Science for Sport Podcast
Behind the Scenes of Elite Performance – Unlocking the Science, Stories, and Strategies That Make the Best Even Better
Displaying items 1-10 of 16 in total of Science for Sport Podcast with the tag "return to play".
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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.
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333: Why Athletes Keep Breaking Down
August 17th, 2026 | 34 mins 45 secs
adaptive potential, biomechanics, body mechanics, compensation, elite sport, football injuries, force plates, golf biomechanics, hamstring rehabilitation, injury prevention, injury rehabilitation, kinetic chain, motor control, motor patterns, movement data, movement quality, movement screening, physiotherapy, return to play, sports physiotherapy, sports science, strength testing
Dave Emsley joins Richard Graves to discuss how movement quality, biomechanics and the body’s capacity to adapt shape injury rehabilitation and performance. The episode examines why practitioners should look beyond symptoms, scans and isolated strength scores to understand the movement patterns and compensations behind recurring problems.
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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.
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328: Blood Flow Restriction at the World Cup
July 13th, 2026 | 26 mins 25 secs
athlete monitoring, athlete readiness, bfr, blood flow restriction, circulatory recovery, dr warren bradley, elite football, elite sport, exercise physiology, football performance, hrv, hytro, injury risk reduction, international rugby, long-haul travel, performance recovery, performance support, physiotherapy, player availability, practitioner education, premier league, recovery, recovery science, return to play, science for sport, sleep quality, sports medicine, sports physiology, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, tournament football, travel fatigue, wearable technology, world cup
Richard Graves speaks with Dr Warren Bradley about how blood flow restriction is being used in elite sport, with a particular focus on World Cup football. The episode explores BFR as more than a recovery tool, covering its role in travel, tissue priming, injury mitigation, return-to-play and player availability. Warren also challenges the obsession with overly specific data, arguing that practical, consistent application matters when working across elite squads under tournament pressure.
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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.
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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.
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321: Preparing for the World Cup: Physical Performance Under Extreme Pressure
May 25th, 2026 | 46 mins 34 secs
292 performance, altitude training, athlete monitoring, athlete readiness, ben rosenblatt, dr ben rosenblatt, elite football performance, elite sport, england football, fatigue management, fifa world cup 2026, football sports science, gb hockey, heat acclimation, high-performance sport, international football, olympic performance, performance coaching, physical performance, pressure training, recovery, rehabilitation, return to play, richard graves, science for sport podcast, sports science, strength and conditioning, the football association, tournament preparation, world cup preparation
Dr Ben Rosenblatt joins Richard Graves to discuss the physical performance demands of preparing players for the 2026 Men’s World Cup. Drawing on his experience with England, Olympic athletes and GB Hockey, Ben explores tournament readiness, rehabilitation, recovery, heat and altitude preparation, individualised support and the importance of preparing athletes to perform under extreme pressure.
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320: The Challenges of Modern Collegiate Sport
May 18th, 2026 | 32 mins 19 secs
ai in sport, athlete monitoring, athlete wellbeing, coaching, collegiate sport, data analytics, female athlete data, female athletes, gps, 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.
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318: ACL Rehab: Training Age, Force Progression and Return to Sport with Carmen Bott
May 4th, 2026 | 35 mins 15 secs
acl rehab, acl rehabilitation, adolescent athletes, ai in sports science, artificial intelligence in sport, athlete development, carmen bott, coaching, dynamic strength training, elite sport, exercise prescription, force progression, injury rehabilitation, isometrics, kinesiology, performance coaching, plyometrics, professional sport, return to play, return to sport, richard graves, science for sport, sports injury, sports medicine, sports performance, sports science, strength and conditioning, youth athletes
Richard Graves speaks with Carmen Bott about her career in kinesiology, strength and conditioning, and athlete rehabilitation. The episode explores how practitioners can better support coaches and athletes, particularly during ACL return-to-play decisions. Carmen explains why training age, communication, force progression and real coaching skill are central to effective rehab, and shares her perspective on where AI can and cannot support practitioners in the future.
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309: Building Smarter Performance Systems with Emily Jacobson
March 2nd, 2026 | 31 mins 33 secs
acl rehabilitation, acute chronic workload ratio, applied sport science, athlete monitoring, catapult sports, collegiate athletics, data visualisation, gps tracking, high performance, load monitoring, ncaa, performance analytics, performance coaching, power bi, return to play, sports science, strength and conditioning, u.s. soccer, velocity based training, women’s sport research
Emily Jacobson shares how she has built a simplified, collaborative and athlete-centred sports science model at Marquette University. The episode explores workload monitoring, return-to-play systems, data visualisation, and the importance of humility and communication in applied performance environments. A practical discussion for elite practitioners seeking to turn complex data into meaningful impact.