Applying Sport Science Podcast

Gwen's dominance of the sport of triathlon was shown through an unprecedented 13 consecutive wins in 2014 and 2015 on the international ITU circuit, culminating in winning the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics,Since Rio she has switched her focus to running, making the final of the Olympic trials for the US in the 5K in 2020 and has her sights set on the marathon in the coming years.Gwen's speaks openly about the array of scientists who have contributed to her journey, highlighting the importance of trust, experimentation, and innovation in helping athlete performance.

Sara Ann is studying her Masters at the University of Memphis and has just successfully run the gauntlet from student to her first paid position in sport science. This episode will resonate with and inform all sport science students as she talks openly about her challenges and lessons learned in applying for multiple jobs from writing resumes through to performing in interviews. We talk about what she did as a student to put herself in a position to succeed and what we should all do as students to get a chance to carve a path in this competitive industry.

Dan McFarlane's story is one that every young sport scientist should hear.Dan and I started together as post graduate scholars at the Australian Institute of Sport, as part of the elite sport science production line of Australia. Dan went on to be a successful performance analyst in multiple professional football codes, culminating in fulfilling his childhood dream of being part of an Australian Football League premiership win with the Sydney Swans.Shortly after this, Dan chose to leave the industry, slightly jaded and questioning the appreciation and work/life balance decisions required to continue succeeding in the industry.Dan's very honest and very real story shares the wonderful highs and tough lows that exist, to help us all understand what is required to succeed in elite sport.

Dr. Dave Martin is a titan of the sports science industry. With a background in physiology, he influenced a generation of applied sports scientists from all disciplines who have followed in his foot steps at the Australian Institute of Sport. There he was not only a scientific leader, but also challenged us to think about our true roles in the performance team.Dave is renowned for encouraging us all to think about technology, science and influence within the context of success, exploring the application of all scientific principles to athletic performance.Here is a link to the video which Dave references 'How Wolves Change Rivers' which is a part of his thought process about how as 'wolves', sport scientists have the ability to change sporting ecosystems for the better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

Kirsten (KP) is wonderfully open in this pod, discussing the good and bad of working in elite sport, as well as being brutally honest about her successes and failures across her 22 years of working in elite sports across the globe.With expertise across a wide range of areas of sport psychology, KP helps us understand some of the psychological principles which underpin a lot of the discussions we have had this season with coaches and athletes. Specifically, she helps provide scientific foundation to the need to build relationships and understanding with everyone we are working with for long term success.KP also talks athlete wellness, mental health, and mental flexibility, as well as sharing the nuances of applying complicated and delicate concepts to elite coaches and athletes within high performance contexts..Check out her latest venture at: https://www.kirstenpetersonconsulting.com/

'Beers with Blake'*This episode features additional honesty and duration due to recording taking place with the addition of delicious beers'Blake Smart is the head coach of the men's golf program at the University of Memphis and has won the American Athletics Conference championship and taken his team to the NCAA championships multiple times.Born in Georgia, Blake was a golfer and good level college athlete in his own right, but started his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Oklahoma's famous golf program.This interview covers a variety of interesting topics, from college athletics, technology in sport, coaching, what sport science means, and the role of performance staff in a college athletics program.With multiple athletes he has coaches on the PGA tour we also talk golf, professionalism and performance

Mark Lebedew is a king amongst the giants of international volleyball. Coming from a rich lineage of volleyball in Australia, Mark was initially an athlete and is now successful international head coach. With over 20 years of experience in Volleyball leagues all across Europe, Mark has also been the head coach of the Australian National Team. He is a student of both volleyball and the art of coaching and runs a great website 'At Home on the Court' (https://marklebedew.com/) where you can find his musings of all things coaching, volleyball and sport.

Trent casts an impressive shadow over applied sport science in Canada and shares with us his experiences, as both a researcher and practitioner in this episode.Trent is the Senior Advisor of Innovation & Research at the Canadian Sport Institute and with over 150 scientific publications to his name has proven his ability to blend theoretical and applied science for athlete performance.Providing physiology expertise at the Olympic level in track and field, rowing, triathlon and cycling Trent is a truly an applied scientist in every sense of the word with a lot of knowledge to offer to all of us

As a professional triathlete for 10 years, and part of the Australian Triathlon development system, Nat has plenty of experience with sport science and support staff.Nat and I met when she was part of the 'Wollongong Wizards' triathlon squad and she now trains in Lisbon, Portugal as part of the super squad led by Paulo SousaA product of the talent identification program when she was younger, Nat has represented Australia at eight world championships and been on podiums at both World Cup and World Triathlon Series Level as well as part of the successful 2018 Australian Mixed Relay Team.In this chat she speaks glowingly of the support received by experts such as Greg Cox (nutrition) Avish Sharma (physiology) and Paula Charlton (health/physiotherapy) and highlights the need for simple communication and the ability to 'translate the why' in those that support her personal and athletic development.

Blake Whitcomb is the senior business development manager for IMeasureU.With a background as a collegiate athlete and a collegiate strength coach, Blake merges his own experiences with those of the clients he works with to help us understand the nuances of applying sports technology to sport.Blake shares the realties he sees in the successes and failures of the application of sports science across hundreds of applied science programs, from college and professional sports to military and emergency services.

5 Episodes in and here are some of the highlights :)

Sharon Hannan is an Australian Sprints and Hurdles Track and Field Coach.Sharon is most well known for coaching Sally Pearson from a 12 year old talent to World and Olympic Champion, but is also the coach of the current Australian champion over 100m hurdles, Liz Clay.As their applied biomechanist, I collaborated over 8 years in support of Sharon and Sally as they grew from talented to unbeatable on the world stage, and in this episode we talk about how our relationship and level of science evolved over the years together as a team, and the realties of working with an athlete at the highest of levels.A must listen for any hurdles or track and field addict, but also details the depth of the trust and relationship built working over an extended period of time

Georgia Giblin is Director of Performance Science at the Detroit Tigers.With a strong background in biomechanics and successful stints at Tennis Australia, the Queensland Academy of Sport and the University of Michigan, Georgia is one of the leading applied scientists in US professional sport.Her discussion of 'feel' puts a word to many of the intangible qualities that differentiate successful from unsuccessful scientists and support staff in sport.

Australian Track and Field horizontal jump athlete.Henry is a 2 x Olympian in the long jump (9th in London 2012, 7th in Rio 2016)IAAF World Indoor Silver Medalist in 2012, Commonwealth Games Silver Medalist in 2018, World Championship Finalist 2011.Personal best of 8.34m (Long Jump) and 17.23 (Triple Jump) is considered one of the greatest horizontal jumpers in Australian history.He is also thoughtful and a student of his discipline, and with a checkered injury history has a lot of insight into the role of science and support staff in the success of an elite athlete.3 words for scientist success: Trust, Value-add, Due Diligence

Dan is a sports scientist (physiology), researcher, coach and athlete. With his PhD shifting understanding of the application of heart rate variability in sport, and experience contributing to Olympic and World Champions in rowing, kayak and triathlon, Dan has an impressive applied science resume. Most recently Dan was part of Team Emirates New Zealand in the Americas Cup, and also set up a professional cycling team in Singapore when he worked there as an applied scientist and coach.Dan is also an Ironman coach and competitive athlete himself, showing a true passion for merging science with performance. Most impressively to me Dan is the founder of EndureIQ.com, a sports science delivery, education and coaching business and in this chat talks about the realities of his time in elite sport, the benefits and challenges of setting up your own sport science business, and highlights the importance of humbly working with coaches and athletes to improve performance.