Historic Performance

In the 40th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I chat with Mike Robertson. Mike is a Co-Owner & Physical Preparation Coach at IFAST. Mike is one of the guys that I deeply respect in this industry and along with Bill Hartman have created one the premiere sports performance facilities in the United States. In this episode, Mike discusses the importance of optimal posture + position, offseason program design, and advice on getting a mentor.

In the 39th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I chat with Mike Beere. Mike is the Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach at Cardiff City F.C. Prior to joining Cardiff, Mike worked as a strength & conditioning coach at Manchester United, Liverpool, and Swansea City. In this episode, Mike discusses creating buy-in and an S&C culture at a soccer club, injury prevention, and pre-season fitness testing at Cardiff.

In the 38th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I chat with Rachel Balkovec. Rachel is the Latin American Strength & Conditioning Coordinator for the Houston Astros. In many ways, Rachel is a pioneer. She is the 1st Female Strength & Conditioning Coach in Major League Baseball and one of the few Latin America Strength & Conditioning Coordinators. In this episode, Rachel discusses the art of coaching & educating Latin American athletes & the importance of overall athleticism when it comes to career longevity.

In the 37th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I chat with Dr. Jeremy Loenneke. Dr. Lonneke is an Assistant Professor of Exercise Science & Health at the University of Mississippi. He is also one of the leading researchers when it comes to blood flow restriction. In the episode, Dr. Loenneke discusses the mechanisms that leads to muscular hypertrophy when utilizing blood flow restriction & how blood flow restriction can be best used with elite athletes.

In the 36th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I chat with Ranell Hobson. Ranell is the Director of Programs and Training at the Academy of Sport Speed and Agility in Australia. She has over 20 years of experience teaching sport speed and agility. She has taught workshops and courses throughout the world including to several English Premier League teams, such as Wigan Athletic, Leicester City, Arsenal, and Crystal Palace. In this episode, Ranell talks about her favorite acceleration and top speed drills for team sport athletes, her tips on improving running mechanics for soccer players, and her thoughts on agility.

In the 35th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I chat with Simone Ripamonti. Simone is the former Head of Sports Science at Melbourne City Football Club. Outside of that position, he has a wealth of experience in football where he started his career interning at Real Madrid as a sports rehabilitator, worked in Italy for U.C. Sampdoria and Cagliari Calcio before moving to Australia. In this episode, Simone talks about his experiences interning at Real Madrid, a typical day as the Head of Sports Science at Melbourne City Football Club, and his thoughts about strength training for football.

In the 34th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I chat with David Tivey. David is a Physical Performance Coach and Sports Science Logistics Coordinator at the England Football Association. Throughout his time with the FA, David has been a Physical Performance Coach with the England U-17s and a Logistics Coordinator for U-15s to U20s. In this episode, David talks about the challenges of being a physical preparation coach involved in international football, a typical England U-17 camp, and England DNA.

In the 33rd episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I chat with Pierre Barrieu. Currently, Pierre is the Head of Performance at Le Havre FC in France and a FIFA Coaching School Instructor. Pierre is best known for his time with the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team as a Physical Preparation coach from 2002 - 2011. During this time, he worked with both Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley during 3 World Cups. In this episode, Pierre talks about getting the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team prepared for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, his thoughts on conditioning for soccer, and his role as a FIFA Coaching Instructor.

In the 32nd episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I chat with Lachlan Wilmot. Lachlan is the Senior Strength & Power Coach at the GWS Giants, who play in the AFL. He is part of a very robust Athletic Performance Unit (APU) led by David Joyce, who is a world-renowned high performance coach. In this episode, Lachlan talks about using a difficulty index algorithm to adjust training load based on the difficulty of the in-season match schedule, pre-season testing, and how GWS Giants utilizes the NordBord to reduce hamstring strains, which is the most prevalent soft tissue injury in the AFL.

In the 31st episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I chat with Calvin Deutsch. Calvin is the High Performance and Conditioning Coach for Marquette University Men's Soccer. Outside of Marquette, he is a Board Certified Sports Clinical Physical Therapist and the owner of Deutsch Physical Therapy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In this episode, Calvin talks about his holistic approach to soccer performance training, the importance of internal load monitoring, and his thoughts regarding the all important return to play rehabilitation process.

In the 30th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I chat with Matt Reeves. Matt is the Head Fitness & Conditioning Coach for Leicester City Football Club. Leicester is enjoying their much successful season in their history, which currently sees them in 1st place of the Premiership. At the beginning of the season, everyone expected the Foxes to be battling for relegation, yet they have defied all odds. Part of Leicester's success this season has been their sports science department, who has done an excellent job of injury prevention, which has given Claudio Ranieri the ability to choose his best XI. In this episode, Matt talks about the injury prevention strategies used by Leicester, post-match recovery methods, and he provides a detailed look at a typical week at Leicester.

In the 29th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I interview Dr. Mike Young. Dr. Young is the Owner & Director of Performance at Athletic Lab in Cary, North Carolina. He has a PhD in Biomechanics from LSU. He has a wealth of experience in soccer having work with the Carolina Railhawks in the NASL & Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS during the past 8 years as a Fitness Coach & Sport Scientist. In this episode, Dr. Young discusses speed development for soccer players, the importance of work capacity for speed & power development, and how to individualize training loads in a team based sport like soccer.

In the 28th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I interview Chris Brandner. Chris is a Senior Talent Identification Manager at Aspire Academy in Qatar. He also recently obtained his PhD in Exercise Physiology where he specialized in blood flow restriction strength exercise. In this episode, Chris talks about the history of blood flow restriction, the possible performance and rehabilitation applications for BFR, and current research gaps in BFR that should be explored.

In the 27th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I interview Dan John. Dan is a world renowned strength coach & throwing coach, who is well liked and respected in the strength & conditioning community. He has published multiple books throughout his extensive career including Can You Go, Mass Made Simple, and Intervention to name a few. In this episode, Dan talks about his 4 quadrants and their importance, the ying-yang relationship of technical & strength coaches, and the importance of arousal when designing S&C training programs for athletes.

In the 26th episode of the Historic Performance Podcast, I interview Rich Hesketh. Rich was the Strength & Conditioning coach for the Calgary Flames from 1995 - 2014. He currently works as an S&C consultant with the University of Calgary working with their basketball programs. In this episode, Rich discusses the importance of player for a young hockey player's development, program design fundamentals for a gliding sport, and energy system development for hockey.