In this episode of Research 2 Reps, we had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Paul Comfort, whose work has influenced how so many of us think about Olympic lifting, power development, and applied sports science. Paul walks us through how his early research on pull variations reshaped real-world training for athletes who may not be ready for or suited to full catches. We talk about what happens when you shorten the pull, how power and rate of force development can actually improve, and why removing the catch is not the step backward some believe it to be. What stands out is how curiosity in the classroom turned into research that now guides programming across professional sport, collegiate athletics, and beyond.

Our conversation expands into force plate testing, biological variability, and what data is actually worth acting on. Paul challenges the idea of collecting information for the sake of collecting it and pushes us to ask what meaningful change really looks like. We explore the difference between influencing performance and trying to control it, especially in complex team environments where psychology, leadership, nutrition, recovery, and belief play massive roles. This episode is a reminder that great performance systems are built through cohesion, clarity, and humility. We do not control outcomes, but we can shape environments that give athletes their best chance to succeed.

Big thanks to podcast sponsors, Sorinex and EliteForm, for making these episodes possible.

In part two of my conversation with Jason Dierking, we pick up right where we left off and go even deeper into leadership, identity, and what it really looks like to build a staff and a culture that lasts. Jason talks about how he structures his sports performance department, how he intentionally develops his coaches, and why character has to come first if you want sustained excellence. We get into the reality of retention, growth, trust, communication, and why leaders have to create an environment where people feel valued, challenged, and capable of doing meaningful work. Jason also opens up about the importance of knowing who you are beyond your job title and why identity has to be grounded in something bigger than wins, roles, or achievements.

From there, we dive into his work with Louisville swimming and diving and really break down what goes into training world class athletes in a sport that requires a completely different level of precision, creativity, and understanding. Jason talks about how he blends culture, athletic development, resiliency, and science, and why collaboration with sport coaches is critical to doing it right. We also spend time talking about their training facility, how it has evolved, and why environment matters when you are trying to develop champions. Jason closes this conversation with a powerful reminder about staying grounded in your values and knowing who you are no matter what role you are in. This is a thoughtful, honest, and incredibly insightful continuation of our discussion, and I think you are going to get a lot out of it.

Big thanks to podcast sponsors, Sorinex and EliteForm, for making these episodes possible!

In part 1 of this Beyond Sets & Reps episode, I get to sit down with my friend Jason Dierking, the Director of Olympic Sports Performance at the University of Louisville. We talk about his path from growing up in the Midwest to becoming one of the most respected leaders in our profession. Jason opens up about how his faith, values, and love for the training process shaped who he is as a coach and a person. We look back at how the field has changed, how discipline and gratitude were built into him early, and how those lessons still guide the way he serves athletes today.

We also get into his journey as a grad assistant, his first full-time jobs, and what it was like taking on more responsibility while trying to keep learning and growing. Jason talks honestly about long days, heavy workloads, learning to delegate, and the mentors who helped him along the way. He shares what it meant to step into a leadership role at Louisville and how focusing on relationships, culture, and doing things the right way has helped move their program forward. It is a real conversation about character, perseverance, and leading with purpose in a high-performance world.

Shoutout to podcast sponsors, Sorinex and EliteForm, for making these episodes possible!

In part 2 of my conversation with Brett Hayes, we move from technology and tools into the real glue that holds high performance environments together. Brett talks about what happens when biomechanics, sport science, and strength and conditioning all show up in the same room speaking different "languages," and how ego, vocabulary, and mixed messages can quietly tear teams apart. He shares stories from our days at Mizzou, working with people like Bryan Mann, and how using less threatening language, asking coaches to teach us their terms, and leading with humility builds the trust you need before any data, platform, or protocol can actually matter.

From there, we get into the weeds on the body and the brain. Brett walks through how issues like SI joint dysfunction can impact the entire kinematic chain and why quick fixes like heel lifts often miss the real problem. We talk about shifting from being "the expert with the magic hands" to being a teacher who empowers strength coaches, athletic trainers, and athletes to see what we see. That rolls right into return to play, where Brett explains why athletes must be included in the decision, educated on their own data, and trusted to understand what their body is telling them. Ernie ties it all together with research on "conceptual confusion" in healthcare teams, reinforcing that clear shared language is not soft skill, it is performance infrastructure. Brett closes with leadership book recommendations and a reminder that as you get older in this profession, the real win is not proving how much you know, but multiplying your impact by developing others.

Shoutout to Sorinex and EliteForm for making these episodes possible!

In this episode of the Research 2 Reps Roundtable, I sit down with my longtime friend and collaborator Brett Hayes, a physical therapist who helped us shape what we now call corrective biomechanics. Brett shares how his journey from the Pacific Northwest and years with the Seattle Seahawks led him to Mizzou, where we started connecting clinical rehab principles with what was happening in the weight room and on the field. We talk about how that shared vision turned into real systems, including our early work with the DARI markerless motion capture platform, and how that technology helped us move past opinion and get everyone on the same page with objective joint vulnerability data instead of just "coach's eye" arguments.

From there, we dig into how Brett and Dr. Ernie Rimer have taken that work to the University of Louisville, using sport science as the bridge between sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and performance. Brett walks through how baselining women's basketball with DARI and building targeted interventions helped reduce injuries five-fold over three seasons, and why the real separator is not the gadget, but integration, communication, and athlete education. We also get into athlete trust, why pros sometimes go outside the system to get scanned, and how explaining the "why" behind any intervention is now mandatory if we want true buy-in and long-term career longevity for our athletes.

Shoutout to Sorinex and EliteForm for making these episodes possible!

In part two, I press into a word we throw around too loosely in college athletics: development. Rashard and I sort out the differences between strength and conditioning, scholar-athlete development across leadership, career, life skills and community, player development for team ROI, and capital or NIL fundraising. We also talk brass tacks on funding: start with your head coach and your development office, get everyone at the same table, and design experiences that help athletes grow while giving donors and corporate partners something meaningful to support. Rashard is clear that the NIL and portal era affects a small slice of athletes, while most still want to be led, challenged, and exposed to real world opportunities. That hunger shows up powerfully at D2, D3, and HBCU programs when you bring them access.

Rashard walks through his book, Scholar Athlete Elite, a practical four-quarter guide from freshman to senior year that tackles NIL, academics, mental health, redshirting, and more. He explains his company like a career agency for athletes, identifying talent, developing it through micro-internships and curated trips, and placing athletes on winning teams in business, with a nonprofit arm to open doors for underserved schools. We finish on his vision for NIL ownership, giving athletes micro experiences in entrepreneurship, and a look back at how his own yes to opportunities set the foundation. If you lead athletes, this is a blueprint for building people first, then watching performance follow.

Shoutout to Sorinex and EliteForm for making these episodes possible!

In this episode of Beyond Sets & Reps, I sit down with Rashard Hall, a man who's redefining what it means to be a scholar-athlete. From his days as a standout safety at Clemson under Coach Dabo Swinney to his current mission helping athletes find purpose beyond the game, Rashard's story is all about resilience, faith, and impact. We talk about the mindset that helped him go from a redshirt to an All-American, how adversity prepared him for life after football, and how his passion evolved into founding Scholar Athlete Elite, a company dedicated to developing athletes holistically in sport, career, and character. We also explore the power of relationships and mentorship through our mutual friend Patrick Sapp, and how the bonds built on and off the field can shape entire careers. Rashard's approach reminds us that success is not just about stats or accolades, but about who you become in the process and how you pour into others. If you have ever wondered how to prepare athletes for life beyond competition, this conversation will make you rethink what true development really means.

Shoutout to Sorinex and EliteForm for making these episodes possible!

In the second half of the episode, we take the discussion deeper into the evolution of sport science and the challenges of applying it across different environments. Emaly and I talk about how athletes transition from national teams to their college or professional programs and the difficulties that come with inconsistent resources and data. We also explore how sports scientists are learning to balance the practical realities of technology with the need for accurate and reliable data. The conversation touches on real issues like injury prevention, pain management, and how performance staff can use individualized approaches to make the biggest impact.

This part of the episode also focuses on how the role of sports science has become more athlete-facing. It is no longer just about the back-end data. It is about trust, education, and helping athletes make better choices for themselves. We discuss strategies that go beyond the lab, from sleep education to recovery tools, and how coaches and scientists can better listen to athletes about what matters to them. The takeaway here is that true performance progress happens when the science is individualized and when athletes feel empowered to take ownership of their development.

Shoutout to Sorinex and EliteForm for making these episodes possible!

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!

In the second part of our conversation, we talk about what Krishna is doing now and the lasting impact she is making. After an impressive career as a thrower and coach, she found women's tackle football and made her way to the U.S. national team. She represented our country on the biggest stage, won a gold medal at the World Championships, and then shifted into leadership as the general manager of the Kansas City Glory. Krishna explains the unique challenges of building women's sports, from managing operations to supporting athletes, and how her role is about more than wins and losses. It is about creating opportunities and a foundation for future generations.

What inspires me most is how she continues to use her voice and experience to help others. Through public speaking, youth coaching, and mentoring, Krishna is showing athletes and professionals the importance of setting goals, living by your values, and approaching challenges with a growth mindset. Her story proves that the lessons you learn in sport prepare you for every arena in life. This part of the conversation is about leadership, vision, and the responsibility we all have to invest in the people coming after us.