The Sports MAP Network

In this episode, we sit down with Andy, a clinician working across both Physiotherapy and Strength & Conditioning, to unpack how he plans and progresses rehabilitation once the clinical picture is clear.   Andy has over 15 years' experience working within the performance and sports medicine space. His career has spanned teams, individuals, and private-sector clients — ranging from developing youth and collegiate athletes through to Olympic/Paralympic and Professional levels. Andy has a passion for high-performance and sports medicine, with extended interests into leadership, marketing, and wider health and wellness. He thrives working in dynamic, forward-thinking MDT environments and enjoys contributing to the ambitions of athletes and organisations alike.   We chat with Andy about: - How Andy plans out his rehabilitation once he has the required clinical information- What Andy means by "co-actives"- How to determine rehab objectives and the "ladder of loading"- How to avoid getting lost in Excel spreadsheets — collating information into an organised format- How to balance field and gym demands, and whose role that is- Working collaboratively across the medical and performance departments- Understanding pathology, and how to plan and adjust accordingly- Planning while staying flexible based on athlete response- Managing risk in rehabilitation — the return to high-speed or high-force demands- How much information to share with the athlete — thinking not "when" the athlete will be ready, but "how" the athlete will be ready- What Game Plan is, and how it can help clinicians   Do you want to go deeper with your rehabilitation skills? Explore the full library of practical sports physios and rehabilitation-based masterclasses for all your CPD/ CEU needs with a free 7 day limited access trial. https://sportsmap.com.au/masterclass-library/ Watch the full podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jEhmDDPReM

Toby Banfield is an accomplished performance practitioner across a number of sporting codes and elite environments. He is the current Head of Sport Science for Brentford FC in the English Premier League.  In this episode, Toby discusses his philosophies and blueprints for performance planning, how his blueprint has allowed him to adapt to a wide range of diverse sporting situations, and the differences and parallels between season planning for a whole team and rehabilitation planning for an individual injured athlete.  Topics The Six Step Blueprint for Effective Performance Planning. The Six Step Blueprint for Effective Rehabilitation Planning. How to Plan in an Appropriate Level of Detail and Avoid Common Pitfalls of “Too Much Detail”. “Vertical Integration” for Performance Planning.  “Vertical Integration” for Rehabilitation Planning.  Non-Invasive Athlete Testing “Everything is a Test”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX3YeEbRYdY

Brenton is the lead performance therapist at the Brooklyn, having recently relocated from his role as head physio in the AFL with the North Melbourne Football Club.  Brenton is a Sports Physiotherapist (Master’s in Sports PT) and has previously worked as the Rehabilitation Physio with the Melbourne FC (AFL) and Norwich FC. He has also been a co-founder of Enhance Sports Performance and Rehabilitation since Dec 2016. Topics: Transitioning between elite sports Working in different countries and sports- the cultural shift How to level up your communication & soft skills Building trust with athletes and staff Being reflective as a learning practice Not getting lost in the world of data for decision-making Fundamental rehabilitation principles Navigating High-performance environment pressures Brenton’s lessons, transferable to practitioners https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp2kQ1wwos0

Darcy Norman is the current Director of Performance at Chicago Fire FC in the MLS. He is a multi-accredited and accomplished practitioner, especially in the world of soccer. Darcy’s roles have included Performance and Rehab Coach at Bayern Munich FC in the German Bundesliga and for the German national team, including their 2014 world cup winning campaign, the Director of Performance at AS Roma in the Italian Serie A, Head of Performance for the US Men’s National Soccer Team and the Lead Performance Strategist at Kitman Labs. Topics Darcy’s career journey, qualifications, mentors, and his pathway to elite sport and top-flight, international soccer. Data-informed vs. data-driven sports performance and medicine. Defining power. The six components of soccer-specific power. Technical advancements in measuring sport-specific power through GPS monitoring. The “vertical integration” model of injury rehabilitation. Using power as a key metric to guide rehabilitation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIoNjY_g6Ck References: GPS 3.0: https://martin-buchheit.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/SPSR280_Buchheit_Final.pdf

Ben Dixon is the current Head of Strength, Conditioning & Rehabilitation at Millwall Football Club.  His prior experience includes roles with Watford FC, Head Performance Coach for the Chinese Olympic Committee, Head of Physical Performance for the Taiwan national football team and the English National Ballet. Topics: Ben fills us in on his post-doctorate to date and what we can expect moving forward. What is ‘match load’? What do we often overlook when it comes to match load? Ben talks about a framework to clarify the construct of match load. What is ‘density ' in practice? How accurate is the data we are getting? How do we include all this information in our rehab systems? Advice around rehabilitation for those without GPS units What do we mean by injury-specific metrics, and how might this be something that can be applied in practice moving forward? What are we missing in our current rehab RTP models in sport of recent times? Individual factors to account for the return to play process. Position demands and rolling windows. What is the post-rehabilitation phase and how can we minimise subsequent injury here? When does rehab actually stop (by definition)? One specific change Ben has made to his rehab system based on his research that other practitioners could implement tomorrow? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8WqG4C79Ws References: Ben is undertaking a Professional Doctorate at the University of Central Lancashire, evaluating rehabilitation procedures in professional football.   Ben Post Doc Papers: Match load as a construct in professional football: complexities and considerations  Evaluating rehabilitation and return to play procedures in male professional football: A narrative review. Post Rehabilitation Phase’ in professional football: are we optimising player support after return to play?    References mentioned: Mechanism of Injury of soft tissue injuries research paper summary  Mitchell & Gimpel, 2024- A return to performance pathway in professional Soccer Zhang et al 2025. The time course of injury risk and return to Sport in Professional football.  Chris Bramah - SMAS Dylan Harper: Assessment of Deceleration