The Coretex Athletic Review

Evan Kurylo
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Sports
  • Updated Weekly

Host Evan Kurylo distills current sport science research it through the lens of modern athlete development, coaching methodology, and goaltender performance. The aim is to simplify complex research, highlight the key findings, and connect them to real-world coaching decisions — from anticipation and pattern recognition, to visual cognition, to the latest in coaching pedagogy. Short episodes. Strong insights. Better athletes.

  1. 4d ago

    26. Sleep Strategies for Traveling

    Returning for season 2: In this episode, I dive into the science behind athlete travel and explore why crossing time zones, long flights, poor sleep, dehydration, and disrupted routines can affect everything from reaction time and decision-making to recovery and injury risk. Drawing from the latest sports medicine research, we separate common travel fatigue from true jet lag, explain why eastward travel is generally more challenging than westward travel, and discuss the concept of circadian advantage—the hidden edge teams gain when their internal clocks are better aligned with game time. I also break down practical, evidence-based strategies that athletes, coaches, and parents can implement immediately, including sleep scheduling, hydration, meal timing, strategic light exposure, caffeine use, napping, and recovery planning. Whether you're flying across the country for nationals or driving across the province for a weekend tournament, optimizing travel may be one of the easiest ways to gain a competitive advantage. In this episode I discuss: The difference between travel fatigue and jet lag Why your biological clock matters for athletic performance Why traveling east is usually more difficult than traveling west Circadian rhythms and their impact on strength, reaction time, and decision-making How sleep disruption affects recovery, performance, and injury risk The relationship between travel and illness Hydration challenges during air travel The role of nutrition and gut health while traveling Chronotypes: are some athletes naturally better travelers? Evidence-based travel strategies used by elite performance staff Hatamiya, N., Holmes, K. E., Grosicki, G. J., et al. (2026). Optimizing Athlete Travel for Performance: A Scientific Blueprint for Athletes, Coaches, and Sports Medicine Staff. Sports Medicine, 56, 1381–1403. Follow Coretex Athletics 🎙 Podcast: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and wherever you listen. 📺 YouTube: Coretex Athletics 📧 Email: coretexathletics@gmail.com 💻 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CoretexAthletics If you're enjoying the podcast... Leaving a five-star rating, following the show, and sharing episodes with coaches, athletes, and hockey families helps us continue bringing high-quality, evidence-based sport science to the hockey community. As always, thanks for listening.

    27 min

  2. May 21

    25. Athletes and their Music...

    This week we explore the dissertation Music to Move You: Comparing Effects of Music Genre on Subjective Performance of Football Players in a Practice Setting by Devin DeTurk. Music is built into sport almost everywhere: bus rides, dressing rooms, warmups, training sessions, and competition environments. But does music simply get athletes "fired up," or can different types of music create different performance states? In this episode: • A theory on why NHL powerplay and penalty-kill music may have the intensity backwards• Why previous music studies often relied on laboratory settings• Rap vs EDM vs Alternative vs Classical vs No Music• Why athletes' favorite music didn't automatically produce the strongest outcomes• How different genres influenced motivation, mood, fatigue, competence, and perceived performance• The strange EDM finding that produced both higher fatigue and greater calmness• Why "what I like" and "what helps me" may not always be the same thing• Whether music may be shaping athlete state rather than simply increasing arousal Main takeaway: "What's my favorite music?" may not be the same question as: "What state am I trying to create?" Questions, feedback, article suggestions, or discussion: 📧 ek.coretexgoaltending@gmail.com Support the show / help keep independent research content going: Patreon - Coretex Athletic Review

    18 min

  3. May 14

    24. Sleeping to Perform

    Episode 24 dives into the strange and often overlooked relationship between sleep and athletic performance. This week’s paper explored whether a simple 14-day sleep hygiene intervention could measurably influence recovery, performance, and physiological stress responses in university soccer players. The findings were more nuanced than “better sleep = better everything.” Topics explored in this episode include: Sleep as part of training rather than post-training downtime Why sleep quality and sleep duration are not the same thing Dual-career athletes and modern recovery challenges Aerobic vs anaerobic performance responses Fatigue resistance and autonomic regulation Cortisol and anticipatory stress responses before exercise Sympathetic vs parasympathetic nervous system balance Why improved recovery may not always mean maximal explosiveness Environmental and behavioral factors influencing recovery The broader idea that adaptation occurs during recovery, not just during training Article:Broodryk, A. & Broodryk, R. (2026). A 14-Day Sleep Hygiene Intervention Improves Aerobic Performance and Reduces Anticipatory Cortisol in University Soccer Players. Sports, 14(179). Coretex Athletic Review Podcast explores academic research through the lens of athlete development, performance, coaching, physiology, cognition, and complex sport systems.

    28 min

  4. May 7

    23. What Is Norway Doing So Well? | Athlete Development

    Episode 23 examines a comparative analysis of elite sport systems in four Nordic countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Despite sharing many similarities including strong grassroots participation, publicly supported sport infrastructure, welfare-state models, and broad access to sport, these countries have increasingly diverged in international elite sport performance and organizational structure over recent decades. This episode explores: Why similar countries can produce very different elite sport outcomes Centralized vs decentralized athlete development systems Olympiatoppen and the Norwegian high-performance model Fragmentation, coordination, and “path dependence” in sport systems Why organization itself may function as a performance variable The tension between egalitarian values and elite sport prioritization Athlete welfare, dual-career support, and legitimacy in Nordic sport culture Why Sweden and Finland are beginning to reform aspects of their systems Cross-sport learning, knowledge transfer, and performance environments The episode also discusses broader ideas around systems design, coaching alignment, organizational friction, and whether elite performance is driven less by “secret sauce” and more by how efficiently systems communicate, coordinate, and learn over time. Article Reviewed:Nielsen, K. & Storm, R. K. (2026). Elite Sport in the Nordic Countries: A Comparative Analysis of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. In Toppidrett i Skandinavia: En samfunnsvitenskapelig forskningsantologi om utviklings- og prestasjonsmiljø. Cappelen Damm Akademisk.

    26 min

  5. Apr 30

    22. Reaction Speed vs Stress

    This week’s episode reviews a 2026 paper published in Sports Medicine – Open titled:Predictors of Latent Reaction Speed in Athletes: The Role of Performance Level and Stress Tolerance at Different Competitive Levels by Katrina Volgemute and colleagues. The study examines how reaction performance—modeled as a combination of stimulus recognition, decision-making, and movement execution—is related to two factors: Performance efficiency Stress tolerance (ability to maintain performance under cognitive load) Across 300+ athletes (amateur, pre-elite, elite), the authors found small but statistically significant relationships between these factors and reaction performance—but only within the pre-elite group. No significant relationships were observed in amateur or elite athletes. The findings suggest that the relationship between psychological factors and reaction performance may be stage-specific, rather than consistent across development. Key ideas: Reaction performance is not a single metric—it reflects multiple processes working together Stress tolerance and task efficiency showed small associations with reaction performance These relationships were only detected in pre-elite athletes Development stage may influence which factors are most closely tied to performance As always, the goal is to stay true to the research while exploring how these ideas might fit within athlete development. Listen / Follow / Contact:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CoretexGoaltendingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/coretexathletics/Email: ek.coretexgoaltending@gmail.com

    14 min

  6. Apr 23

    21. Russian Goaltender Development Framework | Proposed Model

    Episode 21 takes a look at a research paper out of Lesgaft University in Russia exploring how goaltender training can be structured to better reflect the realities of game play. The article, “Structure of the Technical-Tactical Training Methodology for Ice Hockey Goaltenders aged 15–17, Based on Action Variability Under Conditions of Uncertainty,” proposes a four-block framework built around one core idea: The game is unpredictable. Training usually isn’t. Most traditional development models rely on linear progression—clean reps, stable conditions, and step-by-step mastery. But real game environments are non-linear. Every pass, bounce, screen, or rebound changes the problem in real time. This episode breaks down the authors’ proposed model: • Block 1 – Stability (predictable, controlled reps)• Block 2 – Single-variable variability (one element changes)• Block 3 – Multi-variable uncertainty (traffic, rebounds, sequences)• Block 4 – Time pressure (decision-making under compressed time) The key concept is “controlled variability”—treating uncertainty as something that can be deliberately scaled within training, rather than something that only exists in games. The episode also explores: The gap between practice performance and game transfer Why clean technique doesn’t always hold under pressure The difference between linear training models and nonlinear game environments How coaches might think about designing drills that better reflect real play This is a goalie-specific paper, but the framework applies more broadly to athlete development, decision-making, and skill transfer across sport. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CoretexGoaltendingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/coretexathletics/Email: ek.coretexgoaltending@gmail.com

    14 min

  7. Apr 16

    20. Multisport Pattern Recall: Limitations

    This week’s episode breaks down a 2005 paper from Applied Cognitive Psychology by Abernethy, Baker, and Côté examining whether pattern recognition skills can transfer across sports. The study compares expert and non-expert athletes in basketball, netball, and field hockey using a pattern recall task based on real gameplay sequences. The key question:Can expertise in one sport carry over to another through shared perceptual-cognitive skills? Results show: Experts outperform non-experts in recalling structured patterns Some evidence of transfer across sports But transfer is inconsistent and highly dependent on context More recent research suggests that transfer is not general, but constrained by structural similarity between sports—specifically the type of information athletes are attuned to. This episode walks through: What defines expert performance How pattern recall is tested Where the findings hold up And where they fall short The takeaway:It’s not that skills broadly transfer across sports—it’s that perception transfers when the underlying structure is similar. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CoretexGoaltendingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/coretexathletics/Email: ek.coretexgoaltending@gmail.com

    17 min

  8. Apr 9

    19. Youth Resistance Training [Myths]

    For years, resistance training in youth has been surrounded by caution—concerns about stunted growth, growth plate damage, and unnecessary injury risk. But where did those ideas actually come from? In this episode, I break down two research papers examining resistance training in young athletes, with a focus on what the evidence actually shows. We look at how strength develops in youth, why improvements are largely neural early on, and how properly structured training fits into long-term athletic development. More importantly, we address the origin of the long-standing myths—and whether they hold up under scrutiny. Why astronauts train in microgravity—and what happens when the body loses load The load-dependent nature of muscle, bone, and nervous system function The origins of resistance training myths in youth populations Neural vs muscular adaptations in younger athletes Effect sizes and what they tell us about real performance changes Strength, power, and movement outcomes from resistance training Injury risk: what the research actually shows Why supervision and program design matter Properly structured and supervised resistance training is not only safe for youth—it’s one of the most effective tools we have for improving strength, movement quality, and long-term athletic development. The issue was never resistance training itself. It was how it was being done. Granacher et al. (2016)Effects of Resistance Training in Youth Athletes on Muscular Fitness and Athletic Performance: A Conceptual Model for Long-Term Athlete DevelopmentFrontiers in Physiology (2026 Paper – add full citation once finalized) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CoretexGoaltendingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/coretexathletics/Email: ek.coretexgoaltending@gmail.com If you found this useful, share it with a coach, parent, or athlete who still thinks kids shouldn’t lift weights.

    19 min
See All (26)

About

Host Evan Kurylo distills current sport science research it through the lens of modern athlete development, coaching methodology, and goaltender performance. The aim is to simplify complex research, highlight the key findings, and connect them to real-world coaching decisions — from anticipation and pattern recognition, to visual cognition, to the latest in coaching pedagogy. Short episodes. Strong insights. Better athletes.

Information