Heather has been part of the UNLV athletics staff since 2016, first joining as Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning before moving into sport science and later being promoted to Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Science in 2024.

In this episode, Heather shares how UNLV has built a sport science model from the ground up, why data should inform rather than dictate decisions, and how practitioners can create real buy-in across coaches, athletes, strength and conditioning, sports medicine, nutrition and psychology.

The conversation explores the realities of working in collegiate sport, from the impact of the transfer portal to the challenge of supporting athletes when timeframes are shorter and rosters are constantly changing. Heather also discusses the importance of female athlete data, the risks of over-relying on wearable technology, and why return-to-play decisions must go beyond timelines and basic fitness markers.

Throughout the episode, Heather brings the conversation back to one core principle: sport science is still about people. Data matters, technology matters, and AI may help practitioners work more efficiently, but the human side of performance remains central to everything.

In this episode you will learn

• How Heather transitioned from collegiate soccer player to strength and conditioning coach, and then into sport science
• Why UNLV built its sport science model around being “human first”
• How to use data as an input rather than treating it as the final answer
• Why coach buy-in is easier when practitioners build trust and show value over time
• The challenges of applying male-dominated performance data to female athletes
• How the transfer portal has changed long-term athlete development in collegiate sport
• Why wearable technology can support performance but also create “analysis paralysis”
• How UNLV approaches return to play using performance outputs, not just timelines
• Why AI can support information gathering and efficiency, but cannot replace human judgement
• The importance of speaking the language of other disciplines in a high-performance team

About Heather Farmer
Heather Farmer is the Assistant Athletics Director, Sports Science at UNLV. She has been with UNLV since 2016, initially working in strength and conditioning before moving into sport science leadership. Her work focuses on integrating data-informed approaches across the high-performance team while keeping the individual athlete at the centre of the process.

Before her career in performance, Heather played soccer at the University of North Alabama, where time spent rehabbing from injury and working in the weight room helped shape her interest in high-performance sport. She later worked across multiple sports as a graduate assistant at Lindenwood University before joining UNLV.

At UNLV, Heather has helped grow sport science into a foundational part of the athletics department, working closely with coaches, athletes and interdisciplinary support staff to create a model that fits the needs of the university, rather than copying what works elsewhere.

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Sally shares her journey from coaching within the FA to leading human development and culture work across elite environments including Brentford FC, Sheffield United, and international football. Her approach challenges traditional performance models, bringing a deeper understanding of the nervous system, behaviour, and athlete self-awareness into day-to-day coaching practice.

The conversation explores how clubs are beginning to bridge the gap between “off-field” psychology and “on-field” performance, why understanding the brain and body connection is becoming essential in modern sport, and how coaches can influence behaviour, decision-making, and performance through better awareness of human systems.

For practitioners working in elite sport, this episode offers a practical lens on integrating neuroscience into coaching environments, without losing sight of the realities of performance.

In this episode you will learn

• Why human development is becoming a priority in elite football environments
• How the nervous system directly impacts performance, decision-making, and behaviour
• What “co-regulation” means and how coaches influence athlete states
• The role of self-awareness in achieving consistent performance
• Why fear is unavoidable—and how athletes can manage it more effectively
• How Brentford are integrating human development into their performance model
• The gap between sports psychology theory and on-field coaching practice
• Why connection and relationships underpin long-term performance
• How coaches can consciously “up-regulate” or “down-regulate” players
• Practical ways to introduce neuroscience concepts into coaching environments

About Dr Sally Needham
Dr Sally Needham is a human development specialist working across elite football, with experience spanning the FA, Sheffield United, and Brentford FC.

Her work focuses on the integration of coaching, neuroscience, and behaviour—helping athletes better understand their brain and body to improve performance and wellbeing. Sally completed a professional doctorate in elite performance, exploring how human development approaches can be embedded within high-performance environments.

She currently works across multiple roles, including consultancy with clubs and international teams, as well as supporting individual athletes.

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​ Learn Quicker & More Effectively
​ Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
​ Position Yourself As An Expert To Your Athletes And Naturally Improve Buy-In
​ Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
​ Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
​ Improve Your Athletes' Performance
​ Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
​ Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research

You’ll Learn

• How deliberate structure and environment in the early years set Johnny’s foundation for world-class performance, and what that means for athlete development pipelines in elite sport.
• The interplay between physical conditioning and mental readiness: why Johnny argues that even 99% physical fitness isn’t enough without mental strength to match.
• How a coach/mentor adapted learning modality to individual athlete needs (story-based learning vs. written instruction) and how that insight translates to sport science practice.
• The “apprenticeship phase” of elite athletes: why Johnny spent six years as a sparring partner across Europe, what he learned about failure, character-building and resilience, and how that maps to athlete development models.
• The transition out of elite competition: Johnny’s reflections on his own injury-forced retirement, loss of gym identity and how elite sport practitioners can support athlete exit and long-term wellbeing.
• Practical take-aways on environment design, multicultural team culture, and creating performance contexts that simulate hostile or challenging conditions (drawing on Johnny’s anecdotes of gym culture and travelling abroad).

About Johnny Nelson
Johnny Nelson (born 4 January 1967, Sheffield) turned professional in 1986 after a modest amateur career. He trained under iconic coach Brendan Ingle at the Wincobank gym in Sheffield, where he developed not only boxing skills but a mindset of relentless belief and self-validation.
In March 1999 he captured the WBO Cruiserweight World Title and held it until his retirement in 2006—during which he defended it 13 times, the most ever in cruiserweight history. Post-career, Johnny has built a prominent role as a boxing pundit, keynote speaker, and mentor around mindset, resilience and high-performance culture.

FREE 7d SCIENCE FOR SPORT ACADEMY TRIAL

SIGN UP NOW: https://bit.ly/SFSepisode241

​ Learn Quicker & More Effectively
​ Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
​ Position Yourself As An Expert To Your Athletes And Naturally Improve Buy-In
​ Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
​ Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
​ Improve Your Athletes' Performance
​ Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
​ Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research