Science for Sport Podcast

324: Joe Truman: Training of a GB Track Sprinter

June 15th, 2026  |  24 mins 2 secs

athlete monitoring, athlete-led programming, bfr training, blood flow restriction training, british cycling, cadence, cycling performance, elite athlete, elite sport, joe truman, keirin, kilo time trial, la 2028, olympic cycling, peak power, performance coaching, physiology, power training, race-specific training, recovery, richard graves, s&c, science for sport, sport science, sports science, sprint cycling, sprint performance, strength and conditioning, tapering, team gb, team sprint, track cycling, training load

Richard Graves welcomes Great Britain track cyclist Joe Truman to discuss the science, training and decision-making behind elite track sprinting. Joe reflects on his journey through the British Cycling pathway, his first major individual European title, and the British record performance that marked a major breakthrough in his career. The conversation explores how studying sport and exercise science has shaped Joe’s training philosophy, why he now takes a more active role in his own programming, and how methods such as blood flow restriction training, tapering, cadence management and race-specific preparation are helping him push performance forward. For practitioners, this episode offers a detailed look at how an elite athlete blends science, experience and self-awareness to keep improving at the highest level.

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

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.

319: Acceleration, Plyometrics and the Transfer to Performance

May 11th, 2026  |  34 mins

acceleration, athlete communication, athlete development, bobsled, bobsleigh, coaching philosophy, elite sport, eric franke, fatigue management, german bobsleigh, high performance coaching, jump training, latvian bobsleigh, latvian skeleton, olympic bobsleigh, olympic performance, olympic silver medallist, performance coaching, plyometrics, pyeongchang 2018, rate of force development, richard graves, science for sport, skeleton, sliding sports, speed training, sports performance, sports science, sprint training, strength and conditioning, testing and monitoring

Richard Graves is joined by Olympic silver medallist and high performance coach Eric Franke to discuss the demands of elite bobsleigh, the pressure of competing at the Olympic Games, and the key principles behind speed development. Eric explains why speed must be prioritised properly, how plyometrics and sprinting can support performance, and why his coaching philosophy focuses on communication, individualisation and helping athletes become better decision-makers.

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.

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.

313: Building Durability in Action Sports with Ryan Blake

March 30th, 2026  |  30 mins 8 secs

action sports, action sports science, adventure sports, ai in sport, athlete preparation, athletic durability, british water ski and wakeboard, elite sport, extreme sports, extreme sports performance, fatigue management, freestyle sports, high performance, injury prevention, jump testing, long term athletic development, ltad, olympic sports, performance coaching, periodisation, readiness monitoring, ryan blake, science for sport, snowboarding, sports coaching, sports performance, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, vbt, velocity based training, x games, youth strength and conditioning

Ryan Blake, founder of Extreme Sports Performance and performance consultant for British Water Ski and Wakeboard, joins Richard Graves to make the case for a completely different approach to athlete preparation in action sports. Drawing on over 20 years of experience across elite sport and education, Ryan explains why durability, not peak output, is the real target in disciplines defined by unpredictability, variable terrain, and repeated decision-making under fatigue. He walks through his Restore, Apply, Own framework, the role of technology in bridging the gap between training and competition, and why the explosive growth of the X Games League and Olympic action sports makes this one of the most exciting frontiers in performance science right now.

296: The Mental Game: What Athletes Really Carry with Them

December 1st, 2025  |  27 mins 36 secs

athlete support, athlete welfare, athlete wellbeing, british basketball, elite sport, high performance, kofi josephs, mental health, performance psychology, preventative mental health, psychology in sport, richard graves, science for sport, sport, sports science, whynoti

Former GB basketball player Kofi Josephs joins Richard Graves to share his powerful journey through elite sport, opening up about injury, pressure, mental health, and the reality behind performance. He also reveals how his platform WhyNotI is helping teams take a preventative, data-driven approach to athlete wellbeing.

275: What It Really Takes: A Look at Life as a Professional Footballer

July 7th, 2025  |  33 mins 48 secs

acl recovery, athlete mental health, athlete mindset, athlete wellbeing, career transition, elite sport, football, football career, football injuries, football mentorship, football nutrition, football training, life after sport, player development, professional footballer, resilience in sport, sam winnall, science for sport, sports performance, sports psychology, sports science

Former professional footballer Sam Winnall joins the Science for Sport podcast to share honest insights from his 15-year career, including the highs, lows, and mental demands of life in elite football. He also discusses his transition into mentoring athletes and the importance of mindset, resilience, and life beyond sport.