Summary

(2:37) Stephen’s early life

• Stephen’s early interest in sports as a science

• His introduction to sports medicine

(4:17) Injury and rehabilitation

• Our lack of understanding of injury

• The minimal use of science in the industry

• His work as injury rehabilitation coach for Leinster Rugby

• The changes seen over the years at Leinster

• Coach Michael Cheikar and his desire for detailed information

(8:38) Initial research

• Founding a sports science department at Leinster

• What it means to build a “digital landscape” around an athlete

• The overwhelming amount of information that is now available through innovative technologies

(10:57) From rehab to prevention

• “Injuries are something that we will never eradicate from sport”

• The importance of building resilience in athletes, minimizing the impact of injuries and lengthening careers

(12:07) Technology and coaching

• Why technology can’t replace coaching: “Technology is there to augment coaching”

• The defining characteristics of great coaches

• The dangerous consequences of rolling subs, AFL and unlimited substitutions

(15:48) Myths and outdated ideas about the causes and risks of injury

• Why rates of repeated similar injuries were higher in the past

• How technology, data and analytics help identify more risk factors

(17:12) Stephen’s focus on technology

• His desire to deeply understand things: “I am a real science nerd”

(19:52) Kitman Labs’ work

• Data and activity collection explained

• What Kitman Lab does: merge large quantities of data to find patterns

• The recent technological wave that led to the rise of athlete management systems

• The limits of these tools: a lack of interpretation or knowledge of how to use this information

(22:54) Key indicators and how to use them

• How an athlete’s style of play, background and personal history affects training decisions: there is no one formula for one sport

• The importance of being able to change when athletes and teams inevitably change

• Observing when an athlete doesn’t fit a team’s style of play

• How data and analytics products have been used for recruiting

(27:26) Kitman Labs’ early days

• The challenges that come with founding a company

• Their first employee: sports scientist Stuart O’Brien

• Why employees need to be able to grow and change with the company

• A big step: acquiring The Sports Office, one of their biggest competitors

• How their approaches were complementary

• An essential skill to growing a business: having the drive to continue working doggedly towards a goal — “You just got to dig in”

• How to deal with the ups and downs of business

(33:30) Lessons learned about building teams

• Why skill and talent aren’t the only factors to look for when choosing employees

• The importance of team members believing in the vision

• The early supporters of Kitman Labs

(38:12) Rethinking and reinventing

• How Kitman had to reconsider traditional ways of working and thinking

• How Leinster has reinvented themselves

• The importance of constantly questioning yourself

(40:13) Kitman Labs’ early success

• Stephen’s knowledge or lack thereof when he first started Kitman

• His wife’s role in the early days of the company

• The key: finding great people

• The challenge: turning data into insight

• How they turned doubters into allies

(44:19) Training and performance planning

• The challenge of player specialisation in elite sports

• The multiple factors taken into consideration when devising a training plan

(46:02) Health and nutrition

• How technology helps nutritionists like Daniel Davey

• Electronic medical records and the evolution of the industry

• Why a class action lawsuit suing the NFL for concussions was successful

• The powerful insights of the new upgraded “intelligent” medical records

(51:07) Sensor technology

• The new possibilities created by sensor cameras, smart footwear and ingestible sensors

(54:00) Player retirement

• Examples of retired players experiencing pain and mobility issues

• Taking on the responsibility of managing players better during their career: “You shouldn’t have to give up your life for a sport”

(57:22) Artificial intelligence

• Why AI won’t replace referees anytime soon

(58:27) Democratising technology

• What scaling up looks like at Kitman Labs

• How their technology can help at all levels of sport

(1:00:34) Kids and monitoring

• Balancing the joy of playing a sport with injury prevention

(1:02:34) Investment in Kitman Labs

• Why John Malloy invested in Kitman Labs

• The universal appeal of having access to merged personal data being collected by phones

• Breaking into the US market

• Kitman Labs’ great publicity despite not investing in PR

(1:07:10) The impact of Kitman Labs on training

• How Kitman Labs helps push athletes harder

(1:08:14) Innovation

• Why innovation is a necessity in this space

(1:09:18) Values

• Being a respected member of the community

• Thought leadership

• One Team: “We’re all in this together”

• Being research-driven

(1:11:10) Competition

• Why approaching this from a business perspective hasn’t worked

• The advantages of small companies and the disadvantages of large ones

(1:12:37) Acquisition of The Sports Office

• How this acquisition will benefit Kitman and make its resources more available: “It’s about trickling that down so that everybody can harness it”

(1:14:26) Beyond sports

• Kitman’s discussions with military and defense, insurance companies and corporate health

• How the research can apply to many fields

(1:15:37) Sports broadcasting

• How Kitman’s research can help engage fans better through storytelling

(1:16:30) The future of sports performance technology

• Stephen’s predictions:

• Rapid growth

• Technology as lifeblood of sports performance

• Moving into the “age of performance intelligence”

(1:17:07) Rapid-fire questions

• Alternative career choice: Wine maker

• Current curiosity: The science behind growing at scale

• Most influential book: “Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World” by David Epstein

• Best advice: Never give up