Ben Ashworth: Rethinking Shoulder Testing

What does it take to prepare the world's best combat athletes for the demands of the UFC?In this episode, host Ryan McLaughlin is joined by Gavin Pratt, Senior Director of S&C at the UFC Performance Institute, to unpack the unique challenges of developing elite MMA athletes.Gavin takes us inside the UFC PI, sharing how his team approaches strength and conditioning across fight camps, the complexities of weight cuts and the decision-making processes that underpin individual athlete preparation.We cover:The role of the UFC Performance Institute and its global operations.The challenges of S&C in professional MMA.Neck coupling strength testing and the relationship between strength and concussion-related mechanisms.The Neck Matrix and how Gavin progresses athletes from strength to dynamic and reactive strength.Using force data and ratios to guide training decisions.Managing weight cuts, fight camps and individual athlete demands.Why athlete buy-in, trust and connection remain the most important skills in coaching.From neck strength testing and force ratios to the Neck Matrix, reactive strength and exercise progressions, Gavin shares how the UFC PI is approaching an area of performance and athlete health that still has plenty to learn.

What if the Ash Test is measuring far more than shoulder strength?In this episode of VALDCAST, we sit down with Dr. Ben Ashworth, physiotherapist, founder of Athletic Shoulder and creator of the Ash Test, to explore the evolution of shoulder assessment and rehabilitation in high-performance sport.Ben shares the story behind the development of the Ash Test, how a clinical challenge in professional rugby became a globally adopted assessment, and why he believes it's better described as a long-lever force transfer test than a shoulder test.The conversation covers force transfer, rate of force development, compensation strategies, shoulder instability, rehabilitation frameworks and the importance of understanding movement quality alongside force outputs. Ben also discusses lessons from his PhD research, common misconceptions about shoulder testing and why subscapularis may deserve more attention in both assessment and training.

What makes a great coach, and how do you balance experience, intuition and objective data when developing athletes?In this episode of VALDCAST, we sit down with Cooper Napoli, performance coach and Director of Education at BridgeAthletic, to explore the principles that underpin effective coaching across private performance, tactical populations, collegiate sport and professional environments.Cooper shares his unconventional journey into strength and conditioning, from his early days as a personal trainer and business owner to working with athletes across multiple levels of performance. The conversation covers athlete assessment, training history, coach decision-making and why understanding the person in front of you is often more valuable than chasing the latest trend.We also discuss the role of technology in coaching, the importance of objective testing, creating better athlete experiences and why the future of the industry may depend just as much on community and mentorship as it does on data and innovation.

When it comes to exercise physiology, objective testing isn't just about collecting data. It's about building trust, creating accountability and helping patients understand what's really happening.In this episode of VALDCAST, Mitch Vautin, Founder of Exercise Healthcare Australia (EHA), shares how objective assessments have transformed the way his team works with people living with chronic disease, disability and pain.In this conversation:✅ Why objective testing improves patient confidence✅ The role of data in clinical decision-making✅ Building trust through reassessment✅ How technology supports exercise physiology practice✅ Real-world patient success storiesWhether you're a clinician, exercise physiologist, physiotherapist or strength and conditioning professional, this episode explores how data can support better outcomes for both practitioners and patients.

How do you take elite performance systems from professional sport and make them work in the private sector?In this episode of VALDCAST, Lachlan Wilmot, Co-Founder of Athletes Authority, shares the journey from AFL and NRL strength & conditioning roles to building one of Australia's leading athlete performance businesses.Lachlan discusses the evolution of Athletes Authority, the role technology has played in scaling high-performance services, how VALD helped bridge the gap between pro sport and private practice and why systems, frameworks and coach development remain at the core of long-term success.The conversation also explores velocity-based training, rehabilitation frameworks, social media's impact on the industry and the challenges facing the next generation of practitioners.

In this episode of VALDCAST, Roula Kotsifaki shares insights from her extensive work in sports medicine, rehabilitation and force plate research, exploring how clinicians can use jump testing to make better decisions throughout the rehabilitation process. Drawing on years of experience working with ACL populations, Roula explains why getting the fundamentals right, including test execution, cueing and standardisation, is critical before any meaningful interpretation of data can take place. Roula discusses how practitioner cueing can influence jump performance, why consistent testing protocols matter and the importance of balancing athlete intent with reliable data collection. She also breaks down the evolution of drop jump testing over the past decade and why improved understanding of test execution has changed how practitioners interpret metrics like contact time and reactive performance.  The conversation also unpacks:Why standardised testing and athlete cueing are essential for meaningful data interpretation How practitioners can reduce metric overload and focus on the information that actually guides rehabilitation Why reliability, responsiveness and clinical relevance should drive metric selection The growing role of drop jumps and single-leg drop jumps in ACL rehabilitation and return-to-sport testing How force plate data can be used to identify deficits across eccentric, concentric and landing phases of movement Why education, consistency and practitioner confidence are crucial for the future of rehabilitation testingRoula also reflects on the importance of clinical reasoning, the challenge of translating research into practice and where she sees the future of jump testing and rehabilitation assessment heading as the industry continues to evolve.

What does it take to become a better performance practitioner in today's high-performance environment?In this episode of VALDCAST, Fearghal Kerin shares lessons from his career spanning elite sport, applied research and practitioner development, exploring how curiosity, critical thinking and communication underpin great decision-making. Rather than chasing metrics for the sake of measurement, Fearghal discusses how practitioners can use data to ask better questions, challenge assumptions and create meaningful impact with athletes and teams.The conversation explores:Moving beyond data collection to better decision-makingBridging the gap between research and real-world practiceThe role of communication and collaboration in high-performance environmentsAvoiding common traps when implementing sports technologyBuilding systems that support coaching rather than replace itWhether you're an early-career sport scientist, strength & conditioning coach, researcher or performance practitioner looking to sharpen your decision-making, this episode offers practical insights into developing both your technical expertise and your ability to positively influence performance.

What does sports science look like when you're supporting everyone from soccer players and skateboarders to surfers, snowboarders and wingsuit athletes?In this episode of VALDCAST, Jordan Troester, Director of Performance at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center, shares how one of the world's most unique high-performance environments approaches athlete support across an incredibly diverse range of sports. From profiling and monitoring to multidisciplinary collaboration and leadership, Jordan explains how practitioners can use data, systems and communication to make better decisions in complex performance settings. The conversation explores:• Why "using better information to make better decisions" is the foundation of sports science• Building high-performance teams through clarity, communication and collaboration• How Red Bull profiles athletes across vastly different sports and performance demands• Balancing athlete monitoring with meaningful action• Creating systems that support decision-making without replacing practitioner expertise• Why athlete relationships remain the ultimate performance advantage• The opportunities and challenges AI presents for performance practitionersFor sport scientists, performance managers and practitioners responsible for collecting, interpreting and communicating athlete data, this episode provides a thoughtful look at how systems, relationships and context come together to drive better performance outcomes. 

How do you build a performance system that actually improves decision-making?In this episode of VALDCAST, Trevor Short shares his approach to high-performance leadership, discussing how sport science, sports medicine, strength & conditioning, nutrition and mental health can work together to improve athlete outcomes.Drawing on his experience overseeing multidisciplinary performance teams, Trevor explains why the goal isn't simply collecting more data — it's creating systems that increase the likelihood of making better decisions.The conversation explores:• Building integrated high-performance departments• Maximising athlete availability, readiness and performance• Using data to support better decision-making• Creating effective logic flows and performance systems• Balancing structure with practitioner autonomy• Developing practitioners through communication and collaboration• Why great systems remain adaptable rather than rigidWhether you're leading a performance department or working directly with athletes, this episode offers practical insights into designing systems that help teams make smarter decisions in complex sporting environments.

In this episode of VALDCAST, Dawn Scott reflects on her journey from introducing sport science to England's Women's National Football (Soccer) Team in the early 2000s to helping drive performance innovation with the U.S. Women's National Soccer (Football) Team during an era that included multiple World Cup and Olympic successes.The conversation explores:• How women's football has evolved over the last 25 years• Building sport science programs when resources and technology were limited• The introduction of athlete monitoring, GPS and performance profiling in elite football• Why individualization is essential for athlete development• Bridging the gap between national teams and club environments• The importance of education, athlete buy-in and contextual decision-making• Applying a female-athlete lens to performance and athlete management• Lessons learned from working across multiple generations of elite athletes Whether you work in sport science, strength & conditioning, rehabilitation or athlete performance, this episode offers valuable insights into building systems that evolve with both the sport and the athlete.