Zone7 Performance Podcast
Zone7 Performance Podcast
Zone 7 Peformance Podcast
Elite Performance Through Artificial Intelligence
Unveiling the Future of Load Management with AI-Powered Periodisation Planner
Join us in the latest episode of the Zone7 Performance Podcast for a thought-provoking conversation between host, Paul Macdonald, and Zone7 Performance Director, Rich Buchanan. Together, they navigate the ever-evolving world of sports performance and introduce Zone7's groundbreaking AI-powered Periodisation Planner.Discover how this revolutionary tool is set to redefine the game, enabling athletes and coaches to optimize training schedules and achieve peak performance. zone7.ai #Zone7 #AI #SportsPerformance #LoadManagement #PeriodisationPlanner00:00:31 - Introducing the Periodisation Planner00:01:57 - Embracing Client Feedback00:02:58 - What’s New for the User?00:07:20 - Dealing with the Data Deluge00:09:19 - Pioneering Proactivity over Reactivity00:13:08 - Micro-Cycle Simulator, Version ‘2.0’
Nov 6, 2023
16 min
Navigating the Intersection of Sports, Data, and Big Business
The NBA's league officials have recently emphasized the significance of player availability in light of their upcoming negotiations for a new TV rights contract, potentially valued at an astounding $75 billion. In our most recent installment of the Zone7 Performance Podcast, we had the privilege of welcoming industry commentator and Zone7 advisor, Roger Mitchell. He joined our CEO, Tal Brown, in a thought-provoking discussion to unravel the implications of this development for our company and the broader sports industry
Oct 25, 2023
26 min
Translating data and insights into a common football language with Anton McElhone
Performance Director, Rich Buchanan sits down with Anton McElhone, former Head of Sports Science at Celtic FC, to discuss how he has seen the industry change, how the fundamentals differ between the Premier League, SPL, and MLS, staying on the front foot, adapting how he works under different managers, from Pochettino to Postecoglou. 00:00:43 Anton's career overview 00:03:02 How has the industry changed? 00:05:23 Differing demands between leagues 00:07:10 Facing workflow challenges 00:10:14 Staying on the front foot 00:12:42 Translating the data 00:15:02 Measuring your success as a department 00:19:06 Adopting new tools 00:22:36 Future gazing #Celtic #Tottenham #SportsScience #WorkloadManagement #FootballMedicine #HighPerformance
Aug 7, 2023
26 min
Managing player workload through the application of AI with Queen's Park Rangers' Dr. Imtiaz Ahmad
Performance Director, Rich Buchanan sits down with Dr. Imtiaz Ahmad, Head of Medicine & Performance at QPR FC, to discuss the workflow challenges he faces on a day-to-day basis, the due diligence he and his team take on applying new methods and technology, and how measures success. A Timeline 00:04:46 How have you seen the industry change since you entered? 00:08:12 What are the organisational challenges that you face? 00:10:32 Workflow challenges 00:13:06 Dealing with medium to long term perspectives 00:15:34 Pitching ideas to the board 00:17:09 Due diligence on new methods and technologies 00:20:39 What does the performance landscape look like from a 'tools' perspective 00:23:47 Variations of workflows between disciplines 00:25:33 Does your due diligence change between sports? 00:27:24 "Evolving not revolutionising" 00:28:54 Measuring Success 00:32:16 The Next 5 Years #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #MachineLearning #Founders #HighPerformance #SportsTech
Jul 20, 2023
36 min
The Future of AI in Human Performance
Zone7's founders, Tal Brown (CEO) and Eyal Eliakim (CTO), sit down together to discuss challenges they have faced while building Zone7, the future of AI in the human performance space, how AI can assist human experts, applying sports injury forecasting to consumer products, and even the impact of ChatGPT towards broader AI adoption. Zone7.ai #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #MachineLearning #Founders #HighPerformance #SportsTech
Jun 23, 2023
34 min
Applying data science within a college football environment with UC Berkeley’s Mike Blasquez
The California Golden Bears Football team has 115 student athletes, ten different position groups, ten different position coaches and performance staff. It’s a complex environment. They’ve got kids that play a lot, and they’ve got kids that don’t play much. For Mike Blasquez, Assistant Athletics Director at UC Berkeley, it is imperative for him to be able to get a snapshot of these athletes’ performance data so as to make informed decisions to manage their workloads. Blasquez joins Zone7 CEO Tal Brown and experienced Sports Science Consultant Jo Clubb to discuss why they have adopted Zone7 within their environment, interpreting risk and what drives it, and the data science process of converting what was predominantly a soccer-based system previously for the demands of a College Football. Zone7 Performance Hub Global Performance Insights 00:00 - Intro 11:53 – Support for expert operators 34:05 – Information efficiency 35:32 -  Figuring out what’s next #ArtificialIntelligence #UCBerkeley #GoldenBears #CollegeFootball #DataScience #SportsScience #Workload Management #Football #AmericanFootball #Pac12 #GoBears
Feb 22, 2023
52 min
Unlocking performance data to make better informed decisions with Rich Buchanan and Ben Mackenzie
Rich Buchanan first identified the need to make more efficient sense of data whilst he was working as Performance Director for Swansea City AFC in the Premier League in 2014/15. Years after beginning that search for an answer, he found Zone7. Then the stars aligned with Buchanan becoming Performance Director for the company in early 2021. Ben Mackenzie has a similar background to Buchanan having also spent around two-decades working within professional football. However, Mackenzie's journey to the company took a very different route, with him retraining as a software engineer and data scientist in 2019. Mackenzie joined the company as a Data Research Analyst in 2022. In this episode, Paul Macdonald is joined by the pair to discuss what brought them both to Zone7, the increasing impact of data science within high performance sport, and what the future looks like for the company and for the industry. To find more information on Zone7, please visit zone7.ai #DataScience #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #BigData #HighPerformance #SportsScience #SportsPerformance #HumanPerformance #Football #Soccer
Jan 18, 2023
38 min
Special: How injuries impacted Jordi Cruyff's longevity in the game
How artificial intelligence technology can help promote elite-level athlete performance. Paul MacDonald speaks to Jordi Cruyff. Jordi is a former Barcelona & Manchester United star. We discuss his career, how injuries impacted his longevity in the game and how he is looking to change things with the introduction of Zone7 technology across all sports & sectors. Zone7 Jordi's Wiki page TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:28 Jordi’s Career Injuries 00:03:56 Playing to prove yourself 00:05:21 Support for players then v support for players now 00:06:58 Modern football schedules 00:09:59 New substitution rules 00:14:12 Jordi working with Zone7 00:19:10 Resistance from clubs to use the technology 00:24:07 The Future of Zone7
Dec 14, 2020
26 min
Pilot: What is Zone7?
How artificial intelligence technology can help promote elite-level athlete performance. zone7.ai In this, our very first episode, we discuss injuries and what zone7 technology can do to help prevent them. Host: Ben Jacobs  ben-jacobs.com Panel:  Tal Brown Co-Founder & CEO of Zone7 John Colquhoun Wikipedia page here. Played for Celtic, Hearts, Sunderland and Scotland. Zone7 investor. Rebecca Bex Smith Wikipedia page here. Played for NZ in Olympics and world cups, lead Wolfsburg to titles with Bundesliga, UEFA Women's Champion League and Ladies first cup.  Leading several industry initiatives around female athlete wellbeing and performance with experience through roles in COPA90, FIFA and Isokinetic Medical.  A strategic advisor for Zone7 for marketing and women's sports. Federico Smanio Wikipedia page here, played for several Serie B teams.  CEO of Wylab, Europe's first sports accelerator and an early investor of Zone7.  Considered a European sports-tech advocate and expert, with a vast experience from previous roles in Serie A/B.
Nov 26, 2020
56 min