How did you get into sport?
This is the “How did you get into sport?” podcast where we explore the ins and outs of working in high performance sport.
These are conversations with leaders in the industry about their journey and most importantly how they got to where they are. Working in professional sport is one of the most sought after yet highly competitive industries with limited professional organisations offering opportunities to work at the highest level of their respective sports.
This podcast was created on the back of countless conversations with a diverse range of experienced professionals overly frustrated yet still highly motivated to work in their dream role and asking the question “How did you get to work in professional sport and what did you have to do to get there?” Host Luis Resa is a Sports Physiotherapist who has worked in various elite professional organisation both in Australia and internationally.
In each episode, Luis has deep conversations with Sports Physiotherapist, S&C coaches, Head coaches, High Performance Managers and other leaders in the field of elite sport to discuss what it takes to excel in the world of sport as well as diving deeply into the intricacies of what got their foot in the door of some of the world’s most desirable roles.
Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. In the meantime, enjoy a deep conversation and learn the specific do’s and don’ts of both securing and surpassing expectations in the field of high performance sport.
Episodes
87 episodes
David Clancy - How to get a job in pro sport...Literally! Co-founder & CEO of The Nxt Level Group.
David is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Nxt Level Group, a company specialising in identifying and placing top talent across some of the world’s biggest sporting organisations, including the English Premier League, NFL, NBA, NWSL, and La Liga, t...
Michael Davie - How to win an NBA Championship and optimise "Long Term Athletic Development".
Michael Davie is a Strength & Conditioning coach who has operated at the highest level of professional basketball, across both the college system and the NBA. He’s one of the few to have reached the pinnacle of the sport, winning an NBA Cha...
Wayne Diesel - From the Springboks, to the EPL, NFL and NBA...Sports Physiotherapist across various sports, eras and continents!
Wayne is a highly regarded sports physiotherapist who has worked at the pinnacle of multiple sports and organisations across the globe for 40 years. He has worked in Olympic sports, with the South African National Rugby Team the Springboks, in ...
Nick Poulos – Leading with vulnerability in the toughest sports in Australia. Coaching in the AFL, Rugby Australia, Aspire Academy and more…
Nick is one of the leading high-performance managers in Australian sport, having spent close to a decade leading performance programs in the AFL with the GWS Giants and Adelaide Crows. Before his time in the AFL, Nick’s career took him around t...
Matt Smith – Becoming a pro late, winning championships with Ange Postecoglou and becoming an international football coach.
Matt’s journey through professional football is anything but conventional. Released by Portsmouth in the UK at 17, he moved to Australia and traded his football boots for a suit, seemingly stepping away from the dream. But at 27, an age when ma...
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Darcy Norman - Improving performance in the MLS, Serie A, Bundesliga and winning the World Cup with the German men's national team.
Darcy is the Director of High Performance with Chicago Fire FC (MLS) and has been operating at the highest level of soccer for nearly three decades. His career spans some of the biggest stages in the game, with roles at European giants Bayern M...
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Alex Ross – Head of Athletic Performance & Sport Science (Scottish Rugby). Boosting rugby performance across 4 countries & working with multimillion dollar athletes in MLB.
From international rugby to Major League Baseball and back again, Alex’s journey in elite sport is truly unique. He has made significant contributions to the game of rugby across four countries: in New Zealand as Sport Science Manager with the ...
Justin Dougherty - Head Physiotherapist Newcastle Jets, A-League
Justin is an Australian sports physiotherapist who has worked at the pinnacle of football in Australia in both the round ball game and Aussie rules football. He has been the Head Physio for 3 separate A-League clubs including the Newcastle Jets...
James Moore - Head of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Scottish Rugby
James in one of the most lateral and deep thinkers I know in the industry and has the expertise and experience to match. He has worked across a diverse range of sports and athletes at the highest level including, Olympic sports where he was dep...
Michael Baines - Building businesses, relationships and UFC Champion Alexander Volkanovski
Mick has founded, grown and sold several successful health care businesses all while having an impact in the world of high performance sport. He’s worked for over a decade in women’s Rugby League as a physio for the NSW Origin team and as Direc...
Dr. David Kelly - Senior Sports Scientist for Manchester United FC for over 12 years.
David has spent several decades immersed in English football, working at the highest level of performance across both the Championship and the English Premier League. He’s played a key role in the success of some of the game’s most iconic manag...
Leigh Russell – Former CEO of Swimming Australia. Navigating leadership at the highest levels of AFL, Netball and the most successful Olympic sport in Australia.
Leigh's resume in sport is one of Australia’s most impressive having held leadership roles in some of Australia’s largest sports. This has included General Manager positions with the AFL players association, GC Suns and Essendon Bombers (AFL), ...
Dan Howells – The man sports practitioners seek to not just get their foot into the door of elite sport but thrive when in it.
Dan is a high performance coach and mentor who’s coaching career has spanned across the likes of US Ski & Snowboard team, English Institute of Sport, England Rugby, Wasps Rugby and as Head Strength & Conditioning Coordinator in Baseball...
Byron Field – Lead Physiotherapist for the “Wallabies” (Australian National Rugby Team)
Byron has built a deep career in the world of professional Rugby having worked with the ACT Brumbies (Super Rugby), Bath Rugby (UK Premiership) and currently as Lead Physiotherapist for the Wallabies. Armed with 5 degrees, including currently c...
Anthony Crea – High Performance S&C Coach who created history in assisting the Australian national football team (Socceroos) qualify for their 2nd World Cup in 32 years!
Anthony has been part of the fabric of Australian football for over 3 decades and has assisted 3 different A-League clubs win silverware with Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory and Macarthur FC. Anthony has also held the prestigious position of Head ...
Callum Repper - Clinical Lead Performance Rehabilitation, UK Sports Institute
Callum is a sports physiotherapist and strength & conditioning coach who has worked in the elite levels of various sports across Europe and the UK. This has included working for both the Mercedes AMG Petronas and Hass F1 racing teams in the...
Luke Heath – Senior Physiotherapist at Aspetar, Qatar. Working at the leading orthopaedic and sports medicine facility in the world.
Luke is an Australian Sports Physiotherapist whose career spans some of the biggest codes in Australian sport having worked with the likes of Rugby Australia (Rugby Sevens), GWS Giants (AFL) and Sydney FC (A-League). Currently he is a senior ph...
Tim Roberts - Physical Therapy Manager UFC Performance Institute, Mexico.
This is one of the most unique, inspiring and fascinating stories to date and Tim shares his entire journey as far, having worked in high performance sport across 4 different continents. Tim provides an unprecedented insight of what it’s like t...
Rachel Vickery – Performing under pressure & how your breathing, physiology & state control is directly affecting the performance of the athletes you work with. Sports Physiotherapist & High-Performance Architect in the NBA, NRL, AFL & Military.
Rachel has worked with elite athletes across many domains through her work as a sports physiotherapist, breathing specialist and her expertise in the field of performing in high pressure environments. Rach has worked with elite performers from ...
Olivia Knowles – How sleep affects athletic performance. Sleep expert and AFLW high performance manager turned general management of performance in business.
Is it quality or quantity? What physiological and cognitive adaptations happen during sleep? What is sleep inertia? Are wearables improving sleep or can they be detrimental to the affects of sleep? We answer all the questions. Not only is Liv a...
Jason Weber - This could be the missing piece to the injury prevention puzzle. Founding CEO of SpeedSig and S&C Coach for the QLD Reds, NSW Waratahs (Super Rugby), Australian National Team (Wallabies) and Fremantle Dockers (AFL)
Jason has over 30 years experience in the industry and during his time at the pinnacle of both Rugby and AFL he has taken his experience and expertise and developed a novel analytics tool to assist both medical and performance staff navigate th...
Nick Kane - How he built the premier sports medicine learning and network platform in Australia (Sports MAP)
Nick Kane is an Australian sports physiotherapist and the founding director of Sports MAP. During his career he has spent over a decade in professional sport where he was the Head Physiotherapist for the Essendon Bombers FC in the AFL, all whil...
Andrew (Jack) Russell - The real lessons I learnt winning 6 AFL premierships as a High Performance Manager.
Andrew (Jack) Russell has worked in the sport of AFL for close to 3 decades and has been the High Performance Manager for the likes of Port Adeliade FC, Hawthorn FC and Carlton FC. During his time, he has won 6 premiership titles and is conside...
Kate Beerworth - Head Physiotherapist for the 2 most successful national teams in Australia, the Matildas (Football) and the Australian Women's Cricket Team
Kate has been a physiotherapist for close to 30 years with 2 of those decades working at the pinnacle of elite women’s sport in Australia. Initially seeing a diverse range of athletes through her own sports private clinic, she has then gone on ...
Kim Keedle - Formula 1 High Performance Coach and Physiotherapist
Kim is an Australian high performance coach and physiotherapist who has spent the last 8 years at the pinnacle of world motorsport. Kim has worked for the likes of Hass F1 team, Alpine Racing and one of the most famous teams in the history of F...