Inform Performance

Episode 232: In this episode of Accelerate Podcast, host Nicola Graham is joined by Jordan Stewart-Mackie an Applied Performance Scientist and PhD candidate at the University of Birmingham, where his research focuses on wearable technology and data integration.

Jordan's work has spanned some of the most contrasting environments in world sport — from the Premier League to Thai football to NBA Academy Africa — settings where resources, infrastructure, and staffing vary dramatically. That range has given him a rare view of what actually determines whether technology succeeds: not the sophistication of the device, but the system and the people around it.

ㅤ At the centre of the conversation is the translation problem in sports tech: the gap between what data can tell us and what practitioners can act on. Jordan has built a set of structured models to close it — BISA for technology selection and evaluation, SFQT for turning data into actionable decisions, PLACE for cultural readiness and implementation stickiness, and ATRIS, the end-to-end system that connects those layers.

ㅤ The discussion also explores why human connection remains the deciding factor in adoption, and how educating and empowering athletes — rather than simply monitoring them — turns data from something done to a squad into something they buy into.

ㅤ Topics Discussed:

The Translation Problem in Sports Tech

Building Frameworks for Implementation: BISA, SFQT, PLACE & ATRIS

The Need for Human Connection

Empowering and Educating Athletes to Aid Adoption

- 

Where you can find Jordan:

LinkedIn

Instagram

JSM Performance

- 

Sponsors

Gameplan Is a Rehab Management System providing Medical & Performance Departments with a centralised platform to plan, track & manage the return-to-play process inside a data rich environment. Gameplan provides one platform to connect the people, process and data during rehab. 

-

Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

Instagram

Twitter

Our Website

Episode 231: In this Gameplan episode, Andy McDonald is joined by both Alan Murdoch & Simon Harries to discuss their combined approach to ACL rehabs. 

-
Alan is the founder of Elevate: Speed & Rehab, a performance rehab consultancy working with athletes from professional to Olympic level. With over 15 years’ experience, he specialises in the link between rehabilitation and sprint performance, using movement efficiency and speed-based principles to drive recovery beyond traditional timelines.
-

Simon is a specialist Rehabilitation Strength & Conditioning coach with a passion for problem solving the complexities of high performance rehabilitation. He has a PhD in Human Physiology and is an accredited ASCA Master L3 S&C coach with over 15 years of experience in high performance sport, having worked with athletes from a diverse range of backgrounds, including AFL, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Rugby Sevens, Water polo, and a range of individual event sports.

-

Topics Discussed:

Addressing High Re-Injury Rates

The Performance Rehab Triad

Load-Compromised Joint

Neuromechanical Deficits

Neurocognitive Deficits

Acute Phase Non-Negotiables & Gait Re-Education

Managing Quad Lags

Early RFD Training

Redefining the Plyometric Framework

- 

Where you can find Alan:

LinkedIn

Instagram

Elevate Speed Rehab

Where you can find Simon:

LinkedIn

Instagram

- 

Sponsors

Gameplan Is a Rehab Management System providing Medical & Performance Departments with a centralised platform to plan, track & manage the return-to-play process inside a data rich environment. Gameplan provides one platform to connect the people, process and data during rehab. 

-

Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

Instagram

Twitter

Our Website

Episode 230: In this episode of the Inform Performance Podcast, Andy McDonald is joined by Keith D'Amelio, PhD a performance architect with more than two decades inside the highest levels of elite sport and business.

Keith has led performance for the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors, guided innovation at Nike's global HQ, and advised startups, athletes, and leadership teams on how to build sustainable systems that enable performance at the highest level. He founded Heretic Performance to challenge conventional thinking and to help teams and companies execute consistently and with purpose.

Throughout the episode, Keith explores why sporting organisations so often default to risk aversion, and what it actually takes to build decision-making processes that hold up under pressure. The conversation examines the holistic cost of implementing new systems — the time, staffing, and cultural load that rarely appear on the invoice — and where the line sits between genuine innovation and practicality in an applied environment.

The discussion also looks at what sport can learn from other high-stakes industries, why so much low-hanging fruit in performance still goes unpicked, and how practitioners can focus their energy on the things that move the needle rather than the things that look impressive.

Topics Discussed:

Why sport teams are often risk averse

The importance of decision-making processes

Holistic costs of implementing new systems

Balancing innovation and practicality

Learning from high-stakes industries

Addressing low-hanging fruit in sports performance

- 

Where you can find Keith:

LinkedIn

Instagram

Heretic Performance

- 

Sponsors

Gameplan Is a Rehab Management System providing Medical & Performance Departments with a centralised platform to plan, track & manage the return-to-play process inside a data rich environment. Gameplan provides one platform to connect the people, process and data during rehab. 

-

Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

Instagram

Twitter

Our Website

Episode 229: In this Gameplan episode, Andy McDonald is joined by High Performance Physio Travis Gaudet, the Co-Owner & Director of Rehabilitation at Orka Performance. Travis regularly consults with Pro-Athletes, Collegiate Athletes, Youth Athletes, and general population alike. He has spoken and delivered workshops Internationally, and has consulted with athletes in the NHL, MLB, Olympics, CFL, MLS, Canada Men’s National Soccer Team, USPORT, NCAA and more. 

-

In this episode, Travis shares his comprehensive Gameplan framework for a High Ankle Sprain in Ice Hockey players. 
-

Topics Discussed:

High ankle sprain biomechanics in hockey

Phased rehab protocols for ankle injuries

Sport-specific movement analysis

Return-to-sport criteria and testing

Role of biomechanics research in rehab

Rehab strategies for hockey skating and shooting

Conditioning and neurocognitive training in rehab

- 

Where you can find Travis:

LinkedIn

Instagram

Orka Performance

- 

Sponsors

Gameplan Is a Rehab Management System providing Medical & Performance Departments with a centralised platform to plan, track & manage the return-to-play process inside a data rich environment. Gameplan provides one platform to connect the people, process and data during rehab. 

-

Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

Instagram

Twitter

Our Website

Episode 228: Ben Ashworth chats to Gus Morrison, BSc, MSc, ASCC. Gus earned his Bachelor's degree in physiotherapy from the University of Southampton in 2013, followed by a Master's degree in Sports Medicine at University College London. During this period, he sought mentorship from Ben, focusing on refining his expertise in data-driven shoulder assessments and rehabilitation. Together they published his Master's dissertation in the Journal of Physical Therapy in Sport, exploring the Athletic Shoulder Test's application in amateur rugby players. Alongside this, Gus achieved full accreditation as a Strength and Conditioning Coach through the UKSCA. He went on to establish the Shoulder Assessment Unit at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health, delivering a data-driven assessment service for athletes recovering from shoulder injuries. Recognised for his expertise, he has spoken at webinars and conferences, and recently co-authored a publication with Ben in the Strength and Conditioning Journal on the synergy between testing and training for shoulder injuries. Gus joined Athletic Shoulder in July 2023, where he provides comprehensive testing and rehabilitation services to a diverse clientele of athletes and patients returning to sport and exercise post-injury.

Topics Discussed
- The Four Buckets: Range, Endurance, Strength and Power
- Why Capacity Is the Biggest Driver of Pain
- Outcome, Performance and Process Goals in Rehab
- Quality Assuring Tests: Spotting Compensation Before You Trust the Number
- Motor Learning, Joint Position Sense and the L and Y Holds
- RFD and the Athletic Shoulder Test as a Force Transfer Test
- From Closed Gym Skills to Chaos: Return to Contact

 
Where you can find Gus:
 
•LinkedIn
 

Sponsors

Gameplan is a rehab Project Management & Data Analytics Platform that improves operational & communication efficiency during rehab. Gameplan provides a centralised tool for MDT’s to work collaboratively inside a data rich environment

VALD Performance, makers of the Nordbord, Forceframe, ForeDecks and HumanTrak. VALD Performance systems are built with the high-performance practitioner in mind, translating traditionally lab-based technologies into engaging, quick, easy-to-use tools for daily testing, monitoring and training

Hytro: The world’s leading Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) wearable, designed to accelerate recovery and maximise athletic potential using Hytro BFR for Professional Sport. 

BTL: BTL Industries develops advanced rehabilitation and performance technologies, including SIS DUO, Shockwave Therapy, High-Intensity Laser, TR-Therapy, Lymphastim and R-FORCE. BTL systems are designed to support recovery, pain management, functional rehabilitation and return-to-play pathways across clinical and elite sport settings.

- 

Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

Instagram

Twitter

Our Website

-

Our Team

Andy McDonald

Ben Ashworth

Nicola Graham

Steve Barrett 

Pete McKnight