Brought to you by Femme Football Collective, this podcast amplifies the voices of experts in athlete health and performance in elite women's soccer. Through insightful interviews, we empower the professionals behind the game with knowledge, community, and practical strategies—aligned with our mission to elevate the game and empower the experts.
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by sport scientist, strength and conditioning coach, and researcher Tzlil Shushan to discuss submaximal fitness testing and how practitioners can better monitor training response in women's football.
Tzlil shares insights from his research exploring how simple, repeatable fitness assessments can provide meaningful information about an athlete's cardiovascular fitness throughout the season without the need for exhaustive maximal testing.
The conversation explores how submaximal fitness testing can fit into the realities of a team sport environment, how practitioners can interpret heart rate responses, and why monitoring athlete response may be just as important as monitoring external training load.
Topics include:
• The difference between maximal and submaximal fitness testing
• Why team sport environments need practical monitoring solutions
• Continuous versus intermittent submaximal testing protocols
• How to select an appropriate testing intensity
• Exercise heart rate and heart rate recovery as monitoring tools
• The impact of environmental factors on heart rate responses
• What current research suggests about menstrual cycle effects on submaximal testing outcomes
• Using football-specific passing drills as monitoring tools
• The relationship between internal and external training load
• Practical recommendations for implementing submaximal fitness testing in women's football
Tzlil also discusses ongoing research in female football players and shares how practitioners can begin implementing simple monitoring systems that provide meaningful insights without adding unnecessary complexity.
If you work in sport science, strength and conditioning, sports medicine, or performance, this episode provides a practical framework for improving athlete monitoring and understanding training response.
12 Jun 2026
My Next Chapter in Women's Soccer
In this solo episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole shares a personal and professional update on her recent transition into the role of Director of Medical and Performance for the Orlando Pride in the NWSL.
Nicole discusses the recruitment process, why she decided to return to a team environment, and the factors that ultimately led her and her husband to relocate from Phoenix to Orlando. She also reflects on the challenges of moving across the country, balancing professional opportunities with personal priorities, and the realities that often exist behind major career decisions.
The conversation also explores how the NWSL has evolved since Nicole's previous experience with OL Reign, including increased resources, larger support staffs, improved facilities, and the growing need for strong leadership and communication systems within health and performance departments.
Topics include:
• The process of accepting a leadership role in the NWSL
• Why fit matters more than title when evaluating opportunities
• The realities of relocating for professional sport
• Returning to a collaborative team environment
• The role of a Director of Medical and Performance
• Building systems and supporting staff development
• How the NWSL has changed over the past several years
• Communication and leadership within larger performance departments
• The growth and professionalization of women's football
• What's next for Femme Football Collective
Nicole also provides an overview of the upcoming Soccer Performance Support Summit, including the conference theme, featured speakers, and the importance of creating opportunities for education and collaboration across men's and women's soccer.
Whether you work in sport, are considering a career transition, or are passionate about the future of women's football, this episode offers an inside look at leadership, growth, and the next chapter of Nicole's journey.
15 Apr 2026
Rethinking ACL Injury Prevention in Elite Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by Dan Kadlec, researcher and lecturer at Edith Cowan University, to challenge one of the most widely accepted approaches to injury prevention in sport.
Dan recently co-authored the paper Warm Up is Not a Workout, which critiques the reliance on structured warm-up programs for reducing ACL injury risk. In this conversation, he explains why these programs may have a role for young or untrained athletes but fall short in preparing elite athletes for the demands of sport.
This episode explores the gap between research, messaging, and real-world physical preparation, and why long-term strength and conditioning remains the foundation of athlete health and performance.
Topics include:
• Why warm-up programs have a ceiling effect for injury prevention
• The difference between preparation and adaptation
• Why something is better than nothing is not enough
• The importance of progressive overload and long-term training
• Strength as the foundation of resilience and durability
• Why the basics are often overlooked in female athletes
• The impact of early athletic development and training history
• Misconceptions around training female athletes
• Why chasing new trends can distract from effective methods
• What a sustainable physical preparation model should look like
Dan also discusses how limited access to quality training environments in the women's game contributes to injury risk and why expectations for female athletes need to shift.
This episode is essential listening for practitioners in sports medicine, strength and conditioning, sport science, and coaching who want to rethink how they approach injury prevention and physical preparation.
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Website: https://femmefc.com
Continue your learning at the Soccer Performance Support Summit this June in New Jersey! Learn from and connect with practitioners across the NWSL, MLS, and NCAA!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soccer-performance-support-summit-tickets-1625338644639?aff=oddtdtcreator
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