Building a sports science department from the ground up: From “one-man bands” to large organisations with Teofe Ziemnicki

Pacey Performance Podcast

This week on the Pacey Performance Podcast, Rob is speaking to Teofe Ziemnicki who is Head of Sports Science at TeamBuildr. Coaches and sports scientists who have transitioned from being employed by one organisation to working with tech companies and visiting organisations as part of their roles have incredible insights into what is going on in the industry. That's why we were so pumped to get Teofe on the podcast.

In this first half of this episode we get an insight into where sports science is at in the US. Teofe gives us his view on where he sees the gaps that could be easily plugged in smaller organisations. These smaller organisations are often "one-man bands" and he gives this thoughts on how the staff in these positions can get easy wins and start collecting good data to inform practice and educate coaches.

In the second half of the episode, Teofe flips the first hald discussion on its head and gives us his thoughts on sports science practice in larger organisations. Where are the easy wins? Where are the gaps? Teofe speaks to and gets unique insights into what is going on across the country so there is no better person to discuss this.

If you want to hear this unique insight, listen to this episode with Teofe.

Main talking points -

• What is sports science at smaller organisations?
• Setting up a sports science department
• What skills are needed from staff?
• "Sports science is more than just buying and running tech"
• Gaps in smaller programmes that could be easily plugged
• How this differs in larger organisations
• Common concerns around implementing sports sports science principles at larger organisation
• The future of sports science at the higher end organisations