Science for Sport Podcast

338: How Sports Science Has Changed Coaching with Simon Grayson

September 21st, 2026  |  41 mins 21 secs

athlete monitoring, coaching, elite football, elite performance, football analytics, football coaching, football management, football performance, football periodisation, football recovery, football sports science, gps data, high-speed running, huddersfield town, injury prevention, leeds united, leicester city, man management, match preparation, performance data, performance science, periodisation, player availability, player load, preston north end, professional football, recovery, s&c, science for sport, science for sport podcast, simon grayson, sports performance, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, training intensity, training load

Simon Grayson joins Richard Graves to discuss how sports science has transformed professional football across his five decades in the game. From nutrition and recovery to GPS, high-speed running and individualised training, Simon offers a manager's perspective on what performance practitioners can do to genuinely influence decision-making. He explains why data needs context, why coaches still need to trust what they see on the pitch, and why no amount of technology will replace good man-management.

337: Structure, Pacing and Recovery in Fight Preparation

September 14th, 2026  |  33 mins 3 secs

athlete preparation, athletic performance, boxing, brazilian jiu-jitsu, colin byrne, combat sport conditioning, combat sports, conditioning, conor mcgregor, elite sport, endurance training, fatigue, fight preparation, heart rate, interval training, mcgregor fast, mma, nate diaz, one-round principle, overtraining, pacing, performance coaching, performance data, power output, recovery, repeat efforts, rowing, shinobi academy, skill acquisition, sports science, strength and conditioning, training load, ufc, wattbike

Performance coach Colin Byrne joins Richard Graves to discuss why many combat athletes train too much without preparing specifically enough. Drawing on seven years working with Conor McGregor, Colin explains the conditioning changes made after the first Nate Diaz fight, the importance of separating skill work from physical preparation and why recovery between intense efforts can decide contests. He also introduces his “one-round principle” and explains what combat sports can learn from cycling’s measurement-led approach.

336: How the NFL’s Best Practitioners Use Performance Data

September 7th, 2026  |  29 mins 38 secs

american football, applied sports science, athlete monitoring, athlete preparation, athlete readiness, catapult, catapult sports, college football, data analytics, elite sport, football performance, gps tracking, high performance sport, injury prevention, injury risk, jamie hepner, load management, ncaa football, nfl, performance analysis, performance data, performance technology, player availability, player tracking, practice load, practitioner decision making, sport science, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, training load, training prescription, vector 8, video analysis, wearable technology

Jamie Hepner joins Richard Graves to explain how NFL and college football teams are moving beyond simply collecting performance data and using it to shape practice, manage player availability and improve preparation. They discuss athlete monitoring, training prescription, injury risk and why context and practitioner judgement ultimately determine whether data leads to better decisions.

335: The Three Outcomes That Define High Performance

August 31st, 2026  |  28 mins 12 secs

athlete availability, athlete development, athlete monitoring, athlete readiness, coaching, collegiate sport, data-informed coaching, exercise science, force plates, high performance sport, high-performance leadership, integrated performance, load monitoring, mental wellness, multidisciplinary teams, ncaa, nsca, performance data, performance science, return to play, richard graves, science for sport, sports medicine, sports nutrition, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, trevor short, utah state university, wearable technology

Dr Trevor Short joins Richard Graves to explain how Utah State University is building an integrated approach to athlete health, wellness and performance. They discuss why alignment must come before data, how athlete monitoring can improve decision-making and what it takes to balance availability, readiness and long-term performance development.

330: Frontal Plane Fundamentals with Dr Matthew Ibrahim

July 27th, 2026  |  30 mins 24 secs

adductor strength, athlete buy-in, athlete development, athlete monitoring, change of direction, coaching communication, criteria-based rehabilitation, data analytics, dr matthew ibrahim, force plates, frontal plane training, groin strength, high performance sport, injury rehabilitation, isometric strength testing, lateral lunge, lateral movement, lateral squat, lateral strength, load management, malden catholic, matthew ibrahim, performance data, readiness monitoring, rehabilitation, return to performance, return to play, richard graves, science for sport, science for sport podcast, sports science, strength and conditioning, student-athletes, training load, vbt, velocity-based training, wellness monitoring, youth athlete development

Dr Matthew Ibrahim joins Richard Graves to explain how sports science, strength and conditioning, wellness and education can work together within an integrated performance model. They discuss selecting meaningful athlete-monitoring data, moving beyond return to play towards return to performance, and why frontal-plane strength deserves a more prominent place in athletic development.

325: Building Sports Science Systems That Coaches Use

June 22nd, 2026  |  32 mins 5 secs

ai in sport, anna cruse, applied sports science, artificial intelligence, asymmetry, athlete management systems, athlete monitoring, athlete welfare, catapult, coaching, college sport, data analytics, elite sport, football performance, force plates, high-performance sport, human performance, integrated performance teams, ncaa, performance analysis, performance data, performance science, return to play, science for sport podcast, sport science, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, teamworks, university of utah, utah athletics

Anna Cruse joins Richard Graves to discuss how the University of Utah turns performance data into meaningful decisions across 19 sports. Anna explains why context and education matter more than simply collecting additional metrics, how Utah is developing more individualised athlete monitoring and where AI can support sports science without replacing human judgement.

323: The Unseen Work of S&C and Sports Science

June 8th, 2026  |  29 mins 16 secs

athletic performance, catalan dragons, coaching, decision making, elite rugby, elite sport, gps data, high performance, high performance puzzle, leadership in sport, leicester tigers, matt parr, performance data, performance environment, performance leadership, performance teams, player management, return to play, richard graves, rugby league, rugby performance, rugby union, s&c, science for sport, sports medicine, sports performance, sports science, sports science podcast, strength and conditioning, training load

Richard Graves welcomes Matt Parr back to the Science for Sport podcast to explore the invisible work behind elite performance. Matt discusses why data, GPS reports, and training plans only tell part of the story, and why relationships, trust, standards, alignment, and decision-making are often what determine whether performance systems truly work. Drawing on his experience across Leicester Tigers, Catalan Dragons, and High Performance Puzzle, Matt offers practical insight for sports science, S&C, medical, and coaching staff working in elite sport.

322: The Performance Demands of a World Cup with Dr Dave Hancock

June 1st, 2026  |  25 mins 36 secs

ai in sports science, apollo, apollo v2, artificial intelligence in sport, athlete management system, athlete screening, blind screen, chelsea fc, dave hancock, dr dave hancock, elite football, elite sport, england football, fatigue monitoring, fifa world cup, heart rate variability, high performance, injury prevention, injury risk, international football, leeds united, movement screening, new york knicks, performance data, performance director, player availability, recovery, rehabilitation, richard graves, rotational movement, science for sport, science for sport podcast, sleep monitoring, sports medicine, sports physiotherapy, sports science, tournament preparation, world cup 2026

Richard Graves welcomes Dr Dave Hancock back to the Science for Sport Podcast to discuss the latest developments in his Blind Screen approach, the growing role of AI in athlete monitoring and the challenge of preparing elite players for the 2026 World Cup.

Drawing on his experience with Chelsea, Leeds United, the New York Knicks and the England national team, Dave explores player availability, individualised recovery, heat, travel, mental freshness and the importance of bringing players and staff together around one common goal during a major tournament.

320: The Challenges of Modern Collegiate Sport

May 18th, 2026  |  32 mins 19 secs

GPS, ai in sport, athlete monitoring, athlete wellbeing, coaching, collegiate sport, data analytics, female athlete data, female athletes, heather farmer, high performance, human performance, interdisciplinary teams, ncaa, performance data, rehabilitation, return to play, science for sport, sport science, sports medicine, sports performance, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, transfer portal, university of nevada las vegas, unlv, wearable technology

Richard Graves is joined by Heather Farmer, Assistant Athletics Director, Sports Science at UNLV, to discuss how sport science has developed within collegiate sport and how UNLV has built a human-first, data-informed performance model. Heather explains why data should support decision-making rather than replace practitioner judgement, how to build coach and athlete buy-in, and why the lack of female athlete data remains a major challenge. The episode also covers wearable technology, AI, return to play, the transfer portal, and the importance of strong communication across the whole high-performance team.

314: Player Load, Practice Periodisation, and the Art of Keeping It Simple with Jackson Polk

April 6th, 2026  |  29 mins 24 secs

american football, athlete development, athlete monitoring, catapult, college athletics, college football, data analytics, elite sport, force plates, forcedecks, gps monitoring, high performance sport, jackson polk, load management, nfl preparation, oklahoma sooners, perch, performance data, player load, practice periodization, principal component analysis, recovery, richard graves, science for sport, sports analytics, sports performance, sports science, sports science podcast, sports technology, strength and conditioning, university of southern california, usc football, usc trojans, vald, velocity-based training, wearable technology

Jackson Polk, Director of Sports Science at USC Trojans football, joins Richard Graves to discuss how he built a sports science programme from the ground up using data analytics, GPS monitoring, and the art of genuine conversation. Jackson shares his unorthodox path from student videographer at Oklahoma to leading sports science at one of college football's biggest programmes, and offers a frank, grounded perspective on everything from Catapult metrics and force plate testing to the real limitations of AI in applied sport.