Performance Strategies & Stumbles

Listen Time - 27mins In this episode, I welcome Liam Connor to the podcast. Liam has a background in S&C and professional football, as well as his most recent roles at the UK Sports Institute.  Liam shares his experience of letting his ego get in the way and clashing with others, leading to conflicts and disputes. We also discuss the importance of respect, listening, and learning in resolving...

Listen time 29mins I welcome Alan Murdoch to the podcast to discuss his strategies towards rehab called Fast to Fit, which focuses on the underpinning physical qualities and coordination required for high-intensity actions in team sports. I have been a huge advocate of Alan's work for some time so it was great to finally get some time to hone in on his core principles! Some key takeaways from the...

Listen time 54mins Welcome back to another episode of the podcast. A huge thanks to Gemini Sports who have sponsored this episode. Please check out www.geminisports.ai to see more about how they can help your organisation. In this conversation, Paul shares his journey from athlete to academic and coach, discussing the importance of individualisation in training and the lessons learned from his coa...

This week we welcome back Shaun McLaren for his episode reflecting on mistakes and lessons learned in his career! In this conversation, Shaun shares two pivotal coaching mistakes. The first mistake was testing a player on day one of preseason with a repeated sprint test, which resulted in a severe hamstring injury. The second mistake was using high-speed running and sprinting exposure as risk fact...

This week we welcome back Ivi for her strategy segment of the podcast. Our conversation discusses the importance of high-performance reflection processes for practitioners. Ivi shares her experience of using journaling and reflection to enhance her coaching effectiveness. She emphasises the need for practitioners to be present and aware of what is happening in their environment. She explains how s...

In this conversation, Ivi shares her experiences and lessons learned in her career as a strength and conditioning coach. She discusses the mistakes she made and the challenges she faced, including perfectionism, lack of confidence, and overanalysing everything. Ivi emphasises the importance of being authentic, listening to players, and finding a balance between meeting their needs and asserting wh...

Listen Time -31mins In this episode, Sponsored by Gemini Sports Analytics, Dr Shaun McLaren joins us to talk about data skills. Shaun is an S&C coach and sports scientist at Newcastle Falcons, and mentors on the Collaborate Sports Data Skills Group Mentorships! Knowing how phenomenal he is with this work, I had to get him on the pod! Shaun emphasises the importance of data in measuring and imp...

Listen Time: 29mins In this episode, we welcome back Craig Turner to share two key reflections on mistakes made in his career and how they helped him to develop. The first lesson is about the importance of authentic communication, honesty, and punctuality. Craig recalls a time when he was late for practice and didn't communicate properly with his coach....listen to the outcome of that event! The s...

Listen Time: 30mins - Sponsored by FK Pro (www.fkpro.co.uk) This week's episode features Dr Craig Turner who is the current Head of Basketball Performance at the University of Pennsylvania. Before this, he worked with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers as a Sports Science/Strength & Conditioning Associate. Craig has also held additional roles as the Director of Sport Science and Associate Strength &...

Listen Time: 30mins Andrew Lockwood rejoins me this week for his stumbles episode and how his mistakes have helped him in his work. Check back to last weeks episode to hear more about Andy's background in the military. In this episode, one of his major mistakes was believing that leaders needed to maintain a certain distance from their team, which he later realised was not authentic to him. Anothe...

Listen Time: 30mins This week I welcome Andrew Lockwood to the Podcast. With 20 years of experience in the British Army, Andy has Leadership development experience within the military and with civilian organisations (Sacramento Kings, Inter Miami, professional coaches). Andrew also runs a rugby/S&C-related charity delivering to teams around the world from international to grassroots. He is als...

Listen Time: 29mins Ben joins us this week for part 2 of his Strategies and Stumbles appearance on the podcast! In this conversation, Ben shares some of the stumbles, mistakes, and lessons he has learned in his career. He discusses his willingness to make mistakes and take risks, as well as the importance of taking ownership and learning from negative impacts on others. Ben reflects on his experie...

Listen Time 30mins - Sponsored by Remaker ( www.remaker.co.uk ) This week we welcome Dr Ben Rosenblatt to the podcast. Bens career spans time spent in the English Institute of Sport, Birmingham City FC, the Intensive Rehab Unit, a Gold Medal with GB Womens Hockey and multiple European and World Cups with the England Football Team!!   Ben now focuses his time on elite support services to profession...

Listen time 27mins In this episode, we welcome back Rob for part 2 of his series, where he delves into his various mistakes in his career path and how they have brought the best out of him. Rob shares his interesting career path which has exposed him to a wide array of different populations, from personal training to youth coaching, to gen pop and teaching in schools, before specialising in elite...

Listen Time 29mins - Sponsored by Remaker ( www.remaker.co.uk ) In this conversation, Rob Fowkes, the lead strength and conditioning coach at the Western Force Super Rugby team, discusses his strategy for developing physical performance in rugby players. He shares a unique approach of linking 2 key metrics in a quadrant manner, to make athletes understand their strengths and weaknesses in a simple...

In this episode, Simon reflects on his early career mistakes, rehab mistakes, program design and testing mistakes, and soft skills and communication mistakes. He emphasises the importance of clear principles, understanding the end goal, and being rigorous in assessments. Simon also highlights the need for effective communication owning up to mistakes and how considering the specific ways you commu...

In this episode I am joined by Simon Harries, Head of Strength & Conditioning at NSWIS, and Founding Director of Performance Compass, a business focused on mentorship and consultancy for rehab-related matters. We discuss the concept of a rehab running framework and its importance in safely and effectively returning athletes to play. Simon explains the evolution of rehab approaches and the need...

Listen Time: 27mins In part 2 we discuss stumbles in his career, where Jack reflects on his take on planning sessions down to a T to try and cover all potential bases, hindering long-term development. Jack also talks about the lack of clarity in program design and how he now anchors principles to guide his session design.  He emphasises the importance of utilising the interdisciplinary team and co...

Listen Time: 30mins. In this episode, Jack Oaten discusses his role as a strength and conditioning coach working with the NFL Academy Programme. He explains the importance of preparing athletes for the combine, which is a series of tests used to assess their physical abilities. Jack shares his programming approach, including the use of accumulation, intensification, and realisation phases. He also...

Listen time - 28mins (and a chance to win £600 worth of mentorship) In part two of the series with Steve, we dig into his reflections on his mistakes and what he learned from them. He discusses the importance of considering the athlete in the overall programming and training solutions decision, rather than relying solely on research and needs analysis.   Steve also shares his experience of being t...

Listen Time: 29minutes This week Dr Steven Thompson joins me where we discuss velocity-based training (VBT) and its applications in strength and conditioning. VBT is a flexible programming strategy that allows coaches to auto-regulate and adapt their training based on the individual needs of athletes. Three key strategies within VBT are highlighted: monitoring and adjusting based on velocity, usin...

Listen Time 26mins In this part 2 episode, Phil Scott returns to share his performance stumbles and the lessons he has learned throughout his career as a coach. He emphasises the importance of variety and stimulation in warm-ups, acknowledging that it doesn't always go to plan!   Phil shares his experiences of dealing with these situations, highlighting the need to be open, honest, and willing to...

(listen time - 28mins)   Phil Scott joins me for this episode! Many listeners should know of Phil, but his experiences include 8 years working with the England National Cricket Team as their Strength and Conditioning Coach and is currently the Pathways Lead for Physical Preparation at the ECB.   I first met Phil whilst collaborating with him on using a specific recovery tool. I was taken aback by...

John Noonan joins me for this part 2 of his episode where he shares some stumbles across his career. He reflects on how he focused too much on the overemphasis on program details as he thought this would be a defining factor of success and career progression, which led to a lack of adaptability in his programming. John also shares his struggles with leadership, particularly in trying to lead by ex...

In this episode, I interview John Noonan, a performance coach, about his role in supporting motorsport athletes and performance strategies for race day. Johns's background is extensive, with him working in pro rugby, football, winter sports and now motorsport to highlight just a few career steps!   In this episode, we discuss the importance of a holistic approach to performance, including physical...