Gavin Pratt is currently the Director of Strength & Conditioning for the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. He is an accredited ASCA Elite L3 coach and holds a Masters in Exercise Science (Strength & Conditioning) from Edith Cowan University. Prior to this role, he was the Performance Manager at EXOS in Shanghai, China. This involved working with multiple Olympic sports in preparation for the 2018 National Games, after which he then focused on assisting in the development of the country’s surfing program in preparation for the Asian and Olympic games. Gavin was also awarded the ASCA “Mentor Coach of the Year” in 2021 for his work with ASCA L1 & L2 coaches around the world.

QUOTES
“If we miss training the neck, we miss training a whole part of trunk-neck-head coupling”
“We are not just giving any random neck exercises, it is actually in the force vector they are deficient in”
"In MMA, strikes happen in around 300ms and as fast as 100ms with forces up to 10-40g”
“We have something called an MMA warm up: movement, mobilisation, activation”
“Another reason we use static neck exercises to start is to reinforce good posture”
“If we have them twice a week, we need to accumulate at least that average force in a fight absorbed across the week”

SHOWNOTES
1)	Gavin’s journey from TV to strength and conditioning at the UFC
2)	The benefits of neck strength for injury prevention in grappling and the trunk-neck-head couple
3)	Different force vectors coaches should be concerned with neck strength and the neck strength matrix
4)	How to test neck strength with a fixed frame dynamometer, and benefits and drawbacks of different body positions when testing
5)	Practical examples of applying the neck strength matrix with a flexion deficiency
6)	Reverse engineering neck strength from force absorption in MMA fights and differences in typical wrestler and striker neck strength profiles
7)	Other assessments used by the UFC Performance Institute to determine athlete needs
8)	 The benefits of athlete feedback to improve your performance as a strength & conditioning coach	

PEOPLE MENTIONED
Bo Sandoval
Brett Grelle

ASCA Podcast #107 - Gavin Pratt

Dr. Josh Secomb is a Strength and Conditioning Coach at Queensland Academy of Sport. Previously he was the Lead Physical Preparation Coach at Surfing Australia. In addition, Josh has worked in the AFL (Brisbane Lions) and with athletes in the NRL and the Hockeyroos. His formal qualifications include a PhD in Sport Science (Strength and Conditioning) at Edith Cowan University in collaboration with Surfing Australia and a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science (Honours) from the University of Newcastle.

Quotes
“The guys were doing 40-80 waves per session in a two hour block” 
“The thicker the muscle in the Vastus Lateralis, the increase in force producing capabilities”
“You can always pick a surfer by seeing them run”
“Anecdotal data can be more useful at times because you can act on it quicker”
 “If I have a message to deliver, its my responsibility if it is understood or not”
“Whatever happens next, make sure you make yourself irreplaceable”

Shownotes
1)	The sort of fatigue, waves surfed and distance covered in a 2 hour surf session 8:47
2)	How greater leg strength helps with turns but maybe not with airs in surfing 13:54
3)	To decrease injury risk in landings look for a 350% BW peak force minimum threshold on the Isometric Mid Thigh Pull 16:47
4)	Differences in lower body muscle architecture in surfing athletes 22:53
5)	Start with hypertrophy for producing more force in athletes 27:17
6)	Why playing other sports was good for junior surfers physical development 33:29
7)	Eccentric-concentric force plate variables Josh is interested in 40:59 
8)	Why some athletes would want more hypertrophy training to be heavier before big wave stops on the world tour 47:48 
9)	Why block periodization might not work with sports that need to peak every 2-6 weeks like surfing 56:55 
10)	The breakdown of how Surfing Australia would train pro surfers including movement prep and gymnastics training 58:30 
11)	Why doing more paddle training might not be the best answer for conditioning surfers and how to use eccentric accentuated training including jumping exercises 1:03:26 
12)	How to train the adductors and why it helps injury prevention for the knee 1:07:50 
13)	The importance of mobility for surfing 1:17:52 
14)	How Josh used video to bridge communication gaps and improve his coaching 1:22:48 
15)	Stu Kennedy’s underdog wild card run at Snapper Pro 2015 and Bede’s comeback from injury 1:39:46

People mentioned (tag surfing Australia HPC)
1)	Ben Dascombe
2)	Rob Lockie @drboblockie
3)	Jeremy Sheppard @sheppardcoach
4)	Dan Baker @danbakerstrength_
5)	Lina Lundgren @locasbotas
6)	Bryan Mann @jbryanmann
7)	Kieran Young @kieran_p_young
8)	Sophia Nimphius @docsoph
9)	Sally Fitzgibbon @sally_fitz
10)	Phil Wagner @drphilwagner
11)	Daniel Cohen @danielcohen1971
12)	Mark Andrews 
13)	Angus Ross @angusrossNZ
14)	Tim Browne @curralley
15)	David Boyle @davidwayneboyle13
16)	Stu Kennedy @stueykennedy
17)	Chippa Wilson @chippawilson
18)	Bede Durbridge @bededurbo

Joseph Oliver Campbell Coyne's Album

ASCA Podcast #17 - Dr. Josh Secomb

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

ASCA | Ensuring excellence in strength and conditioning.

ASCA Podcast #107 - Gavin Pratt

Australian Strength & Conditioning Association

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