One Track Mind

With the Olympics over for another four years, this episode recaps some of the trends, opportunities and issues that caught David and Sam's eye at the 2024 Paris Games.  Discussion topics include some of the norms that were challenged, the impact of technology, cultural differences in coaching as well as a list of some of the sports that the guys loved along with some of the others that perha...

It’s often been said that success in sport at the elite level has more to do with mental rather than physical performance.  On this episode into the future of mental performance, Sam and David are joined by Founder and CEO of Optimize Mind Performance , Jack Preddey . Jack talks about his experience as an athlete and more recently as a founder of Optimize, which aims to empower sports psychologist...

In many sports there is a growing recognition that developing an athlete’s mental skills is one of the most high values ways to reach new performance heights. On this episode into the state of mental performance, David and Sam ask some of the big questions relating to this space: what is the relationship between mental health and mental performance? Whose responsibility is it? And what role do mob...

Part two in the series into Wellbeing, features National Wellbeing Manager - Refereeing for Football Australia, Kay Robinson . As part of her role within Football Australia, Kay works collaboratively with officials, coaches, leaders, and stakeholders to drive positive change and support the wellbeing of officials, maximising their retention, development, experiences, and transitions within and awa...

With dedicated roles and departments emerging in sports around the globe, wellbeing is a growing priority in high performance sport.  But what actually is wellbeing? How is it being measured? What is its relationship with performance? And who is responsible for it in sporting organisations?  Episode 65 features Wellbeing and Engagement Lead for High Performance Sport New Zealand Dr Toni Minniti ....

On the second episode of the two-part series on female athlete health and performance, David and Sam sit down with Dr Anita Biswas.    Anita has over 25 years experience working in the medical side of elite sport in a whole range of sports. They explore the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the space, the impact of technology and AI and the importance of having the right experts dire...

Anterior cruciate ligament injury, menstrual cycle tracking, and relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (or RED-S). Whilst there is still so much more to be done, the increase in public awareness of these terms is at least a small sign that female athletes are starting to get the attention they deserve in terms of research and funding. But what exactly is female athlete health and performance? How do...

On Part 2 of the series into Concussion Management, Sam & David are joined by Lead of FIFA’s Heading Expert Group, A/Prof Kerry Peek, to look into the future of this space. Kerry is a physiotherapist with a PhD in behavioural science who currently works as a research and teaching academic within the Discipline of Physiotherapy at The University of Sydney. - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/c...

Concussion is one of the hottest current topics in sport, impacting medical, safety, training and even adjudication discussions.  But is there even consensus on the definition of concussion? Are current assessment protocols aligned with this definition? How effective are current management processes in accelerating speed of return to play? Professor Mike Loosemore , chief medical officer for the G...

This episode welcomes back to One Track Mind the renowned sports science and talent researcher Dr Joe Baker. Building on the previous episode,  Joe, Sam and David discuss current research, practices, challenges and opportunities for talent identification along with some of the commonly used terminology and definitions. Joe and colleague's paper referred to on the show can be found here and hi...

Episode 59 marks the first in a new format for the show, moving to dual episodes examining the current 'state' and 'future' of some of sports biggest issues. On this show, Sam and David discuss current research, practices, challenges and opportunities for talent identification along with some of the commonly used terminology and definitions. Episode 60 will involve a special gu...

The annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference in Boston, USA is one of the biggest conferences on the sports calendar. Bringing together thousands of analysts, executives and leading researchers to discuss the increasing role of analytics in the sports industry, the conference covers everything from social media to high performance, to athlete evaluation to ticketing. Join co-hosts David Joyce...

Episode 57 marks two major changes for One Track Mind. David Joyce joins the show as host for the coming season. It also signals the start of a variety of new formats for the show. This episode sets the scene for the 2024 season, providing a snapshot of the ten big opportunities and challenges for sports in 2024.  What do you think? Tell us on our socials: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/comp...

Its often been said that sport is a mirror to society. And never has that adage been more true than when talking about data. But just how valuable is data really, particularly without context or a specific end goal in mind? On this episode, Sam sits down with Sportradar's Senior Vice President of Automated Content, Luka Pataky , where he discusses finding that value for fans, governing bodies...

How hard should training be? How much variety should athletes experience? How does one balance quantity vs quality of practice? Many of these types of questions which have fascinated coaches for years are presently being reinvigorated, fuelled by new data sources and a growing access to the expertise of applied practitioners from motor learning, psychology, biomechanics and data science.  On this...

Whether it’s nailing the perfect routine, taking a winning penalty or making that championship winning putt - we all have our favourite example of an athlete performing under pressure.  On this episode host Sam Robertson is joined by Davie Gray from Flow State and Hurricanes . They take a closer look at the characteristics of high-performing pressure athletes as well as some of the strategies and...

Creative athletes have always captured the imagination of the sports fan. We each have our own ideas about what creativity means us in the sporting context, whether it is dancing with grace and flow, a new skateboarding trick or that almost inconceivable incisive pass to break open a defensive line.  Globally in many sports there is a growing recognition of the importance of creativity to understa...

The characteristics of high performing athletes are relatively constant. Skill, endurance, power, resilience, dedication are all traits that will never go out of fashion.  But the environment around high performance sport has arguably never been more fluid than it is right now.  With more touch points to the athlete and more ways in which to measure them, what does this dynamic environment mean fo...

The sports coach of 2023 sure has a lot on their plate. They’re required to be an expert leader, tactician, communicator, relationship builder, media personality, as well as in many cases a spouse and parent. At the same time, they’re also expected to manage the ever-expanding needs of athletes, staff, media, owners and boards along with the changing environment brought about by new frontiers in p...

Over the past three years, One Track Mind has been fortunate enough to host some of sport’s leading practitioners, academics, executives and entrepreneurs. To celebrate the 50th episode, this show was recorded live on the 29th June 2023 onsite at the Queensland University of Technology, as part of the Queensland Academy of Sport IGNITE 2032 Deep Dive Event in Brisbane. It features a summary conver...

In 2022, a global network of like-minded individuals came together to develop a standardized, evidence-based framework which could be adopted by any sports stakeholder to assess the value, usability, and quality of technology. The Framework consists of 25 measurable features grouped under five quality “pillars”: Quality Assurance & Measurement, Established Benefit, Ethics & Security, User...

Artificial intelligence is undoubtedly one of the world’s biggest current hot topics. Two and a half years on from our first ever episode of One Track Mind, where we discussed whether sports should even adopt AI, and the landscape is now completely different. So different in fact that we’re no longer asking questions relating to if and when for AI, we’ve now moved on to questions of how and where...

In the age of social media and around the clock content accessibility, we’ve never had more quality information at our fingertips. But the same can also be said for misinformation. Extracting real signal from the noise has become one of contemporary science’s great challenges - not only in preventing negative impact through debunking potentially dangerous pseudoscience, but also in ensuring the ri...

On this episode of One Track Mind, host Sam Robertson is joined by regular guest of the show, David Joyce , to discuss: What makes a good leader? Why do subject matter experts so often end up in leadership roles? Whether it’s possible to be an expert and a good leader at the same time? What are the best tools that individuals and organisations can adopt to assist them with their own leadership cha...

It’s often said that a champion team will beat a team of champions. But what is it about a team's culture, habits, levels of support, that makes them successful? And how can it be developed sustainably? To kick off 2023, host Sam Robertson sits down with the NBA' s Elite Basketball Performance  & Operations Advisor, Dr Jon Bartlett to discuss current best practice for environment dev...