Performance Strategies & Stumbles

In this episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, Tom Clark is back to talk about the stumbles from his career. Last week we covered jet lag and travel fatigue. This week Tom looks at his move into self-employment, the mistakes he made along the way and what they taught him. We start with why talking about mistakes is uncomfortable, and why it matters anyway. Tom is open about the pressure t...

In this episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined by Tom Clark. Tom spent 13 years as a performance coach in motorsport and Formula One, looking after the sleep, training, nutrition and recovery systems that keep a driver's output steady across a season that seems designed to wear them down. He holds a professional doctorate from Liverpool John Moores University focused on jet lag...

In this episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined by Jonas Dodoo for a conversation that has less to do with method than with the thing underneath it: how a coach actually learns, and how much of that learning arrives as a mistake you didn't see coming. We start where most coaching education doesn't, with the early stumbles. Not the tidy version told in hindsight, but the decision...

In this episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined by Jonas Dodoo, a speed specialist whose work sits at the point where multi-directional speed, deceleration and change of direction stop being a collection of drills and start being a set of principles you can actually coach from. Jonas works from four core principles, and the first does most of the heavy lifting: forces in the rig...

In this episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined by Tim Roberts  Sports Medicine Manager at UFC Performance Institute, Mexico City for a conversation about the road that got him there: the countries, the systems, the athletes, and the mistakes he still thinks about years later. This one leans into the stumbles. Tim is unusually willing to name his own a diagnosis he got wrong, a...

In this episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined by Tim Roberts — Sports Medicine Manager at UFC Performance Institute, Mexico City — for a conversation about rehabilitation in combat sport and what it actually takes to get a fighter back to competing. At the heart of this conversation is a deliberate shift in language: return to fight, not return to play. It sounds like semantic...

In this episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined again by Tom Clough for a conversation about the mistakes that have shaped our careers and in particular, the ones that happen in the interview room. At the heart of this one is a reframe that runs through everything Tom says: mistakes should shape us, not define us. Interviews get treated as a test you pass by being composed and m...

In this episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined by Tom Clough — Head of Performance at Newcastle Red Bulls — for a conversation about systems thinking and what it actually looks like in a performance sport environment. At the heart of this conversation is a simple but powerful reframe: systems thinking isn't a problem-solving technique, it's a way of seeing. Most of what we trea...

In this episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined again by Peter Hughes — a rehabilitation specialist at the Gallagher Chiefs in New Zealand — this time for a conversation about the mistakes that shaped him. At the heart of it is a reframe that runs against how most practitioners are trained to operate: mistakes aren't something to be minimised or hidden, they're the primary mecha...

In this episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined by Peter Hughes — a rehabilitation specialist at the Gallagher Chiefs in New Zealand, whose role uniquely combines physiotherapy with strength & conditioning to deliver a truly performance-driven approach to rehab. At the heart of this conversation is a simple but powerful reframe: rehabilitation isn't just about restoring what...

What happens when a coach is willing to admit what they got wrong? In this episode, Les Spellman , founder of Spellman Performance, opens up about the mistakes that shaped his coaching — and why vulnerability, not certainty, has been the real driver of his development. Having worked with athletes across the NFL, NCAA, MLB and Olympic sport, Les has earned the right to be confident in his methods,...

In this speed episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined by Les Spellman — a speed coach who has built a systematic approach to speed training and physical preparation for football athletes, with a particular focus on preparing players for the realities of training camp and the season ahead. At the heart of this conversation is a simple but powerful reframe: training tolerance matt...

Tim Kettenring doesn't hold back in this episode. We go all the way back to the early days of his coaching career - the arrogance he carried in, the relationships he damaged, and a job he lost because of it. It's the kind of honest reflection that's rare in this industry, and it sets the tone for everything that follows. What makes Tim's story particularly valuable is how he traces the turning poi...

Multi-directional speed is one of the most talked-about qualities in performance sport - but is it one of the most misunderstood? In this episode, Tim Kettenring , President of Maverick Human Performance ( https://www.instagram.com/tim_kettenring/ ) makes the case for why so much speed development work misses the mark, and what a more principled approach actually looks like. With over a decade of...

In this stumbles episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined again by Jesse Green — a sports scientist whose career has taken him from Australian rules football academies to the NBA and NHL — to explore the mistakes and learning experiences that have shaped how he operates as a practitioner. This isn't a conversation about failure for its own sake. It's about what happens when you'r...

In this strategy episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined by Jesse Green — a sports scientist who has developed a rigorous, systematic approach to athlete profiling, with a particular focus on ice hockey and the injury challenges that come with it. At the heart of this conversation is Jesse's closed-loop process — assess, profile, prescribe, and monitor — and how applying that fr...

In this Stumbles episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined again by Thomas Dos'Santos to explore the mistakes and learning experiences that have shaped his approach as a practitioner and researcher in sports performance. Tom reflects on what it felt like to walk into situations badly underprepared early in his career, and the lasting impact that had on how he approaches his work n...

Mastering Change of Direction: Technical Principles, Assessment and Training Frameworks — with Tom Dos Santos In this strategy episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined by Tom Dos Santos — a researcher and practitioner who has dedicated a significant amount of his work to understanding one of the most technically demanding qualities in sport: change of direction. This is a detaile...

In this Stumbles episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined again by James Nolan to explore the mistakes and learning experiences that have shaped his approach as a coach in high performance sport. Following on from our previous conversation around in-season strength and power development, this episode shifts the focus to the realities of professional growth — the moments where thi...

In this episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I sit down with James Nolan to explore how we should rethink in-season strength and power development, particularly in rugby. Too often, in-season training is framed as “maintenance.” In this conversation, James challenges that concept — arguing that if we’re not continuing to develop athletes, we may actually be doing them a disservice. Draw...

In this Stumbles episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I’m joined again by Dr Peter Tierney to explore the mistakes and learning experiences that have shaped his approach as a practitioner in sports science and coaching. Following on from our previous conversation around wearable technology, this episode shifts the focus to the realities of professional growth — the mistakes that happen...

In this strategy episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I sit down with Dr Peter Tierney to explore how wearable technology should be understood and integrated within modern performance environments. Peter is a sports scientist whose career spans elite sport, applied research, and performance technology innovation. He has previously worked within high-performance environments, including L...

In this Stumbles episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I sit down with Stephanie Grubbs, Major League Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Houston Astros, to explore the early mistakes and leadership lessons that shaped her career. Steph reflects on getting overly focused on outcome goals, the challenges of transitioning into leadership roles, and the importance of emotio...

In this strategy episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I’m joined by Stephanie Grubbs, Major League Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Houston Astros, to explore how microdosing strength training can be used effectively in elite team sport environments. Steph shares practical frameworks for dividing volume into shorter, more frequent exposures, adapting training around...

In this Stumbles episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I’m joined again by Michael Gerhardy to explore the mistakes that have shaped his practice as a sports scientist working in applied performance environments. Michael reflects on early errors made in coaching, research, and sports science, including relying too heavily on statistical significance, misinterpreting data, and trying to a...