Loris Bertolacci lorisbertolacci

In this podcast I am chatting with Nathan Stockley. Nathan is currently in China working with Chinese Weightlifting in the build up to the Tokyo Olympics. We chat about his experiences there and also simply working in China. Nathan has a Masters qualification in Strength and Conditioning from the University of Edinburgh and has extensive experience in team sports in the UK. We explore topics such as using the Olympic lifts in training athletes and how to introduce the Olympic lifts to the developing athlete. We chat about the debate over whether the Olympic lifts are worth the investment in time in elite and junior settings. Nathan has had an amazing experience working with the best weightlifters in the world in the past 3 years. 

Brentan Parsons is the current Strength and Conditioning Manager for the Shanghai Institute of Sport in China. Till late 2019 he held dual roles with this and as head S&C lead for the Chinese National Sprint Cycling team. His first role in China was with the Chinese National Basketball team in 2010. This evolved into his High Performance Management role with the Shanghai Institute where he combined hands on S&C with many sports such as Volleyball and managing staff and facilities. He spent 10 years prior to that with 3 AFL clubs in Australia in a variety of roles. Before that he worked with the Victorian Institute of Sport assisting sports such as hockey and cycling. He was a Rugby Union player as an athlete and represented Victoria. In this podcast we discuss his journey in Strength and Conditioning. We also then discuss some very practical aspects of S&C for sprint cycling. Brentan provides some basic benchmarks and clarity on the needs of preparing sprint cyclists. Brentan has had a fascinating career as hands on S&C with intermittent team sports and cycling and also as a High Performance Manager in China. 

Todays podcast is with Chris Dennis. Currently chris is the strength and conditioning manager with the Geelong Cats AFL team. Chris started at the Cats in 2002 as an unpaid intern. This evolved into a full time role at Geelong in 2005. He then worked at the Queensland Reds for a few years with Eddie Jones. This progressed to stints with Leinster Rugby union and Paris La Stade before returning to geelong in 2012. His determination to get a start in AFL is well documented and humorous in this podcast. It was obvious to me with his work ethic and smarts he would progress in this industry. We chat about his development, AFL, Union and many other current topics in the AFL landscape. We chat about when in Paris he was sought after by Essendon Football club prior to the ASADA saga their but remained in Paris. Chis is not one to self promote but has had a wonderful career in preparing AFL and Rugby Union teams and is a world class practitioner. 

Grace Giles was part of the highly successful Victorian Roller Derby team and a pioneer in the sport in Australia from 2007. In this podcast we discuss her evolution from working in a coffee shop to fund her sport to owning an F45 franchise in New York. Grace embraced Strength and Conditioning in 2011 at Advanced Athletes Performance. She then completed her personal training certificates before transitioning to an Exercise Science Degree. Grace was a highly motivated athlete and has used this this work ethic and passion to transition to owning an F45 franchise in New York. Fantastic chat discussing the sport of Roller Derby, her career development and an insight into the competitive PT scene in New York. It also highlights the different pathways in the S&C/fitness industry. Grace talks about the passion needed to progress in the industry and this is a huge takeaway from this podcast. A fascinating journey. 

This podcast is with Jo-Anne Karaitiana. Playing junior ITF she also won 2 doubles national titles and semi finalist in singles nationals. At US College played in team that won 2 conference USA titles. Women’s WTA ranking in singles and doubles and top 50 in Australia. Now Director Tennis Box Hill Senior College. Physical preparation and Tennis coach National Academy Tennis Australia and diverse roles in strength and conditioning with sports like football and netball. Qualified in Exercise Science, fully accredited as a Tennis coach and doing her Masters in Strength of Conditioning at Edith Cowan University. She talks about her career development and meshing tennis coaching with strength & conditioning. Backdrop is an insight into a young player who had to work part time in menial jobs as a junior, did school full time, getting to training by public transport. As a tour player to make ends meet she coached and worked varied jobs. We discuss her struggles with knee injury which curtailed her tennis career and lessons learnt from that for young players. All these experiences so valuable in her development as a coach. Plus talk tennis and junior development.

Adam Centofanti is Head of Academy Strength & Conditioning at Houston Dynamo. Prior to this he was Head of Academy Sports Science at Melbourne City and underpinned the W League program. In the next few months given the situation with Covid19 the theme of my podcasts will be a mix of career development and topics relevant to the sport involved, Football (Soccer) in this case. I first met Adam in 2008 before he went overseas with an Academy to Italy for a to play football. He returned 2011 and I started helping him with fitness and mentoring. He then started with a Certificate 3 in fitness which over 9 years progressed to his current position and a Masters in Football Science. The key point is 9 years. Seems like yesterday but career development takes a while. Adam has grasped every opportunity but had to earn money at times in areas outside football. Before leaving Australia he was also still playing NPL football. So 9 years from now is 2029! Plan long term and short term and stay positive.