In this Sports Speed Insider, we go inside the drill stack and show you how to coach transfer, not just exercises. You’ll learn how to identify key movements (à la Verkhoshansky), link them to body links and movement patterns, and apply Learn–Load–Execute so skill actually survives complexity.
What you’ll learn
How to pick the segment closest to the centre of mass (hip extension first).
Turning a key movement into body links and full patterns.
Learn–Load–Execute: when to add force vs when to add speed of execution.
Using med-ball throws, wall squats, yielding/overcoming ISOs to build control.
Fixing early foot contact after better hip extension (leg speed & timing).
In-season vs off-season emphasis & fractional utilisation of transfer.
What’s next: the Magnitude of Effect model for programming phases.
📘 From The Sports Speed System.
📨 Coaching docs & progressions mentioned are in the Progressions Manual.
⏱️ Timestamps / Chapters🔑 Key takeaways
00:00 Intro & why drill stacks matter
01:10 The engine: key movements (Verkhoshansky)
02:20 Why start at the centre of mass (hip extension)
03:15 Coaching awareness: move hips → speed feet
04:05 Learn: isolate hip extension (kneeling → faster reps)
04:50 Survivability inside base motor control (wall squat / ISOs)
05:40 Load: when to add bands/balls vs more speed
06:30 Standing 2-point start → 1-step push out diagnostics
07:20 Med-ball acceleration to raise RFD & positive acceleration
08:05 Foot contact timing after better extension (leg speed problem)
08:55 Scaling steps: 1–3, 4–7, up to 10 for positive acceleration
09:30 Mapping segment → body link → pattern (strength → skill)
10:05 Teaser: Magnitude of Effect & phase switching next
Coach the segment nearest COM first. Hip extension quality dictates everything downstream.
Speed before load (sometimes). If extension is slow, don’t band it—create speed of execution first (e.g., med-ball accel).
Survive complexity. A cue “worked” only if it holds up as you add GRF, speed, and decision-making.
Leg-speed problem ≠ hip problem. Better extension often exposes early contacts—coach faster limb exchange.
Context rules. Chase fractional transfer in-season; push load & volume of segments off-season.
From the Pro12 to personal training to becoming one of the biggest rugby creators online — this is the story of how Ben John turned retirement into a movement.
In this episode of The Sound Important Podcast, Sam Portland sits down with Ben John (The Rugby Trainer) to break down how he went from professional rugby player to building one of the most influential skill coaching brands in sport.
Ben shares the mindset, habits, and creativity behind building an online following of over 700,000, coaching players worldwide, and creating content that inspires the next generation of athletes.
💡 You’ll learn:
The realities of pro rugby life and player burnout
Why “weights don’t influence the scoreboard”
How game IQ and skill play matter more than raw data
The injuries that forced early retirement — and what came next
How The Rugby Trainer started in lockdown and became a global brand
The three golden rules for making content as a coach
How to build structure, habits, and a brand that lasts
🔥 This episode blends elite performance, coaching philosophy, and content strategy — a must-listen for every S&C coach, skills coach, and creator in sport.
🎧 Listen on Spotify | Apple | YouTube
📲 Follow Sam: @coach_samportland
🏉 Follow Ben: @therugbytrainer
⏱️ 3. Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome to The Sound Important Podcast
00:45 – Introducing Ben John: pro rugby to content creator
02:00 – The reality of strength & conditioning in pro rugby
04:00 – Speed IQ vs Game IQ
05:00 – Growing into your body and confidence
06:30 – Overtraining, obsession, and injury cycles
09:30 – Lessons from senior pros and recovery habits
10:30 – Volume tolerance and athlete archetypes
12:00 – Animal archetypes: Wolves, Collies, and Giraffes
16:00 – Skill development through play and 1v1s
17:00 – The concussion that ended a career — and started a business
18:00 – The birth of The Rugby Trainer during lockdown
19:00 – From one kid in the park to global influence
24:00 – The hard truth of S&C career ceilings
26:00 – Hiring structure, working with mentors
29:00 – Building a 700K following across multiple platforms
33:00 – The three content rules: Entertain, Educate, Inspire
35:00 – Simple content that helps one person
40:00 – The Rugby Trainer Academy and 10-minute skill sessions
42:00 – How consistency compounds
44:00 – Collaboration over competition in sport
47:00 – The simplest details often make the biggest difference
49:00 – Final thoughts: drop the ego and just start
Most coaches charge too little.
And it’s killing you — your business, your energy, your confidence.
In this episode, Sam Portland lays out the brutal truth about money, pricing, and self-worth in the strength & conditioning industry.
If you’ve ever been told “you’re not in it for the money,” or if you feel guilty raising your rates — this is the episode that will free you.
Sam shares how he went from charging £30 per hour and driving across London for late clients…
…to building a six-figure business by understanding pricing psychology, value perception, and trust.
🎯 You’ll Learn:
Why coaches are conditioned to undervalue themselves
The link between self-worth and pricing
How to stop selling hourly sessions and start selling bundles
How to filter out “headache clients”
The formula for calculating your ideal hourly rate
How to build lifetime client value (not one-off sessions)
🔥 This isn’t about greed — it’s about freedom.
Start valuing your time, your expertise, and your legacy.
🎧 Listen on: Spotify | Apple | YouTube
💬 DM Sam: @coach_samportland
💡 Join the £9/month Legacy Mastermind: JOIN HERE
⏱️ 3. Timestamps
00:00 – Why charging too little will kill your career
00:30 – The “do it for the love” lie that shapes the S&C world
01:15 – Why S&C is treated as low-skilled labour (and what to do about it)
02:00 – When passion stops paying the bills
03:00 – The money psychology every coach needs to confront
04:30 – The real reason you feel guilty about charging more
06:00 – When Sam decided enough was enough
07:00 – The shift from £50/hour to £90/hour clients
07:40 – The “headache money” clients you must avoid
08:40 – Why pricing is about trust, not greed
09:40 – Stop charging by the hour — build bundles
10:30 – How to structure packages and set time limits
11:00 – The real formula for figuring out your ideal rate
11:50 – Diversifying your client base for financial security
12:30 – The £9/month Legacy Mastermind and business templates
How do you fit world-class speed training into a chaotic team sport schedule?
In this Sport Speed Insider episode, Sam Portland breaks down the daily dosing strategy for applying The Sports Speed System inside real-world team environments — whether you’re part-time with two field sessions a week or working full-time in pro sport.
Learn how to use motor control, power output, and tactical integration to develop speed in-season without overloading your athletes.
💡 Inside this episode:
How to apply The Sports Speed System during competition weeks
The difference between general, specific, special, and tactical speed
Why “performance programs” outperform traditional weight room programs
How to balance motor control, power, and skill across the week
Daily dosing examples for pro and part-time setups
When and how to integrate Learn–Load–Execute sequencing
Why recovery, yin yoga, and tissue quality are key to sustainable speed gains
🎯 Whether you’re an academy coach or elite performance manager, this episode will reshape how you plan and prioritise speed in-season.
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 – How to apply The Sports Speed System daily
00:45 – Real-world time constraints in team sport environments
01:15 – Why time scarcity makes the system powerful
02:00 – From general speed to tactical speed — four layers of transfer
03:00 – The hierarchy: motor control, power, skill, sport
03:40 – Structuring an in-season training week
04:40 – The “low–high” model explained
05:00 – Day-by-day breakdown of daily dosing
05:30 – Motor control priority days
06:15 – Learn–Load–Execute: the cornerstone of speed development
07:00 – Combining power output and skill transfer
08:00 – Integrating acceleration and maximum speed days
09:00 – Using sport itself as a tactical speed environment
09:40 – The role of recovery, yin yoga, and tissue quality
10:10 – Exploratory learning and speed games for skill retention
Most people fear change.
Former rugby player and fitness entrepreneur Dave Birtwistle has made it his life’s habit.
From the pitch to Too Hot To Handle on Netflix to studying an MBA at Imperial College London, Dave shares the unfiltered truth about reinvention, ego death, and sustainable growth — in sport, business, and life.
We talk about:
🔥 The ego death that comes with leaving pro sport
🔥 The burnout cycle of strength & conditioning and how to escape it
🔥 Lessons from building a million-follower online fitness business
🔥 What happens when fame hits before systems are ready
🔥 Longevity, identity, and finding meaning beyond sport
🔥 Going back to school at 30 and redefining success
This is one of those rare, mature conversations — two ex-rugby players talking openly about life, purpose, and the long game.
🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
📲 Follow Dave: @davebirtwistle
🧠 Subscribe for weekly conversations on sport, business, and transformation.
Timestamps:
00:00 – The ego death of reinvention
02:00 – How shared rugby trauma shaped perspective
04:30 – Injury, pain, and emotional numbness from years in sport
06:45 – Longevity vs short-termism in team environments
09:00 – Rugby as corporate entity: replaceable bodies
11:00 – The shift from athlete to coach to PT
13:00 – Why most people don’t care about S&C theory
16:00 – From science to service — how to coach for humans, not papers
19:00 – The ego trap of S&C vs “PT”
23:00 – Starting online coaching before it was cool
29:00 – Pre-2020 online fitness world — the wild west
33:00 – Too Hot To Handle: what fame really did to business
36:00 – The 1,400-lead problem and scaling chaos
43:00 – Building systems that can actually handle success
49:00 – Retention > acquisition: building a business that lasts
53:00 – The modern trust crisis in online coaching
57:00 – How storytelling and authenticity now beat information
1:00:00 – Going back to school and learning humility again
1:03:00 – The freedom in letting your identity evolve
This isn’t a career.
It’s a conveyor belt.
And unless you get off it — you’ll spend your best years waiting for a promotion that will never come.
In this solo episode, Sam Portland pulls no punches on the broken system of strength & conditioning. From unpaid internships to dead-end “high performance” titles, this is the brutal truth every young coach needs to hear before burnout becomes your reality.
Sam shares real stories from his time in professional rugby — cleaning Wattbikes, putting players’ weights away, and learning the hard way that degrees don’t equal respect.
🎯 You’ll learn:
Why strength & conditioning isn’t a “career path” — it’s a conveyor belt.
The illusion of prestige behind postgraduate degrees.
The disconnect between passion and recognition in elite sport.
Why senior jobs rarely open up (and what to do instead).
How to build your own legacy through business, freedom, and leadership.
📈 This episode will hit hard — but it might just save your coaching career.
🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
🔥 Join the Mastermind: https://www.speedbysportland.com/legacy-mastermind-home
💬 DM Sam on Instagram: @coach_samportland
⏱️ 3. Timestamps
00:00 – The conveyor belt of coaching
00:55 – The illusion of prestige in postgraduate education
02:00 – When your degree means nothing at your first club
02:50 – Cleaning Wattbikes and gym floors: the real start of the job
04:30 – The culture of over-serious S&C
05:40 – Why coaches create false importance
06:45 – Humor, humility, and being told off for a joke
07:50 – The broken hierarchy of pro sport coaching
08:40 – Developmental vs senior windows — know where you belong
09:50 – The bottleneck of promotions in elite sport
10:30 – The real path: build your own business, not someone else’s dream
11:00 – How to build your legacy today
In today’s episode, we continue building on the Learn, Load, and Execute (LLE) framework — this time applying it to non-linear sprinting and change of direction speed.
You’ll learn how to break down and coach non-linear sprinting as an action, not just an agility drill, by understanding limb mechanics, acceleration angles, and how to link movement patterns to tactical speed.
I also walk through practical “recipes” for coaches who want to make the most of limited training time with their athletes — from wall drills to resisted band arcs to race-based execution drills.
This one’s all about turning theory into fast, applied learning.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro: Non-linear sprinting as an action, not an agility label
00:45 – The Learn Load Execute (LLE) principle in speed development
01:30 – Dominant vs non-dominant side and why you train one first
02:10 – The biomechanical crossover between linear and non-linear sprinting
03:00 – Learn: Isolated limb exposure and joint-angle drills
04:30 – Load: Adding resistance to build specific work capacity
05:30 – Execute: Combo construction — open step to crossover acceleration
06:30 – Understanding the short, moderate, and long curve sprint zones
08:00 – Designing drills for 10–20m curve accelerations
09:00 – Partner band drills for angular resistance
10:00 – Execution through chase games and competitive scenarios
11:00 – Summary: how to reverse-engineer non-linear speed from game actions
12:00 – Next week: Bringing Learn Load Execute into the gym
Thanks for Listening.
Download your Speed Coach Toolkit Here: https://www.speedbysportland.com/tool-kit
Most S&C podcasts are all the same — Olympic lifts vs. trap bar jumps, fancy terminology, no real talk.
In this brutally honest and hilarious episode, I sit down with Matt Vickery, a 30-year veteran of coaching, to cut through the noise and talk about what actually matters in strength and conditioning.
From the early days of Paul Chek and Charles Poliquin to today’s guru culture, we unpack why coaches burn out, how ego kills learning, and why communication skills matter more than degrees.
If you’re a young coach, this is a reality check. If you’re an older one, you’ll be nodding (and laughing) along.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Both will do neither just fine – setting the tone
01:00 – Why we hate most S&C podcasts
02:00 – Trap bars, Olympic lifts, and why none of it really matters
03:00 – The early days of coaching – plyos, benches, and cracked ribs
05:00 – From Wales to London – how plyometrics sold personal training
08:00 – Paul Chek, Poliquin, and the birth of the fitness guru
12:00 – Acupuncture, shamans, and the placebo effect
15:00 – Fixing yourself vs. outsourcing your recovery
17:00 – Foam rolling, massage guns, sleep – the myth of the 1 percenters
20:00 – Why young coaches need to stop choosing camps
25:00 – The problem with S&C education and university courses
29:00 – Working with athletes vs. “Karens” – who really needs coaching
33:00 – The Chelsea job offer – £9 k a year and a reality check
36:00 – Team-sport chaos – one-hour-a-week programs
40:00 – Louis Simmons, Westside Barbell, and learning the real science
47:00 – Genetic freaks, speed myths, and why most coaches chase noise
50:00 – Closing thoughts – no dashboards, just doing the work
👉 Follow Matt on Instagram → @jumpthrowlift
👉 Subscribe for real conversations on coaching, speed, and sport performance
Most coaches burn out before they ever break through.
And that’s the cold, hard truth about working in professional sport.
In this episode, I go deep into the realities of life as a strength & conditioning coach — the burnout, the underpayment, the toxic cultures — and how I broke free to build multiple businesses, earn six figures, and take back control of my life.
This is not motivation fluff. It’s a wake-up call to every coach chasing prestige over purpose.
If you’ve ever felt undervalued, overworked, or trapped by the badge on your tracksuit — this one’s for you.
Timestamps:
00:00 – The truth: most coaches burn out before they break through
01:00 – My early dream: pro sport, prestige, and the illusion of status
03:00 – Breaking my leg, losing rugby, and finding coaching
05:00 – Getting into Wasps and Ealing — and getting fired
06:30 – Why I left pro sport (and why I’m glad I did)
07:00 – Coaches: great at structure for others, terrible for themselves
08:30 – The money reality of sport — and how it limits your life
09:30 – Boundaries, values, and saying “no” to the 24/7 mindset
10:50 – Building systems, focus, and your one thing
11:45 – Stop copying the broke gurus — define your success
13:00 – Build your side hustle right (without burning out)
13:40 – My final message to every coach stuck in the system
👊 If this hits home, share it with a friend who needs to hear it.
🎧 Subscribe for more no-BS truth about sport, business, and freedom.
The Learn Load Execute Framework inside the sports speed system creates a powerful model for the development of physical qualities! Master its application and your athletes will thank you.
What’s the difference between “just posting on social media” and building a personal brand that creates trust, clients, and opportunities?
In this episode of the Sam Portland Podcast, I’m joined by branding expert Alex Preece. We break down why personal branding is really about reputation and trust — and how coaches can move beyond the “assembly line” and stand out.
From LinkedIn strategy to email lists, from mindset to monetisation, this conversation is packed with real stories (including Adidas, Usain Bolt, and Kevin Hart!) and practical steps coaches can start using today.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Why we skip intros and get straight to value
01:30 – What personal branding really is (reputation, not ego)
03:30 – Trust, proof, and why stories sell better than CVs
06:30 – Breaking away from the “assembly line” of coaches
09:30 – The three pillars of content: teach, tell, show
12:30 – Borrowed vs owned media (and why email lists matter)
15:50 – My own social media hack horror story
20:00 – The perfect week framework for self-employed coaches
27:00 – Branding is about what people say when you leave the room
37:00 – Overcoming fear of being judged as a “self-promoter”
46:00 – Alex’s wildest corporate branding story (Kevin Hart + Usain Bolt)
50:00 – Where to find Alex Preece
👉 Subscribe for more coaching + business strategy episodes
Every smart coach in pro sport is building something of their own. Truth is I never trusted pro environments and neither should you. This is how you can work with athletes outside of pro sports.
When you train acceleration using this framework, there is no turning back!!! Grab a copy of the Sports Speed System Framework Playbooks here: https://www.speedbysportland.com/product-details/product/sportsspeedsystemplaybook
What happens when a veteran strength coach loses his role after 12 years? For Nate, it meant rediscovering his passion, redefining his path, and finding purpose beyond the weight room.
In this episode of the Sam Portland Podcast, Nate shares his candid journey through sport, coaching, and unexpected career changes. From being a thrower in college, to coaching athletes at Buffalo, to becoming a “strength coach without a strength job,” this is a raw conversation about resilience, family, and what it really means to coach.
If you’re a young coach, this one’s essential listening.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Why we skip the standard intros
01:30 – Nate’s early story: football, track & field, and the weight room
06:45 – Competing in throws and lessons from powerlifting
14:00 – The importance of competing as a coach
20:00 – First lessons in coaching contact sport athletes
27:30 – COVID, cuts, and becoming a coach without a strength job
36:00 – Balancing family, career, and quality of life
44:00 – Certifications, teaching, and the next chapter
52:00 – Why imperfections—not perfection—connect us
Cert inflation is real — and it’s draining your bank account. You don’t need another overpriced qualification. You need results, communication, and business skills that actually pay.
In this episode of the S&C Business Club Podcast, I break down why chasing certifications is costing you more than money. I share my own journey — from falling for sales funnels, to building my own certification, to walking away from meaningless tick-box workshops. More importantly, I reveal what coaches really need to build financial independence:
✅ Results that matter
✅ Communication & emotional intelligence
✅ Business skills that open doors (and wallets)
If you’re undervalued, underpaid, and wondering how to make this career work for you, this is the wake-up call.
📘 Download your free Side Hustle Playbook → https://sportlandconsulting.acr.fit/makeextracash
📧 Or email me: sam@coachesport.co.uk
Timestamps:
00:00 – Cert inflation is real (and it’s costing you)
02:10 – Falling for funnels & the Soviet coach myth
05:00 – Why most certs don’t get you jobs
09:20 – What you actually need: results, communication, business
15:00 – Lessons from contracts, law, and losing a job
20:30 – How business skills open the world of opportunities
25:00 – The Side Hustle Playbook (free resource for coaches)
28:00 – Reclaim your independence & raise the standards of the profession
👉 If you liked this episode, send it to a friend and let’s raise the standards together.
Grab 100 Speed Training Lessons the "gurus" charge your 1000's for: https://www.speedbysportland.com/100speed-lessons
Most coaches cram too much into a 7-day cycle—and end up killing speed gains. Here’s how to structure your week the right way.
In this whiteboard session, I break down exactly how to apply the Sports Speed System across a training week. We’ll cover how to space out speed sessions, manage recovery, and build intensity over time without burning athletes out.
This episode is for any strength & conditioning coach, performance coach, or team sport athlete who wants to avoid negative transfer, maximize freshness, and truly unlock speed development.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Why training density matters in speed development
02:15 – Off-season example: breaking the 7-day cycle
05:30 – How fatigue creates negative transfer
08:10 – Structuring speed sessions across 14 days
12:00 – Max speed, acceleration & change of direction pillars
16:45 – How to integrate weights & recovery
22:10 – Potentiation cycling explained
26:30 – The 28-day cycle for sustained progress
30:00 – Next step: Learn-Load-Execute for acceleration
What happens when structure turns into stress? Former pro Howard Packman tells you in no uncertain terms why it’s time for freedom on the field.”
In this clip, Howard Packman—once a rising star with Northampton Saints and England U20s—lays bare the fragility of over-coaching. As he points out, too many coaches cling to rigid game plans out of fear, but sometimes the best strategy is simply: “Go and score some fucking points, lads.”
Now serving as Academy Boys’ Head Coach at Sevenoaks RFC, Packman brings real-field insight to his coaching philosophy. In this conversation, he explores the need for freedom, instinct, and adaptability—drawing from his own experiences across clubs like Bedford Blues, Ealing Trailfinders, Doncaster Knights, and even a full international debut for Germany.
Enjoy this bold insight from a former pro turned youth coach? Subscribe and leave a comment below—what’s one game you wish you’d let players run with instinct?
💡 Most S&C coaches are chasing low-paying jobs… but what if you could flip the script and build something bigger?
In today’s episode, I share why the S&C Coach Side Hustle Guide exists and how it can help you package your skills, find your first clients, and start earning extra income alongside your coaching career.
This isn’t about grinding for £19k a year in a job you don’t love. It’s about creating your own path, building a business around your expertise, and raising the standard of our profession together.
👉 Download your FREE S&C Coach Side Hustle Guide here: https://sportlandconsulting.acr.fit/makeextracash
If this resonates with you, drop a comment and let me know how you’re starting your side hustle. And don’t forget — subscribe for more S&C Business Club content.
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 – Why I created the Side Hustle Guide
02:00 – The problem with traditional S&C career paths
04:15 – How building a side hustle changes the game
07:30 – Raising the standard of the profession
11:57 – The vision for the next generation of coaches
What happens when the pressure of professional football becomes too much? In this candid conversation, we dive into the realities of stepping away from the pitch, the search for balance, and finding new passions in fitness and motorsport.
From letting go of the stress of football coaching to embracing new challenges, this clip is all about growth, balance, and the never-ending cycle of falling out of balance—only to find it again.
Whether you’re chasing a career pivot, exploring your passions, or simply trying to find balance in your own life, you’ll connect with this.
👉 Want to connect with today’s guest? Reach out on Instagram: @edgeofthebox1
Welcome to The Sam Portland Podcast, hosted by Sam Portland.
The creator of The Sports Speed System.
Join us in Sam Portland as we explore the cutting edge of speed training and strength and conditioning for athletes. Whether you’re a coach, athlete, or fitness enthusiast, our podcast dives deep into proven strategies, expert insights, and real-life stories to help you excel. From advanced sprint mechanics to innovative strength techniques, we’ll give you the tools to reach peak performance.
Get Weekly Speed Coaching Here: https://www.speedbysportland.com/sports-speed-insider-page
Format & Topics:
Weekly episodes featuring:
• Expert interviews with coaches and athletes in San Portland.
• Tips for optimizing speed and strength for team sports.
• Discussions on cutting-edge research in sports science.
• Practical advice for athletes and coaches to apply immediately.