CVASPS The Podcast

I am elated to get to sit down and discuss the role and impact of data in the return to play process with The Las Vegas Golden Knights Director of Sport Science and Reconditioning, Dr. Aaron Heishman. Throughout the 35-minute discussion Heish and I get into: 

1)    The impact of starting with the right mentor, and how his has left a mark on him professionally and continues to drive him forward.

2)    Where he sees the role of “sport science” in their organization

3)    The balance between skill and power, and the ways they evaluate where they fit on the continuum of how they move

4)    The role of data in the RTP process, including what they utilized as preinjury baseline data.

5)    How the process of evaluating and interrupting data is what makes it actionable, which is where the value truly is

6)    What drives the conversation’s when an athlete is progressing through the RTP process, and how the objective and subjective work hand in hand to drive decisions.  

Truly grateful for Dr. Heishman taking the time to be on the show and being so open to sharing. He’s doing some fantastic work in Vegas and is an absolute wealth of knowledge that’s absolutely driving our entire vocation forward by pushing the envelope in the performance monitoring world. Make sure to give him a follow @aheish11_ on Instagram. Feel free to share this episode with a collogue that you feel would enjoy it, and please don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast player. I truly do appreciate it.

Who is Aaron Heishman?

Aaron is the Head of Sport Science and Reconditioning for the Vegas Golden Knights. He is primarily responsible for directing the sport science initiatives of the organization, as well as leading the implementation of return to play programming for athletes undergoing long-term rehabilitation. Prior to his time with the Golden Knights, he worked as the Assistant Director of Basketball Performance and Sport Scientist at University of Oklahoma. While at OU, Aaron earned his PhD in Exercise Physiology with research focused on athlete monitoring strategies used to evaluate neuromuscular performance and fatigue in basketball players. Before Oklahoma, Aaron worked as the Graduate Assistant for Basketball Performance at the University of Virginia, where he found a passion for trying to bridge the gap between applied performance practices and research in effort to maximize athlete health and performance. 

In this week we welcome LSU’s Scott Kuehn to The Podcast. I’ve been very fortunate to know Scott for what is going on 10 years, and it’s been fantastic to watch him grow professional and into his role with LSU football. Within the 42-minute discussion Scott and I get into:

1)    How attending The Seminar impacted his growth and professional trajectory

2)    What “the high-performance model” means to him?

3)    Where do practitioners need to start when it comes to building their version of this model?

4)    Where understanding the role of internal/external monitoring and subjective/objective lenses, and how they can each combine to provide unique data to help us do better for our athletes

5)    The role of technology, and how adding too much to fast can lead to issues.

I can’t thank Scott enough for spending the time with us and being so candid with his thoughts on building a high-performance model. It’s been really awesome watching his career trajectory from a far, but I feel it’s safe to say that we can see why he’s climbed the ladder as quickly as he has. He’s doing fantastic work down in Baton Rouge. Make sure you give him a follow on the socials @scottkuehn88, and tap in to his Linktree to check out the great products that he has available here: https://linktr.ee/scottkuehn88 If you find value in the show please feel free to share this episode with a collogue that you feel would enjoy it, and please don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast player. I truly do appreciate it.

Who is Scott Kuehn?

Scott Kuehn is currently the Manager of Applied Sport Science for LSU Football. He has previously had stops at the University of Arizona, the College of William & Mary, the University of Tulsa, and the University of Kentucky in varying capacities as both a performance coach and sport scientist. Originally from the Chicago suburbs, he attended Illinois State University for his undergrad in exercise science, while going from walk-on to scholarship football player during his time there, then completed a Master's degree while at Tulsa.

The Podcast is BACK! In episode 1 of season 4 I had the fortune of being able to sit down and chop it up with North Broward Prep’s Director of Athletic Development and Head Track and Field Coach, John Garrish. Throughout the 45-minute discussion, John and I get into:

1)    Even though his path has changed through his career, how his love in training has still been a driving force behind his decisions.

2)    How the idea of “Shiny Object Syndrome” impact coaches

3)    The role of identifying value in toys, tools, or tech, and where the research can impact progress either way.

4)    Wickets, their value, where they can be helpful, and what you could do if you don’t have access to them, or a group too large to implement them.

5)    Building progressions while keeping what’s “best available for the group” in mind

6)    Utilizing constraints to correct technical issues in sprinting, and what he’s looking at to identify what need to be improved.

7)    Where the weight room connects with speed training, including where its priority sits throughout the year and how that changes.

8)    His entire weekly plan in “the perfect world”

I’m truly grateful for John being so open to sharing all of this with us today. Understanding how some of the best practitioners provide feedback and put athlete’s in situations to improve technique is so valuable, so I can’t thank him enough for sharing so many aspects of, not just his progressions, but what he’s identifying and correcting. His Instagram full of awesome content, including great “stories” giving great examples of his athletes in action, so give him a follow at: @coach_garrish. Lastly, if you find value in the show please feel free to share this episode with a collogue that you feel would enjoy it, and please don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast player. I truly do appreciate it.

Who is John Garrish?

Coach John Garrish has served the North Broward Prep community for nine years as the school's Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, five as its Head Track and Field Coach and three as a Middle School Faculty member.  A native of South Florida, John attended Wagner College (B.S., Psychology '12) and the University of North Texas (M.S., Kinesiology '14) before serving as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at Rutgers University and finally joining the North Broward Prep family in 2014.   Most recently, John served temporarily on the FAU Football Strength Staff during the summer of 2020.  John is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and has served on the Board of Directors for the National High School Strength Coaches' Association as the Southeast Regional Director (2016-2020) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association's High School Special Interest Group Executive Council (2015-2016).

I’m elated to introduce Brittney Bearden to The CVASPS family in this week’s episode of The Podcast. Britt has done some fantastic work with our guys over the past three years helping them to transform their nutrition routines. In the 33-minute discussion Brittney and I get into:

1)     What drove her to go into sports nutrition and how the education steps to get licensed impacted how she practices today. 

2)     What is truly involved in how we select food, and how important it is to individualize nutrition programs based on the specific athlete. 

3)     The value in understanding where the athlete is in their nutrition voyage, and working with them to build from there. 

4)     Where the “line” is for where strength coaches may step out of their scope of practice, and what issues could arise if we over step our boundaries.

A huge thank you to Brittney Bearden for joining us today. She has been a huge addition to our group and has done great work helping our guys better understand how they fuel themselves, and also puts out awesome stuff so make sure you give her a follow @sportrdbritt on Instagram. I’m sure you’ll find a have a ton of value in the content she’s putting out. I can’t thank you enough for listening to The Podcast, and I hope you enjoyed the show. If so and could help us out by sharing the show with a colleague that would be greatly appreciated, and please don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player, and please leave us a review while you’re there.

This week’s episode of The Podcast is a season review and audit with Andrea Comini. Dre and I have known each other for almost 10 years, and we had the opportunity to sponsor his visa to bring him back to The States to work with us in The Q this year and he was a huge addition. Dre’s a great coach who brought a unique view point to our daily routine, our programming, and our standard. In the 30-minute discussion Dre and I get into:

1)     Where his love of basketball and coaching stems from.

2)     How bringing in a new set of eyes helped point out some areas I became a bit comfortable

3)     The value of having a standard in our vocation and how it can be helpful teaching leadership and accountability within a team

4)     Being who you are at all times, how each individual has to be true to themselves, and how we can learn from each other’s true self

5)     The training plan and facility they’re building in Italy, and what is the driving factor behind building the program. 

Massive thank you to Andrea Comini for joining us today. This was a unique show for me, taking a step back and reviewing where we had to make some improvements, the results of them, and sharing with you. I can’t thank Dre enough for his help this year, both with the team and with driving me to be a better coach. Make sure you check out what they’re doing at the Pro Camp, they’re doing an awesome job sharing what doing down at the lake. Give them a follow at: @procamp__ on Instagram. I’m sure you’ll find a what they’re putting out to have a ton of value. Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed the show. If so and could help us out by sharing the show with a colleague that would be greatly appreciated, and please don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player, and please leave us a review while you’re there.

This week I had the pleasure of getting to catch up with Dominick Walker on this week’s episode of The Podcast. Dom is doing some awesome work down at Mississippi State preparing his Men’s Basketball team, and also providing a ton of great content on the work they’re doing and the results he’s seeing. In the 35-minute chat Dom and I get into:

1)     Some adjustments that we see that are needed in this new era of the portal and NIL

2)     Picking what battle to fight knowing that you’re not going to win them all

3)     What the role of having standards are in developing relationships with the athlete

4)     The role of the strength and conditioning coach in the world of sport

Huge thanks to Dominick Walker for joining us today. This show, like many this season, has been a long time coming. He’s doing an awesome job sharing the work he’s doing down at MSU so make sure you give him a follow at: @raikage.com on twitter and Instagram. I’m sure you’ll find a what he’s putting out to have a ton of value. If you enjoyed the show and could help us out by sharing the show with a colleague that would be greatly appreciated, and please don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player, and please leave us a review while you’re there. 

I am so excited to welcome Dr. Kessa Kuyper to The Podcast. “K” was a great addition to our staff for the 2021/22 season, helping one of the oldest teams ever in college basketball “survive” the season with her unique perspective on training after going through PT School. In the 30-minute conversation we discuss:

1)     Why going to PT school may be a good decision for young coaches coming out of college

2)     How having a role within the high-performance team is important, not just to the staff but the athlete even more.

3)     The value in the athlete’s input to programming

K is doing awesome work out in Memphis. Make sure you give her a follow @kessakuyper and follow the staff at Memphis @mephisathleticperformance You’ll find a ton of awesome content on both pages. Also, if you find value in the shows please feel free to send it to a colleague that would enjoy it and don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review! I truly do appreciate it.

In this week’s episode of The Podcast Will Ratelle and I discuss the vernacular of strength and conditioning, and why terms matter. Throughout the 35-minute chat Will and I get into:

1)     How all too often we come up with terms that may or may not have an actual definition, and why this is really slowing down our progress as a vocation. 

2)     His view on the term rotational power, and why there may be some misconceptions around that term

3)     The impact of range of motion on power athletes

4)     What factors are important to Will in the training process, and how it drives his programming.

5)     How can we communicate to coaches that they may not understand what they don’t understand

6)     How the most important thing may be how your relationships with your coworkers are.

Will is doing great work, not just with his student athlete’s but with his two “Hoss” projects. Make sure you check them out here: and give him a follow on Instagram @will.ratelle. He puts out a ton of awesome content. If you enjoyed the show please subscribe on your favorite podcast player, and if you could leave us a 5 star review I’d greatly appreciate it!

In this week’s episode I’m so happy to welcome Josh Storms to The Podcast. Throughout the 30-minute conversation Josh and I get into:

1)     The pros of longevity in one place.

2)     The transition period between head coaches, what he observed with the players, and how being the “go between” with the new staff and the players helped with the transition. 

3)     What his evaluation process during Spring Ball consists of, and the impact of “the portal”

4)     The importance of evolving your programming, and its effect both physically and mentally on the athlete

5)     Leadership, why athletes have a hard time with it, and how we can encourage athletes to develop that skill.

Coach Storms is doing awesome work down at FSU, and is such a generous wealth of knowledge. 

Make sure to give Josh a follow @coachstorms on both Instagram and Twitter to check out the work he’s doing and the awesome training music that’s got going on in their sessions. I hope you enjoyed the discussion, and if you did please feel free share it with a colleague. Also, if you find value in the shows please don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review! I truly do appreciate it. 

This week’s podcast guest is another coach whose name has been dropped on many “My Thoughts Monday’s. I’m so fired up to get to chop it up with my good friend and former co-worker Mike Thomson this week. In the 30-minute chat Mike and I get into:

1)     Evaluating players (in this case pitchers), and how looking at their mechanics can improve specificity and drive better training prescription.

2)     How they establish variables to look at and use to help drive, not just their training model, but prescription of training means to impact the sporting exercise.

3)     The impact of understanding the language used in the sport, and the what the actual

4)     Keeping training to help make those who are exceptional at certain things even more exceptional at those things based on evaluations

5)     Working through the “continual in season” that we are now seeing in many sports

6)     Where looking at the individual vs regressing to a mean can help identify not just what is working for each specific athlete but also what is NOT working.

7)     Thought processes that drive his continuous growth and has helped him build this model

Mike has had a huge impact the development of our staff and programming for our athlete’.  Make sure you give him a follow-on Twitter @Thomson19Mike and Instagram @mikethomson19 to see what he’s building in the training of all the teams he gets to work with. If you enjoyed the talk please feel free share it with a colleague and don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review! It’s greatly appreciated.