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 76 in total of Science for Sport Podcast with the tag "sports science".
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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332: Growth, Maturation and Athletic Development in Tennis
August 10th, 2026 | 26 mins
athlete recovery, athletic development, change of direction, dukes meadows tennis academy, fuelling for performance, growth and maturation, hydration, injury prevention, joshua dragone, junior tennis, long-term athlete development, richard graves, sleep and performance, speed development, sports nutrition, sports science, strength and conditioning, tennis, tennis coaching, tennis fitness, tennis performance, tennis recovery, tennis s&c, tennis strength and conditioning, tennis training, youth athlete development
Richard Graves speaks with Joshua Dragone, Head of Athletic Development at Dukes Meadows Tennis Academy, about the realities of preparing tennis players for an unpredictable competitive calendar. They discuss flexible S&C planning, maturation, recovery, fuelling, parental support and the habits that help junior players develop into more capable, robust athletes.
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331: Why Energy Management Is the Next Big Performance Tool
August 3rd, 2026 | 22 mins 35 secs
athlete performance, athlete protection, breast support, compression apparel, concussion, dr sarah karmel, dynamic materials, impact protection, material science, nfl helmets, non-newtonian materials, padel, performance apparel, pickleball, polymers, rheon labs, rotational impact, running biomechanics, sports bras, sports equipment innovation, sports science, sports technology, tendon loading, tennis, vibration damping, women’s sport
Dr Sarah Karmel explains how dynamic polymer technology is being used to create sports equipment and apparel that responds to force and movement. From impact protection in helmets to support in sports bras, vibration control in rackets and responsive compression apparel, the episode explores how material science may help athletes feel better, stay better protected and perform more effectively.
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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.