Performance Tal‪k‬ Ewell & Chris

Daniel Heller is the owner and founder of Ironwood Health and Fitness LLC based out of Gig Harbor, Washington. The common thread of his strength and conditioning practice since starting in 2007 is his passion teaching movement competency and efficiency to youth athletes. Connecting with youth athletes through what is important to them, their sport, is the key to unlocking the door to inspiring them to want to move better. They care what Daniel has to offer because he cares about them.
Daniel holds a Bachelor of Exercise Science and Wellness from Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington. A Master of Science in Strength and Conditioning from the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach. He also sits on the Washington State Board of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
Daniel's sports of preference that he has been participating in since he was a kid and continues to coach and compete are mountain biking and ice hockey. He’s a USA Hockey Level 4 coach, USA Cycling Level 2 Coach, and Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Association certified instructor.

Kris Robertson is a Strength and Conditioning Coach with Rugby Canada. Kris is responsible for the physical development of the Senior Women’s National 15’s, as well as the Women’s Rugby Canada Development Academy in Ontario. Kris is a former professional athlete of the Canadian Football League (CFL) being drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 11th overall in the 2013 draft, unfortunately he suffered a knee injury that cut his professional aspirations short. Since then Kris has been Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. Kris has worked with athletes from a broad spectrum of sports such as swimming, hockey, basketball, judo, and soccer, Kris is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA) and is currently in progress of completing his Master's of Exercise Science at Edith Cowan University.

Eric McMahon is the Coaching Program Manager at the NSCA Headquarters in Colorado Springs, where he oversees and facilitates the growth of coaching and sport science program initiatives. He joined the NSCA Staff in 2020 with over 15-years of coaching experience, including roles with the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, and the MLB Europe Programs. McMahon has spoken both in the U.S. and internationally on strength and conditioning topics, including on the use of “Velocity Based Training” and technology to guide and monitor the training process.

Associate Professor Stephen Bird is an international award-winning performance scientist, researcher, and speaker with expertise in athlete preparation, strength and conditioning, and sport science. Stephen holds a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology, an Honours research degree in Chronobiology and a Bachelor degree in Human Movement. His works in the area spanning more than 20 years, with an extensive publication record. He currently hold the positions of Associate Professor in Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Southern Queensland, Athlete Health and Performance Lead for Basketball New Zealand Women’s Senior National Team (Tall Ferns), Associate Editor for the Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning, and Editor-in-Chief of the International Universities Strength and Conditioning Association Journal.
During his ten year span as Director of Strength and Conditioning at the Western Region of Sport (WRAS), the program was four-time winner of the National Strength and Conditioning Association Strength of America Award in the USA, following which Stephen was recognised with the WRAS Life Membership Award and Australian Strength and Conditioning Association Mentor Coach of the Year.
Stephen’s international experience as an innovative performance science consultant is impressive. His previous clients include the Indonesian Olympic Committee, Basketball Scotland, British Basketball League, Basketball New Zealand, Scotland Rugby League, Poland Rugby League, Team UR Racing, Papua New Guinea Sports Foundation and the Solomon Islands Performance Institute. Working with the highest-performing athletes from around the world, Birdy has attended two Olympic Games (2008 Beijing and 2016 Rio), World Championships, World Cups, Commonwealth Games, Southeast Asian and Asian Games, along with multiple international pre-competition training camps.
Closer to home, Stephen has worked within championship-winning teams across the National Basketball League, Women’s National Basketball League, and National Rugby League. He teaches proven strategies to successfully embed integrated performance frameworks, translating scientific data into practical and applied performance strategies. Communicating complex performance issues through a simplified contextual unpacking process allows key personnel to fully understand the benefits to improve organisational performance.
Working elite sport since 2000, “Birdy” as he is affectionately known, has implemented high-performance frameworks all around the world for developing youth athletes to elite juniors, through to World Champions and Olympic Games medallists.

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Dr. Kay Porter owns a coaching/sports performance firm in Eugene, Oregon. She teaches mental preparation techniques to athletes, teams and businesses.
She is the author of THE MENTAL ATHLETE and VISUAL ATHLETICS.