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

James is currently the Head of Talent Identification & Athlete Development at Elite Sport UAE and a Visiting Fellow at Northumbria University. James brings a unique blend of skills and experience as an accredited S&C coach, physical education teacher, sport scientist and researcher. His current research is focused on the effect of growth and maturation on performance in youth track and field. Previously he worked at the Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar as the Head of Talent Identification and Development, a senior strength and conditioning coach and performance support lead for Track and Field during his time there. In 2020, he was awarded the ASCA Senior Research Award on behalf of the Aspire Academy research team and James was also awarded the UKSCA’s S&C Coach of the Year Award for Youth Sport in 2017 for his work in the school setting.

QUOTES

“When I used to speak to the athletics coaches about maturation, I'd say, yeah, he's an early maturer and they were like, so what? How much difference does that make?”

“The mean maximum velocity for the approaching peak height velocity (PHV) group is 7.1m/s and the max velocity for the post-PHV group is 8.5m/s… So, in those situations, when you put them on the track, you can imagine how that extrapolates out over 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 meters”

“So 87-88% of predicted adult height is typically the takeoff point for the growth spurt and we start to see a big increase in growth with the peak of growth being typically between 91-92% of predicted adult height.”

“The best approach is to keep as many athletes as possible in your (TID) programs for as long as possible”

“If we're applying these correction procedures to athletes, we're still talking about early maturing athletes that are running 7.5s for 60. They're still not world beaters at this point. They all still need support, but it's not to say we should exclude the early maturer either. We need to keep the people in the pipeline, keep giving them what they need in terms of strength and conditioning, and great coaching.”

“Actually, being an early maturer for girls can be a disadvantage because of the fat mass gains that occur post-PHV versus a girl who is pre-PHV who's still relatively lean, not carrying fat. And in my experience, most of the girls will jump their highest CMJs pre-PHV and then it all flat lines”

“There's certain sports where if you haven't accumulated training by a certain age, then, you know, the really skill -based sports, it's probably going to be harder to get there to an elite level”

SHOWNOTES

1) James’ background in both strength & conditioning and PE teaching and his journey to talent identification in elite sport in the Middle East

2) Why interpreting performance through a lens of maturation is important and how to track physical performance metrics around peak height velocity (PHV)

3) The continuum of maturation in young athletes from pre-pubertal to post-PHV

4) Different methods of predicting adult height in youth athletes and their respective strengths and weaknesses

5) Optimizing talent ID programs to enhance retention and the psychosocial aspects of these programs

6) Correcting track & field performance based on maturation to get closer to be able to compare youth athletes of the same age but different maturation levels

7) Potential differences between boys' and girls' physical performance measures around PHV

8) Strategies for working with sports coaches in the TID space to allow for maturation-based evaluation and adjustments for open skill sports

9) Managing training around PHV to help reduce injury risk and the typical pattern of growth and injury site location in youth athletes

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Ed Archer

Alex Natera

Amanda Johnson

Marco Cardinale

Phil Kearney

Craig Pickering

Shaun Abbott

Stephen Cobley

Tom Maher

Matt Jordan

Mike Young

Jeremy Sheppard

Dan Baker

Boo Schexnayder

Dr. Max McKenzie

Max is a S&C Coach with the QAS Swimming Hub on the Sunshine Coast. Max has worked with elite swimmers for almost a decade across three Olympic/Paralympic cycles. Working within a multidiscipline performance support team servicing several swimming programs and coaches has shaped Max’s philosophy on the physical preparation of swimmers. In 2024, Max completed his PhD which investigated the impact of land-based warmup strategies on subsequent swimming physiology and performance.

Dr. Mark McKean

Mark started his career as a Physical Education teacher and still uses these teaching and coaching skills he learnt in many of his current coaching roles. Mark is a Master S&C Coach and completed his PhD in Sport and Exercise Science at UniSC. Mark has 30+ years of experience in various sports, including Sprint Kayak, Tennis, Swimming and Netball. Mark is a Senior S&C with the QAS Swimming Hub on the Sunshine Coast and is Head of Physical Performance in High-Performance Sport at UniSC. Mark has worked with UniSC's High-Performance swimming program since its inception in 2011 and has more than two decades of experience working with Olympic and Paralympic swimmers.

QUOTES

“One of our biggest concerns is swimmers, and it's like in any sport, their sport age is very different to their S&C training age, so you get swimmers that have been in the pool for five, 10 years, but when they come into our environment, they've got less than one year of good experience”

“If you ever spend any time around swim coaches, you'll hear the word connection probably on a daily basis and my interpretation of what swimming coaches are talking about is how efficiently are they sequencing together movements of their joints through water.”

“It is very common to hear swim coaches and swimming athletes talk about “what can you pull up?” but one of the things we are interested in is an athlete’s ability to pull their own body weight up as fast as they can for as many repetitions without a certain drop of velocity”

“So within about six weeks of major competitions, we're going through a set testing battery, which includes bench press velocity and bench press maximal strength, pull up maximal strength, pull up velocity and counter movement jump and squat jump performance”

“I've always believed one of the strength and conditioning coach’s biggest weaknesses is their general anatomical knowledge”

SHOWNOTES

1) The back stories of Max and Mark including Max’s PhD research on swim performance and land-based interventions in the warm up

2) The basics of athletic movements for swimming like streamlining and rotation control, and the importance of connection

3) The adaptation of common traditional exercises like the pull up and reverse hyperextension to be more swim specific

4) The importance of monitoring vertical pulling speed and drops in speed in swimming

5) Swimming strength and power profiling before major competition

6) Strength ratios between upper body exercises and their influence on programming

7) A look into the day-to-day process and weekly periodization at UniSC swimming program

8) The power of the mind and influence of pre-competition lifting on swimming performance

9) The importance of knowing anatomy as a strength and conditioning coach

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Scott Pollock

Dan Howells

Dr Mark Burnley

Adam Peaty

In this episode of the ASCA high school strength and conditioning podcast, Sean O'Connor, S&C coach at St. Lawrence’s College, discusses the comprehensive athletic development program implemented at the school. The program caters to students from year 7-12, focusing on movement competency and holistic long-term athlete development (LTAD). With a mix of foundational training for younger students and sport-specific programs for senior athletes, the college promotes flexibility to balance school and athletic commitments. O'Connor highlights the importance of proper movement training, regular testing, and data-driven progress tracking to support athlete growth across multiple sports, including a notable collaboration with Manchester City’s football academy.

With thanks to our Official Equipment & Flooring Partner and Podcast Sponsor AlphaFit

https://www.alphafit.com.au/fitouts/schools-universities/