One Track Mind: Recent Episodes
Track & Victoria University
Forget last night’s game or who made the team – what are the real issues, forces and innovations shaping the future of sport? Join Professor Sam Robertson as he explores sport’s most compelling questions alongside expert guests from across the globe. The science, the technology, the economics, the politics. We’re tackling it all to find out – what is the future of sport? Brought to you by Track and Victoria University.
With the Olympics over for another four years, this episode recaps some of the trends, opportunities and issues that caught David and Sam's eye at the 2024 Paris Games. Discussion topics include some of the norms that were challenged, the impact of technology, cultural differences in coaching as well as a list of some of the sports that the guys loved along with some of the others that perhaps need some refreshing.
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It’s often been said that success in sport at the elite level has more to do with mental rather than physical performance. On this episode into the future of mental performance, Sam and David are joined by Founder and CEO of Optimize Mind Performance, Jack Preddey.
Jack talks about his experience as an athlete and more recently as a founder of Optimize, which aims to empower sports psychologists and mental performance coaches with a comprehensive toolset, incorporating an app, dashboard and informed by expert content.
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/synapsing/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/Track_VU
Web: trackvu.com/podcast & samrobertson.com.au
In many sports there is a growing recognition that developing an athlete’s mental skills is one of the most high values ways to reach new performance heights. On this episode into the state of mental performance, David and Sam ask some of the big questions relating to this space: what is the relationship between mental health and mental performance? Whose responsibility is it? And what role do mobile apps and other technologies play in helping to develop mental skills?
Joining the show to discuss these areas is Dr Shawn Zeplin. Shawn is the Assistant Athletic director - Student Athlete Wellness at Duke University and is responsible for overseeing psychological services to the Duke University Athletic Department student athletes and staff.
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Part two in the series into Wellbeing, features National Wellbeing Manager - Refereeing for Football Australia, Kay Robinson. As part of her role within Football Australia, Kay works collaboratively with officials, coaches, leaders, and stakeholders to drive positive change and support the wellbeing of officials, maximising their retention, development, experiences, and transitions within and away from the sport.
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With dedicated roles and departments emerging in sports around the globe, wellbeing is a growing priority in high performance sport.
But what actually is wellbeing? How is it being measured? What is its relationship with performance? And who is responsible for it in sporting organisations?
Episode 65 features Wellbeing and Engagement Lead for High Performance Sport New Zealand Dr Toni Minniti. Possessing a PhD in Clinical Psychology, Toni has an extensive career in clinical work and mental health advocacy, as well as having held various scholarly, academic and regulatory positions.
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On the second episode of the two-part series on female athlete health and performance, David and Sam sit down with Dr Anita Biswas. Anita has over 25 years experience working in the medical side of elite sport in a whole range of sports. They explore the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the space, the impact of technology and AI and the importance of having the right experts direct the future.
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Anterior cruciate ligament injury, menstrual cycle tracking, and relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (or RED-S). Whilst there is still so much more to be done, the increase in public awareness of these terms is at least a small sign that female athletes are starting to get the attention they deserve in terms of research and funding. But what exactly is female athlete health and performance? How does it differ from males? And what are the current flaws and opportunities in the provision of medical and performance services to female athletes?
On this episode of One Track Mind, David and Sam sit down with Jess Cunningham. An experienced women's health physiotherapist, Jess is also the co-founder of Optima Female Performance and the author of 'POP - When sport brings us to our knees', a book sharing first-hand athlete experiences dealing with anterior cruciate ligament injury.
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On Part 2 of the series into Concussion Management, Sam & David are joined by Lead of FIFA’s Heading Expert Group, A/Prof Kerry Peek, to look into the future of this space. Kerry is a physiotherapist with a PhD in behavioural science who currently works as a research and teaching academic within the Discipline of Physiotherapy at The University of Sydney.
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Concussion is one of the hottest current topics in sport, impacting medical, safety, training and even adjudication discussions. But is there even consensus on the definition of concussion? Are current assessment protocols aligned with this definition? How effective are current management processes in accelerating speed of return to play?
Professor Mike Loosemore, chief medical officer for the Great Britain boxing team and Professor at University College London, joins David and Sam to answer these questions and many more.
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This episode welcomes back to One Track Mind the renowned sports science and talent researcher Dr Joe Baker. Building on the previous episode, Joe, Sam and David discuss current research, practices, challenges and opportunities for talent identification along with some of the commonly used terminology and definitions. Joe and colleague's paper referred to on the show can be found here and his most recent book 'The Tyranny of Talent' here
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Episode 59 marks the first in a new format for the show, moving to dual episodes examining the current 'state' and 'future' of some of sports biggest issues.
On this show, Sam and David discuss current research, practices, challenges and opportunities for talent identification along with some of the commonly used terminology and definitions. Episode 60 will involve a special guest and focus on what the future may hold for this well-ingrained global practice.
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The annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference in Boston, USA is one of the biggest conferences on the sports calendar. Bringing together thousands of analysts, executives and leading researchers to discuss the increasing role of analytics in the sports industry, the conference covers everything from social media to high performance, to athlete evaluation to ticketing.
Join co-hosts David Joyce and Sam Robertson on this episode of One Track Mind where they unpack some of the hot topics and key takeaways from the 2024 event.
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Episode 57 marks two major changes for One Track Mind. David Joyce joins the show as host for the coming season. It also signals the start of a variety of new formats for the show.
This episode sets the scene for the 2024 season, providing a snapshot of the ten big opportunities and challenges for sports in 2024.
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Its often been said that sport is a mirror to society. And never has that adage been more true than when talking about data. But just how valuable is data really, particularly without context or a specific end goal in mind?
On this episode, Sam sits down with Sportradar's Senior Vice President of Automated Content, Luka Pataky, where he discusses finding that value for fans, governing bodies, media and teams. The episode also discusses the current state of play in computer vision and automated content generation, where start ups fit in the data ecosystem, and identifies some of the sports leading the way in innovation.
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How hard should training be? How much variety should athletes experience? How does one balance quantity vs quality of practice? Many of these types of questions which have fascinated coaches for years are presently being reinvigorated, fuelled by new data sources and a growing access to the expertise of applied practitioners from motor learning, psychology, biomechanics and data science.
On this episode host Sam Robertson is joined by Harjiv Singh from the Orlando Magic to discuss how these opportunities have led to a re-imagination of the coach’s role to that of a designer of learning environments.
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Whether it’s nailing the perfect routine, taking a winning penalty or making that championship winning putt - we all have our favourite example of an athlete performing under pressure.
On this episode host Sam Robertson is joined by Davie Gray from Flow State and Hurricanes. They take a closer look at the characteristics of high-performing pressure athletes as well as some of the strategies and tools they utilise to remain at the top of their game. Davie had a distinguished rugby career as a player and high-performance leader, before recently turning his attention specifically to this area.
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Creative athletes have always captured the imagination of the sports fan. We each have our own ideas about what creativity means us in the sporting context, whether it is dancing with grace and flow, a new skateboarding trick or that almost inconceivable incisive pass to break open a defensive line.
Globally in many sports there is a growing recognition of the importance of creativity to understanding and developing sporting performance. But is there actually consensus on how creativity is objectively defined? How exactly does it lead to performance improvements? And what are some of the tools and processes that coaches can leverage, to best develop this quality in athletes?
On this episode, host Sam Robertson is joined by Carlota Torrents from INEFC and the University of Lleida. Carlota is one of the leading global experts on the application of creativity to sports performance
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The characteristics of high performing athletes are relatively constant. Skill, endurance, power, resilience, dedication are all traits that will never go out of fashion.
But the environment around high performance sport has arguably never been more fluid than it is right now. With more touch points to the athlete and more ways in which to measure them, what does this dynamic environment mean for the sports performance practitioner? Are these changes merely a distraction or do they provide a means to improve their impact on the athlete?
On the first episode for Season 6, host Sam Robertson is joined by Jo Clubb from Global Performance Insights. Jo provides sports science support to professional teams, practitioners, and sports tech companies all around the world and has worked at the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Chelsea Football Club and Brighton and Hove Albion. Find out more about Jo at her blog, YouTube channel, or website at https://www.globalperformanceinsights.com/
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The sports coach of 2023 sure has a lot on their plate. They’re required to be an expert leader, tactician, communicator, relationship builder, media personality, as well as in many cases a spouse and parent.
At the same time, they’re also expected to manage the ever-expanding needs of athletes, staff, media, owners and boards along with the changing environment brought about by new frontiers in professionalism, technology and AI.
So what does all of this change mean for the future of sports coaching? Will the core principles of what it means to be a good coach remain the same, or is it time for a rethink on how coaches are trained and developed to elicit the best out of the athletes they work with?
On this episode, host Sam Robertson is joined by coaching legend Wayne Goldsmith to discuss all of this and much more!
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Over the past three years, One Track Mind has been fortunate enough to host some of sport’s leading practitioners, academics, executives and entrepreneurs.
To celebrate the 50th episode, this show was recorded live on the 29th June 2023 onsite at the Queensland University of Technology, as part of the Queensland Academy of Sport IGNITE 2032 Deep Dive Event in Brisbane. It features a summary conversation of the day with two of the world's leading computer vision experts in sport: Patrick Lucey from Stats Perform and Stuart Morgan from the Australian Institute of Sport.
We delve into potential applications of computer vision in sports, exploring topics such as athlete tracking, pose recognition, and injury prevention. We also discuss the potential risks and pitfalls along with future directions for this fast moving area.
I would like to extend my special thanks to CEO Chelsea Warr, Executive Directors Mark Young and Shaun Stephens along with the entire research team at the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) for making this special episode happen, along with David Martin for his vision and direction for the event and for hosting throughout the day.
As we celebrate One Track Mind's 50th episode milestone, I want to express my sincere appreciation to all our listeners who have been with us on this journey so far. Your support and enthusiasm have been the driving force behind the success of One Track Mind and we hope to continue to bring you interesting, useful and thought provoking content in the years to come.
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In 2022, a global network of like-minded individuals came together to develop a standardized, evidence-based framework which could be adopted by any sports stakeholder to assess the value, usability, and quality of technology.
The Framework consists of 25 measurable features grouped under five quality “pillars”: Quality Assurance & Measurement, Established Benefit, Ethics & Security, User Experience, and Data Management. It can be used to help design and refine existing sports technology, thus helping to optimize quality as well as maintain industry standards. It could also form a common language for organizations, manufacturers, investors, and consumers to improve the efficiency of their own decision making on sports technology.
On this episode, host Sam Robertson sits down with two of the driving forces behind the framework, Dr Kristof De Mey and Dr Jessica Zendler. To download the whitepaper which details the Sports Technology Quality Framework, visit https://strn.co/special-interest-group
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Artificial intelligence is undoubtedly one of the world’s biggest current hot topics. Two and a half years on from our first ever episode of One Track Mind, where we discussed whether sports should even adopt AI, and the landscape is now completely different. So different in fact that we’re no longer asking questions relating to if and when for AI, we’ve now moved on to questions of how and where to use it in our organisations and our daily lives. As a result it seemed high time to return to the topic and learn a little more from the experts about what all of this could potentially mean for the world of sport.
On this episode, host Sam Robertson sits down with ex-Google, eBay and Microsoft computer scientist Hugh Williams to discuss all of this and more.
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In the age of social media and around the clock content accessibility, we’ve never had more quality information at our fingertips. But the same can also be said for misinformation.
Extracting real signal from the noise has become one of contemporary science’s great challenges - not only in preventing negative impact through debunking potentially dangerous pseudoscience, but also in ensuring the right messages reach the right people at the right time, all in a format which they can comprehend and implement.
On this episode, host Sam Robertson sits down with researcher, educator, app developer and public speaker Carlos Balsalobre-Fernández to discuss all of this and more.
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On this episode of One Track Mind, host Sam Robertson is joined by regular guest of the show, David Joyce, to discuss:
- What makes a good leader?
- Why do subject matter experts so often end up in leadership roles?
- Whether it’s possible to be an expert and a good leader at the same time?
- What are the best tools that individuals and organisations can adopt to assist them with their own leadership challenges?
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It’s often said that a champion team will beat a team of champions. But what is it about a team's culture, habits, levels of support, that makes them successful? And how can it be developed sustainably?
To kick off 2023, host Sam Robertson sits down with the NBA's Elite Basketball Performance & Operations Advisor, Dr Jon Bartlett to discuss current best practice for environment development, as well as future directions.
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Every child should have the opportunity to participate in sport without being subjected to violence.
However, research has shown that in reality the opposite is true, with more junior participants experiencing psychological, physical or sexual violence in sporting environments, than not.
Join host Sam Robertson as he speaks with researcher Dr Mary Woessner on some of the reasons behind these numbers, along with the work that is currently being done to actively address this problem.
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What’s the latest training product or method taking the sporting world by storm? On which problems should organisations be trying to get ahead of their competition now?
Join host Sam Robertson as he provides his observations on seven of the most common themes that have emerged on his journeys and interactions in 2022.
Topic 1: Learning: the next competitive advantage?
Topic 2: A matter of principle
Topic 3: Death to data science
Topic 4: Sports tech start ups: missing impact?
Topic 5: Human & machine
Topic 6: Life's better in 3D
Topic 7: Evidence-based practice: a crisis of reproducibility
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Football (soccer) is making a change.
Long criticized for being slower to innovate in performance practice than other sports, the emergence of new data sources is leading to the creation of new roles and responsibilities in the game. These roles, combined with an influx of staff talent from other sports is helping to break down silos between coaching, physical performance and analytics.
On part 1, we spoke with Inter Miami FC Analytics Director Sam Gregory and this week part 2 features Ajax FC Head of Sport Science & Data Analytics Vosse de Boode. We hear about how they're driving this type of innovation and collaboration within their respective clubs, both working to enhance a collective understanding of player performance. So how will these developments help to address football’s current and looming challenges? And what new focus areas will emerge to further lift the performance ceiling of players and teams?
What do you think? Tell us on our socials:
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Football (soccer) is making a change.
Long criticized for being slower to innovate in performance practice than other sports, the emergence of new data sources is leading to the creation of new roles and responsibilities in the game. These roles, combined with an influx of staff talent from other sports is helping to break down silos between coaching, physical performance and analytics.
On this two part episode we talk to Inter Miami FC Analytics Director Sam Gregory and Head of Sport Science & Data Analytics Vosse de Boode to hear about how they're driving this type of innovation and collaboration within their respective clubs, both working to enhance a collective understanding of player performance. So how will these developments help to address football’s current and looming challenges? And what new focus areas will emerge to further lift the performance ceiling of players and teams?
What do you think? Tell us on our socials:
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Australian football has a long-standing reputation as a leader in high performance. So which new areas are clubs focusing on in order to drive performance to never before seen heights? And with increased challenges to resourcing in the wake of a global pandemic, how exactly will they bring new ideas to fruition?
To find out, host Sam Robertson sits down with the high performance leaders from the Australian Football League, Mathew Inness and Robert Inness, from the Western Bulldogs and Sydney Swans, respectively.
Having helped their respective clubs qualify for the 2022 post-season, Mat and Robert were good enough to take the time to catch up in between preparations for their first final.
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When it comes to successful sports start ups, we’ve probably all got our favourite example or story. But for each one of these successes, there are many more examples of companies not thriving or even surviving.
So what is it about a start up that signals this potential reward is high enough to warrant the significant risk? Is it the idea, the founding team, the stage of the company or all of the above?
On this Part 2 of our series into sports entrepreneurship, we take a look at the specific challenges and opportunities that sport provides for investors. Host Sam Robertson sits down with Techstars Managing Director Todd Deacon and Christie Jenkins from Blackbird & Athletic Ventures
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It’s an understatement to say that entrepreneurship in sport is exploding. Franchises across the globe are making considerable investments, the start up scene is burgeoning, university courses have emerged to train the next generation, and even some professional athletes have turned part-time entrepreneur. Of course none of the success of entrepreneurs can be achieved without the support of sports themselves.
The first episode of this two part series on entrepreneurship in sport focuses on the experiences of two company founders in running a start up in the landscape of the sporting industry. Host Sam Robertson sits down with Hormonious Flo CEO, Alexis Abayomi and InStryde CEO, Mike Schmid.
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Some of the many issues with injury prediction modelling have been discussed on multiple occasions on One Track Mind. But what if we could reach this 'Holy Grail'? How far away would we be from this scenario eventuating? What would need to happen in order to get there? And is it even a world that athletes want?
On Part 2 of this series on injury prediction, host Sam Robertson talks about some of the practical considerations around this area including what developments are needed in Data, Analysis, Judgement and Evaluation in order for it to become a viable tool.
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Some of the many issues with injury prediction modelling have been discussed on multiple occasions on One Track Mind. But what if we could reach this 'Holy Grail'? How far away would we be from this scenario eventuating? What would need to happen in order to get there? And is it even a world that athletes want?
On this first of a two-part episode, host Sam Robertson talks about some of the philosophical and overarching questions facing practitioners and organisations in the space, before moving onto some of the more practical considerations in Part 2.
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Genetic testing in sport has emerged as a cost-effective and accessible tool to identify an individual's potential for sporting performance, trainability, optimal exercise selection, recovery strategies and injury risks.
But just how strong is the evidence behind this practice? What are the risks and rewards? And to what extent is this growing industry being regulated - if at all?
On this episode, host Sam Robertson is joined by Professor Nir Eynon and Dr Shanie Landen to discuss the merits and pitfalls of this fast-growing space.
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Wearable technology is proliferating at a rate of knots - from smart watches to heart rate monitors, posture-correcting sensors and even our mobile phones, almost anyone you talk to is using some personal health data from at least one of these devices.
But despite the obvious performance benefits, are we creating an over-reliance on the information we gather from wearable tech? Do we really have the time to assess the quality of each device, when a new offering becomes available just about every other day? And what are the physical and psychological risks for athletes and coaches?
On this episode, host Sam Robertson is joined by Dr Sian Allen to discuss how to address some of these challenges, along with what the future may have in store in this fast-moving space.
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Skill is the defining feature of a successful athlete in many of the sports we play and love. Yet, it remains one of the most controversial areas of high performance methodology. How much practice is optimal? How variable do we need to make it? How hard should it be? And how do we know when what is learnt in practice has actually transferred to competition?
On this episode, host Sam Robertson is joined by Professor Rob Gray to discuss skill acquisition's place as one of sports largely untapped performance frontiers.
For more information on Rob's Perception & Action podcast, his book and many other fantastic skill acquisition resources, subscribe through your app of choice or visit his website
For Rob's excellent overview of ecological dynamics and information processing approaches to skill acquisition, please check out his presentation on the topic
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Baseball is often viewed as one of the more traditional team sports. However, it’s recently been at the forefront of the analytics revolution in sport and is one of the most data rich, technology adoptive sports out there.
This week’s episode has something for everyone – whether they're a baseball fan or not.
Host Sam Robertson is joined by New York Yankees Director of Performance Science, David Whiteside and Kansas City Royals Senior Director of Performance Science, Austin Driggers.
Amongst other topics, they discuss the big performance problems that baseball is most well equipped to answer, the importance of collaboration outside of sport, and even injury prediction gets another mention!
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We’re all familiar with examples of child sporting prodigies - social media posts of a four year old footballer masterfully dribbling past opponents or videos of a young Tiger Woods come readily to mind. But the reality is, these examples are anomalies - far from the norm and the pathway to getting there perhaps not desirable even if it was attainable for more children.
The enhancement of talent identification and the ensuing development programs is understandably pursued by most organised sports - after all the discovery of the next Lionel Messi or Williams sisters is unquestionably valuable for any sport, due to the spike in participation and viewership that can result.
But for an area that has been so well researched and resourced, so many fundamental questions seem to remain. What even is talent? How do we best develop it during childhood and adolescence? And why, despite considerable attention, does talent not seem predictable with any great precision?
To help answer some of these questions and others, host Professor Sam Robertson is joined by Professor Joe Baker. Joe is Professor and Head of the Lifespan Health and Performance Laboratory at York University, Canada. His research examines the science of talent selection and athlete development, as well as the varying factors affecting skill acquisition and maintenance across the lifespan.
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On the last episode of One Track Mind for 2021, host Sam Robertson is joined by New Zealand strength and conditioning legend Professor John Cronin (JC)
The topic? Wearable resistance training.
Lightweight wearable resistance training involves external micro-loads, sometimes as little as 0.5% of the users body mass, being applied to different segments of the body - such as the legs or arms. These loads are worn during sport specific movement training and allow for technique to remain relatively unchanged.
From cumbersome and unwieldy beginnings, advancements to the equipment has seen a surge in the popularity of wearable resistance. Now specialised garments or sleeves have been designed to house these weights that can in many cases be attached directly to the user with fixed velcro.
Despite being relatively in its infancy, wearable resistance training seems like an area that will feature prominently for many sports in times to come - particularly in helping to make athletes fast. And as we’ll hear, it might not just be the athletes that benefit from its use.
For more on JC and his work using wearable resistance training, check out https://www.professorjohncronin.com/
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On this episode, host Sam Robertson is joined by high-performance coach Neil Craig and skill acquisition expert Professor Damian Farrow in a general discussion covering all things high performance coaching. Topics include:
- The new skill sets required by the modern coach
- Areas for improvement in training and practice
- Structuring coaching departments around the head coach, and
- Future innovations in coaching and athlete development
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In the blink of an eye, the volume and type of options available to the sports fan has exploded. The digital age has seen not only the battles for hearts and minds, but also eyeballs on screens, extend to other forms of entertainment, from live streaming to online gaming.
The digital age has also meant that it’s a lot easier for sport businesses, broadcasters and organisations to measure what their fans are consuming. But is increased viewership or clicks on websites actually telling us that’s the content that fan’s want? Or are they just simply taking what they’re given?
On this episode, host Sam Robertson is joined by Newscorp's Leigh Lavery and Western Bulldog's Tom Nickson to discuss some of the best ways to engage the contemporary sports fan.
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None of the latest breakthroughs in science come into mainstream practice without academic publishing - submission of a manuscript based on a study or experiment, which is then peer reviewed to assess its quality.
Although this might not seem like an issue for sport, much of what goes on in the gymnasiums, playing fields and even front offices of sporting organisations has its roots in something that was once published in a journal somewhere.
But talk to just about any researcher or journal editor and they’ll tell you that academic publishing is in crisis, and its getting worse.
On this episode, host Sam Robertson is joined by Journal of Sports Sciences editor Professor Grant Abt and the Executive Chair for the Society for Transparency, Openness, and Replication in Kinesiology, Associate Professor Vanessa Yingling to determine whether academic publishing actually is broken - and if so - how can we fix it?
For more on open access publishing models, see https://blogs.openbookpublishers.com/green-gold-diamond-black-what-does-it-all-mean/
For more on the San Francisco Declaration of Research Assessment (DORA) see https://elifesciences.org/articles/58654
For STORK's webpage, visit https://storkinesiology.org/
For information on the 2022 Inaugural STORK Summit see https://sites.google.com/storkinesiology.org/stork-summit-2022/
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It is often said that sport is the great leveller - that once participants enter the track, court or field of play, their background, beliefs and even the fiercest conflicts all become temporarily irrelevant.
But in many aspects, the gap between the conditions and privileges afforded to certain sports and athletes but not others, is as large as it’s ever been. However, there is an increasingly louder voice coming from those that are keen to change it.
So how do we achieve this level playing field? And how do we ensure that equal opportunity and diversity become fundamental to the sporting experience in a sustainable way?
Join host Sam Robertson as he is joined by Professor Sophia Nimphius to work through one of sport's biggest current challenges.
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Intuition, gut instinct, educated hunch. Whether its contemplating who to select in an upcoming football match or hesitating to travel down that inner city, darkened alleyway, we all use our gut instincts every day.
But it’s in our workplaces, where we often consider ourselves at our most organised and objective that an over-reliance on intuition has the potential to create problems.
So how do we know when trusting our gut instinct is the right thing to do? What are the potential downsides? And can we use reflection, feedback and refinement to actually improve this form of decision-making?
On this show, the final of a four part series on decision-making, host Sam Robertson is once again joined by special guest David Joyce
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Consider some of the big decisions that you make in your job? Whether it’s setting a yearly plan, deciding what technology or infrastructure to invest in, or even hiring and firing staff, chances are there will be a lot to contemplate before settling on the final choice.
Questions like ‘How long do I have to make the decision? How much information do I need to collect? What don’t I know? And who else do I need to involve? are just a few that come immediately to mind.
But with such a long list of potential steps to consider, one could be forgiven for missing a few.
On this show, the third of a four part series on decision-making, host Sam Robertson & special guest David Joyce outline a user’s guide to decision making hygiene in sport, outlining a series of must do process and steps that should be implemented before, during, and after you make that big call – as well as some to address when faced with the same conundrum again.
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We all have them and a lot of the time, they’re influence is unavoidable. Biases are quite simply, part of the human condition. But despite considerable exposure in the media, research and even popular culture, much of the discussion has centred on viewing biases as flaws of the human condition.
In this second episode of our four part series into decision-making, we look at what biases mean for individuals and organisations working in sport. We discuss how heuristics are useful tools that can actually be harnessed in decision-making, how to avoid them turning them into biases, and most importantly of all, we provide some practical tools that we all can implement in our workplaces. To explore this topic, Host Sam Robertson is joined once again by high-performance strategist, David Joyce.
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Decisions. We all make thousands of them every day. From the once in a lifetime question that we spend weeks, months or years contemplating, to the subconscious choices that we don't even know.
On this episode, we present the first of a four-part deep dive into decision-making in high performance sport, all to be released over the next month in the lead up to the season three return of one track mind on October 26 to begin today, we explore eight characteristics that define what a good decision is. We explain why these characteristics matter and how all of us in our work can benefit practically by utilizing them.
To explore this question, Host Sam Robertson is joined by high-performance strategist, David Joyce. To most David needs no introduction having forged a 20 year career in high-performance management with organizations such as the Chinese Olympic Committee, Galatasary, Blackburn Rovers, the English Institute of Sport and Greater Western Sydney Giants.
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The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were perhaps two of the most different in recent memory, due largely to the required measures that were put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For most athletes, this meant interrupted, and/or heavily modified preparation, as well as some never before seen competition conditions.
For some insights into these experiences, on this week’s mini-episode, host Sam Robertson sits down with some athletes & staff who recently participated in the Games.
Guest 1: Australian marathon athlete, Liam Adams
Guest 2: Australian Judo athlete, Aoife Coughlan
Guest 3: Team GB Para-cycling performance analyst, Stephanie Blair.
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Sport scientists face one of the most rapidly changing roles in all of sport. The second half of this two-part episode proposes 5 further 'adaptive tools' - new types of training, skill sets, operational processes or even mindsets - that sport scientists can call upon to not only help adapt to changing conditions in their workplace, but also to thrive and take advantage of these anticipated changes.
It borrows from concepts introduces in Gerd Gigerenzer's 'Bounded Rationality: The Adaptive Toolbox' as well as a 2020 paper from Sam Robertson in the Journal of Sports Sciences
To help host Sam Robertson work through this topic, Dr Alice Sweeting returns to the show.
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Sport scientists face one of the most rapidly changing roles in all of sport. This episode proposes 10 adaptive tools - new types of training, skill sets, operational processes or even mindsets - that sport scientists can call upon to not only help adapt to changing conditions in their workplace, but also to thrive and take advantage of these anticipated changes.
It borrows from concepts introduces in Gerd Gigerenzer's 'Bounded Rationality: The Adaptive Toolbox' as well as a 2020 paper from Sam Robertson in the Journal of Sports Sciences
To help host work through the first five of these in part 1 of this mini episode, Dr Alice Sweeting joins the show for the first time.
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Subscribe to the Track newsletter for a regular dose of sport's science insights from our team of leading researchers and further reading for every episode topic. Learn more and see full episode transcript at trackvu.com/podcast
All good things must come to an end. For athletes, that end can be sudden and far sooner than hoped. After years of intense dedication and sacrifice, the average career of a high performance athlete lasts no more than a few years. So what comes next? And how can we help them prepare for the emotional, physical and financial toll that comes with that final whistle call?
Today, host Professor Sam Robertson speaks to Bianca Chatfield and Matti Clements. Hitting us with the athlete perspective, Bianca is a former Australian Diamonds netballer and Vice Captain, with a slew of gold and silver Commonwealth Game and World Championship medals under her belt. Matti sits on the other side, as a qualified psychologist and the Director of People, Wellbeing and Engagement at the Australian Institute of Sport. Over the last two decades, she's worked with myriad elite athletes and sporting codes to develop effective support systems. Together Sam, Bianca and Matti explore what a successful transition looks like and where the responsibility lies in making that happen.
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What does a good video game have to do with improving athlete performance? On the face of it , perhaps not much. But if we dig a little deeper into the science and design behind video games, we can see the incredible power that modern games have in facilitating learning, through engaging the participant in a manner that is enjoyable and interactive.
On this mini episode, host Professor Sam Robertson welcomes back Dr Carl Woods to unpack some of the key principles that sports coaches can adapt from video game design to create performance enhancement opportunities for their athletes.
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Just like the economy, the weather, or traffic, sport is deeply complex. And we don't just mean that it has lots of elements or that it's difficult to understand, we're talking specifically about what's called a complex system – have a listen to our mini episode on this topic for a bit of a primer! When you're dealing with a complex system, you've got a whole lotta moving parts, interacting with each other and their environments in unpredictable ways, and there isn't a clear and simple relationship between what one individual element does and what the system as a whole will do. It takes a special approach to tackle complex problems, so how and why should we embrace complex systems thinking in sport?
Today, host Professor Sam Robertson speaks to friends, colleagues and experts Professor Paul Salmon and Dr Scott McLean. And this time, they're all chatting together at once!
Paul is the Director of the Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems at the University of the Sunshine Coast, where Scott is a Research Fellow right alongside him, leading the Centre's work on sport and outdoor recreation. Together these complex systems thinkers investigate complexity's rise in sport, the tools we can use to leverage it, and the risks of passing it up.
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We’ve had a lot of fantastic guests on the show thus far and now’s your chance to get to know some of them better through a segment we call ‘5 in 5’. In this mini episode, we ask guests to answer five questions about themselves, their career and of course the future of sport - all in less than 5 minutes.
Join host Professor Sam Robertson as he speaks with FIFA's Nicolas Evans, San Antonio Spurs' Xavi Schelling, Victoria University's Carl Woods and the English Institute of Sport's Steve McCaig.
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Analytics is arguably one of sport's fastest growing and most exciting fields. It's something people in sport never seem to stop talking about, but do we all agree on what it actually means? To help sift through the mud and understand what we should really be asking of our sports analysts, host Professor Sam Robertson speaks to two industry legends to figure out where sports analytics can have the most impact and what's in the future for this evolving area.
First up is expert Sarah Rudd, who until recently was the Director of Analytics for none other than Arsenal FC. Next, Sam is joined by the prolific David Sumpter – Professor of Applied Mathematics at University of Uppsala and author of popular titles 'Soccermatics', 'Outnumbered' and 'The Ten Equations that Rule the World'.
Together, Sam, Sarah and David take a hard look at the current state of sports analytics and what might be on the horizon.
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Complexity is a topic that is growing in popularity across sport. Before we get into making a case for complexity’s importance to sport on our upcoming main episode on this topic, we’re taking the opportunity on this mini episode to actually define the term.
Luckily, recent work from a UK group, the Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus has already done a lot of the heavy lifting. Developed in conjunction with leading experts, the Centre has distilled complexity down to its 16 defining features. On this episode, Professor Sam Robertson is joined by Dr Carl Woods to unpack these features as they specifically relate to sport.
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Behind every high performance athlete is a sprawling network of support staff. Physios, coaches, performance analysts, sports scientists, the list goes on and on. So what does the dream staff team look like? How can we find the right spread across disciplines, the perfect number of people, the ideal hierarchy and structure, and get everyone working together well to give the athletes the best chance of success?
On today's episode, host Professor Sam Robertson has got two expert guests with a tonne of experience in building exceptional staff teams.
First up is Lorena Torres – Performance Coordinator for the Spanish National Basketball Team, formerly the Performance Director for the Philadelphia 76ers and Sport Scientist with the San Antonio Spurs.
Next, he chats to Dave Tenney – High Performance Director for Austin FC, and formerly holding the same role for NBA's Orlando Magic and Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders.
Together, Sam, Lorena and Dave deep dive into what people, practice and processes need to be in place for an optimal staff team.
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For modern day professional athletes, the idea of your every waking (and sleeping) moment being tracked and measured isn't so far-fetched. On today's episode, we dig into when, why and how athlete tracking can be done effectively, and when it's taken too far.
This week's expert guests are Stuart Morgan, the Lead of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Innovation at the Australian Institute of Sport; and Steve McCaig, the Athlete Health Consultant at the English Institute of Sport.
Together, Sam, Stuart and Steve dig deeper into the rapid evolution of athlete tracking, where we get things right, and where we get things oh so wrong.
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Innovation is certainly one of sport's favourite buzzwords, but what does innovation in the high performance sporting world actually look like? On this episode, host Sam Robertson looks into how we can actually make innovation happen and what sort of innovation should we be looking for.
Our first guest is Albert Mundet – Director of the Barça Innovation Hub and Head of Knowledge at FC Barcelona. A former physicist, Albert is a Fullbright Fellow with a multidisciplinary background in research and innovation management.
Next up, we hear from Dr Véronique Richard – Researcher and Mental Performance Consultant for Cirque du Soleil and Quebec's National Institute of Sport. She works with athletes globally to stimulate creativity through movement improvisation, creative problem solving and collective ideation.
Together, Sam, Albert and Véronique dig deeper into what innovation really means and how we can encourage, evaluate and govern it in sport.
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Injury – it's one of the biggest problems plaguing the sports industry. Aside from the obvious potential for physical pain, injuries are to blame for a lot of shortened careers, lost matches, and millions of dollars in potentially avoidable spending. It's no surprise then that sports organisations are eager to find that magical technology – the one that can predict (and avoid) injuries with genuine accuracy.
But is this even possible? There are many who say it is, or indeed that they're already doing it, but Sam and his expert guests aren't so sure. In fact, Sam's had a bit to say on this topic before:
- https://twitter.com/robertson_sj/status/1157188689702707200?lang=en
- https://www.bullhorn.fm/paceyperformancepodcast/posts/XE6PEmb-pacey-performance-podcast-258-sam-robertson-professor-of-sports-analytics-at-victoria-university
We're first joined by Dr Ken Quarrie, Chief Scientist for New Zealand Rugby where he helped develop the nationwide injury prevention program, Rugby Smart, which has since been adopted in countries across the globe.
Next up, Sam speaks with Professor Sergio Fonseca from the Department of Physical Therapy at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil. One of the editors of the Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, Sergio's research focuses on applying dynamical systems and ecological approaches to musculoskeletal rehabilitation and sports.
Together, Sam, Ken and Sergio dig deeper into this hot button topic to look at what's stopping us from making injury prediction a reality.
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We talk a lot about technology on this show – how it’s used, why it’s used, and the impact it has across all different types and levels of sport. We know that enormous amounts of time and money are spent developing tech that helps us track and train athletes – but it’s certainly not perfect. So what’s missing? And what are the holy grail technologies that sports scientists can only dream of?
On this episode we’re joined by two of the most experienced sport scientists on the planet. We’ll discuss their own journeys in the tech side of sport, how it’s changed over the past few decades, and perhaps most importantly and interestingly of all, where technology can and should go next.
Our host, Professor Sam Robertson, is first joined by Dr David Martin. With over 35 years of experience and 110 scientific publications under his belt, David has held many leading roles in sports behemoths such as the Australian Institute of Sport and the Philadelphia 76ers. He is now the Chief Scientist for Apeiron Life and a Professor at Australian Catholic University.
Next up, Sam speaks with Dr Darren Burgess. Another major name in the field, Darren is the High Performance Manager at Melbourne Football Club, and previously held similar prominent positions at Arsenal FC, Port Adelaide FC, Football Federation Australia, and Liverpool FC.
Together, Sam, David and Darren discuss the mistakes we make in how we use the technology we already have, and where it will potentially take us in the coming decades.
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Subscribe to the Track newsletter for a regular dose of sport's science insights from our team of leading researchers and further reading for every episode topic. Learn more and see full episode transcript at trackvu.com/podcast
Sport reflects life – all of it's beauty, and all of its ugliness too. But is it a two-way street? What role does sport play in shaping society? Sporting organisations and athletes are in a powerful position to effect change across all manner of fundamental issues, so how can they do that and how much responsibility lies on their shoulders?
To break things down, host Professor Sam Robertson is joined first by Professor Corinne Reid, Interim Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research at Victoria University. Having previously worked with numerous Olympic teams and athletes, Corinne is now the executive sponsor of the university's Sport Strategy and its Planetary Health Initiative, both committed to addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Next up, Sam speaks with Professor Kate Henne, Director of the School of Regulation and Global Governance, Professor at the Australian National University, leader of the Justice and Technoscience Lab, and Honorary Professor at Arizona State University. Her studies focus on how science and technology contribute to the governance of persons and populations, spanning biometric surveillance, human enhancement and well-being, sports governance, and technologies of policing.
Together, Sam, Corinne and Kate discuss how sport and sportspeople can drive social change, the barriers in doing so, and the level of responsibility we should take on.
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Despite our ever-increasing ability to measure the world around us in minute detail, predicting the future with total accuracy is impossible. But that's not to say we can't identify plausible scenarios for which we should prepare. So how do we do that in sport and what do those scenarios look like?
To break things down, host Professor Sam Robertson is joined first by Dr Michael Linley. A Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University and Managing Director at international advisory firm, Brand Capital, he is a scenarios planning expert who has helped governments, sports organisations, banks and airlines to anticipate and plan for the unknown.
Next up, Sam speaks with Nicolas Evans, the Head of Football Research & Standards at none other than FIFA. During his decade-long tenure, Nicolas has been integral to leading the organisation in all facets of innovation and future preparedness, not only at the elite level, but at amateur and grassroots levels as well.
Together, Sam, Michael and Nicolas discuss how sporting organisations can remain relevant into the future, what's driving the progression of sport, and whether it's headed in a direction that we can be happy with.
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Coaching is something we've long seen as distinctly human – a powerful and emotional exchange between coach and athlete. But like almost every other role in sport, coaching is now being augmented by technology. Is this non-stop stream of data helping our coaches and athletes? Or is it getting in the way of what really matters?
To break things down, host Professor Sam Robertson is joined first by Dr Martin Buchheit. Martin spent seven seasons as the Head of Performance for Paris St Germain Football club, has published of 170 scientific papers, and is now Head of Performance Intelligence Research at Kitman Labs.
Next up, Sam speaks with renowned coach Lisa Alexander. With 30 years of coaching under her belt, Lisa is perhaps best known for her decade-long tenure as Head Coach of the Australian Diamonds national netball team, with her 81% win rate marking her as one of the most successful coaches in Australia's history.
Together, Sam, Martin and Lisa discuss how coaching has changed over the years, whether coaches have become too reliant on technology, and what skills we'll be looking for in coaches of the future.
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We all have different ideas of what it means to be 'fair' and who we need to be fair to. Is the way we currently do things in sport fair? Will it ever be? Is it possible to actually be fair to athletes, fans, owners, and the sport itself, all at the same time? And who should be making and enforcing these decisions?
To break things down, host Professor Sam Robertson is joined by Professor Sigmund Loland and John Boultbee AM. Sigmund is a renowned Professor of Sport Philosophy at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences and a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency ethics committee. John, a former barrister, is currently the CEO of the National Sports Tribunal of Australia and has previously held many leading positions in sport, including Director of the Australian Institute of Sport, Head of National Teams at Football Federation Australia, and High Performance Director of Volleyball Australia.
Together, Sam, Sigmund and John discuss whether and how sport can be made more fair, how technology is playing into this, and the delicate nuances involved in trying to make things fair for everyone.
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Society is staring down the barrel at major changes to how we work, and it's no different in sport. If you're currently part of the sports ecosystem, or preparing to enter it, how will your role change over the coming decades?
To break things down, host Professor Sam Robertson is joined by Dr Patrick Ward and David Joyce. Patrick is the Director of Research and Development for NFL's Seattle Seahawks and Founder of strength and conditioning facility Optimum Sports Performance. David is a sports strategy and leadership consultant, internationally recognised for his work with elite clubs and Olympic teams across the globe, as well as his two best-selling books.
Together, Sam, Patrick and David discuss if technology will render certain roles obsolete, if new ways of consuming and participating in sport also mean more work to go around, and whether educational institutions are teaching content that will even be relevant by the time students graduate.
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What, if any, are the limits for artificial intelligence in sport? Will AI help take sport to new levels of exciting never-before-seen gameplay? Or will it cause sport to no longer be considered ‘sport’ at all?
To break things down, host Professor Sam Robertson is joined by two brilliant guests. First up is Dr Ellen Broad, renowned artificial intelligence expert and author of much-awarded book 'Made By Humans: The AI Condition'. Next, Sam chats to Dr Xavi Schelling, Director of Sports Science and Performance for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. Together, Sam, Ellen and Xavi discuss the benefits and dangers of AI, how it affects the sports industry and people working within it, how it's currently being utilised to track athletes, and how we might make better use of it in the future.
What do you think about the use of AI in sport? Help, hindrance or something in between? Tell us on our socials:
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Coming December 3rd, it's the first episode of Track and Victoria University's brand new podcast, One Track Mind.
Brought to you by a team of leading sports science researchers, One Track Mind digs into the real forces, issues and innovations shaping the future of sport. Each episode, host Professor Sam Robertson asks a big question, and gets help answering it from some of the greatest minds in sport. We're talking tech, politics, culture, economics, and more, to find out how sport is changing and how it's going to affect us all.
In the first episode, we'll be asking: Is technology ruining the athlete-coach relationship? Subscribe now so you don't miss out. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, or anywhere you get your fix.
For further reading and behind the scenes content, sign up to the newsletter at trackvu.com and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
We'll see you on December 3rd.