
Nick Lumley 


ASCA Podcast #134 - Tim Mosey

ASCA High School & Youth Podcast 2508 - Pidcock + Pyke

Clive Brewer is the Director of Olympic Strength and Conditioning at the University of Notre Dame where, he is responsible for leading and managing a department focused on maximizing the physical development of Notre Dame’s Olympic sports student-athletes, Prior to his current role, Clive was the Director of Human Performance for Arizona Athletics in Phoenix, and has worked for a number of different sporting organisations including Toronto Blue Jays, Manchester United, Liverpool FC, Columbus Crew, IMG, IAAF, Widnes Vikings & England Rugby League. 

Loren Landow is the Director of Football Performance at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to this, Loren served as the head strength and conditioning coach for the Denver Broncos from 2018-2023, and he also owns and directs Landow Performance in Centennial, Colorado, where theyhavce worked with thousands of athletes in all sports to prepare for professional and amateur competition, including NFL, NHL, MLB, UFC, WNBA and Olympic medalists.

QUOTES
"The joke I always use is I'm the world's ugliest bridesmaid. People see the athlete, people see the coach, but they should never see me. We are a guy in the background who's doing a lot of the work and driving things forward, but we ain't that important.”

“And high functioning means that you're able to actually be honest with people, be open with people and them to be open with you too. It's not to respect a hierarchy or anything else. It's like, you have to be open to that critical question asked in the right way, you know, in order to really reflect on what you do and are you doing the best and is there a better way of doing it?”

“I tell my staff, like, we're all going to make mistakes. The goal is not to make the same mistake twice and try to make the mistakes less egregious as we go. So I think part of it is like understanding that it's an okay environment to make a mistake in and we're going to learn from it.”

“But I look at what I call the hat scenario. So the very first exercise I do with my guys is, you know, we understand what hats people wear, right? So there's the blue hat, which is the process hat, right? And there's the green hat, which is the ideas hat. And then there's the red hat, which is the emotional hat. And then there's the yellow hat, is the pleasing people hat. And then there's the black hat, which is, it won't work. And so we explained this, and I use the hats a lot in my scenarios, but the first thing I said to the guys is, just like that, what's your preferred hat? There's no right or wrongs here because each of those is a strength.”

“I think being much more deliberate in terms of creating that environment and realize that my job is to set that up and then stay out of way of it. I've never been good as what I would call the cheerleader coach. I think I've always told players, if I've got to bring the intensity, you're in the wrong job.”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Clive and Loren’s update since last episode on the podcast and their new roles at University of Notre Dame
2)	Coaching philosophies and how they have evolved over time for Loren and Clive
3)	How to frame questions for constructive feedback and the importance of creating an environment to own mistakes
4)	The difference between an inter- and mutli-disciplinary performance team
5)	The structure of the Notre Dame football and Olympic sport performance staff organisation
6)	Tailoring tasks and workflow to staff strengths and the hat analogy for different staff different strengths
7)	Demonstrating impact in new environments and obtaining trust through consistency

PEOPLE MENTIONED
John Wagle
Duncan French

ASCA Podcast #135 - Clive Brewer & Loren Landow

Angus McEntrye is a Chiropractor, Athletics coach and Strength & Conditioning Coach. He works out of his practice AM Health & Performance in Sydney and specialises in injury diagnosis, management, and rehabilitation. Angus has worked with several different athletes and teams and has coached athletes competing at World Championships, Commonwealth Games, and the Olympic Games in athletics. Angus is also an accredited Level 4 Athletics Coach and ASCA Elite L3 Strength & Conditioning Coach.

QUOTES
"So what is VBT to me? It's all about speed output. So moving the bar or the body as fast as we can."

"The most important part about the competitive season is that they're competing. We're not trying to be Olympic lifters. We're not trying to be power lifters. We want to make sure that their transfer to the sport is as high as possible. That's submaximal loading, accelerative strengthening, power on the force velocity curve. 60-70 % 1RM comes in as the heavy and then we muck around with 50-30 %; lighter, faster, ballistic tosses, jumping, loud noises, trying to get things moving as fast as we can..."

"How many sports generate force up and down like a squat? There aren't too many. In track and field, it's the hammer throw, skiing, rowing, a couple of examples there, but most of what we do is we're generating force in a split based position"

"So then, you know, going into those lighter loads, and doing it with a snatch, Cameron can lift up to four meters per second with 30% 1RM on the bar"

“I've always been somebody that likes to be creative and just think outside of the box and how might this work? How might this better the output that we're trying to achieve? And then in the gym, it just bolsters that as well. So, you know, as long as you're not being stupid, think being creative in your environment … especially with VBT”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Angus’ journey in strength and conditioning, athletics coaching and chiropractic influences
2)	Velocity based training (VBT) basics and split snatches in Tokyo
3)	Periodizing VBT across general prep, specific prep and competition phases
4)	Different exercises, including Olympic lifting variations, that Angus will use in his coaching
5)	How VBT metrics and speeds can be adapted for power development, including lifts above 3-4 meters per second
6)	The benefits of different coaching cues combined with VBT feedback
7)	Being creative in your environment as a coach and the use of different exercises to influence technique


PEOPLE MENTIONED
Cam McEntrye
John Mitchell
Nick Winkelman
John Manenti

ASCA Podcast #136 - Angus McEntrye

Des joined Arsenal FC in February 2013 after a successful strength and conditioning career in the rugby world.  At Arsenal, Des is the head of the academy sport medicine and sport science department. He oversees the physical development of players aged from 8 to 23. During his time at Arsenal, Des has helped develop the approach, size of the department and the facilities at the academy. This has helped support a number of players graduate from the academy to the first team.
 
Des has completed a Masters in Strength and Conditioning and is also a tutor with the IRFU, Setanta College and a tutor trainer with World Rugby. He has been UKSCA accredited since 2008 and in 2016 Des completed the BASES high performance sport accreditation and charted scientist accreditation. He has a keen interest in the area of developing a player over a long term and has presented at many conferences around the world over the last few years.

Quotes
"Rugby pushing the guys out of the gym whereas in football you’re pushing them into the gym"   
"Aim (for players) is fantastic skill and fantastic physical condition"
"You invest in an academy, you get a lot out of it!"
"Excellence does take time especially in high skill sports and we do need that time with them so that will lean specialising early..."
"Mol on oigie agus tiociagh si (Praise youth and they will flourish)"
"We can move the players up and down (squads, programs) based on physical maturation but we cannot neglect tehcnical, tactical and pyschological maturation"
"Be a generalist before becoming a specialist and methodology before technology!"
"Don’t wrestle pigs - you get dirty and the pigs like it"
"Our job to energse people, to be creative, to avoid conflict and to be positive and you can’t do that, if you have a poor work life balance" 
"One session where you’re buzzing and the players are buzzing are worth ten sessions just going through the motions"

Shownotes
1) How Des got started and his move from Irish Rugby to the English Premier League 3:20 
2) The different phytsical qualities for rugby union & soccer / football - rugby 70% physical 30% skill; football 70% skill 30% physical 7:25
3) Des' 3 rules with coaches, how to educate but not confuse the coach and marrying technical/tactical development with physical development 12:15
4) Understanding coaches' inspirations and influencers 15:50
5) The Arsenal FC Academy set up - all the way from 6-23 years old 18:30
6) The problems with a lot of Academies - under investment and inexperience 21:20 
7)  Early specialisation is categorically bad from research but skill takes time so... 23:30
8)Monitoring workloads through high growth periods and Arsenal FC's hybrid model 27:25
9) Some different models of developing athletes and the best bits of each model 30:50
10) Arsenal FC's four pillared "arrow" approach - get athletes to the next level as quickly and efficiently as possible 35:15
11) Methods of measuring biologocal maturation 37:10        
12) S&C staff should be generalists before specialists 41:30
13) Des' 3 rules for buy in and 3 rules for dealing with athletes 50:35
14)  Work life balance and career progression for strength & conditioning coaches 59:00
15) Don’t make too big a change in too little a time and keep people in the loop 1:10:45 
16) Des' favourite books including Dietrich Hare's Principles of Sports Training 1:15:20      
        
People Mentioned
Liam Hennessy
Christaino Ronaldo
Per Mertescaker
Darren Burgess
Dave Fagan
Istvan Balyi
Rhodri Lloyd
John Oliver
Dave Collins
Kelvin Giles
Dietrich Hare
Sean Cummings
Stuart MacMillan
Ian Jeffreys
Dan Baker

ASCA Podcast #22 - Des Ryan

Bob is the Director of Sports Science at Power Lift. He was the Assistant Athletics Director/Director of Strength and Conditioning at North Carolina State University (2011-2017). Prior to that Alejo was the Director of Strength and Conditioning for the Oakland A’s (MLB; 2009-2011 and 1993-2001), Director of Strength and Conditioning at UC Santa Barbara (2005-2008) and held three different strength and conditioning coach titles at UCLA (1984-1993). While there, the Bruins won 25 national championships and produced more than 100 All-Americans. A member of the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic Team, Bob was the strength coach for the Gold medal-winning men's beach volleyball team of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser in 2008. After earning his B.A. in physical education from Chico State in 1982, he was the strength and conditioning coach for football at his alma mater. Author and public speaker, Alejo is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS*D) and holds the advanced NSCA Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach Emeritus (RSCC*E)

Quotes
“I think really part of my development… came from the fact I had already cross pollinated my knowldge with so many sports” 
“The key to shoulder health in overhead athletes is scapular positioning and that only comes from strength… not from endurance or 2 pound rotator cuff weights”
“If you’re going slow, it better be heavy or it’s a waste of time”
“It’s not how fast you turn your feet over, it’s how much force you put into the ground for the next step”
“I can’t help believe that the squat is one of the most underrated core exercises we have”
“I’m not a scientist but I use science every day”
“The Moneyball philosophy - how do you compete without the same resources!”
“Intuition, common sense and science combined gets you the best results - not one or the other!”
“I learned the fundamentals work everytime”
“The realisation is this, if they needed more development they wouldn’t be in the league (pros)”
“Heavy loads and low volume don’t get sore which is the last thing you need for anyone swimming or throwing/hitting a ball”

Shownotes
1) 35 years of strength and conditioning from UCLA to Oakland A's twice to NC State 4:30     
2) The collegiate experience and cross-pollination of sports 8:00
3) The shared components of different sports and the Randy Huntington / Keiser Seated Calf story 18:30
4)Training for throwing sports, the crucial role of scapular positioning, push to pull ratios (1:2) and the critical role of decelerators for the shoulders 22:40
5)Sprint & jump training, the role of the hamstrings, how strong is strong and bilateral versus unilateral work 28:40
6)  Planning and periodisation based off testing - taking testing data and designing programs 33:40
7) Sport science and modern issues 41:46
8)  Behind the scenes with Moneyball (Oakland As)- real life versus the movie and the mecurial Billy Beane 51:56
9) The first, second and third decade of coaching characteristics 1:02:16
10)  The difference in philosphy between training pros and college kids and his strength training philosophy with millionaire athletes 1:18:56

People mentioned
Al Vermeil
Mike Powell
Jackie-Joyner Kersey
Bobbie Kersey
John Smith
Art Venegas
Troy Aikman
Reggie Miller
Randy Huntington
Peter Weyand
Billy Beane
Gail Devers
John Godina
Barry Wineberg
Ricky Henderson
Natalie Williams

ASCA Podcast #23 - Bob Alejo

With almost 20 years of coaching under his belt, Grant is a proud to be ASCA Master Coach. He is the director of PropelPerform, a high performance training facility that also consults and contracts to schools, clubs, State and National Sporting Organisations. At the moment, most of his athletes compete in action/extreme sports.

QUOTES
“There are two types of coaches: those that are fired and those about to be fired”
“Part of that process of us maturing as coaches is we start to see more and more grey”
“I want your theoretical knowledge to be no more than 10% above your practical knowledge”
“Sometimes it is better to talk in black and white rather than in grey, especially with novices”
“Let’s get practical from the very beginning and go coach”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Grant's origins in South Africa and work in school and professional settings
2)	The value of working in user pay setting for S&C coaches
3)	Generalists v specialists and should the name of S&C coaches be changed to performance coaches?
4)	The minimum levels of knowledge across four pillars of performance and the benefits of trialing things on yourself
5)	Weightlifting, powerlfiting, track and field, gymnastics and wrestling for S&C
6)	The coach’s ego and helping others
7)	Coaching communication, getting your point across and the Dreyfuss model of skill acquisition
8)	Career paths and education for S&C coaches – the value of practical experience and balance with theory
9)	User pay setting advice and charging for your time
10)	The next 18 months for Grant

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Nick Kygrios
Dave Ballard 
Des Ryan
Stu Cormack
Kelvinn Giles
Ashley Jones
Ed Cosner

ASCA Podcast #34 - Grant Jenkins

ASCA | Ensuring excellence in strength and conditioning.

Australian Strength & Conditioning Association

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