Hosted by Simon Taylor and Steve Nightingale, Performance Talks aims to bring you relaxed round-table discussions of pertinent issues in S&C with guest coaches from around the world.
Simon and Steve draw on their experiences from working at the elite level of S&C coaching professional, national and Olympic athletes in winter and summer sports, whilst living in the UK, Canada, and China, and guests include current and former elite professional strength and conditioning coaches.
In an industry where performance talks, let's talk about it!
Welcome to episode 15 of Performance Talks! We’re joined today by Tony Bixler, director of strength, conditioning, and sports performance at Newberry College, an NCAA DII school in SC, USA. In the episode, we discuss Tony’s experience of working with the Chinese Olympic Rifle Team, including his mentor/mentee role with his assistant coach, lessons learned and transferred, and even how he got respect by showing off his own shooting skills. We also talk about his pathway into his current role from being a law enforcement officer and a little about tactical conditioning, and finish up with his current role at Newberry, managing multiple teams and up to 700 athletes.
As always, if you like what you hear, please like, rate, comment and subscribe to keep up to date with our round table chats with practitioners around the world, with new episodes out every other Thursday. Get in on the social media action too - we’re on Instagram (@performancetalks) and Twitter (@performtalks).
3 Jun 2021
Ep 14 - Josie Symonds
Welcome to episode 14 of Performance Talks! We’re joined today by Josie Symonds, academy strength and conditioning coach at Worcester Warriors rugby club. In the episode, we hear Josie’s experiences of being an intern and how that inspired her to develop a comprehensive internship programme at Worcester, which we think sounds incredible. We also talk about how Josie has experienced being a female in the male dominated industry of strength and conditioning, and we hear a little about her newly started PhD project, investigating the effect of the menstrual cycle and associated injury risk.
As always, if you like what you hear, please like, rate, comment and subscribe to keep up to date with our round table chats with practitioners around the world, with new episodes out every other Thursday. Get in on the social media action too - we’re on Instagram (@performancetalks) and Twitter (@performtalks).
20 May 2021
Ep 13 - Carl Bombardier
Welcome to episode 13 of Performance Talks! We’re joined today by Carl Bombardier, a former pro hockey player from Quebec, who now operates as an elite level strength coach and dietitian. In the episode, we discuss how he travelled from Canada to the US via New Zealand, how he went from athlete to practitioner, and his upcoming role with Seattle Seahawks. He also gives so many great bits of strategic advice for implementing simple but effective nutrition habits, you really need to have a notepad to hand!
As always, if you like what you hear, please like, rate, comment and subscribe to keep up to date with our round table chats with practitioners around the world, with new episodes out every other Thursday. Get in on the social media action too - we’re on Instagram (@performancetalks) and Twitter (@performtalks).
6 May 2021
Ep 12 - Rudy Thomas
Welcome to episode 12 of Performance Talks! We’re joined today by Rudy Thomas, the West Coast Territory Manager for PLAE, a US company focused on innovating high performance solutions for customers all over the world. In the episode, we discuss Rudy’s experiences of working in China and how we came to work together, his journey across the US through multiple internships, and what a territory manager actually does.
As always, if you like what you hear, please like, rate, comment and subscribe to keep up to date with our round table chats with practitioners around the world, with new episodes out every other Thursday. Get in on the social media action too - we’re on Instagram (@performancetalks) and Twitter (@performtalks).
22 Apr 2021
Ep 11 - Nathan Stockley & Sam Stewart
Welcome to episode 11 of Performance Talks! Joining us today, all the way from Beijing, China, are Nathan Stockley and Sam Stewart. A British strength and conditioning coach and Australian physiotherapist respectively, they form part of a small interdisciplinary team working with some of the strongest men on the planet - China’s Olympic weightlifting team. In the episode, we discuss how they work together in that small team, what it’s like to work with the best athletes on the planet, how lockdown affected their plans for the Olympics, and much more. As always, if you like what you hear, please like, rate, comment and subscribe to keep up to date with our round table chats with practitioners around the world, with new episodes out every other Thursday. Get in on the social media action too - we’re on Instagram (@performancetalks) and Twitter (@performtalks)
8 Apr 2021
Ep 10 - Fran De Alba
To celebrate our 10th episode, we’ve brought on our closest friend in the industry! Fran de Alba is a physiotherapist from Spain, currently working in professional football for Fuenlabrada Football Club. Before that, he was a huge part of the Team China project as an assistant director, and worked alongside Steve at Kunlun Red Star as the team physiotherapist. Fran is truly a world class practitioner, and in this episode, we dive into how he thinks when it comes to planning rehab, and how his experiences in multiple sports constantly inform his current practice. As always, if you like what you hear, please like, rate, comment and subscribe to keep up to date with our round table chats with practitioners around the world, with new episodes out every other Thursday. Get in on the social media action too - we’re on Instagram (@performancetalks) and Twitter (@performtalks)
25 Mar 2021
Ep 9 - Kate & Steve McMullan
In this episode, we catch up with Kate and Steve McMullan. A true power couple in the world of high performance, Kate is a sports scientist with the Canadian wheelchair basketball team, and Steve is a strength and conditioning coach with the Canadian track cycling squad. Between them, they’ve got a wealth of experience from both Canada and the U.K. across a variety of sports, and they also run their own business on the side. We discussed their individual roles as they prepare their athletes for the upcoming Olympics and Paralympics, how they navigate the industry as a married couple, and the benefits of having a side hustle. As always, if you like what you hear, please like, rate, comment and subscribe to keep up to date with our round table chats with practitioners around the world, with new episodes out every other Thursday. Get in on the social media action too - we’re on Instagram (@performancetalks) and Twitter (@performtalks)
11 Mar 2021
Ep 8 - Matt Jones
In this episode, we catch up with Matt Jones, 2 years after working with him in China. He’s currently working in the corporate wellness sector with EXOS, and is a SE Asia veteran having worked for the Singapore FA and the Chinese Olympic sport climbing team. We discussed his initial experience of travelling and working in Singapore, how he transitioned to China into the super human sport of climbing, how the corporate wellness sector works, and we really drill into his recent social media posts about CV tips! As always, if you like what you hear, please like, rate, comment and subscribe to keep up to date with our round table chats with practitioners around the world, with new episodes out every other Thursday. Get in on the social media action too - we’re on Instagram (@performancetalks) and Twitter (@performtalks)
25 Feb 2021
Ep 7 - Ben Dixon
In this episode, we catch up with Ben Dixon. He’s currently coaching at the English National Ballet, and previously worked in football, firstly for 7 years at Watford FC and more recently with the Taiwanese national team. He also worked as a performance coach at the Chinese Olympic Committee. We had a super interesting chat around how he approaches S&C training in a non-traditional environment, what “success” looks like to performers rather than athletes, his thoughts on the good and bad of football S&C, and much more! As always, if you like what you hear, please like, rate, comment and subscribe to keep up to date with our round table chats with practitioners around the world, with new episodes out every other Thursday. Get in on the social media action too - we’re on Instagram (@performancetalks) and Twitter (@performtalks)
11 Feb 2021
Ep 6 - Roberto Vavassori
In this episode, we catch up with Italian S&C coach Roberto Vavassori. He’s currently working with Francesca Jones, a pro tennis player with a WTA world ranking of 241, and he’s also working with the University of Granada Volleyball team. He previously worked as an S&C and rehab fitness coach at the Chinese Olympic Committe for Rowing and speed skating, and was working in the U.K. at the LTA high performance centre before that. We had a great chat around his PhD work in volleyball, how he manages a split role of S&C coach and rehab practitioner, working around the world, and much more! As always, if you like what you hear, please like, rate, comment and subscribe to keep up to date with our round table chats with practitioners around the world, with new episodes out every other Thursday. Get in on the social media action too - we’re on Instagram (@performancetalks) and Twitter (@performtalks)
28 Jan 2021
Ep 5 - Andrew Kacsor
In episode 5, we catch up with Andrew Kacsor, strength and conditioning coach for HC Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL. We had so much fun with this episode, and we talk about his time in Russia working in professional ice hockey, the differences he’s found working in men’s and women’s hockey, his time with the national Canoe team in China, and a whole lot more. Definitely one not to be missed, especially for you hockey strength coaches out there! Reach out to Andrew on Instagram (@akacsor), and find us on Instagram (@performancetalks) and Twitter (@performtalks). Don’t forget to like, rate, comment and subscribe to stay up to date with performance talk with elite coaches from around the world!
15 Jan 2021
Ep 4 - Tim Rogers
In this episode of Performance Talks, we were honoured to be joined by Tim Rogers, an absolute legend in the S&C world. In a classic chat with Tim where we couldn't get much of a word in, we discussed the entry requirements to the industry, the role of younger coaches in driving the industry forwards, and combining strength and conditioning with performance analysis. We hope you enjoy the show and as always, please like, rate and subscribe to keep up to date with performance talks from elite coaches around the world!
15 Jan 2021
Ep 3 - Ishan Rawlley Singh
In this episode of Performance Talks, we have a great chat with Ishan Rawlley-Singh, strength and conditioning coach with the Chinese national rowing team. We talk about his practices, the benefits of internships, his work in canoe and how that has carried over to rowing. We go on to talk about creating a training environment with intent, and finish up by talking about some of the perks of working around the world. We hope you enjoy the show and as always, please like, rate and subscribe to keep up to date with performance talks from elite coaches around the world!
15 Jan 2021
Ep 2 - Stephen Breisner
In our first guest episode of Performance Talks, we welcome Stephen Breisner of the EIS and Loughborough University on to talk about the first things he does when working with a new athlete or team, his approach to conducting a needs analysis and the things he thinks about when starting to work with a team when he has no prior experience of the sport. We finish up talking about the impacts of the COVID pandemic and how that forced him into changing his programming and coaching. We hope you enjoy the show and as always, please like, rate and subscribe to keep up to date with performance talks from elite coaches around the world!
15 Jan 2021
Ep 1 - Simon & Steve
Welcome to the first episode of Performance Talks, a new strength and conditioning podcast hosted by Simon Taylor and Steve Nightingale. In this episode, we lift the curtain on elite S&C and chat about what really happens, coaching in context, and the murky world of social media coaches. If you like what you hear, please like, rate and subscribe to keep up to date with performance talks from elite coaches around the world!
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