How to Train Smarter – With Jeff Nevolo, South Carolina Women’s Tennis – Ep. 5

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.

In this episode we spoke with Jeff Nevolo. Jeff was the Associate Head Coach for University of South Carolina Women’s Tennis at the time of recording. He was the 2018 ITA National Assistant Head Coach of the Year and previously spent time with Air Force and Alabama.

Image: Gamecocks online

During this episode, Jeff discusses topics including the end of ‘no pain, no gain’ training, how data can help avoid overtraining and the differences between international and U.S. athletes.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Learning and developing in a power conference
• Using heart rate analytics to design training
• Working with international and US athletes
• The end of ‘no pain, no gain’ training? What’s next
• The impact of off-court lifestyle on student-athletes

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Timestamps:

• How Jeff ended up at the University of South Carolina (1:06)
• Jeff’s day-to-day role as Associate Head Coach at USC (4:17)
• Differences between international athletes and US athletes (5:23)
• What’s behind the team’s recent success? (6:47)
• Is the no pain-no gain-mentality dying off? (8:50)
• What attracted Jeff to Firstbeat (10:25)
• How Jeff uses Firstbeat (11:52)
• Data-influenced training decisions (13:47)
• Player buy-in (15:00)
• How Jeff considers player lifestyle and routines (15:55)
• Advice for Tennis coaches adding a performance monitoring system? (17:20)
• What’s next for the Gamecocks Tennis program? (19:23)

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