Science for Sport Podcast

Elite teams have access to more performance data than ever. The real competitive advantage, however, comes from knowing which questions to ask, how to interpret the answers and when to act.

This week, Richard Graves is joined by Jamie Hepner, Director of Applied Sport Science – Football Performance at Catapult.

Drawing on almost 12 years of working with leading NFL and college football programmes, Jamie explains how applied sports science has progressed from simply monitoring athletes to actively shaping training and practice.

The conversation explores how performance teams can combine wearable data, video and practitioner judgement to manage player availability without leaving athletes underprepared. Jamie discusses why training load cannot be viewed in isolation, how deviations at individual and positional-group level require different responses, and why feeling tired after a demanding training block is not necessarily a negative outcome.

Jamie also explains how technology such as Vector 8 is connecting physical performance data with the tactical context of practice. This allows practitioners to examine the demands of particular plays, automate player participation and prescribe the type and number of repetitions an athlete may need during the week.

This is a practical discussion about moving beyond interesting information and using data to make decisions that improve preparation, availability and performance.

In this episode you will learn

What applied sports science looks like within NFL and college football

Why the quality of the question determines the value of the data

How player tracking and video can provide greater context around physical demands

Why minimising training load does not necessarily reduce injury risk

How performance teams balance player availability with adequate preparation

How wearable data can help prescribe practice rather than simply review it

Why individual and positional-group deviations require different responses

How subjective athlete feedback and objective performance data work together

Why fatigue and soreness can sometimes be an intended training response

How practitioners can turn performance information into decisions coaches can use

Why the next stage of athlete monitoring is likely to focus on context rather than data volume

About Jamie Hepner

Jamie is Director of Applied Sport Science – Football Performance at Catapult

He works with leading American football programmes to help practitioners and coaches apply athlete-monitoring data to training, preparation and player-availability decisions. During almost 12 years at Catapult, Jamie has helped the company respond to the evolving performance needs of NFL and college football teams.

Originally from Australia, Jamie relocated to the United States when he joined Catapult during the company’s early expansion into American sport. His previous experience includes athlete management with AFL Victoria and strength and conditioning coaching.

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What does it take to build a genuinely integrated high-performance programme?

This week, Richard Graves is joined by Dr Trevor Short, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Health, Wellness and Performance at Utah State University.

Trevor explains how Utah State is bringing sports science, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, nutrition and mental wellness together around three shared objectives: athlete availability, performance development and readiness to compete.

The conversation explores why alignment must come before data, how monitoring should respond to the questions coaches are actually asking, and why collecting more information does not automatically lead to better decisions. Trevor also discusses the challenge of balancing performance development with athlete availability, adapting thresholds to the demands of the season and communicating the same evidence differently to coaches and senior leaders.

This is a practical discussion about designing high-performance systems in which every intervention has a purpose, departments work beyond their traditional silos and the athlete remains at the centre of decision-making.

In this episode you will learn

Why athlete availability, performance and readiness can be competing objectives

How Utah State is integrating its performance, medical, nutrition and mental wellness teams

Why alignment with coaches should come before collecting data

How to build monitoring systems around meaningful performance questions

Why readiness flags must be interpreted within the context of the season

How multidisciplinary teams can make better decisions for individual athletes

Why the same information should be communicated differently to coaches and administrators

How standard operating procedures can make performance systems more consistent and measurable

Why leadership, culture and trust matter as much as technology

How integrated athlete support can increase a team’s chances of winning

About Trevor Short

Dr Trevor Short is Senior Associate Athletics Director for Health, Wellness and Performance at Utah State University, where he oversees sports medicine, strength and conditioning, sports nutrition, mental wellness and sports performance.

Before joining Utah State, Trevor worked as a performance and sports scientist at the University of Hawai‘i, supporting sports science provision across its intercollegiate programmes. His career has also included strength and conditioning, applied research, university teaching, private-sector performance coaching and operational leadership.

Trevor holds a PhD in Kinesiology and is a Certified Performance and Sport Scientist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA. His work focuses on integrated high-performance systems, athlete monitoring and the use of evidence to improve athlete availability, readiness and performance.

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​ 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

This week, Richard Graves is joined by Dr Alicia Naser, behavioural scientist and founder of The Naser Institute for Behavioral Sports Psychology.

Dr Naser works with professional athletes and organisations across hockey, tennis, baseball, basketball and golf, helping them understand the relationship between behaviour, physiology and performance under pressure. In this episode, she explains why mental performance should not sit separately from physical preparation, and how fatigue, heart rate, self-talk and emotion can all influence an athlete’s ability to execute when it matters.

The conversation explores the practical value of becoming more aware of internal responses during competition. From using frustration constructively rather than trying to suppress it, to striking the right balance with wearable data, Dr Naser offers a behavioural-science lens on high-performance sport that will be useful for practitioners, coaches and athletes alike.

In this episode you will learn

Why mental health and mental performance are related, but not the same thing

How physical fatigue can affect clarity, decision-making and execution

The relationship between heart rate, anxiety and an athlete’s self-talk

Why emotional awareness can itself be a useful performance intervention

How frustration can be used to create focus and competitive intent

Where breathing strategies fit within performance under pressure

How to use wearable data without becoming overly dependent on it

Why mental and physical preparation should be integrated across a performance programme

How practitioners can use pre- and post-intervention data to build organisational buy-in

A simple journalling exercise athletes and coaches can use to identify performance barriers

About Dr Alicia Naser

Dr Alicia Naser, PhD, BCBA-D, is a behavioural scientist, Board Certified Behavior Analyst and founder of The Naser Institute for Behavioral Sports Psychology. Her work combines behavioural science, physiology and mental performance to support professional athletes, coaches and organisations. Dr Naser has more than 12 years of advanced study, research and applied work in behavioural psychology, and works across a range of elite sports including the NHL, ATP Tour, MLB, NBA, PGA and Premier League.

FREE 7d SCIENCE FOR SPORT ACADEMY TRIAL

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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

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.

FREE 7d SCIENCE FOR SPORT ACADEMY TRIAL

SIGN UP NOW: https://bit.ly/SFSepisode241

​ Learn Quicker & More Effectively

​ 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

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.

FREE 7d SCIENCE FOR SPORT ACADEMY TRIAL

SIGN UP NOW: https://bit.ly/SFSepisode241

​ Learn Quicker & More Effectively

​ 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