Science for Sport Podcast
The Science for Sport Podcast explores the cutting-edge world of sports science, featuring exclusive insights from elite athletes, world-class coaches, and leading sports scientists. Hosted by Richard Graves, each episode delves into the science behind record-breaking performances, coaching strategies, and the latest trends in global sport. Aimed at sports scientists, coaches, physios, nutritionists, and passionate fans, the podcast offers a backstage pass to elite performance. New episodes are released every Monday.
Episodes
342: Moving Beyond Aerobic and Anaerobic Training Labels
Does the way we talk about aerobic and anaerobic training help us prescribe better conditioning, or can it lead us towards the wrong sessions?
This week, Richard Graves welcomes James de Lacey back to the Science for Sport podcast to examine conditioning for high-intensity intermittent sports, including rugby, football and combat sports.
James challenges the assumption that improving re
341: Preparing Athletes for Pressure and Adversity
Can athletes learn to grow from pressure, rather than simply recover from it?
This week, Richard Graves welcomes Dr Nick Holton to the Science for Sport podcast to explore antifragility: the idea that appropriately managed challenges could help athletes develop greater capacity to handle future demands.
Nick explains how he distinguishes antifragility from resilience, and why preparing
340: What Saliva Testing Can Tell Us About Athletes
What can a saliva sample tell a performance team that a blood test taken a few times a season might miss?
This week, Richard Graves is joined by Marlon Millard, chemist and founder of Biolyz, to discuss how frequent biomarker testing could help teams understand what is normal for each athlete, and spot changes that deserve a closer look.
Marlon explains what saliva can and cannot reveal
339: Can a Playing Surface Change How an Athlete Moves?
How much does the surface beneath an athlete’s feet really affect performance and injury risk?
This week, Richard Graves is joined by Professor John Sorochan from the University of Tennessee and Alan Thomson, USA Sales Director at SIS Pitches, to explore the science behind the playing surfaces used at the highest levels of sport.
From natural grass and artificial turf to the growing use
338: How Sports Science Has Changed Coaching with Simon Grayson
Few people are better placed to chart the evolution of sports science in professional football than Simon Grayson.
Across a career spanning five decades, Simon has experienced the game as both a player and manager, from an era of bacon sandwiches before training and beers on the team bus, through to the GPS data, individualised programmes and specialist performance departments that are n
337: Structure, Pacing and Recovery in Fight Preparation
Are elite athletes training harder than the demands of their sport require?
This week, Richard Graves is joined by performance coach Colin Byrne, who spent seven years working with Conor McGregor as part of his training and corner team.
Colin believes many athletes, particularly in combat sports, still confuse doing more work with preparing effectively. He explains why conditioning shou
336: How the NFL’s Best Practitioners Use Performance Data
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
335: The Three Outcomes That Define High Performance
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 s
334: How Elite Athletes Respond Under Pressure
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 expla
333: 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 act
332: 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 i
331: 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
330: 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. R
329: 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
328: 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
327: 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
326: 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
325: 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
324: 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 re
323: The Unseen Work of S&C and Sports Science
This week on the Science for Sport podcast, Richard Graves welcomes Matt Parr back to the show for a deeper look at the work that really drives performance in elite sport.
Matt is the Head of Athletic Performance at Leicester Tigers, a former professional rugby player, and the founder of High Performance Puzzle. Having worked across both rugby union and rugby league, including Leicester
322: The Performance Demands of a World Cup with Dr Dave Hancock
In this episode of the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves welcomes Dr Dave Hancock back to the show.
Dave has spent more than three decades working in elite sport, including roles with Chelsea, Leeds United, the England national team and the New York Knicks. He is now CEO of Apollo, where his work focuses on helping performance teams use data, technology and AI to better understan
321: Preparing for the World Cup: Physical Performance Under Extreme Pressure
The 2026 Men’s World Cup will place unprecedented demands on international teams: 48 nations, 104 matches and a tournament staged across Canada, Mexico and the United States, with teams required to manage heat, humidity, altitude, travel and limited recovery time.
In this episode of the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves is joined by Dr Ben Rosenblatt, Founder of 292 Performance a
320: The Challenges of Modern Collegiate Sport
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves is joined by Heather Farmer, Assistant Athletics Director, Sports Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Heather has been part of the UNLV athletics staff since 2016, first joining as Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning before moving into sport science and later being promoted to Assistant Athletics Director
319: Acceleration, Plyometrics and the Transfer to Performance
In this episode of the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves is joined by Olympic silver medallist and high performance coach Eric Franke.
Eric competed for Germany in bobsleigh, winning Olympic silver in Pyeongchang 2018 alongside multiple World Championship medals across two-man and four-man competition. Since retiring from elite competition, he has moved into high performance coac
318: ACL Rehab: Training Age, Force Progression and Return to Sport with Carmen Bott
This week, Richard Graves is joined by Carmen Bott, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, kinesiologist, sports performance coach and educator with more than two decades of hands-on experience working with athletes across youth, high performance and professional sport. Carmen specialises in ACL rehabilitation, return to play, collision sport athletes, multi-directional speed,
317: Building Effective Analysis Processes in Elite Teams with Jamie Cook
In this episode of the Science for Sport podcast, Richard Graves sits down with Jamie Cook, Lead Performance Analyst for Chelsea Women, to unpack the realities of modern performance analysis in elite sport.
Jamie shares his journey from grassroots coaching and internships to leading analysis within one of the most successful teams in the women’s game. Across the conversation, he offers a
316: Neuroscience and Coaching in High Performance Sport
In this episode, Richard Graves is joined by Dr Sally Needham, whose work sits at the heart of coaching, neuroscience, and human performance.
Sally shares her journey from coaching within the FA to leading human development and culture work across elite environments including Brentford FC, Sheffield United, and international football. Her approach challenges traditional performance model
315: The Under-fueling Problem in Professional Sport with Dr Nessan Costello
Sports nutrition in elite football is often misunderstood, even by the players doing it for a living. In this episode, Richard Graves sits down with Dr. Nessan Costello, 1st Team Sports Nutritionist at Al-Ahli in the Saudi Arabia Pro League, to cut through the noise and get practical about what performance nutrition actually looks like at the highest level.
Nessan has worked across the Pr
314: Player Load, Practice Periodisation, and the Art of Keeping It Simple with Jackson Polk
Richard Graves is joined by Jackson Polk, Director of Sports Science at the University of Southern California (USC), for a conversation that covers the full spectrum of what it actually means to do this job well, from wrangling a thousand Catapult metrics down to the handful that matter, to the perhaps surprising conclusion that conversation might be your most powerful tool.
Jackson's pat
313: Building Durability in Action Sports with Ryan Blake
What does it actually take to prepare an athlete for a sport where the environment itself is part of the challenge? In this week's episode, Richard Graves sits down with Ryan Blake, Performance Coach, Consultant, and founder of Extreme Sports Performance, to explore the fascinating and often overlooked world of action sports performance.
Ryan brings a unique perspective to this conversat
312: The Role of Environment in Player Performance
This week on the Science for Sport podcast, Richard Graves is joined by former professional footballer Carl Asaba for an honest and insightful look at life inside the game.
Carl’s journey into professional football wasn’t typical. From missing out on early opportunities and stepping away from the game, to earning a contract at 21 and going on to play over a decade in the professional rank
311: The Future of Weight Room Monitoring with Perch P2
In this episode of the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves is joined by Jordan Lucier, Senior Director of Engineering at Catapult and Co-Founder of Perch, to explore the next evolution of performance monitoring in the weight room.
Perch has become one of the most widely used camera-based systems for measuring barbell velocity and strength training performance in elite sport. N
310: Why Female Physiology Still Needs Greater Attention in Sport with Dr Candice Macmillan
Why Female Physiology Still Needs Greater Attention in Sport with Dr Candice Macmillan
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves welcomes Dr Candice Macmillan, lecturer at the University of Pretoria, sports physiotherapist, and course author of “Contraceptives and the Female Athlete” on the Science for Sport platform.
As women’s sport continues to grow professional
309: Building Smarter Performance Systems with Emily Jacobson
This week on the Science for Sport podcast, Richard Graves is joined by Emily Jacobson, Assistant Director of Sports Performance at Marquette University.
Emily has spent the past decade building and refining a sports science model within a relatively small department, working primarily with men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball. Alongside her role at Marquette, she also contributes to
308: Peak Demands and Decision-Making Under Fatigue with Stan Parker
Fresh from pre-season camp in Australia, Richard Graves sits down with Stan Parker, Sports Scientist at the Western Bulldogs, to explore how tracking data, contextual analytics, and interdisciplinary collaboration shape performance in elite AFL.
Stan’s journey spans the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL, Queensland Rugby Sevens, and now five seasons embedded within the Bulldogs’ high-performan
307: Performance Science in AFL and NRL with Brendan Fahrner
This episode explores what high performance really looks like inside two of the most demanding professional sporting environments in the world.
Richard Graves is joined by Brendan Fahrner, formerly Head of Sports Science at the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and previously a long-serving performance staff member at Richmond Football Club during one of the most successful periods in AFL history.
306: The Evolution of Professional Cricket Through Ryan Sidebottom’s Career
Richard Graves welcomes former England fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom to the Science for Sport Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on longevity, resilience, and the evolution of elite cricket.
Across a first-class career spanning more than 20 years, Ryan experienced the game at every level — from sweeping floors and laying bricks in the winter to winning a T20 World Cup with England. In
305: Building Resilient Athletes in High-Pressure Environments
Behind every high-performance environment are people, personalities, and decisions that shape outcomes. This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves is joined by former England international and Premier League defender Warren Barton, speaking from California.
Warren reflects on a career that spanned very different eras of elite football, from coming through non-league and t
304: Uncommonly Consistent: Football to Formula One with John Noonan
In this episode of the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves is joined by John Noonan, a highly experienced performance coach whose career spans elite football, rugby league and union, Winter Olympic sports, and the world of Formula One.
John describes himself as a “gypsy of sport” driven by curiosity, problem-solving, and a deep interest in what actually moves the needle in eli
303: Periodised Nutrition in Practice: Delivering the Plan Away From the Club
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves is joined by Rachel Muse, one of the leading performance chefs working with elite athletes across professional sport.Rachel is the founder of Talk Eat Laugh, a specialist performance-chef service supporting athletes in their own homes. Her work bridges the gap between performance nutrition science and real-life eating habits, ensu
302: Creatine and the Evolution of Performance Nutrition
Creatine is now one of the most widely used and well-researched supplements in elite sport — but few people know the story of how it first made its way into Olympic performance programmes.
In this episode of the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves sits down with Steven Jennings, one of the key figures behind the early adoption of creatine in elite sport, to unpack a remarkable stor
301: Training for the Unknown: Olympic BMX Freestyle with Brian Roy
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, Richard Graves is joined by Brian Roy, a strength and conditioning coach who has spent the past decade working at the sharp end of action and lifestyle sports, including Olympic BMX Freestyle.
BMX Freestyle is still a relative newcomer to the Olympic programme, but its physical demands, injury risks and performance challenges are unlike almost a
300: Training Through Disruption: Managing Load, Time, and Performance in Winter with Michael Fennell
In this episode of the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves welcomes back Michael Fennell for a deep dive into one of the most misunderstood periods of the performance calendar: winter training.
With the competitive season behind us and Christmas disruptions in full swing, Michael shares a practical, experience-led perspective on how elite athletes and practitioners should appro
299: Managing Performance Nutrition Over Christmas with Dan Richardson
The festive period can be one of the most challenging times of the year for athletes and practitioners trying to balance performance, recovery, wellbeing and real life.
In this episode of the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves welcomes Dan Richardson back to the show to tackle one of the most relevant (and misunderstood) topics in elite sport: how to manage nutrition, fuelling
298: Building Better Athletes. Michigan’s High-Performance Approach with Lew Porchiazzo
This week, Richard Graves sits down with Lew Porchiazzo, Assistant Director for Strength & Conditioning for Olympic Sports at the University of Michigan.
Lew brings more than 16 years of experience at one of the most successful athletic departments in the NCAA. His journey from a Division III football lineman to a leader shaping the development of athletes in softball, gymnastics, me
297: Finding the Competitive Edge: Elite Performance with FC Midtjylland’s Niklas Virtanen
This week, host Richard Graves sits down with one of the most energetic and thought-provoking voices in modern performance: Niklas Virtanen, Head of Sports Science at FC Midtjylland.
If you’ve ever wondered how a club without the financial muscle of Europe’s giants consistently outperforms bigger teams, beating Nottingham Forest away, winning at Celtic, and challenging at the top of the
296: The Mental Game: What Athletes Really Carry with Them
This week, host Richard Graves sits down with former Great Britain and England international basketball player Kofi Josephs, an athlete whose journey through elite sport has been anything but ordinary.
From growing up in Birmingham to playing in front of Michael Jordan at the Jordan Brand Classic, suffering two major hip surgeries in the US collegiate system, becoming the British Basketb
294: The Science Behind England’s Ashes Preparation – with Lead Nutritionist Charlie Binns
This week, host Richard Graves sits down with Charlie Binns, Lead Nutritionist for the England men’s cricket team, fresh from Perth as preparations ramp up for the Ashes. Charlie lifts the lid on what elite fuelling actually looks like across five-day Tests, why recovery is an arms race, and how his team builds simple, repeatable habits the players will actually use, from colour-coded car
293: Johnny Nelson on the Gym that Created World Champions
This week on the Science for Sport podcast, host Richard Graves is joined by boxing legend Johnny Nelson MBE, the longest-reigning cruiserweight world champion in history. With a story that spans early losses, a transformative mentorship under Brendan Ingle, mental resilience, structural discipline, and elite-level performance, Johnny offers a rare window into the mindset and preparation
292: How the NFL Uses Sports Science to Build Better Fields
This week, host Richard Graves welcomes Nick Pappas, Field Director for the NFL, for a fascinating deep dive into the science, technology, and precision that go into preparing elite-level playing surfaces for one of the biggest sports leagues in the world.
From the Super Bowl to international games in London, Germany, and Madrid, Nick shares how data, innovation, and collaboration are dr
291: Managing Workload and Performance in the NHL
This week, host Richard Graves welcomes Steven Nightingale, Sports Scientist with the New Jersey Devils (NHL), to explore the realities of managing workload, performance, and recovery in one of the world’s most demanding sporting environments.
From starting out in Peterborough to working in China, Russia, and now in the NHL, Steve shares his fascinating journey through elite sport, and ho
290: Rewiring Performance: The Neuroscience Behind Mindset and Recovery
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves is joined by Dan Metcalfe, former youth footballer, West End performer, Olympic development coach, and now international keynote speaker and founder of Born Superhuman.
Dan’s story is nothing short of extraordinary. From a career-ending accident that left him paralysed and blind in one eye, to rebuilding his life, defying med
289: What Sport Teaches Us About Leadership, Culture & the Human Mind
This week, host Richard Graves welcomes David Mead, former professional rugby league star turned business leader, to discuss one of the most challenging transitions in sport, life after professional competition.
Over a 14-year professional career, David represented the Gold Coast Titans, Brisbane Broncos, and Catalan Dragons, as well as Papua New Guinea on the international stage. Today,
288: How Scotland Built a Fitter, Faster, Stronger Rugby Team
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves is joined by Stuart Yule, Head of Physical Performance with the Scotland national rugby team.
Stuart’s career has spanned elite roles in football, hockey, and judo, before moving into rugby where he’s been a driving force behind Glasgow Warriors’ success and Scotland’s rise on the international stage. Drawing on his unique b
287: Data With Purpose: How the Houston Texans Use Sports Science to Drive Performance
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves is joined by Marc Lewis, Director of Applied Sports Science at the Houston Texans.
Marc’s journey is anything but conventional. From a childhood in foster care, to serving as an airborne infantry soldier in the U.S. Army, to becoming one of the leading voices in applied sports science in the NFL. He shares how his military d
286: NFL’s Digital Athlete – How Data is Transforming Player Health & Safety
This week, host Richard Graves is joined by two leading figures driving innovation in sport:
Dr Mackenzie Herzog, VP of Player Health & Safety and Strategic Innovation at the NFL
Julie Souza, Global Head of Sports at Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Together, they explore the groundbreaking NFL Digital Athlete, a data-driven platform reshaping how the league prevents injuries, enhances pe
285: Ellie Wilson: Inside the High-Performance World of Women’s Football
This week, host Richard Graves is joined by Ellie Wilson, a professional footballer who has played for Reading, Bristol City, Sheffield United, Wolves, and most recently Melbourne Victory in Australia’s A-League Women.
Ellie opens up about her journey through elite football, from being rejected by academies as a young player, to representing England U19s, U20s and U23s, battling an ACL i
284: Club Plans & Personal Coaches: Adding An Edge?
Club Plans & Personal Coaches: Adding An Edge?
In this week’s episode, host Richard Graves sits down with Daniel Booth, a performance coach who’s worked inside elite teams (Watford FC, Ealing Trailfinders), across Olympic sprint programmes, and independently with top athletes, to unpack one of the hottest debates in high performance:
Should athletes stick strictly to club schedules,
283: The Future of VBT: Why It’s More Than Just a Training Tool
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves sits down with Nathan Spencer, Strength & Power Coach at the St. George Illawarra Dragons and former NBA Performance Coach with the Orlando Magic.
With over 15 years in high-performance sport, Nathan shares his unique journey from the pathways of Australian rugby league to the courts of the NBA, and now back to the NRL.
282: AI in the Weight Room: Jacob Rothman on the Future of Velocity-Based Training
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves sits down with Jacob Rothman, founder of Perch and now Head of Strength at Catapult, to explore how camera-based, AI-driven technology is changing strength and conditioning, velocity-based training, and athlete monitoring in elite sport.
Jacob shares the journey from an MIT startup to being trusted by pro teams, collegiate p
281: From NFL Star to MMA Innovator: Shawne Merriman on Sports Science & tech in Combat Sports
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves sits down with former NFL star turned MMA promoter Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman, a man who’s gone from sacking quarterbacks to shaking up the fight game.
Known for his explosive NFL career with the San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills, Merriman has successfully transitioned into the world of Mixed Martial Arts with his promot
280: Sports Science at the Intersection of Youth and Professional Football with Luke Harris
In this week’s episode of the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves welcomes Luke Harris, the Head of Strength & Conditioning and Sports Science at Adelaide United Football Club. Luke shares his insights on managing multiple teams, the challenges of balancing youth and women’s football, and how he integrates cutting-edge science to drive player development. With a career span
279: Culture, Consistency, and Coaching Success in Elite Sport with Steve McNamara
This week, host Richard Graves is joined by Steve McNamara, one of Rugby League’s most experienced and respected minds. With a career spanning over 36 years across playing and coaching, Steve has done it all, captaining Hull FC, coaching England at a home World Cup, and leading Catalans Dragons to their first major silverware.
From working on Hull’s fish docks to standing on the touchlin
278: Carbs, Gels & Behaviour Change: The Real Science of Sports Fueling with Ted Munson
What does fuelling a Premier League footballer really look like?
This week, we’re joined by Ted Munson, Brentford FC’s Lead Performance Nutritionist, whose journey has taken him through elite-level roles across football, rugby, Formula 1, and even international tournaments with Denmark’s national team.
From managing nutrition for matchday prep and recovery to adapting for individual pla
277: Is Youth Football in Crisis? With Andrew Hyde
This week, Richard Graves is joined by returning guest Andrew Hyde, a leading strength and conditioning coach and founder of Aesthetic Athletes, who works with elite and youth footballers across the UK.
With professional clubs identifying talent as young as six, and social media raising the stakes for young athletes, is youth football facing a crisis? Or just a complex new challenge?
In
276: Coaching Through Rehab with Michael Carolan
This week on the Science for Sport podcast, host Richard Graves welcomes back Michael Carolan, a performance coach and subject lead in sport rehabilitation at the University of Salford. With nearly two decades of experience across elite sport, the military, and education, Michael shares a refreshingly honest and deeply practical perspective on what it really means to coach athletes throug
275: What It Really Takes: A Look at Life as a Professional Footballer
In this episode, host Richard Graves sits down with former professional footballer Sam Winnall, who shares his honest reflections on a 15-year career across clubs including Wolves, Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Oxford United, and Burton Albion.
Sam opens up about the realities of life as a professional athlete, the highs of Wembley wins and Golden Boots, the lows of injury
274: The Truth About Blood Flow Restriction with Dr. Warren Bradley
What do Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James... and astronauts have in common? They’re all using the same training technology, blood flow restriction (BFR).
In this episode, host Richard Graves back Dr. Warren Bradley, Chief Science Officer and founder of Hytro, to unpack how BFR is transforming the way athletes train, recover, and even how astronauts prepare for life in space.
You’ll learn:
273: Creating Complete Athletes
In this episode, Richard Graves is joined by performance specialist Julia Eyre, a sports scientist and psychologist with a rich background in elite sport. From working with U.S. collegiate athletes to roles with German Olympic federations and the TSG Wieseck Football Academy (a partner of Eintracht Frankfurt), Julia brings a multidimensional approach to athlete development.
Founder of Whi
272: Inside Catapult: Global Trends, Common Pitfalls & the Future of Sports Science
This week, host Richard Graves is joined by Chris Polley, Vice President of Customer Success at Catapult, for a deep-dive into the world of elite sports performance monitoring. With over 55 sports scientists working across 16 countries, Chris shares what he and his team are seeing across top-tier teams in more than 40 sports worldwide.
Listeners will learn:
The global trends shaping th
271: Strength First: Why It Underpins Everything
In this week’s episode of the Science for Sport podcast, host Richard Graves is joined by Leicester Tigers’ Head of Performance, Matt Parr, a former professional rugby player turned strength and conditioning expert with experience across both rugby union and league.
Matt shares his fascinating journey from the pitch to the performance department, offering valuable insights drawn from his
270: Dr. James Morehen on Fueling England Rugby Through the Six Nations
What’s it really like behind the scenes of an England Rugby Six Nations campaign? How do you fuel elite athletes to perform at their peak, and recover just as hard?
This week, host Richard Graves is joined by the brilliant Dr. James Morehen,lead performance nutritionist for England Rugby and founder of the Performance Nutrition Network. With a career that’s taken him from snowboarding in
269: Food First, Supplements Second: Performance Nutrition with Tom Coughlin
Join host Richard Graves as he sits down with performance nutrition consultant Tom Coughlin, who brings a decade of elite sports experience working with Olympic athletes, professional rugby teams, and numerous other high-performance individuals. In this enlightening episode, Tom shares his journey from psychology and sports science student to becoming a leading voice in sports nutrition.
268: From Wembley to Wake-Up Calls: Stevie Ward on Concussion, Courage & Life Beyond the Game
This week on the Science for Sport Podcast, host Richard Graves sits down with former Leeds Rhinos captain Stevie Ward, a man who went from teenage prodigy to Grand Final winner, only to have his career cut short by concussion at just 27.
In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Stevie opens up about:
What it’s really like debuting alongside your childhood heroes
The fear and th
267: Athletes Aren’t Robots. Here’s What You’re Missing
This week on the Science for Sport podcast, host Richard Graves is joined by the remarkable Dr. Kristin Keim – a clinical sports psychologist, former elite cyclist, and passionate advocate for athlete mental health.
In this powerful and thought-provoking episode, Kristin takes us beyond the buzzwords of “mental toughness” and into the real, nuanced world of clinical sports psychology. Fro
266: Blending Science, Rehab and Reality in Elite Football
This week on the Science for Sport podcast, host Richard Graves is joined by Scott Armistead, Athletic Trainer at Seattle Sounders FC, to explore the realities of working at the highest level of football in the US.
Born and raised in New Zealand, Scott’s journey has taken him across continents — from youth football in Auckland to the intensity of Major League Soccer. In this candid conve
265: Why Sprint and Jump Training Transforms Every Athlete
In this week's episode of the Science for Sport podcast, host Richard Graves welcomes performance coach Michael Fennell, who brings over 22 years of experience in athletics coaching, specialising in long jump and sprints.
Michael shares his journey from athlete to coach, including his work with notable figures like Chelsea and England football star Cole Palmer.
Michael discusses the impo
264: Catapult's Vector 8: The Future of Athlete Monitoring Unveiled
Join us this week on the Science for Sport podcast as we dive into an exciting conversation with Jacques Groenewald, the Vice President of Engineering at Catapult. In this episode, we explore the groundbreaking Vector 8 system, a revolutionary product that is set to transform athlete monitoring and performance optimisation.
Jacques shares his journey from electronics to sports technology
263: Secrets of Success: What Makes Teams Thrive?
Join host Richard Graves in this episode of the Science for Sport podcast as he dives deep into the world of sports performance with the experienced consultant Tom Clough. With over a decade of experience, Tom shares his journey from aspiring athlete to a leading strength and conditioning coach, offering valuable insights that will resonate with both sports scientists and fans alike.
In
262: Balancing Performance and Player Health
This week on the Science for Sport podcast, host Richard Graves chats with Sophie Smith-Moore, the England Men’s Pathway Physiotherapist and Disability Cricket Medical Services Lead. In this episode, Sophie takes us on her journey from a fresh graduate to a key player in elite cricket, sharing her insights on the unique challenges faced by fast bowlers and the critical role of data analyt
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