Science for Sport Podcast

345: Football's Next Competitive Edge: IMPECT

November 9th, 2026  |  27 mins 21 secs

ai in sport, artificial intelligence in football, bundesliga, catapult sports, data analytics in football, data driven decision making, elite football, football analytics, football data, football performance, football performance analysis, football recruitment, football scouting, football statistics, football technology, impect, jens hegeler, opposition analysis, packing, packing data, packing expected threat, performance analytics, performance data, player evaluation, player performance, player recruitment, richard graves, science for sport, sports analytics, sports science, tactical analysis, talent identification, video scouting

Former Bundesliga footballer and IMPECT co-founder Jens Hegeler joins Richard Graves to explore how data is changing performance analysis and recruitment in professional football.

Jens explains why traditional statistics don't always tell the full story, how IMPECT's Packing metric measures the impact of individual actions and how clubs use contextual data to identify and evaluate players. They also discuss the importance of combining data with traditional scouting, IMPECT's integration into Catapult and the growing role of AI in football analytics.

344: Preventing Non-Contact Injuries in Professional Football

November 2nd, 2026  |  35 mins 8 secs

acceleration, andrew hyde, athlete development, athlete education, athlete monitoring, daniel booth, elite sport, football injuries, football performance, football strength and conditioning, force plates, gps data, hamstring injuries, individualisation, individualised training, injury prevention, load management, movement assessment, myolab, non-contact injuries, performance coaching, performance testing, physical preparation, player availability, player ownership, private coaching, professional football, rehabilitation, return to play, richard graves, science for sport, soccer performance, soft tissue injuries, speed development, sports medicine, sports rehabilitation, sports science, sprint mechanics, strength and conditioning, training load

Richard Graves is joined by strength and conditioning coaches Andrew Hyde and Daniel Booth to examine why non-contact injuries remain such a challenge in professional football. They discuss the limitations of squad-based physical preparation, the relationship between data and what actually happens on the pitch, training load, movement mechanics and the importance of understanding each player's individual needs. They also explore how clubs and private practitioners can work together more effectively and why educating athletes to take greater ownership of their physical development could be an important part of keeping players fit and available.

343: The Enhanced Games: Performance, Risk and Athlete Choice

October 26th, 2026  |  33 mins 29 secs

anti-doping, athlete health, athlete monitoring, athlete welfare, doping in sport, elite sport, enhanced, enhanced games, high performance sport, human performance, informed consent, max martin, maximilian martin, medical supervision, performance enhancement, performance-enhancing drugs, recovery, richard graves, science for sport, science for sport podcast, sport science, sports ethics, sports science, sprinting, swimming, training adaptation, weightlifting

Richard Graves speaks with Enhanced co-founder and CEO Maximilian Martin about the Enhanced Games and the debate surrounding performance-enhancing substances in sport. They discuss athlete choice, medical oversight, informed consent and the inaugural event’s performances, while examining questions about long-term health and the wider responsibilities of promoting enhancement. Maximilian presents Enhanced’s position, with Richard questioning its implications for athletes and sport.

342: Moving Beyond Aerobic and Anaerobic Training Labels

October 19th, 2026  |  36 mins 4 secs

aerobic training, anaerobic training, combat sports conditioning, conditioning, elite sport, energy systems, football conditioning, heart rate recovery, high-intensity intermittent sports, high-intensity interval training, individualised conditioning, james de lacey, low-intensity training, muscle oxygenation, near-infrared spectroscopy, nirs, oxygen delivery, oxygen utilisation, repeated sprint ability, repeated sprint performance, richard graves, rugby conditioning, science for sport, science for sport podcast, sports science, sprint interval training, strength and conditioning, sweet science of fighting, training prescription, vo2 max

James de Lacey joins Richard Graves to challenge how aerobic and anaerobic labels shape conditioning in high-intensity intermittent sports. They discuss recovery between repeated efforts, the distinction between oxygen delivery and muscle oxygen use, and how testing can inform more individual training decisions. James also explains where he sees sprint intervals and low-intensity work fitting alongside the demands of sport practice.

341: Preparing Athletes for Pressure and Adversity

October 12th, 2026  |  32 mins 15 secs

adversity in sport, antifragility, athlete burnout, athlete development, athlete wellbeing, coaching, dr nick holton, elite sport, flow state, human flourishing, mental performance, mental skills training, mindfulness, myedge, nick holton, performance psychology, positive psychology, pressure in sport, psychological flexibility, recovery, resilience, richard graves, science for sport, sport psychology, sports psychology, sports science, stress management, sustainable performance, the antifragile academy, visualisation

Can athletes develop through pressure rather than simply bounce back from it? Dr Nick Holton joins Richard Graves to explore antifragility, the role of carefully managed challenges, and the balance between performance, recovery and wellbeing. They discuss practical considerations for coaches and practitioners, alongside the questions researchers still need to answer about measuring and applying antifragility in sport.

340: What Saliva Testing Can Tell Us About Athletes

October 5th, 2026  |  21 mins 14 secs

athlete health, athlete monitoring, biolyz, biomarker testing, cortisol, elite sport, football performance, illness monitoring, individual baselines, injury risk, marlon millard, performance data, recovery monitoring, richard graves, saliva testing, salivary biomarkers, science for sport, sports science, training load

Richard Graves speaks with Biolyz founder Marlon Millard about the use of frequent saliva testing in elite sport. They discuss individual baselines, cortisol, the need to interpret biomarker trends alongside training and wellness data, and the potential and current limits of using those data to anticipate problems.

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.

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.

328: Blood Flow Restriction at the World Cup

July 13th, 2026  |  26 mins 25 secs

Premier League, 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, 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.