Young Athlete Podcast

Who's journey is it? In this episode we interview a parent about their experiences raising 2 children over their sporting lives.  Both children are now 17 & 19 years of age - we look back at their sporting journey so far, as a family, parent and young athlete.

 

In particular, we talk about how this parent has managed the landscape of when your young athlete shows some promise.  Tune in for a great episode full of interesting insights and experiences.

 

Associate Professor Andrew Gardner is a clinical neuropsychologist, a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellow with the School of Medicine & Public Health at the University of Newcastle. He is also a Co-Director of the Hunter New England Local Health District (HNE LHD)'s Sport Concussion Clinic, and has served as the concussion consultant to Rugby Australia.  

 

Andrew has conducted research in the field of sports concussion for over a decade, and has published over 50 journal articles, 6 book chapters and presented his research at over 60 national and international conferences. He is the chief investigator of one the the world's largest studies of retired professional athlete's brain health and one of the world leaders in the video analysis of concussion. He was a Fulbright Scholar in 2019 where he visited collaborators at Harvard Medical School.

 

Andrew has received a number of prestigious research awards during his career most notably the Discovery Award from Research Australia as the national early career researcher of the year for 2015, and a 2018 NSW Young Tall Poppy Science Award recipient, recognition as one of Australia’s outstanding young scientific researchers and communicators.

 

Mark Renshaw is a retired Australian cyclist who grew up in Bathurst, a regional city in Western NSW.

He rode professionally between 2004 and 2019 for teams including Française des Jeux, Crédit Agricole, HTC–Highroad, Belkin Pro Cycling, Etixx–Quick-Step and Team Dimension Data.  His most notable wins are the general classification of the 2011 Tour of Qatar, also the one-day race Clásica de Almería in 2013 but perhaps he is most famous for his 1-2 finish on the final stage of the 2009 Tour de France with his teammate Mark Cavendish.

From 2009 to 2011 and from 2014 until his retirement, Renshaw was known as the main lead-out man for fellow sprinter Mark Cavendish at HTC–Highroad, Etixx–Quick-Step and Team Dimension Data. He is regarded as one of the best lead out men ever in professional cycling,

The role of a lead out rider is to position and deliver the sprinter in the best possible place to win the race, this requires both riders having a lot of faith in each other in the final hectic moments of a bunch sprint. 

After  many years trying to become a sprinter Mark moved across to become a leading out rider in 2007 with Thor Hushovd at Credit Agricole. 

Mark started the Tour de France 10 times during his career, 5 times the Giro D’Italia and 2 times the La Vuelta Espana.  His final race was the 2019 edition of the Tour of Britain finishing in Manchester.

 

Dr Loretta O'Sullivan-Pippia is a Specialist Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist. Loretta established Twelve9teen Sports Physiotherapy in 2009 - a practice dedicated to young athletes.   Academically, Loretta holds a Bachelor in Physiotherapy, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Sports Physiotherapy and a Doctorate of Clinical Physiotherapy. Her research at undergraduate level focused on abdominal function; at post-graduate level on ankle injuries; and at Doctoral level on knee cap pain in teenage girls. She has lectured extensively in Australia and overseas on sports rehabilitation, knee injuries and adolescents in sport.   Loretta has been working with sports teams and athletes since she graduated in 1993.  She has worked in a variety of sports including rugby union, netball, track and field, swimming, gymnastics, dance, hockey, football, tennis, along with many others.    Her clients have ranged from school and club teams/athletes through to international athletes, including Olympic gold medallists.  Many of the athletes Loretta worked with as junior athletes are now competing in the NRL and Super Rugby competitions.   In this episode we cover;

• The importance of keeping active while sport is cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic
• The concept of tissue capacity and unloading
• Telehealth - an exciting and useful tool to help with injury management, athletic performance and coaching
• How telehealth will re-shape healthcare and sport
• The S.E.E.D.S. principles and how important they are to staying active, happy and engaged
• The opportunities that exist during this time to improve skills, physical capacity or address injuries
• If you have had a reconstruction and were facing a year out of sport - you have an opportunity to "catch up"
• Mental health of young athletes, coaches and parents - the importance of staying connected socially and using the resources around us.

Stephen P. Bird, PhD is Director of Strength and Conditioning (Postgraduate Coursework) at the University of Wollongong.

 

Dr Bird served as Director of Strength and Conditioning at the Western Region Academy of Sport coordinating youth athlete development and transition. As a performance science consultant Dr Bird has worked for numerous sporting bodies, including the Indonesian Olympic Committee (2008 Beijing Olympics; 2016 Rio Olympics), Scotland Rugby League (RLWC 2017), Poland Rugby League (ERLWC 2018), Basketball Scotland (Commonwealth Games 2018).

 

He is currently the Performance Consultant for Coaching and Athlete Development at Basketball NSW. Dr Bird’s current research examines the application of strength and conditioning methods, recovery and performance science on health and athletic performance.

Dr Paula Charlton is the Performance Health Manager for Triathlon Australia.    Her role focuses on the development of systems and processes for ensuring availability and optimal health for elite Australian Triathletes. She has previously worked in both Olympic and Professional Sport as a Senior Sports Physiotherapist and Strength and Conditioning coach at the Australian Institute of Sport, the Melbourne Demons Football Club and Melbourne Storm Rugby Club.    She has completed a Masters in Musculoskeletal and Sports Physiotherapy as well as a Masters in Exercise Science (Strength and Conditioning). She has also completed a Clinical Doctorate of Physiotherapy and recently completed a PhD in Injury Prevention in high level team sports. Paula is also undertaking a master’s in clinical epidemiology.   Some of the key topics we cover in this episode;  

• Health is a platform for performance
• Performance health is not just for athletes
• Nutrition and sleep are critical pillars for performance
• The importance of having a plan around your nutrition and sleep
• Bone health, and how quickly this can be impacted with as little as 5 days of imbalance between energy requirements and energy availability

 

Resources Paula Charlton on Twitter - @PaulaC_Charlton

International Olympic Committee consensus statement on youth athletic development

Injury Prevention Programs FIFA 11+ Kids Netball Australia KNEE Program Rugby Union - Activate Program AFLW - Prep to Play

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Bounce Physiotherapy | Bounce Exercise Clinic

bounceclinic.com.au

Mr. Kieran Richardson (FACP) is a Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist (as awarded by the Australian College of Physiotherapists in 2016) who provides ACL tear non-surgical management opinion, education and treatment for patients on a weekly basis, both in his home town of Perth, Western Australia, but also nationally and internationally through online platforms.

Kieran has successfully managed paediatric clients with full thickness ACL tears non-surgically to return to high-level sports, as well as patients from the general population and paid-athletes.   He has lectured at state and national conferences in Australia on ACL tear non-surgical management, and also runs national workshops on the topic to Heath Care Professionals.   Kieran is the Director of Global Specialist Physiotherapy, a consultancy service of academics, researchers and educators that provide formal mentoring, latest evidence professional development and second opinions for complex patient presentations to private practices in Australia and abroad.     In this episode we cover;

• "The Australian Experience" of ACL injury management vs the US and Scandinavian approach to ACL injury management
• Why does it matter how we manage ACL injuries here in Australia
• The culture of ACL injury management in Australia
• Why its important to get the young athlete to commit to their rehab
• What is world's best practice in the management of ACL injuries

Dr Loretta O'Sullivan-Pippia is a Specialist Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist. Loretta established Twelve9teen Sports Physiotherapy in 2009 - a practice dedicated to young athletes.     Academically, Loretta holds a Bachelor in Physiotherapy, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Sports Physiotherapy and a Doctorate of Clinical Physiotherapy. Her research at undergraduate level focussed on abdominal function; at post-graduate level on ankle injuries; and at Doctoral level on knee cap pain in teenage girls. She has lectured extensively in Australia and overseas on sports rehabilitation, knee injuries and adolescents in sport.     Loretta has been working with sports teams and athletes since she graduated in 1993.  She has worked in a variety of sports including rugby union, netball, track and field, swimming, gymnastics, dance, hockey, football, tennis, along with many others.      Her clients have ranged from school and club teams/athletes through to international athletes, including Olympic gold medallists.  Many of the athletes Loretta worked with as junior athletes are now competing in the NRL and Super Rugby competitions.       In this episode we cover;  

• What is adolescence? How do we define adolescence?
• How important is adolescence in the lifespan as part of a young athlete's development
• What are the important parts of adolescent development
• The frustration young athletes can feel during adolescence
• The difference between paediatrics and adolescence
• The "athlete window" occurs for most people during adolescence
• Key injuries that occur frequently in the adolescent population
• They won't "just get better" because they are adolescents
• The importance for parents and coaches to work with practitioners who have a dedicated interest in adolescents
• Parents as load managers
• The balance between helping and enabling adolescents
• Stress and the impact on decision making and planning for adolescents
• Strategies to help young athletes manage training loads and rehabilitation
• Age of consent for young athletes - what is it? Does consent vary depending on the situation?
• Emerging trends in young athletes and injuries
• Long term impact of sports injuries in young athletes

 

 

Resources

Dr Loretta O'Sullivan-Pippia

twelev9teen Sports Physiotherapy

 

Infographics

Concussion in sport - AIS/AMA Position Statement

Early vs late sports specialisation in young athletes

 

 

Injury Prevention

FIFA11+ Kids

Netball Australia KNEE Program

AFLW Prep to Play

Rugby Union - Activate Program

 

 

Young Athlete Podcast

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Young Athlete Podcast on Facebook

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Young Athlete Podcast on Twitter

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Bounce Physiotherapy | Bounce Exercise Clinic

bounceclinic.com.au

​Dr Joanne Kemp is a Senior Research Fellow at the Latrobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, Latrobe University, Australia. She is also a titled APA Sport & Exercise Physiotherapist of 25+ years’ experience, and still practices clinically on a weekly basis.

She has 60+ peer-reviewed publications in hip pain (OA) in young and middle-aged adults, and the consequence of injury on joint health. She has received over $3 million in grant funding and has been awarded several prizes including best paper for Sports Physiotherapy Australia in 2015 and 2017. She is co-project lead for GLA:D Australia.

Joanne has presented extensively on the management of hip pain and OA in Australia and internationally. She has a particular interest in non-surgical, exercise-based interventions that can slow the progression and reduce the symptoms associated with hip pain and OA.

In this episode we cover;  

• Young athletes respond differently to adults
• Young athletes have immature skeletons, that changes as young athletes develop
• The shape of the hip bones can change depending on the loads we put through the hip
• We need to consider how much load we are subjected young athlete
• The importance of the growth plates - these are still open on growing young athletes
• We want young athletes to exercise and move in lots of different ways - not the same way all the time
• 2 main ways that hip pain generally develops in young athletes
• An outline of the key issues that can occur in young athletes and what to look for
• How long should you wait before you take your young athlete to a Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist
• When should you get imaging for hip pain?
• FAI - or FAI Syndrome, busting the myths about what it is and what it means
• How and why FAIS develops
• Are there particular sports that predispose young athletes to hip pain?
• The importance of parents as load managers
• Young athletes need an off-season from their main sport to change the loading in their hip
• Ask young athletes the question "Do you want this to be your career?"

 

Resources

Dr Joanne Kemp

Clinical Practice

LaTrobe Sports & Exercise Medicine Research Centre

Dr Joanne Kemp on Twitter

 

Young Athlete Podcast

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Young Athlete Podcast on Facebook

facebook.com/youngathletepodcast/

 

Young Athlete Podcast on Twitter

twitter.com/youngathpodcast

 

Bounce Physiotherapy | Bounce Exercise Clinic

bounceclinic.com.au

 

Associate Professor Nic Gill Nic Gill is a professional strength and conditioning coach and consultant with huge expertise in rugby and other sports. He is a staff wellness and fitness consultant for a number of international corporate organisations and also to a limited number of individuals who take their own health and fitness seriously. He is best known for his work in rugby with 17 years working in the sport. For the last eleven years Nic has been the strength and conditioning coach for the New Zealand All Blacks, a period of international success for the team which has included more than 120 rugby test wins and the World Cup title in 2011 and 2015. Nic continues to study and research many areas of sports science at the University of Waikato, constantly refining and evolving his philosophy for being fit and healthy and having the 'winning edge' in life and in competition. He currently lives in Tauranga and is married with two children.  Nic, otherwise known as Gilly grows Avocados and Kiwifruit and tries to challenge himself every year with something that "gets him outta bed" to stay fit and healthy.     In this episode we cover;  

• What do the All Blacks do in preparation for a Test Match
• The importance of fun, doing the simple things well
• Filtering out the noise
• Consistency is key
• The link between fun and success
• The pitfalls of using elite training program models in young athlete programs
• Young athletes are not ready for programs modelled on professional programs
• High school is (unfortunately) the peak of many young athletes careers
• The responsibility of parents to help their young athletes be fit and healthy
• The importance of getting injuries right when they occur
• Nic's view on the pillars of young athlete development
• Parents as the glue in looking after their young athlete
• Avoid early sports specialisation for young athletes

   

 

Young Athlete Podcast

youngathletepodcast.com

 

Young Athlete Podcast on Facebook

facebook.com/youngathletepodcast/

 

Young Athlete Podcast on Twitter

twitter.com/youngathpodcast

 

Bounce Physiotherapy | Bounce Exercise Clinic

bounceclinic.com.au