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The Coaching Journal Podcast #347: Inside Collegiate S&C: Profiling, Programming, and People w/ Cole Hergott

In this episode, we sit down with Cole Hergott, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach to break down what long-term athlete development really looks like inside a collegiate performance environment.

Cole walks us through his journey from student intern to leading large-scale university programs, sharing how his early experiences shaped the way he develops athletes from freshman year through to graduation. We dive deep into how he profiles athletes, identifies true limiting factors (technical vs physical vs movement-based), and balances long-term development with the constant pressure of competition schedules.

With responsibility for hundreds of athletes across multiple sports, Cole also opens up about managing large groups in limited space, handling conflicting demands from sport coaches and academics, and building systems that keep training consistent year-to-year.

The conversation finishes with leadership, mentorship, and culture — from developing interns and young coaches, to creating a strength room environment that athletes buy into, even during injury or performance setbacks.

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The Coaching Journal Podcast #346: Fuelling for the Demands of Rugby Sevens with Ellie Saunders

In this episode, I’m joined by .saundersnutrition — a performance nutritionist with extensive experience in professional sport. Ellie is the former Head of Nutrition at Burnley Football Club and previously worked as Club Performance Nutritionist at Al Nasr SC, leading the Men’s First Team.

Ellie brings a practical, athlete-first approach to nutrition in high-performance environments, with a strong focus on travel, tournament preparation, and repeat-effort performance.

Together, we break down a complete fuelling roadmap for Rugby Sevens — from why Sevens nutrition is fundamentally different to 15s, to how players should fuel across multi-game tournament days. We cover international travel and hydration strategies, taper week nutrition, carbohydrate loading, match-day fueling, on-field nutrition, and the critical recovery window from Day 1 to Day 2.

This episode is designed to give Sevens athletes and coaches a realistic, practical framework to fuel performance when it matters most.

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The Coaching Journal Podcast #345: Fuelling the Female Athlete | Olivia Patel

In this episode, we dive deep into one of the most important — and often misunderstood — areas of sports performance: how to properly fuel the female athlete.

Olivia Patel joins us to unpack the physiological, hormonal, psychological, and cultural factors that influence how female athletes should eat, train, and recover. From menstrual cycle considerations to energy availability, RED-S, body image pressures, and practical day-to-day fueling strategies — this episode is essential listening for athletes, coaches, and parents.

Olivia Patel is a performance nutritionist specialising in fuelling female athletes for performance, health, and long-term development. She has worked in professional football environments with Watford and Aston Villa, gaining first-hand experience supporting elite athletes in high-performance settings.

Olivia is passionate about challenging diet culture in sport and helping female athletes fuel with confidence, optimise recovery, and protect their long-term health. You can find her on Instagram .fuel4performance

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ACL Returns & Tactile Cues...

The Coaching Journal Podcast #343: Building Excellence: Developing an Elite S&C Program w/ Ryan Metzger

In this episode, I’m joined by Ryan Metzger, the 2022 NSCA Assistant College Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year, to discuss what it takes to build and lead an elite collegiate strength and conditioning program.

Ryan has coached championship-level programs at Clemson, Kentucky, and VCU, working across sports such as soccer and softball, while also developing high-performing athletes and coaching staffs. She’s known for combining strong relationships, clear systems, and high standards to drive long-term performance.

We explore Ryan’s coaching journey and philosophy, how she builds culture and buy-in within large teams, and what separates good S&C programs from truly elite ones. The conversation also covers programming across the collegiate year, balancing strength, speed, and conditioning, managing fatigue during demanding seasons, and the role of technology in modern performance environments.

Ryan finishes by sharing advice for young coaches, reflections on the future of collegiate strength and conditioning, and lessons she’s learned throughout her career.



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