Science for Sport Podcast

339: Can a Playing Surface Change How an Athlete Moves?

September 28th, 2026  |  36 mins 57 secs

alan thomson, artificial turf, athlete performance, athletic field safety, biomechanics, elite football, elite sport, fifa world cup, fifa world cup 2026, football science, footwear surface interaction, green bay packers, hybrid grass, hybrid pitch, injury risk, john sorochan, lambeau field, metlife stadium, natural grass, nfl, nfl player safety, pitch technology, player safety, player surface interaction, playing surface research, playing surfaces, sis grass, sis pitches, soccer science, sport science, sports injuries, sports performance, sports science, sports turf, turf science, turfgrass science, university of tennessee, world cup pitches

Professor John Sorochan from the University of Tennessee and Alan Thomson from SIS Pitches join Richard Graves to explore how playing surfaces influence athlete performance and safety. They discuss the interaction between the athlete, footwear and surface, how elite pitches are tested, the differences between natural, artificial and hybrid turf, and the challenge of creating consistent playing conditions across modern multi-use stadiums. Drawing on their work around the 2026 FIFA World Cup and major US sports venues, they also examine the debate around artificial turf, player preference for natural grass and how hybrid technology could shape the future of elite playing surfaces.

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.

329: The Five Qualities of Speed Development

July 20th, 2026  |  33 mins 20 secs

1080 sprint, acceleration, agility training, american football, athlete monitoring, athlete recovery, athletic performance, catapult gps, change of direction, coaching psychology, college football, conditioning, curved sprinting, deceleration, elite sport, external load, force velocity profiling, high performance sport, horizontal force, individualised training, injury risk reduction, internal load, matt gebert, max velocity, maximum velocity, multidirectional speed, ncaa football, ole miss football, ole miss rebels, performance coaching, player availability, sleep and performance, speed development, sports performance, sports science, sports technology, sprint training, strength and conditioning, training load, velocity-based training, wellness monitoring, work capacity

Richard Graves is joined by Ole Miss Strength and Conditioning Coach Matt Gebert to explore how speed is developed, assessed and managed within an elite college football programme.

Matt explains how acceleration, maximum velocity, deceleration, change of direction and conditioning are trained across different position groups. He also discusses how Ole Miss uses sports science technology to profile athletes, manage training load and support player availability.

The episode provides a practical look at the relationship between speed, data, recovery and coaching judgement, while highlighting why effective performance programmes must be individualised to the physical and psychological needs of each athlete.

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.

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.

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.

312: The Role of Environment in Player Performance

March 23rd, 2026  |  36 mins 30 secs

athlete mindset, coaching, coaching psychology, elite sport, football coaching, football development, football performance, high performance sport, leadership in sport, performance analysis, player development, player psychology, professional football, sports performance, sports science, talent pathways, team culture

A powerful conversation with Carl Asaba on the realities of professional football — from non-traditional pathways and career setbacks to team culture, psychology, and the importance of man management in elite sport.