In the first half of my conversation with Emaly Vatne on the Research to Reps Roundtable, we dig into her background as both an Ohio State soccer alum and a sport science researcher. She shares how early experiences with HRV monitoring and internal load metrics sparked her curiosity for performance science and eventually shaped her career path. We talk through her master's thesis work with the women's hockey program and how she was able to quantify the effects of training load on recovery and sleep. Hearing her perspective reminded me of how critical it is to bridge research with real-life application so that the numbers we collect can actually help athletes perform and recover better.

We also explore the role of culture and buy-in, which is something Emaly highlights through her experience working with championship-level teams. It is one thing for athletes to comply with wearing devices, but another when they compete with one another to improve their numbers because they understand what the data means. This first part of the episode really sets the stage for how sport science is more than just tracking numbers. It is about creating a culture where athletes are curious, engaged, and invested in their own performance.

Shoutout to Sorinex and EliteForm for making these episodes possible!