From the NFL to 70 College Campuses, Lessons From Elite Coaches – With Benjamin Jensen, Firstbeat – Ep. 8

Welcome to the Firstbeat Sports Podcast where we talk with coaches and sports scientists to explore the latest in performance monitoring and how it is making a difference in NCAA and pro sports alike. We’re going to connect you with practical advice from the best in the business to help you take your athletes to the next level.

Today we’re speaking to our very own Benjamin Jensen, Firstbeat Sports Director of North American Sales & Research and the usual host of the podcast. A former coach, BJ has worked with elite sports programs for over six years through Firstbeat and will be sharing some of the insights he’s picked up along the way.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Differences in coaching in Europe vs USA
• The advances in sports science at the college level in the last 5 years
• Recovery – A skill that can be developed?
• How different sports use internal load data
• The rise of position-specific training
• The most popular Firstbeat metric, and why

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Timestamps:

• Ben’s background (0:45)
• How Ben ended up in Finland and at Firstbeat (3:22)
• Biggest changes in College & Pro sports training in last 6 years (4:37)
• Most effective talking points between coaches and athletes (5:45)
• Most effective load variables (6:30)
• TRIMP/min – how coaches use it and for what? (7:10)
• Differences in coaching practices in USA and Europe (8:15)
• Recovery – A skill that can be learned? (9:30)
• Do some athletes recover better than others? (10:29)
• Quickfire questions (12:35)
• What is the general interest level in the data from coaches? (14:34)
• How modern athletes interact with the data vs older generation (15:30)
• Most under-utilized Firstbeat feature (16:12)
• Personalization vs Positionization (17:28)
• Training loads in American Football and Soccer (19:02)
• How to deal with multiple data sources and platforms (20:52)
• Biggest lessons Ben has learned from coaches over the years (21:50)

Thanks for listening. Catch up on all previous Firstbeat Sports Podcast episodes here!