Episode Details

One of my favorite aspects of this show is getting these little peeks behind the “high performance” curtain.

Even if we don’t work in elite sport, or have the resources they have available to them, getting an understanding into the systems and thought processes they use to build the best athletes in the world can still be invaluable.

Plus, if I get to talk to a former IFAST intern who is absolutely crushing it in life, that’s never a bad thing, either!

Which is why I’m absolutely thrilled to have my guy Aaron Cunanan back on the Physical Preparation Podcast.

Aaron is entering his second season as the Director of Applied Sports Science for the Cincinnati Reds. He has previous stints as Sport Science Coordinator for the San Francisco Giants and Performance Support Manager for the UFC Performance Institute.

Aaron’s research background includes athlete monitoring, periodization, and weightlifting biomechanics.

And today, we’re going to dive into how he’s creating an athlete-centric approach to sports science with the Cincinnati Reds!

One of the biggest challenges to baseball is it has the most grueling competition schedule in professional sports…and the game doesn’t care if you’re ready to play 162 games or not. – Aaron Cunanan

This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast:

• Aaron’s long and winding career path through Olympic weightlifting, professional baseball, and the UFC.
• What it means to be people-driven versus data driven.
• How a sports-science truly becomes athlete centric, versus just using that language to sound cool.
• Aaron’s thoughts on how data and sports scientists can best serve the athletes and coaches they’re working with.
• The advice he’d give to someone who is new to a sport – especially since he had about zero experience in baseball or MMA when he started there!
• The key performance indicators (KPI’s) he’s found to be relevant in baseball.
• His thoughts on finding natural ways to create engagement and build rapport with coaches and athletes.
• The advice he’d give to someone who is new to the sports science realm, and wants to learn more without getting overwhelmed!
• Aaron’s 10-15 year ideal plan for the Cincinnati Reds, and the role he’d like sports science to play in that process.

Connect with Aaron:

• Aaron Cunanan on Twitter

Related Links:

• Aaron Cunanan on Sports Science, Athlete Monitoring and Being Evidence Driven

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