ASCA High School & Youth Podcast 2503 - Pyke & Mathews by Joseph Coyne

In this episode of the ASCA Women's Advisory Committee Podcast, we sit down with Sophie Dodd, Head of Athletic Development at Somerset College and a passionate leader in the school-based strength and conditioning space. Sophie takes us through her inspiring journey from high-performance dreams in rugby union to her current role shaping adolescent athletes, particularly focusing on female participation and confidence in the gym. With honesty, energy, and warmth, she dives deep into navigating co-ed training spaces, coaching through puberty, the power of presenteeism, and the real challenges and wins of working within school systems. A must-listen for coaches, teachers, and anyone passionate about youth development and inclusive training environments.

Kaarle McCulloch is a former Olympic Track Sprint Cyclist with a 15-year career at the top of her sport including Olympic Bronze and 4 World Championships. Retired in 2021, Kaarle went on to coach the British Women’s Sprint Team from 2022-2023 with great success and recently returned to Australia in late 2023 to fulfil the same role as Australian Women’s Sprint coach and QAS coach. Kaarle has a degree in Health and Physical Education and is a former level 1 ASCA coach. David Watts has been preparing athletes for competitive success for well over 10 years. Beginning his career at the QAS between 2011-2016, David has since spent time at the Geelong Football Club as a rehabilitation coach and also at the Melbourne Demons as the head of strength and power. More recently he has returned to the QAS and is currently working with track and field, cycling and beach volleyball athletes. David is accredited with the ASCA as a Master L3 Coach and this will be his fourth time presenting at the ASCA international conference QUOTES “I am from a family of teachers and I believe really strongly that coaching is teaching and teaching is coaching. So a lot of my coaching philosophy centres around pedagogical practices and trying to create learning environments for athletes” “For track cycling, I feel very strongly that its foundation is in strength. So gym forms the first and probably the most important part of becoming fast and I work off a sort of a triangle model where strength is at the bottom. To be powerful, you need to be strong. And then to be fast, you need to be powerful.” “I don't like to call it taper because I think taper has some connotations around it and athletes think that they're going to feel good and that everything's going to go amazing but it never ever happens that way. And so, unload for me is all in its title. It's about taking out work as we get closer to the event.” “I'd say 90 % of time the gym and bike loading is aligned. So if we've got a de-load week or a low week, it's low in the gym as well.” “So in the team sprint cycling, we've got three types of acceleration, we've got low range, so from zero, we've got mid-range which is our high power and we've got, you know, high range acceleration, which is our speed. So that's how the week looks. Work high torque, high strength in the start of the week. We work high power midweek, and then we work that sort of back end speed at the end of the week. And that doesn't really shift through all of the periodized phases. What shifts is the specificity of it.” “We have a monthly catch up with my group and every month they have to present something back on what they've learned through the month and that gives them accountability and ownership over what they're doing.” SHOWNOTES 1) Kaarle and David’s backgrounds as athletes and coaches 2) What type of collaboration is needed when developing athletes and Kaarle’s philosophy on sprint cycling performance 3) Benchmarking events in sprint cycling and periodization approaches from the macro- to the micro-cycle 4) What base building, general prep, specific prep and unload phases can look like for athletes in sprint cycling 5) Different weekly structures and adapting the structure around different athletes and their experience and fiber typology 6) Physical benchmarks for athletes in sprint cycling and 220kg full squats 7) Pedagogical approaches to developing athletes and session planning considerations and creating conditions for athletes to both fail and play 8) One legged box jumps and the power of vulnerability PEOPLE MENTIONED Anna Meares Matthew Denny Brene Brown

Chris Bartels is currently the coordinator of health performance at the New South Wales Police and also works with the Sydney Roosters as head S&C for their Academy program. Previously he was a Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Royal Australian Air Force Human Performance Optimisation team located at RAAF Base Richmond. and supported the Australian Defence Force Diving School at HMAS Penguin. Prior to this, Chris had amassed over a decade of experience across law enforcement, educational and high-performance sporting organizations. Chris also hold’s a Master’s in High Performance Sport from the University of Technology Sydney and is an Accredited ASCA Elite Level 3 S&C Coach. Quotes “An explosive device might be identified as being on the side of the ship. And these divers will go down and instantly I'm thinking, all right, they're going to try and remove the mine off a boat. But it's not the case. They’ll actually go down there and drill into the explosive device to try and flood the system so that it doesn't go off and these sorts of things can happen in the dead of night” “Senior instructors that were responsible for the phases of the divers would come to those meetings and get feedback around each of the divers, their readiness to perform, their fatigue, anything related to muscular soreness, and your basic five point wellness questionnaire.” “it's around about a million dollars to train one single diver. So if you're getting towards the back end of a course, and it's gone for 11 months and all of a sudden the diver succumbs to an injury, they'll have to repeat that phase, and that's money tied up or potentially and depending on the injury, that's money lost. “whilst we communicated jump height to the divers, we looked at our RSI as a readiness tool and we were actually testing at the back end of the week. Now gold standard would obviously be on the Monday, but we dealt with the dates that we were given... So the conversation always stemmed around, right, this was the cost of the week” “Pull -ups are a big cultural thing with the clearance divers.” “the PTI then came on this journey where they realized that if they were gonna introduce a session, there was obviously gonna be an increased level of soreness versus having a bit more of a consistent structure to the sessions on a more regular basis that soreness is going to go down and you're going to allow those divers to actually experience some improvement” “we can give them 10 minutes of what they want to then give them 50 minutes of what they need. It's a good trade -off” SHOWNOTES 1) Chris’ background as a swimmer and progression in tactical strength and conditioning 2) Challenges faced by Navy clearance divers and addressing vocational drop-out 3) Implementing an athlete monitoring system with Navy clearance divers 4) Strength and power assessments relevant to clearance divers and categorizing divers in “force” or “fit” buckets 5) Traditional physical training for Navy divers, “finning” and influencing PTIs 6) Targeting shoulder and hip resilience and identifying high risk phases in navy diver training 7) Recommendations for using sport science technology in a new environment 8) The strategy of giving people what they want and the strategies of negotiating

The ASCA High School and Youth Podcast, sponsored by AlphaFit, features an in-depth conversation with Luke Edgell, owner of Edge Performance, Speed Academy, and Assistant Director of Athletic Performance at Shore School, Sydney. With over 12 years of experience in strength and conditioning, Luke shares insights from his career, including coaching Olympians and mentoring trainers. He discusses his transition from personal training at Fitness First to working in high school strength programs, highlighting the importance of communication, athlete development, and long-term training models. The episode delves into speed training, agility, and change of direction strategies, informed by Luke’s apprenticeship at Altis with renowned coaches like Dan Pfaff and Stuart McMillan. Luke also provides practical advice for high school coaches on managing large training groups, collaborating with external clubs, and implementing effective speed and strength programs for youth athletes.

In this episode, Wesley College’s high-performance manager, Dr. Daniel Hiscock, shares insights from his seven years at the institution, detailing how the school’s long-term athletic development (LTAD) program supports students from pre-kindergarten through year 12 in building athletic ability, healthy habits, and life skills. Daniel highlights the program’s three-tiered structure, which caters to all students, from general participants to elite athletes competing at state and national levels. He shares inspiring stories of student athletes with lofty goals, such as a badminton player aiming for the Commonwealth Games and a footballer pursuing an AFL career. These examples demonstrate the importance of consistency, tailored support, and collaboration with families to help students achieve their aspirations. The podcast also emphasises the inclusivity of the Wesley College LTAD program, which extends support to less advantaged students and those with disabilities. Programs like UniGym and early gross motor skill interventions are designed to foster lifelong habits of physical activity, ensuring that all students benefit, regardless of their athletic ability. Daniel further explains how the school integrates innovative training methods, such as isometric exercises, to enhance strength, accommodate injured athletes, and manage high training demands while minimising injury risks. A significant focus of the episode is the collaborative mentorship approach taken at Wesley College. Dr. Hiscock underscores the importance of open communication with parents, external coaches, and club programs to effectively navigate the complex needs of high-performing athletes. He also reflects on the challenges of balancing resources and scaling programs, sharing practical strategies to optimise outcomes for a wide range of students. Drawing from his diverse career, Daniel shares lessons learned, emphasising the value of foundational training principles, the need for athlete buy-in, and the importance of individualised programming. He explains how these principles have guided the program’s growth and success while remaining adaptable to the unique needs of each student. The episode concludes with Daniel reflecting on the holistic value of sport as a means to build not only high-performing athletes but also well-rounded and resilient individuals.

Dr. Jamie Tallent is the Director of the Human Performance Research Group at the University of Essex, previously holding the position of Associate Professor in Strength and Conditioning at St Mary's University. Jamie earned his PhD from Northumbria University, UK, focusing on corticospinal adaptations from eccentric and concentric resistance training muscle actions. Jamie has worked in professional sport, as the lead strength and conditioning coach at Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Jamie has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications and numerous book chapters. His research, a mixture of applied and mechanistic studies, includes leading various projects in collaboration with International Cricket Teams, Premiership Football clubs, International Rugby Teams, and world-leading ballet schools and companies. Recently, Jamie has also begun to explore the role of strength and conditioning in children with cerebral palsy. QUOTES “Micro-dosing is just splitting up your training sessions, your volume of work into small manageable chunks” “I'm better putting in small doses that are going to enhance an athletes performance over long periods of time, rather than that scheduling in longer sessions that could affect their training in the subsequent days” “I think the recommendation for micro-dosing I'd almost give is that go to higher rep work as with lower rep work, maybe that's not as easy to microdose in time constrained situations because you're going to have to spend so much time warming up’” “What we've shown in ballet is that the groups that are training three times a week of 15 minutes versus 1 time a week of 45 minutes are getting slightly greater adaptations in strength, in jumping ability, in counter-movement jump.” “I think it's important how we package things as S & C coaches and I think it's important that the athletes are aware that micro-dosing is still going to help them. The narrative to athletes is even if you do one set, even if you do two sets, it's still a positive kind of thing for your sport.” SHOWNOTES 1) Jamie’s journey into sport science and strength and conditioning 2) The definition of microdosing and its use to reduce risk of injury or soreness 3) The philosophy of getting as much work as possible into athletes and how microdosing aligns with this 4) How time constraints influence microdosing sets and rep schemes 5) The timing of microdosing S&C around sports training sessions and “clustering” sessions in a training week 6) Examples of microdosing in cricket and ballet and the benefits of microdosing for training absenteeism 7) Managing your communication in different environments and the future of data analytics PEOPLE MENTIONED Glyn Howatson Nathan Spencer Duncan French Jess Turner

Dr Gareth Sandford has a consulting business that helps Olympic, Pro & College coaches with individualized conditioning. Recent consulting clients include: Manchester City Football Club (EPL), England Football Association (International Football), Australian Institute of Sport (Olympic/Paralympic Sport), Melbourne Football Club (AFL), Kerry GAA (Gaelic Football). Prior to this, Gareth has worked for 14+ years across individual and team sports within three Olympic and Paralympic systems (UK, New Zealand and Canada) and three professional sports leagues (English Football, Cricket and Rugby), supporting over 450 athletes that achieved 23 Olympic, Paralympic and World Championship medals, and one world record. He was also scientific lead for the Canadian Olympic marathon and race-walk athletes at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. He holds a PhD in sport physiology and running performance from the Sport Performance Research Institute at AUT University in New Zealand and a ‘mini’ MBA from Simon Fraser University in science innovation and technology commercialisation. QUOTES “There are a number of things that we should be looking for. The first thing is the athlete profile. So that is where all your sub-disciplines come in, from a medical standpoint, what are we talking about? From a biomechanical, psychological standpoint, which type of personality are we dealing with? From a physiological standpoint, are we talking about a speed profile, hybrid or endurance profile?” “So a common question you hear often is should conditioning be more sport specific or should it be more targeting the physical capacities underpinning the sport? But the reality of the matter is that physiology exists, whichever sport you're playing.” “It is a very rare occasion in a team sport where you are short on the sport-specific exposure of chemistry” “Sprinting speed is scaffolding for team sports. We can't build it and then let it go, because if we let it go, then the percentage we're working at when running goes up” “The three metrics alongside team sport key training metrics I'm looking at are where's the sprinting speed? where's the MAS? where's the critical speed?” “Athletes need to be exposed to all the stimulus, from low intensity to sprinting speed, probably for 18 months, two years at the low end, for us to be confident, this is the type of profile an athlete is.” “The key metric for low and moderate intensity work is the effort, the internal effort, not the external speed and the answer is whatever speed elicits a five or six out of 10 feeling” SHOWNOTES 1) Gareth’s exploration of the anaerobic speed reserve which has taken him from the UK to NZ to Canada 2) The framework for conditioning and importance of athlete profiling 3) The relevance of middle-distance track events and their training for field sports 4) Getting a clear characterization of what is happening in technical-tactical training sessions and unlearning “classical” physiology 5) Assessing the anaerobic speed reserve in athletes and the practical application of profiling 6) The interplay between critical speed and maximal aerobic speed or velocity VO2max and Gareth’s preferences for measuring both 7) How to use the ASR ratio as a screen of “spread” and benchmarking sprint and endurance physiology 8) Principles versus models and the value of holding principles as loosely as possible until you understand exactly what type of athlete you are dealing with PEOPLE MENTIONED Peter Weyand Phil Bellinger Veronica Billat Phil Scott

The ASCA High School and Youth Podcast, featuring Rob Le Guen, explores his journey as an S&C expert and his role at Maribyrnong Sports Academy. Rob's career includes key positions at the University of South Florida, Manchester City Football Club, and as England Girls Youth Physical Performance Coach. At Maribyrnong, he focuses on integrating athletic development within the school environment, providing students with structured programs tailored to their growth and performance stages. The academy’s unique setup emphasises individualised athlete progress over team results, offering a comprehensive approach from foundational skills in younger years to elite-level preparation for senior students. Rob highlights the importance of planning, simplicity, and engagement in youth S&C. Testing and programming are vital components at MSA, with quarterly assessments to track physical performance and growth. He also discusses the challenges of managing training loads, collaborating with clubs, and keeping youth athletes motivated. By blending structured training with fun, Rob ensures that students stay engaged and avoid burnout throughout their development. Rob emphasises the value of long-term athlete development and mastering fundamentals before progressing to advanced techniques. His advice for coaches includes meticulous planning, fostering relationships with stakeholders, and maintaining a balanced approach that prioritises the individual athlete’s needs. The podcast, supported by AlphaFit, provides practical insights for coaches working in youth sports.

This episode explores the vital role of strength and conditioning in youth athletic development, featuring insights from experienced coach Justin Blee. With a career spanning roles at the Melbourne Storm, Melbourne Rebels, VFL, and now St. Kevin’s College, Justin shares his philosophy on long-term athlete development, emphasising foundational physical literacy, strength, speed, and agility in age-appropriate and tailored programs. He details the structured progression of St. Kevin’s strength and conditioning framework, from foundational movements in younger students to advanced training for seniors, while addressing challenges like balancing workloads for elite athletes across multiple commitments. Drawing from his diverse professional background, Justin highlights the importance of communication, collaboration, and holistic athlete management to prepare students for success in both elite sports and lifelong physical activity. The episode also discusses transferable traits across sports, strategies for dealing with parental concerns, and the evolution of school-based athletic programs, offering valuable insights for coaches, educators, and the broader athletic community.

Cohen Crispin is the QRL Sport science coordinator and former strength and conditioning coach within Surfing Australia's high-performance program. Cohen is an ASCA Elite L3 elite coach and holds a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science. In addition to his commitments in surfing, Cohen is also an assistant strength and conditioning coach and sports scientist for the Queensland women's State of Origin team. With a multifaceted background, Cohen is dedicated to optimising athlete performance and giving back to the S&C industry. QUOTES “My footy coach at the time, Frank Baker, was Dan Baker's brother and he was talking to me one afternoon about what I wanted to do after school and he started telling me about what his brother did, working at the Broncos, strength and power coach. And I was like, is this a job?!” “So when I started at sprint kayaking, Worko gave me the opportunity to write a program for Kenny Wallace. And I remember I spent all night and I was reading all the research and then I've delivered it to him and he's gone, no, I don't do those exercises. So I've walked away from it, just defeated! And Worko has gone to me, did you talk to him before you wrote that program or did you just go to the theory? So that was a perfect lens for why the practical experience was so important.” “So it really makes our job about the need for engagement with the athletes. Engagement's our biggest currency and that engagement allows us to educate them and then a lot of our job is educating and giving these athletes all the tools that they need to be successful wherever they are, whether they're local or they're on the other side of the world.” “I've found that athletes that are proficient in the counter movement jump, have the ability to generate more speed and are getting good scores in smaller waves” “Whenever I'm writing programs, I'm always thinking what's the best exercise for the athlete, or what's the exercise that I can easily implement into their travel program. So we'll have a Monday, Wednesday strength and power session planned at the gym but if that doesn't work out, they'll then go to their body weight sessions that could easily be done in a hotel room using their bags and bands.” SHOWNOTES 1) Cohen’s journey from becoming a sparky in a small QLD mining town to a strength & conditioning coach for Surfing Australia 2) The balance between practical and theoretical experience in learning the S&C craft 3) Understanding surfing as a sport and the role strength & conditioning has to play in a surfers development 4) The nature of working with surfers and the industry and the importance of athlete engagement and education in surfing 5) The key strength & conditioning focuses for performance in surfing and how this may be manipulated based on different wave profiles 6) The importance of paddle speed and conditioning for surfers and key tests and test standards for surfing athletes 7) Why having a plan A, plan B and plan C in S&C programming is essential for surfers and the programming template at Surfing Australia PEOPLE MENTIONED Dan Baker Deb Savage John Mitchell Glen Workman Ken Wallace Nick Winkleman