One Track Mind

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 Great Britain boxing team and Professor at University College London, joins David and Sam to answer these questions and many more.- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/track-consulting-group/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-joyce01/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/synapsing/- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trackconsulting/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Track_VU- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & samrobertson.com.au  

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 his most recent book 'The Tyranny of Talent' here - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/track-consulting-group/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-joyce01/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/synapsing/- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trackconsulting/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Track_VU- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & samrobertson.com.au  

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 guest and focus on what the future may hold for this well-ingrained global practice. - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/track-consulting-group/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-joyce01/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/synapsing/- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trackconsulting/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Track_VU- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & samrobertson.com.au  

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 and Sam Robertson on this episode of One Track Mind where they unpack some of the hot topics and key takeaways from the 2024 event. - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/track-consulting-group/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-joyce01/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/synapsing/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trackconsulting/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Track_VU- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & samrobertson.com.au  

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/company/track-consulting-group/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-joyce01/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/synapsing/  - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trackconsulting/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Track_VU- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & samrobertson.com.au 

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, media and teams.  The episode also discusses the current state of play in computer vision and automated content generation, where start ups fit in the data ecosystem, and identifies some of the sports leading the way in innovation.What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/track-consulting-group/  - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trackconsulting/- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Track_VU - Website: trackvu.com/podcast & samrobertson.com.au 

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 episode host Sam Robertson is joined by Harjiv Singh from the Orlando Magic to discuss how these opportunities have led to a re-imagination of the coach’s role to that of a designer of learning environments.  What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & samrobertson.com.au 

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 tools they utilise to remain at the top of their game.  Davie had a distinguished rugby career as a player and high-performance leader, before recently turning his attention specifically to this area. What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & samrobertson.com.au 

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 understanding and developing sporting performance. But is there actually consensus on how creativity is objectively defined? How exactly does it lead to performance improvements? And what are some of the tools and processes that coaches can leverage, to best develop this quality in athletes? On this episode, host Sam Robertson is joined by Carlota Torrents from INEFC and the University of Lleida.  Carlota is one of the leading global experts on the application of creativity to sports performanceWhat do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & samrobertson.com.au 

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 for the sports performance practitioner? Are these changes merely a distraction or do they provide a means to improve their impact on the athlete?On the first episode for Season 6, host Sam Robertson is joined by Jo Clubb from Global Performance Insights.  Jo provides sports science support to professional teams, practitioners, and sports tech companies all around the world and has worked at the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Chelsea Football Club and Brighton and Hove Albion.  Find out more about Jo at her blog, YouTube channel, or website at https://www.globalperformanceinsights.com/ What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & samrobertson.com.au 

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 professionalism, technology and AI.So what does all of this change mean for the future of sports coaching? Will the core principles of what it means to be a good coach remain the same, or is it time for a rethink on how coaches are trained and developed to elicit the best out of the athletes they work with?On this episode, host Sam Robertson is joined by coaching legend Wayne Goldsmith to discuss all of this and much more!What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & profsamrobertson.com

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 conversation of the day with two of the world's leading computer vision experts in sport: Patrick Lucey from Stats Perform and Stuart Morgan from the Australian Institute of Sport. We delve into potential applications of computer vision in sports, exploring topics such as athlete tracking, pose recognition, and injury prevention. We also discuss the potential risks and pitfalls along with future directions for this fast moving area. I would like to extend my special thanks to CEO Chelsea Warr, Executive Directors Mark Young and Shaun Stephens along with the entire research team at the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) for making this special episode happen, along with David Martin for his vision and direction for the event and for hosting throughout the day.  As we celebrate One Track Mind's 50th episode milestone, I want to express my sincere appreciation to all our listeners who have been with us on this journey so far. Your support and enthusiasm have been the driving force behind the success of One Track Mind and we hope to continue to bring you interesting, useful and thought provoking content in the years to come. What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & profsamrobertson.com

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 Experience, and Data Management. It can be used to help design and refine existing sports technology, thus helping to optimize quality as well as maintain industry standards. It could also form a common language for organizations, manufacturers, investors, and consumers to improve the efficiency of their own decision making on sports technology.On this episode, host Sam Robertson sits down with two of the driving forces behind the framework, Dr Kristof De Mey and Dr Jessica Zendler. To download the whitepaper which details the Sports Technology Quality Framework, visit https://strn.co/special-interest-group What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & profsamrobertson.com

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 to use it in our organisations and our daily lives. As a result it seemed high time to return to the topic and learn a little more from the experts about what all of this could potentially mean for the world of sport.On this episode, host Sam Robertson sits down with ex-Google, eBay and Microsoft computer scientist Hugh Williams to discuss all of this and more.What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & profsamrobertson.com

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 right messages reach the right people at the right time, all in a format which they can comprehend and implement. On this episode, host Sam Robertson sits down with researcher, educator, app developer and public speaker Carlos Balsalobre-Fernández to discuss all of this and more.What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & profsamrobertson.com 

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 challenges?What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & profsamrobertson.com 

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 development, as well as future directions. What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast & profsamrobertson.com 

Every child should have the opportunity to participate in sport without being subjected to violence.However, research has shown that in reality the opposite is true, with more junior participants experiencing psychological, physical or sexual violence in sporting environments, than not. Join host Sam Robertson as he speaks with researcher Dr Mary Woessner on some of the reasons behind these numbers, along with the work that is currently being done to actively address this problem. What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast

What’s the latest training product or method taking the sporting world by storm? On which problems should organisations be trying to get ahead of their competition now? Join host Sam Robertson  as he provides his observations on seven of the most common themes that have emerged on his journeys and interactions in 2022.Topic 1: Learning: the next competitive advantage?Topic 2: A matter of principleTopic 3: Death to data scienceTopic 4: Sports tech start ups: missing impact?Topic 5: Human & machineTopic 6: Life's better in 3DTopic 7: Evidence-based practice: a crisis of reproducibilityWhat do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast

Football (soccer) is making a change.Long criticized for being slower to innovate in performance practice than other sports, the emergence of new data sources is leading to the creation of new roles and responsibilities in the game. These roles, combined with an influx of staff talent from other sports is helping to break down silos between coaching, physical performance and analytics.On part 1, we spoke with Inter Miami FC Analytics Director Sam Gregory and this week part 2 features Ajax FC Head of Sport Science & Data Analytics Vosse de Boode. We hear about how they're driving this type of innovation and collaboration within their respective clubs, both working to enhance a collective understanding of player performance. So how will these developments help to address football’s current and looming challenges? And what new focus areas will emerge to further lift the performance ceiling of players and teams?What do you think? Tell us on our socials:- LinkedIn: @trackvu- Instagram: @track.vu- Twitter: @trackvu- Website: trackvu.com/podcast