Alistair McBurnie and Tom Dos’Santos join Rob on this week’s Pacey Performance Podcast. Alistair is a sports science analyst for Manchester United’s first team, having worked his way up from coaching at academy level. Tom is a lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he teaches strength conditioning and sports biomechanics. Previously, he’s worked at the University of Salford, England Northwest and Manchester Thunder netball squads. They’re currently collaborating on research on multidirectional speed.

Alistair and Tom discuss how their partnership came into being through their university work, leading to their two-part review article being published in the Strength and Conditioning Journal. They then go into detail about multidirectional speed training, and how when done correctly it can reduce injuries such as muscle strains. Alistair and Tom also talk about how to sequence horizontal decelerations, and how to monitor them.

In addition to this, there’s also discussion on key metrics to look out for when using technology during testing, and the advancements in technology that is being adopted by football clubs such as Manchester United. Bearing in mind that this is only part 1 of Rob’s chat with Alistair and Tom, be sure to check back next week for even more expert insight.

On the podcast this week:

• Tom and Alistair’s work in multidirectional speed
• The importance of training deceleration
• Reducing injuries, including muscle strains
• Sequencing horizontal decelerations within a training cycle
• Monitoring and testing deceleration
• Key metrics and KPIs in deceleration testing
• Advancements in technology that help measure athlete output
• Key musculature for coaches to target