The ASCA High School and Youth Podcast, sponsored by AlphaFit, features an in-depth conversation with Luke Edgell, owner of Edge Performance, Speed Academy, and Assistant Director of Athletic Performance at Shore School, Sydney. With over 12 years of experience in strength and conditioning, Luke shares insights from his career, including coaching Olympians and mentoring trainers. He discusses his transition from personal training at Fitness First to working in high school strength programs, highlighting the importance of communication, athlete development, and long-term training models. The episode delves into speed training, agility, and change of direction strategies, informed by Luke’s apprenticeship at Altis with renowned coaches like Dan Pfaff and Stuart McMillan. Luke also provides practical advice for high school coaches on managing large training groups, collaborating with external clubs, and implementing effective speed and strength programs for youth athletes.

In this episode, Wesley College’s high-performance manager, Dr. Daniel Hiscock, shares insights from his seven years at the institution, detailing how the school’s long-term athletic development (LTAD) program supports students from pre-kindergarten through year 12 in building athletic ability, healthy habits, and life skills.

Daniel highlights the program’s three-tiered structure, which caters to all students, from general participants to elite athletes competing at state and national levels. He shares inspiring stories of student athletes with lofty goals, such as a badminton player aiming for the Commonwealth Games and a footballer pursuing an AFL career. These examples demonstrate the importance of consistency, tailored support, and collaboration with families to help students achieve their aspirations.

The podcast also emphasises the inclusivity of the Wesley College LTAD program, which extends support to less advantaged students and those with disabilities. Programs like UniGym and early gross motor skill interventions are designed to foster lifelong habits of physical activity, ensuring that all students benefit, regardless of their athletic ability. Daniel further explains how the school integrates innovative training methods, such as isometric exercises, to enhance strength, accommodate injured athletes, and manage high training demands while minimising injury risks.

A significant focus of the episode is the collaborative mentorship approach taken at Wesley College. Dr. Hiscock underscores the importance of open communication with parents, external coaches, and club programs to effectively navigate the complex needs of high-performing athletes. He also reflects on the challenges of balancing resources and scaling programs, sharing practical strategies to optimise outcomes for a wide range of students.

Drawing from his diverse career, Daniel shares lessons learned, emphasising the value of foundational training principles, the need for athlete buy-in, and the importance of individualised programming. He explains how these principles have guided the program’s growth and success while remaining adaptable to the unique needs of each student.

The episode concludes with Daniel reflecting on the holistic value of sport as a means to build not only high-performing athletes but also well-rounded and resilient individuals.

Dr. Jamie Tallent is the Director of the Human Performance Research Group at the University of Essex, previously holding the position of Associate Professor in Strength and Conditioning at St Mary's University. Jamie earned his PhD from Northumbria University, UK, focusing on corticospinal adaptations from eccentric and concentric resistance training muscle actions. Jamie has worked in professional sport, as the lead strength and conditioning coach at Derbyshire County Cricket Club.

Jamie has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications and numerous book chapters. His research, a mixture of applied and mechanistic studies, includes leading various projects in collaboration with International Cricket Teams, Premiership Football clubs, International Rugby Teams, and world-leading ballet schools and companies. Recently, Jamie has also begun to explore the role of strength and conditioning in children with cerebral palsy.

QUOTES

“Micro-dosing is just splitting up your training sessions, your volume of work into small manageable chunks”

“I'm better putting in small doses that are going to enhance an athletes performance over long periods of time, rather than that scheduling in longer sessions that could affect their training in the subsequent days”

“I think the recommendation for micro-dosing I'd almost give is that go to higher rep work as with lower rep work, maybe that's not as easy to microdose in time constrained situations because you're going to have to spend so much time warming up’”

“What we've shown in ballet is that the groups that are training three times a week of 15 minutes versus 1 time a week of 45 minutes are getting slightly greater adaptations in strength, in jumping ability, in counter-movement jump.”

“I think it's important how we package things as S & C coaches and I think it's important that the athletes are aware that micro-dosing is still going to help them. The narrative to athletes is even if you do one set, even if you do two sets, it's still a positive kind of thing for your sport.”

SHOWNOTES

1) Jamie’s journey into sport science and strength and conditioning

2) The definition of microdosing and its use to reduce risk of injury or soreness

3) The philosophy of getting as much work as possible into athletes and how microdosing aligns with this

4) How time constraints influence microdosing sets and rep schemes

5) The timing of microdosing S&C around sports training sessions and “clustering” sessions in a training week

6) Examples of microdosing in cricket and ballet and the benefits of microdosing for training absenteeism

7) Managing your communication in different environments and the future of data analytics

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Glyn Howatson

Nathan Spencer

Duncan French

Jess Turner

Dr Gareth Sandford has a consulting business that helps Olympic, Pro & College coaches with individualized conditioning. Recent consulting clients include: Manchester City Football Club (EPL), England Football Association (International Football), Australian Institute of Sport (Olympic/Paralympic Sport), Melbourne Football Club (AFL), Kerry GAA (Gaelic Football). Prior to this, Gareth has worked for 14+ years across individual and team sports within three Olympic and Paralympic systems (UK, New Zealand and Canada) and three professional sports leagues (English Football, Cricket and Rugby), supporting over 450 athletes that achieved 23 Olympic, Paralympic and World Championship medals, and one world record. He was also scientific lead for the Canadian Olympic marathon and race-walk athletes at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. He holds a PhD in sport physiology and running performance from the Sport Performance Research Institute at AUT University in New Zealand and a ‘mini’ MBA from Simon Fraser University in science innovation and technology commercialisation.

QUOTES

“There are a number of things that we should be looking for. The first thing is the athlete profile. So that is where all your sub-disciplines come in, from a medical standpoint, what are we talking about? From a biomechanical, psychological standpoint, which type of personality are we dealing with? From a physiological standpoint, are we talking about a speed profile, hybrid or endurance profile?”

“So a common question you hear often is should conditioning be more sport specific or should it be more targeting the physical capacities underpinning the sport? But the reality of the matter is that physiology exists, whichever sport you're playing.”

“It is a very rare occasion in a team sport where you are short on the sport-specific exposure of chemistry”

“Sprinting speed is scaffolding for team sports. We can't build it and then let it go, because if we let it go, then the percentage we're working at when running goes up”

“The three metrics alongside team sport key training metrics I'm looking at are where's the sprinting speed? where's the MAS? where's the critical speed?”

“Athletes need to be exposed to all the stimulus, from low intensity to sprinting speed, probably for 18 months, two years at the low end, for us to be confident, this is the type of profile an athlete is.”

“The key metric for low and moderate intensity work is the effort, the internal effort, not the external speed and the answer is whatever speed elicits a five or six out of 10 feeling”

SHOWNOTES

1) Gareth’s exploration of the anaerobic speed reserve which has taken him from the UK to NZ to Canada

2) The framework for conditioning and importance of athlete profiling

3) The relevance of middle-distance track events and their training for field sports

4) Getting a clear characterization of what is happening in technical-tactical training sessions and unlearning “classical” physiology

5) Assessing the anaerobic speed reserve in athletes and the practical application of profiling

6) The interplay between critical speed and maximal aerobic speed or velocity VO2max and Gareth’s preferences for measuring both

7) How to use the ASR ratio as a screen of “spread” and benchmarking sprint and endurance physiology

8) Principles versus models and the value of holding principles as loosely as possible until you understand exactly what type of athlete you are dealing with

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Peter Weyand

Phil Bellinger

Veronica Billat

Phil Scott

The ASCA High School and Youth Podcast, featuring Rob Le Guen, explores his journey as an S&C expert and his role at Maribyrnong Sports Academy. Rob's career includes key positions at the University of South Florida, Manchester City Football Club, and as England Girls Youth Physical Performance Coach. At Maribyrnong, he focuses on integrating athletic development within the school environment, providing students with structured programs tailored to their growth and performance stages. The academy’s unique setup emphasises individualised athlete progress over team results, offering a comprehensive approach from foundational skills in younger years to elite-level preparation for senior students.

Rob highlights the importance of planning, simplicity, and engagement in youth S&C. Testing and programming are vital components at MSA, with quarterly assessments to track physical performance and growth. He also discusses the challenges of managing training loads, collaborating with clubs, and keeping youth athletes motivated. By blending structured training with fun, Rob ensures that students stay engaged and avoid burnout throughout their development.

Rob emphasises the value of long-term athlete development and mastering fundamentals before progressing to advanced techniques. His advice for coaches includes meticulous planning, fostering relationships with stakeholders, and maintaining a balanced approach that prioritises the individual athlete’s needs. The podcast, supported by AlphaFit, provides practical insights for coaches working in youth sports.

This episode explores the vital role of strength and conditioning in youth athletic development, featuring insights from experienced coach Justin Blee. With a career spanning roles at the Melbourne Storm, Melbourne Rebels, VFL, and now St. Kevin’s College, Justin shares his philosophy on long-term athlete development, emphasising foundational physical literacy, strength, speed, and agility in age-appropriate and tailored programs.

He details the structured progression of St. Kevin’s strength and conditioning framework, from foundational movements in younger students to advanced training for seniors, while addressing challenges like balancing workloads for elite athletes across multiple commitments.

Drawing from his diverse professional background, Justin highlights the importance of communication, collaboration, and holistic athlete management to prepare students for success in both elite sports and lifelong physical activity. The episode also discusses transferable traits across sports, strategies for dealing with parental concerns, and the evolution of school-based athletic programs, offering valuable insights for coaches, educators, and the broader athletic community.

Cohen Crispin is the QRL Sport science coordinator and former strength and conditioning coach within Surfing Australia's high-performance program. Cohen is an ASCA Elite L3 elite coach and holds a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science. In addition to his commitments in surfing, Cohen is also an assistant strength and conditioning coach and sports scientist for the Queensland women's State of Origin team. With a multifaceted background, Cohen is dedicated to optimising athlete performance and giving back to the S&C industry.

QUOTES

“My footy coach at the time, Frank Baker, was Dan Baker's brother and he was talking to me one afternoon about what I wanted to do after school and he started telling me about what his brother did, working at the Broncos, strength and power coach. And I was like, is this a job?!”

“So when I started at sprint kayaking, Worko gave me the opportunity to write a program for Kenny Wallace. And I remember I spent all night and I was reading all the research and then I've delivered it to him and he's gone, no, I don't do those exercises. So I've walked away from it, just defeated! And Worko has gone to me, did you talk to him before you wrote that program or did you just go to the theory? So that was a perfect lens for why the practical experience was so important.”

“So it really makes our job about the need for engagement with the athletes. Engagement's our biggest currency and that engagement allows us to educate them and then a lot of our job is educating and giving these athletes all the tools that they need to be successful wherever they are, whether they're local or they're on the other side of the world.”

“I've found that athletes that are proficient in the counter movement jump, have the ability to generate more speed and are getting good scores in smaller waves”

“Whenever I'm writing programs, I'm always thinking what's the best exercise for the athlete, or what's the exercise that I can easily implement into their travel program. So we'll have a Monday, Wednesday strength and power session planned at the gym but if that doesn't work out, they'll then go to their body weight sessions that could easily be done in a hotel room using their bags and bands.”

SHOWNOTES

1) Cohen’s journey from becoming a sparky in a small QLD mining town to a strength & conditioning coach for Surfing Australia

2) The balance between practical and theoretical experience in learning the S&C craft

3) Understanding surfing as a sport and the role strength & conditioning has to play in a surfers development

4) The nature of working with surfers and the industry and the importance of athlete engagement and education in surfing

5) The key strength & conditioning focuses for performance in surfing and how this may be manipulated based on different wave profiles

6) The importance of paddle speed and conditioning for surfers and key tests and test standards for surfing athletes

7) Why having a plan A, plan B and plan C in S&C programming is essential for surfers and the programming template at Surfing Australia

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Dan Baker

Deb Savage

John Mitchell

Glen Workman

Ken Wallace

Nick Winkleman

Paul Comfort is a Professor of Strength and Conditioning at the University of Salford (UK) and an adjunct professor at Edith Cowan University (Australia). Paul is a founder member and accredited member of the UKSCA and was a board member of the NSCA from 2020-2023. He regularly consults with numerous team sports and has authored / co-authored >150 peer reviewed journal articles. His research focuses on training methods to enhance sports performance and the assessment of force production characteristics to monitor acute and chronic changes in neuromuscular function. Paul is also co-editor of the textbooks, ‘Advanced Strength and Conditioning: an evidence-based approach’, ‘Performance Assessment for strength and Conditioning’, ‘Laboratory Manual for Strength and Conditioning’ and recently edited the 2nd edition of the ‘Developing Power’ for the NSCA

QUOTES

“So one of the things we need to know is not just the what's the maximum force generating capacity, but how quickly can you produce that?”

“Normally we do some form of maximal isometric test and we'd also do a ballistic test, something like a counter movement jump, and then a reactive or rebound type test, whether that's a 10-5 test, a drop jump, counter movement rebound jump. They've all got some limitations with them, but we'll do some form of plyometric and reactive tests so that we've really tested across that breadth of force production capabilities that people might get within sport”

“If you've got velocity at take-off, that determines your jump height so you don't need to report velocity at take-off if you’re got jump height”

“Power doesn't determine jump height. It only explains around about 50 to 60% of jump height and it can change. You can actually have a decrease in power with an increase in jump height, which sounds really counterintuitive.”

“Look at the published data but also then make sure, right, did they use the same force plates? Did they use the same software that you're using? With the software set up have they analysed the data in the same way?”

“Biggest thing is make sure that whatever you're doing, you're standardising what you're doing and you're trying to compare to data, which is as close to what you do in terms of your testing protocols, so how you cue the athlete, how you coach the athlete, but also how the data is analysed”

SHOWNOTES

1) Paul’s background in strength and conditioning and update since last episode

2) The basics of measuring force production in athletes

3) Upper body options for force production assessment including the ASH Test

4) Paul’s preference of the more common lower body force plate assessments like the IMTP or IsoSquat

5) The best metrics to use across isometric, ballistic and reactive force production assessments and the importance of understanding net vs absolute force

6) Considerations around contact/contraction time in different jump assessments

7) Paul’s thoughts on the use of force production tests for fatigue and readiness to train measures

8) The importance of starting simple and basic with testing and monitoring

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Greg Haff

Tudor Bompa

Overview

This podcast features Marco Mastrorocco, a highly experienced strength and conditioning coach originally from Italy, now working in Australia. Marco is the director of his own gym, Athletix, and holds various roles, including consulting for the Queensland Bulls and coordinating strength and conditioning at Villanova College. He recently became the head of performance for the Italian cricket team. Marco discusses his career journey, starting from his passion for combat sports to developing a niche private practice focused on youth athletic development. He emphasises the importance of long-term athlete development, injury prevention, and fostering mental resilience and independence in young athletes. Marco shares insights on balancing structured programming with fun in-training sessions and offers advice for gym owners, stressing the importance of building a strong, knowledgeable team and staying true to one's business vision.

Coach John Hofman is the Strength and Conditioning Specialist for the Guardian Resilience Team at LA Air Force Base where he oversees the strength and conditioning protocols designed to enhance improve muscular resiliency, cardiorespiratory fitness, and reduce musculoskeletal injuries in the operational environment. Prior to joining United States Space Force, Coach Hofman spent over 15 years as a Tactical Strength and Conditioning Specialist for both Law Enforcement and Fire / Rescue. In 2021 Coach Hofman was a member of the State Officer Wellness team where they were awarded an Emmy for Branding Content.In addition, Coach Hofman was the 2018 recipient of the National Strength and Conditioning Association Tactical Practitioner of the Year Award.

QUOTES

“Listening to the firefighters tell me all the things, regardless of it was good or bad, I actually had to open up my ears and listen to them and understand their fears and understand that, you know, I'm not here to hurt you, but actually help you overcome those roadblocks.”

“Really what tactical strength and conditioning is the ability to understand that yes, we want them to think and b like athletes, but 99% of them are not athletes”

“When I left Sacramento Fire Department, I asked a deputy chief who was a good friend of mine, what did I do right? And he just laughed and he goes, you gave us the option to make the best decision for ourselves.”

“With tactical S&C, you have got to have a giant toolbox. You have to really know and master your basics because you'll use them predominantly all the time”

SHOWNOTES

1) John’s journey from sprint kayaking athlete to over 15 years in tactical strength and conditioning

2) Getting embraced by the tactical populations in different environments

3) Improving overall health in firefighters and balancing training with the need to be able to do occupational tasks on a moments notice

4) The giant toolbox needed to work in the tactical strength & conditioning space

5) Culture change tips from John’s experience with firefighters and law enforcement officers

6) John’s biggest lessons of working in a tactical strength and conditioning space including the 48 hour rule

7) Being “fit for duty” and managing musculoskeletal injuries in the tactical populations given the demands of the job

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Mick Stierli

Rob Orr

Tyler Christensen

Jay Dawes