One Track Mind

When it comes to successful sports start ups, we’ve probably all got our favourite example or story.  But for each one of these successes, there are many more examples of companies not thriving or even surviving.

So what is it about a start up that signals this potential reward is high enough to warrant the significant risk? Is it the idea, the founding team, the stage of the company or all of the above?

On this Part 2 of our series into sports entrepreneurship, we take a look at the specific challenges and opportunities that sport provides for investors. Host Sam Robertson sits down with Techstars Managing Director Todd Deacon and Christie Jenkins from Blackbird & Athletic Ventures

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It’s an understatement to say that entrepreneurship in sport is exploding. Franchises across the globe are making considerable investments, the start up scene is burgeoning, university courses have emerged to train the next generation, and even some professional athletes have turned part-time entrepreneur. Of course none of the success of entrepreneurs can be achieved without the support of sports themselves. 

The first episode of this two part series on entrepreneurship in sport focuses on the experiences of two company founders in running a start up in the landscape of the sporting industry. Host Sam Robertson sits down with  Hormonious Flo CEO, Alexis Abayomi and InStryde CEO, Mike Schmid. 

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Some of the many issues with injury prediction modelling have been discussed on multiple occasions on One Track Mind. But what if we could reach this 'Holy Grail'?  How far away would we be from this scenario eventuating? What would need to happen in order to get there? And is it even a world that athletes want? 

On Part 2 of this series on injury prediction,  host Sam Robertson talks about some of the practical considerations around this area including what developments are needed in Data, Analysis, Judgement and Evaluation in order for it to become a viable tool.

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Some of the many issues with injury prediction modelling have been discussed on multiple occasions on One Track Mind. But what if we could reach this 'Holy Grail'?  How far away would we be from this scenario eventuating? What would need to happen in order to get there? And is it even a world that athletes want? 

On this first of a two-part episode,  host Sam Robertson talks about some of the philosophical and overarching questions facing practitioners and organisations in the space, before moving onto some of the more practical considerations in Part 2.

What do you think? Tell us on our socials:
- Instagram: @track.vu
- Twitter: @trackvu
- Website: trackvu.com/podcast

Genetic testing in sport has emerged as a cost-effective and accessible tool to identify an individual's potential for sporting performance, trainability, optimal exercise selection, recovery strategies and injury risks.

But just how strong is the evidence behind this practice? What are the risks and rewards? And to what extent is this growing industry being regulated - if at all? 

On this episode,  host Sam Robertson is joined by Professor Nir Eynon and Dr Shanie Landen to discuss the merits and pitfalls of this fast-growing space.

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Wearable technology is proliferating at a rate of knots - from smart watches to heart rate monitors, posture-correcting sensors and even our mobile phones, almost anyone you talk to is using some personal health data from at least one of these devices. 

But despite the obvious performance benefits, are we creating an over-reliance on the information we gather from wearable tech? Do we really have the time to assess the quality of each device, when a new offering becomes available just about every other day? And what are the physical and psychological risks for athletes and coaches? 

On this episode,  host Sam Robertson is joined by Dr Sian Allen to discuss how to address some of these challenges, along with what the future may have in store in this fast-moving space.

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Baseball is often viewed as one of the more traditional team sports. However, it’s recently been at the forefront of the analytics revolution in sport and is one of the most data rich, technology adoptive sports out there. 

This week’s episode has something for everyone – whether they're a baseball fan or not.
Host Sam Robertson is joined by New York Yankees Director of Performance Science, David Whiteside and Kansas City Royals Senior Director of Performance Science, Austin Driggers.

Amongst other topics, they discuss the big performance problems that baseball is most well equipped to answer, the importance of collaboration outside of sport, and even injury prediction gets another mention!

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We’re all familiar with examples of child sporting prodigies - social media posts of a four year old footballer masterfully dribbling past opponents or videos of a young Tiger Woods come readily to mind. But the reality is, these examples are anomalies - far from the norm and the pathway to getting there perhaps not desirable even if it was attainable for more children. 

The enhancement of talent identification and the ensuing development programs is understandably pursued by most organised sports - after all the discovery of the next Lionel Messi or Williams sisters is unquestionably valuable for any sport, due to the spike in participation and viewership that can result. 

But for an area that has been so well researched and resourced, so many fundamental questions seem to remain. What even is talent? How do we best develop it during childhood and adolescence? And why, despite considerable attention, does talent not seem predictable with any great precision? 

To help answer some of these questions and others, host Professor Sam Robertson is joined by  Professor Joe Baker. Joe is Professor and Head of the Lifespan Health and Performance Laboratory at York University, Canada. His research examines the science of talent selection and athlete development, as well as the varying factors affecting skill acquisition and maintenance across the lifespan. 

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Subscribe to the Track newsletter for a regular dose of sport's science insights from our team of leading researchers and further reading for every episode topic. Learn more and see full episode transcript at trackvu.com/podcast

On the last episode of One Track Mind for 2021, host Sam Robertson is joined by New Zealand strength and conditioning legend Professor John Cronin (JC)

The topic? Wearable resistance training.

Lightweight wearable resistance training involves external micro-loads, sometimes as little as 0.5% of the users body mass, being applied to different segments of the body - such as the legs or arms. These loads are worn during sport specific movement training and allow for technique to remain relatively unchanged.

From cumbersome and unwieldy beginnings, advancements to the equipment has seen a surge in the popularity of wearable resistance. Now specialised garments or sleeves have been designed to house these weights that can in many cases be attached directly to the user with fixed velcro.

Despite being relatively in its infancy, wearable resistance training seems like an area that will feature prominently for many sports in times to come - particularly in helping to make athletes fast. And as we’ll hear, it might not just be the athletes that benefit from its use.

For more on JC and his work using wearable resistance training, check out https://www.professorjohncronin.com/ 

What do you think? Tell us on our socials:
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Subscribe to the Track newsletter for a regular dose of sport's science insights from our team of leading researchers and further reading for every episode topic. Learn more and see full episode transcript at trackvu.com/podcast