Pacey Performance Podcast

On this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast, we speak to Ed Gannon, Head of Strength and Conditioning at the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL. Despite having been at the Sabres for 6 years, Ed’s background is in Rugby Union in the UK. We discuss what led to him making that massive move, the challenges he faced, and the differences and similarities between the two very different worlds of coaching Rugby Unio...

Dr. Keith Baar is the Head of the Functional Molecular Biology Laboratory (FMBLab) at the University of California Davis. On this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast, we discuss how the musculoskeletal system functions including how diet and physical activity affect muscle growth, and how tendons and ligaments respond to the stresses of exercise Dr. Keith’s teachings are absolutely invaluable for bot...

On this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast, Rob speaks to performance science consultant Jo Clubb about how she went from starting out in her dream job as an intern at Chelsea FC in the Premier League, to eventually working in the NHL with the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. Jo also discusses what she calls her ‘sliding doors’ moment – when she got the opportunity to move to the US and work in ice...

This week’s Pacey Performance Podcast sees me speak to Rugby Australia’s Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach, John Pryor, who has worked with the Wallabies, the Japanese national Rugby Union team and holds a master’s degree in health science. With his background in track and field and combat sports, John has an incredibly wide-ranging knowledge about strength and conditioning, contextual strength...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Head of National Talent ID & Senior S&C Coach at Aspire Academy, James Baker. This is the second part to a two-part episode with James so if you haven't checked out part 1 , make sure you do so. In this episode James gives us some incredible insight into two case studies. They highlight how essential the monitoring of growth and ma...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Head of National Talent ID & Senior S&C Coach at Aspire Academy, James Baker. If you're working with youth athletes anywhere in the world, you should have heard or seen James' work. He has taken on a further role at Aspire, now looking after national talent ID which is a fascinating transition which is another examlpe of the wide s...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to 1st Team Fitness Coach at Leeds United Football Club, Benoit Delaval. Leeds United have taken the Premier League by storm this year. They are currently sat 9th in the league, are unbeaten at home against the top 6 and have overcome the accusation that they would start to slump towards the end of the season. Their intensity is unwav...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Senior Strength and Conditioning Specialist at High Performance Sport New Zealand, Angus Ross. Angus is one of the most humble guys in the industry but has an incredible brain. Angus sits in that really interesting place in strength and conditioning with one foot in academia and research, and one foot firmly in the applied world wo...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Associate Director for Performance (Football) at Duke University, Aaron Getz. Today's guest has been in the collegiate system at one of the biggest football programmes in the US for a number of years. In this episode we discuss how Aaron and his team build some of the most impressive young athletes in the world. We chat programming...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Head of Performance at Feyenoord Rotterdam, Rick Cost. After speaking to previous podcast guest, Callum Walsh about how much of an influence Rick has been on his practice, it was essential to get him on the podcast. After winning the Olympics with Netherlands field hockey, Rick switched sports, however, he brought a lot of what he...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Head of Sports Data Science at S.L Benfica, Sudarshan Gopaladesikan. Despite me making a hash of saying, Suds' name as we went live, this episode was an incredibly insightful episode with someone who is at the forefront of data science in our industry. Patrick Ward described him at 'one of the best mathematicians' he knows. Coming...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Head of Physical Performance at Leicester Tigers, Aled Walters. I have only had a handful of World Cup winners on the podcast but this episode features one of them. Aled won the Rugby World Cup in 2019 with the Springboks and it is this monumental achievement that frames this episode. South Africa were far from the best resourced t...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Fitness Coach at the Swedish national football team, Paul Balsom. Paul has almost 40 years experience working in our industry and is a true pioneer. He is heading up the UEFA fitness advisory board and is also a consultant for King Power (the owners of Leicester City and Leuven). This episode is framed around what UEFA is doing to...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Chief Performance Engineer at Statspace, Taylor Johnson. Taylor came on the podcast 18 months ago to talk about esports. Esports has never related to performance and performance coaching, however, part 1 with Taylor completely changed my mind on that. It's an incredibly interesting space and one that is growing exponentially. The o...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Industrial Professorial Fellow at the University of Birmingham, Barry Drust. Barry has been on the hit list for some time but I didn't realise that he would take the title for the best job title ever in one fell swoop. Barry has an incredible amount of experience, both in the applied and academic world. He was one of the first spor...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Sports Performance Scientist, Robin Thorpe. This is part 2 of my chat with Robin so if you haven't checked out part 1, you can do so HERE . In this episode, we move away from his time at Manchester United and focus on his time working with Olympic sprinters and the topic that Robin has become world-renowned for, performance recover...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Sports Performance Scientist, Robin Thorpe. Robin spent the best part of a decade at the biggest football club in the world. Whilst there he worked under one of, if not the most decorated managers of all time. He also worked with some of the most recognisable players in the world. How could this not be an incredible episode, and it...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Queensland Academy of Sport, Chris Gaviglio. As well as his regular job, Chris is the creator of the Sports Rehab Tornequay and also the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Queensland state of origin team. Clearly, Chris is an incredibly busy man so it was a pleasure to sit down wit...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Head of Strength & Conditioning at the Singapore Sport Institute, Danny Lum. There has been a distinct lack of information on isometric training, despite its reemergence in the literature and in practice. That's about to change as this episode with Danny dives deep into his research and practice in this area. Alex Natera has be...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Head Performance Coach at the Golden State Warriors, Carl Bergstrom. I have been wanting to get Carl on the podcast for some time. I have wanted to chat to him about his transition into the NBA having played and worked in soccer. There is so much to chat about, especially as I know very little about basketball but am fascinated by...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Physical Performance Coaches at the Football Association, Ben Rosenblatt and Martin Evans. This is the final part of the unofficial FA three-part series. Two weeks ago we had Bryce Cavanagh and last week we welcomed Pete Tierney and Chris Rosimus to the Pacey Performance Podcast. This episode was absolutely superb and gave us an in...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Physical Performance Coach at The FA, Pete Tierney,  Lead Performance Nutritionist at The FA, Chris Rosimus. The theme of this episode was teased last week by Bryce Cavanagh in part 1 of the unofficial Football Association three-part series, and it's 'the other 22 hours'. The other 22 hours framework focuses mainly on sleep, recove...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Head of Physical Performance, Medicine and Nutrition at the Football Association, Bryce Cavanagh. I am absolutely delighted to get Bryce onto this episode to chat about the inner workings at The FA. This is an in-depth look into how Bryce has structured the performance team to look after numerous age groups and hundreds of the most...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Performance Coach Consultant, Shayne Murphy. This episode is absolutely incredible! Case studies, reflections, challenging his own thoughts and beliefs, it had the lot. Shayne has a really interesting story, coming over from Ireland to go onto work at one of the biggest clubs in the world and then leaving just 18 months ago to be a...

In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast I am speaking to Head of Physical Performance at FC Copenhagen, David Cosgrave. I am absolutely delighted to get Dave on this episode of the podcast. He has been studying the Master of Sporting Directorship at Manchester Metropolitan University and its because of this we focused a lot of this episode on how Dave manages and leads staff over in Denma...