Science for Sport Podcast

By Science for SportSports Science Education

Science for Sport Podcast episodes

August 17333: Why Athletes Keep Breaking Down
This week, Richard Graves is joined by Dave Emsley, physiotherapist and movement specialist at The Body Mechanics, for a practical conversation on why successful rehabilitation needs to look beyond the site of pain.
Dave explains how the body adapts around injury, why a scan or strength test is only one part of the picture, and what practitioners can learn by observing how an athlete actually moves. From hamstring tears and persistent knee pain to golf swings, fast bowling and return-to-play decisions, this episode explores the relationship between biomechanics, motor patterns and long-term performance.
The discussion also unpacks “adaptive potential”: the body’s remarkable ability to find a way to keep performing when something is not working as it should. But that capacity is not unlimited. For practitioners, the challenge is recognising when an athlete’s compensations are taking them closer to the gutter and helping them restore better options before another area of the system breaks down.
In this episode you will learn
Why pain should be treated as information, rather than simply the problem to remove
How movement compensations can shift load elsewhere in the kinetic chain
Where scans, strength testing and force-plate data fit within a complete assessment
Why data should help confirm a clinical decision, rather than make it in isolation
The difference between quantitative testing and the qualitative assessment of movement
What “adaptive potential” means for injury risk, performance and longevity
Why athletes with the same diagnosis may need very different rehabilitation plans
When technical changes are worth making—and when practitioners should protect an athlete’s existing strengths
Why return-to-play should account for the athlete’s actual performance demands, not just symptom resolution
How practitioners can use movement quality to guide more individualised rehabilitation
About Dave Emsley
Dave Emsley is a physiotherapist and movement specialist at The Body Mechanics. With a background in sports science and physiotherapy, he works with athletes across a range of sports, including golf and football, and consults with Premier League footballers. His work focuses on biomechanical assessment, movement patterns, rehabilitation and helping people return to performance with a better understanding of how their body moves.
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35 min
August 10332: Growth, Maturation and Athletic Development in Tennis
Tennis players need far more than clean technique and a strong forehand. They need to be fast, powerful, durable and able to recover well enough to perform across an unpredictable, year-round competitive schedule.
This week, Richard Graves is joined by Joshua Dragone, Head of Athletic Development at Dukes Meadows Tennis Academy, to explore what effective physical development looks like in tennis.
Joshua explains why tennis S&C demands a different approach: players may be travelling, competing, dealing with limited gym access or adjusting plans after every match. He shares how he identifies the key physical qualities to target, creates structure without becoming rigid, and helps young players build the recovery, hydration and fuelling habits that support long-term development.
The conversation also looks at maturation, the influence of social media on junior training, and why parents, tennis coaches and athletic development coaches need to be aligned around the individual athlete.
In this episode you will learn
Why tennis requires athletes to develop speed, power, change of direction, robustness and energy-system capacity at the same time.
How to plan physical preparation around an unpredictable tournament schedule.
How to identify the one or two physical priorities that matter most for an individual player.
Why growth and maturation should shape expectations and programming in junior tennis.
How to use training windows effectively when players are travelling and competing.
The role of sleep, hydration and fuelling in availability, recovery and performance.
Why junior tennis players are often under-fuelled — and how practitioners and parents can help.
How consistent warm-up and recovery routines reduce friction on competition days.
How to respond constructively when players want to copy professional athletes’ social-media training.
Why alignment between player, parent, tennis coach and S&C coach is essential.
About Joshua Dragone
Joshua Dragone is the Head of Athletic Development at Dukes Meadows Tennis Academy in West London. He joined the academy in 2021 as a Senior Athletic Development Coach and moved into his current role in 2022. With more than a decade of coaching experience across sports including rugby, football and tennis, Joshua now specialises in helping junior tennis players become faster, stronger and more robust through developmentally appropriate, athlete-centred programming.
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Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
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Improve Your Athletes' Performance
Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research
26 min
August 03331: Why Energy Management Is the Next Big Performance Tool
How much of an athlete’s performance is shaped by the materials they wear and use?
This week, Richard Graves is joined by Dr Sarah Karmel, Chief Science Officer at RHEON Labs, to explore how dynamic materials are changing the way sport thinks about protection, comfort and performance.
Sarah explains the science behind RHEON’s non-Newtonian polymer technology: materials that remain soft and flexible at rest, but stiffen to manage energy when exposed to force. From NFL helmet components designed to address both linear and rotational impacts, to sports bras that provide support without unnecessary compression, this is material science with practical implications for athletes.
The conversation also looks at vibration damping in tennis and padel rackets, the role of apparel in supporting movement, and why the next step in sports equipment may be creating products that adapt to the athlete, rather than asking the athlete to adapt to the product.
In this episode you will learn
How dynamic polymers respond differently at rest and under force.
Why managing both linear and rotational impacts matters in athlete protection.
Why repetitive lower-energy impacts are receiving greater attention in contact sport.
How sports bra design can influence comfort, movement and the running experience for female athletes.
How dynamic materials can reduce vibration in rackets without removing the feel athletes need.
The potential role of responsive compression apparel in muscle support and tendon loading.
Why energy management is the common thread linking helmets, apparel and sporting equipment.
How material innovation could make sports equipment more individualised and athlete-centred.
About Dr Sarah Karmel
Dr Sarah Karmel is Chief Science Officer at RHEON Labs, where she leads the development of advanced elastomeric materials for sport, protection and performance applications. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and previously held the Blavatnik Fellowship at the University of Cambridge. Her work focuses on translating polymer and material science into practical technologies that improve how athletes are protected, supported and able to perform.
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Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
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Improve Your Athletes' Performance
Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research
23 min
July 27330: Frontal Plane Fundamentals with Dr Matthew Ibrahim
Richard Graves welcomes Dr Matthew Ibrahim back to the Science for Sport podcast to discuss how sports science, strength and conditioning, athlete monitoring and wellness can be brought together within one integrated performance model.
Matthew explains how he is applying this approach in his new role as Assistant Athletic Director of Health, Performance and Wellness at Malden Catholic. Rather than collecting data simply because the technology is available, his focus is on asking better questions, identifying the measures that genuinely inform decisions and presenting information in a way that athletes, coaches, parents and support staff can understand.
The conversation explores the difference between returning an athlete to play and returning them to performance. Matthew discusses how force plates, isometric strength testing, sprint timing, velocity-based training and subjective wellness measures can contribute to a criteria-based process, while emphasising that every test must have a clear purpose.
Matthew also introduces his new Science for Sport course, Frontal Plane Fundamentals: Lower Body Training. He explains why lateral strength and movement are often underdeveloped, the importance of the adductors in athletic performance and how simple lateral squat and lunge progressions can be incorporated into a training programme.
In this episode you will learn
How to connect sports science, strength and conditioning, education and wellness within one performance model
Why collecting more data does not necessarily produce better decisions
How to identify the performance tests and monitoring measures that matter most
The difference between return to play and criteria-based return to performance
How practitioners can prepare athletes for sudden increases in training and competition load
Why frontal-plane strength is important for running, cutting, skating and changing direction
How lateral squats and lunges can develop the adductors and improve athletic movement
Why relationships, trust and communication are essential when building athlete buy-in
About Matthew Ibrahim
Dr Matthew Ibrahim is the Assistant Athletic Director of Health, Performance and Wellness at Malden Catholic in Massachusetts. He has more than 15 years of experience across strength and conditioning, human performance, education and sports rehabilitation.
Matthew holds a PhD in Human and Sport Performance and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He is also the author of Train Like a Pro: Programming to Develop Your Inner Athlete and is currently working on a second Human Kinetics book focused on strength-based health, performance and wellness for young people.
His work centres on making performance science understandable and useful, helping athletes develop the physical skills, confidence and habits needed to perform in sport and beyond.
31 min
July 20329: The Five Qualities of Speed Development
Speed in American football is about far more than running a fast 40-yard dash. It is the ability to create space, close space, accelerate, decelerate, change direction and repeatedly produce high-speed actions under the demands of the game.
This week, Richard Graves is joined by Matt Gebert, Strength and Conditioning Coach at Ole Miss Football, to explore how speed is developed within an elite college football programme.
Matt explains how Ole Miss structures speed training across the week, from acceleration and change of direction to maximum velocity, curved sprinting and conditioning. He also breaks down how the physical demands change between position groups and why offensive linemen, linebackers, running backs, wide receivers and defensive backs require different training priorities.
The conversation explores the five key qualities Matt uses to assess speed development and how tools including Catapult GPS and the 1080 Sprint can help coaches understand an athlete’s strengths, weaknesses and potential performance limiters.
However, collecting more data does not automatically lead to better decisions. Matt explains why sports science technology must be accurate, efficient and actionable, particularly when working with a squad of around 120 athletes within strict time restrictions.
Richard and Matt also discuss the balance between pushing athletes hard and protecting player availability, the value of wellness monitoring, the importance of sleep and why technology should help practitioners ask better questions rather than replace coaching judgement.
Matt also reflects on how his coaching philosophy has changed during more than a decade in college football, including moving away from one-size-fits-all programming and learning to coach athletes differently, both physically and psychologically.
In this episode you will learn
Why speed in team sport is ultimately about creating and closing space
How Ole Miss structures acceleration, maximum velocity, change of direction and conditioning work
Why different football positions require different speed and strength qualities
The five physical qualities Matt assesses within speed development
How Catapult GPS and the 1080 Sprint are used to profile athletes
Why maximum velocity is particularly important for wide receivers and defensive backs
How to identify and improve an athlete’s performance limiters
The difference between using sports technology and practising sports science
The three questions Matt asks before introducing new technology
How external and internal training loads can inform programme decisions
Why wellness questionnaires can start important conversations with athletes
The relationship between training load, recovery and player availability
Why sleep may be the most overlooked performance metric
How Matt’s approach to individualising training and communication has evolved
Why acceleration should be a priority for young athletes in almost every sport
About Matt Gebert
Matt Gebert is a Strength and Conditioning Coach with Ole Miss Football, where he leads speed development work within the programme’s performance team.
Matt has worked in college football for approximately 13 years and is currently completing a PhD focused on speed development. His work covers linear speed, multidirectional movement, acceleration, maximum velocity, deceleration, curved sprinting and conditioning for team-sport athletes.
Alongside his coaching and research, Matt regularly shares practical information about speed development and the use of sports science within high-performance environments. He is also preparing a forthcoming book focused on speed development for team-sport athletes.
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Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
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Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
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Improve Your Athletes' Performance
Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research
34 min
July 13328: Blood Flow Restriction at the World Cup
In this episode of the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves welcomes back Dr Warren Bradley, Co-Founder and Head of Elite Performance at Hytro, to explore how blood flow restriction is being used at the highest level of sport.
With the biggest World Cup in history placing huge demands on players, staff, travel logistics, recovery windows and match preparation, Warren explains where BFR now fits inside elite performance environments.
This conversation goes beyond the basic idea of BFR as a recovery tool. Warren breaks down how it can be used to support circulation, tissue preparation, injury risk reduction, return-to-play, long-haul travel strategies and squad-wide recovery workflows.
He also discusses the challenge every practitioner will recognise: how to balance research, data, individualisation and real-world practicality when time is limited and performance outcomes matter.
For coaches, sports scientists, physios and performance staff working in elite sport, this episode gives a clear look at how BFR is being applied in tournament football and why the next stage of recovery science may be less about collecting more data, and more about using meaningful interventions consistently.
In this episode you will learn
What blood flow restriction is and why its application has changed in elite sport
How BFR can be used for recovery, tissue priming, warm-ups and travel support
Why long-haul travel creates a major performance challenge during tournament football
How teams are adapting BFR protocols to fit real-world environments, including pools, the sea, flights and pitch-based warm-ups
Where BFR can help bridge the gap between low-grade injury and return-to-pla
Why Warren believes circulation is becoming a major focus in modern recovery science
How elite teams balance scientific precision with practical use across a full squad
Why highly specific numbers can sometimes become a barrier to implementation
How BFR protocols can be individualised without overcomplicating delivery
What Warren would study if he had unlimited access to World Cup players, wearables and performance data
About Dr Warren Bradley
Dr Warren Bradley is Co-Founder and Head of Elite Performance at Hytro, a company specialising in wearable blood flow restriction technology for performance, recovery and rehabilitation.
A sports scientist by trade, Warren has spent more than a decade working in professional sport, including Premier League football and international rugby. He completed a PhD in exercise physiology and has focused much of his work on making blood flow restriction safer, more practical and more accessible for athletes and practitioners.
Through Hytro, Warren works with elite teams and athletes across world sport, helping them apply BFR in realistic performance environments — from training grounds and recovery rooms to tournament travel, warm-ups and matchday preparation.
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Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
Position Yourself As An Expert To Your Athletes And Naturally Improve Buy-In
Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
Improve Your Athletes' Performance
Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research
27 min
July 06327: Building Nutrition Systems in Elite Sport
Richard Graves welcomes Dr James Morehen back to the Science for Sport podcast for a practical conversation on what it really takes to work in elite performance nutrition.
James reflects on his journey from Liverpool John Moores University to rugby league, England football, Premiership rugby, international rugby, and his current work with England Rugby. But this episode is less about the polished version of elite sport, and more about the details that actually make performance environments work.
From gaining experience as a student, to building a trusted network, to solving problems on tour before they affect the athletes, James gives a clear view of the craft behind applied performance nutrition. He explains why degrees matter, but why they are only part of the picture, and why students and early-career practitioners need to get into clubs, support research, present to athletes, make mistakes, and learn from them.
James also shares examples from inside elite sport, including heat strategies, travel logistics, hydration planning, making weight for combat athletes, and the hidden operational details that can decide whether a practitioner is adding real value or simply reacting under pressure.
This is a valuable episode for sports nutritionists, sports scientists, S&C coaches, performance directors, students, and anyone interested in the reality of working behind the scenes in high-performance sport.
In this episode you will learn
Why academic knowledge is essential, but not enough on its own
How students can build meaningful experience while still at university
Why volunteering, research participation, and applied placements can separate candidates in a crowded field
What James looks for when interviewing or mentoring young practitioners
How to build a professional network that genuinely improves your practice
Why elite sport often comes down to simple details done exceptionally well
How practitioners use networks to check, challenge, and improve strategies
What travel, heat, hydration, and logistics look like inside international rugby
Why mentorship matters at every stage of a practitioner’s career
How James is now helping clubs and practitioners develop better nutrition systems
About Dr James Morehen
Dr James Morehen is a performance nutritionist working at the highest level of elite sport. He is currently Lead Performance Nutritionist for England Rugby and has supported athletes and teams across rugby league, England football pathways, Premiership rugby, international rugby, and professional boxing.
James completed his undergraduate, master’s and PhD studies at Liverpool John Moores University, where his interest in applied physiology and performance nutrition developed through his work in rugby league. Alongside his work in elite environments, James is the founder of the Performance Nutrition Network and is passionate about mentoring and developing the next generation of practitioners.
His work focuses not only on evidence-based nutrition, but on the practical systems, communication, logistics, and problem-solving needed to support athletes in real performance environments.
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Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
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Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
Improve Your Athletes' Performance
Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research
33 min
June 29326: Creatine’s Next Chapter with Steve Jennings
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves welcomes back Steve Jennings for part two of one of the most fascinating stories in sports nutrition.
Earlier this year, Steve joined us to tell the story of how creatine first entered the world of elite sport ahead of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. In this follow-up conversation, Richard and Steve look at where creatine goes next.
For decades, creatine has been viewed primarily as a strength, power and high-intensity performance supplement. But Steve believes the next phase of creatine will move far beyond the gym, the track and the changing room.
In this episode, Steve discusses the emerging research around creatine, cognition, fatigue, brain function, sleep deprivation, concussion, ageing, women’s health, shift work and everyday human performance. He also explains why education is now critical, particularly for youth athletes, parents, schools and practitioners who need to understand creatine in the right context.
The conversation also explores the future of creatine as an ingredient technology, with Steve outlining how new forms of creatine could be used in functional foods, gummies, drinks and other products designed for wider health and performance benefits.
This is a conversation about sport, science, innovation and the changing role of creatine in human performance.
In this episode you will learn
How creatine moved from elite sport into mainstream performance nutrition
Why Steve believes the biggest future breakthroughs may come outside traditional sports performance
The potential role of creatine in cognition, fatigue, brain function and sleep deprivation
Why education is so important when discussing creatine with youth athletes and parents
How practitioners can better frame creatine use in the right context
Why Steve believes three grams per day can be enough for many users
How creatine needs may change across the lifespan
Why creatine is becoming a major topic in women’s health, ageing and longevity
The challenges of creating liquid-stable and food-based creatine products
How ingredient technology could shape the next generation of creatine products
About Steve Jennings
Steve Jennings is one of the most influential figures in the history of sports nutrition.
A former professional racing cyclist, Steve founded Maxim Sports Nutrition in the early 1990s and played a key role in introducing creatine supplementation to elite sport ahead of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.
Over the last three decades, Steve has built, launched and developed nutrition brands across performance sport, active lifestyle and human health. Today, through Jenerise, he is focused on the next chapter of creatine: helping expand its role beyond traditional strength and power performance into cognition, vitality, healthspan and everyday human performance.
Steve brings a rare combination of lived sporting experience, commercial innovation and deep understanding of how science can be translated into practical, real-world use.
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Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
Position Yourself As An Expert To Your Athletes And Naturally Improve Buy-In
Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
Improve Your Athletes' Performance
Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research
32 min
June 22325: Building Sports Science Systems That Coaches Use
This week, Richard Graves is joined by Anna Cruse, Assistant Athletics Director for Applied Health and Performance Science and Director of Football Performance Science at the University of Utah.
Anna’s route into sports science began as an international-level rower. Her interest in training, performance and data eventually took her from competing for the United States to helping develop the systems that support athletes across 19 sports at Utah.
In this episode, Anna explains how Utah has moved from manual data exports and generalised reporting to faster, integrated workflows that deliver relevant information to coaches and practitioners. She discusses why collecting more data is not always the answer, the importance of educating decision-makers and how greater context can prevent practitioners from drawing the wrong conclusions from a metric.
The conversation also explores individual athlete baselines, the limitations of fixed asymmetry thresholds and the need to make data specific to the athlete, position and sport. Anna also shares her perspective on artificial intelligence, including where it can improve performance workflows and why it should never replace qualified human judgement.
In this episode you will learn
How Anna moved from international rowing into applied sports science
Why Utah only collects data it can use to support athletes or performance
How the university delivers performance information across 19 different sports
Why coaches and support staff must understand the context behind every metric
How Utah has developed more sport-, position- and athlete-specific reporting
Why fixed thresholds can be misleading when assessing asymmetry
How integrated performance teams can make better use of limited resources
Where AI can support practitioners without replacing their expertise
Why athlete welfare must remain central to every performance decision
How strong systems create more time for meaningful analysis
About Anna Cruse
Anna Cruse is Assistant Athletics Director for Applied Health and Performance Science and Director of Football Performance Science at the University of Utah.
A former elite lightweight rower, Anna represented the United States at the World Rowing Under-23 Championships before moving into coaching, performance science and data analytics. Her career has included experience with the Philadelphia Union, Penn State and exercise intelligence company Svexa.
At Utah, Anna helps lead the systems used to collect, interpret and communicate performance information across the university’s athletic programme. Her work focuses on turning data into useful decisions while ensuring that technology and analysis remain grounded in good science and the needs of the individual athlete.
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Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
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Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
Improve Your Athletes' Performance
Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research
33 min
June 15324: Joe Truman: Training of a GB Track Sprinter
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves is joined by Great Britain track cyclist Joe Truman.
Joe has spent nearly a decade as a full-time professional athlete with British Cycling, progressing through the pathway from a talent ID session at 15 to becoming a senior member of the GB sprint squad. After years of European, World Championship and Commonwealth medals, Joe recently claimed his first major individual title with European gold in the kilo, setting a British record in the process.
In this episode, Joe gives a fascinating insight into the training methods, decision-making and performance science behind elite track sprinting. He explains how studying sport and exercise science changed the way he understood his own body, why he now has greater input into his own programming, and how that shift has helped drive a significant increase in performance.
Richard and Joe also discuss the practical use of blood flow restriction training, how BFR moved from a rehab tool after back surgery to a staple part of Joe’s training, and why lower-load, lower-volume methods can still create meaningful performance adaptations when used intelligently.
In this episode you will learn
How Joe Truman progressed from British Cycling talent ID to the senior GB podium squad.
Why his first major individual gold medal felt like a weight off his shoulders after years of silver and bronze medals.
How sport and exercise science changed the way Joe approaches his own training.
Why understanding the “why” behind a session can be a major motivational tool for elite athletes.
How Joe uses blood flow restriction training in the gym and on the bike.
Why BFR became a key tool after back surgery and later evolved into a performance method.
How Joe balances peak power, glycolytic capacity and race-specific cadence.
Why tapering can determine whether an athlete reaches their true performance ceiling.
How training quality, recovery and freshness influence maximal sprint output.
Why athletes should trust their own knowledge and listen closely to their body.
How Joe is preparing for the next phase of the Olympic cycle towards LA 2028.
About Joe Truman
Joe Truman is a Great Britain track cyclist and one of the senior members of the GB men’s sprint squad.
Originally from Portsmouth, Joe was identified by British Cycling at the age of 15 and has been part of the British Cycling pathway ever since. He progressed through the under-16, under-18 and under-23 squads before joining the podium programme full-time after his first World Championships in 2017.
Across his career, Joe has competed in the team sprint, individual sprint, keirin and kilo, winning medals at European, World Championship, World Cup and Commonwealth level. In 2026, he claimed his first major individual senior title with European gold in the kilo, setting a British record and going under 58 seconds.
Alongside his career as an elite athlete, Joe has studied sport and exercise science and now takes an active role in shaping his own training programme. His approach combines physiology, race-specific preparation, strength training, blood flow restriction training, recovery and athlete self-awareness.
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Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
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Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
Improve Your Athletes' Performance
Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research
25 min

About Science for Sport Podcast

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Discover the Secrets Behind Elite Performance. Join us on the Science for Sport Podcast, where every episode dives into the cutting-edge world of sports science and the untold stories behind the best…