In association with
⚠️Registrations via this site are now closed.⚠️
But if you would still like to attend please contact conference@ul.ie and provide:
Your name
Arrival date and departure date
Contact phone number
Also, if you require accommodation then please ring
Telephone: +353-61-234178
Who will be presenting?
Rita Guarino
Former Italian soccer player (scoring 35 Goals in 99 appearances with the National Team). She is currently the Head Coach of Inter-Milan FC Women’s team and has previously coached both Juventus (2017 to 2021) and the Italian U17 squad (2015 to 2017). In 2021 Rita was awarded the prestigious Panchina d'Oro award presented to the best coach in Serie A.
Pau Casassa Busquets
General Technical Director of the worldwide network of Barça FC academies.
Dr Paul Walker
Since 2017 Paul has worked in Formula 1 with a specific focus on project management and optimising pitstop performance.
Paul was an international pole vaulter for 15 years, placing 5th at two Commonwealth Games and holds an MSc in Aeronautical Engineering and a PhD in Sport Technology from Loughborough University. His diverse experiences ensure he works comfortably at the intersection of human performance and technology.
Dan Ridenour
Sports Science Coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings (NFL). Previously Assistant Director of the University of Nebraska Athletic Performance Lab
Dr Daniel Cohen
Leading sports scientist with consultancies across the Worlds major sporting leagues, co-creator of ForceDecks
Professor John Newell
Fulbright Scholar and the inaugural Professor of Biostatistics at the National University of Galway. Professor Newell currently collaborates and consults with sport science support staff across the Premier League, WFL, IRFU, PGA, NFL and the NBA.
Professor Charlie Pedlar
A Professor at St Marys University, Twickenham, Charlie is an expert in preparing elite athletes for international competition. Charlie currently works with professional athletes in the NBA, NHL, NFL, English Premier League and F1.
Niamh Mallon
Elite team sport athlete, Sports Scientist and Performance nutritionist. Currently working with Orreco on their World leading Elite Female Athlete program
Des Ryan
The Director of Coaching & Athletic Development at Setanta College. Des is one of the leading youth coaches and performance managers in sport and a world-renowned practitioner and speaker.
Prior to joining Setanta Des was Head of Sport Medicine & Athletic Development at Arsenal Football Club Academy, and previously the Head of S&C at Connacht Rugby.
Des has presented at the UKSCA, ASCA and NSCA conferences, as well as many others around the world.
Ian Costello
Head of Rugby Operations for Munster Rugby.
Caroline Currid
Sports Psychologist to 3-time All-Ireland hurling champions Limerick (2018, 2020, 2021), and previously to Tipperary (2010) and All-Ireland football champions Tyrone (2008) and Dublin (2011); Celtic FC First Team and the Munster Rugby Senior Team
Professor Adam Kiefer
A prolific researcher (70+ publications) whose work focusses on integrating complex systems with emerging technologies to drive performance innovations & injury prevention strategies. He has received $6+ million in industry funding; holds 3 digital tech patents and is the co-founder and CEO of sports tech company Elipsys.
Dr Paul Catterson
M.D, Head of Medicine, Newcastle United FC. Previously team doctor for England U17, England U16 and the Great Britain Team for the World University Games.
Dr Damian Harper
Consultant and professional development provider to multiple organisation including: The English Football Association, numerous clubs in the English Premier League (EPL), the English Football League (EFL) Championship, the American National Football League (NFL) and Premiership Rugby, amongst many other leading sports organisations and technology companies.
David Dunne
David is a Performance Science consultant to a wide diversity of Olympic & professional athletes (including NBA and professional boxing) and has provided professional services to organisations such as the UCI World tour, Harlequins Rugby, British Canoeing, Europe's Ryder Cup Team and the DP World Golf Tour. His PhD research focused on behaviour change and technology in applied sports contexts.
Director of Football Performance for the Arizona Cardinals. Previously Director of Performance Monitoring for the San Francisco 49ers and Sports scientist for the Cincinnati Bengals
Shea Thompson
Jordi Fernandez
Head of Methodology at Venezia FC, Former Head of Methodology at FC Barcelona and previously Head coach of Barça FC Academy
Dr. Brian Moore
Co-founder and CEO of Orreco. Brian has led global research into sports haematology since 2005 when he uncovered patterns in the haematology of elite athlete. He has worked directly with multiple World and Olympic medalists, and numerous pro sports teams and athletes competing in MLB, NBA, NHL, PGA Tour, UEFA, America’s Cup Sailing and Formula1.
Recent age-group Winner of the World Triathlon Long Distance Championships, Ibiza, 2023 and Senior Researcher at the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre. Her research involves collaborations with the Swedish Ski Association and Biathlon Federation conducting applied research on Sweden’s Olympic and World Championship cross-country skiing and biathlon medallists. Current projects focus specifically on female athletes and investigate the influences of the menstrual cycle, menstrual health and motherhood on athletic performance.
David Tilbury-Davis
Assoc. Prof Kerry McGawley
Aidan O'Connell
Cork GAA High performance manager. Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach for
Munster Rugby
David has coached professional triathletes for over two decades and has helped athletes achieve 3 World titles, a National Hour record, 13 National titles and numerous wins and Course Records. Over his coaching career athletes David has worked with have been on the podium in over half of their races, and half of these podium positions have been as winners. David currently coaches the Worlds number 1 ranked female triathlete, Ashleigh Gentle (AUS).
Nick Chadd
Head of Sports Science and Strength and Conditioning for Benfica FC (PORT), formerly Lead Sports Scientist and S&C coach for the City Group and. prior to this, Head of Sports Science at the Manchester City Academy
Fergal O'Callaghan
Currently the High Performance Sports Lead at the University of Galway. Previously, he served as the Team Manager of the Irish Rowing Team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics; the Athletic performance coach of the Munster senior rugby squad (1999 – 2019) and the S&C coach to the Irish women’s rowing team at Rio Olympics 2016. Fergal is also a former Irish international rower and multiple National title winner; a 3-time Ironman; an accomplished multiday ultra-runner and a Marathon des Sables finisher.
Professor Warren Gregson
Previous roles include strategic and operational roles at English Premier league clubs, national football associations and technology providers. With over 25 years experience operating at the intersection of science and technology, Warren served as Head of Performance Science at Aspire Academy in preparation for the FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup and currently leads a large-scale innovation partnership between the Institute of Sport, at Manchester Met, and Manchester United FC.
Ben Cormack
A highly experienced musculoskeletal therapist focused on rehabilitation & exercise with a special interest in pain and its relationship to movement quality. Ben has been involved with multiple elite sports teams, including EPL football & Premiership rugby clubs. He is a popular and innovative presenter regularly delivering at conferences all over the World.
Day 1
JUNE 16th - Pre-Conference Day
13:00 - 13:15
Welcome & Introduction
13:15 - 14:00
My innovation: Remote Excellence - Empathy and Data intertwined, with Coach David Tilbury-Davis
14:00 - 14:20
Interview with an innovator: with Professor Warren Gregson, former Head of Performance Science at Aspire, Qatar
15:00 - 15:15
Break
15:15 - 16:00
Workshop: Optimising Female Athlete Performance: with Prof Charlie Pedlar, Assoc Prof Kerry McCawley and Niamh Mallon
16:00 - 17:00
Workshop: Driving continual improvement in professional field sports with Munster Rugbys Head of Operations, Ian Costello, and Setanta Colleges Director of Coaching & Athletic Development and ex Arsenal FC Head of Sport Medicine & Athletic Development, Des Ryan
17:00 - 17:15
Break
17:15 - 17:45
Spotlight on innovative technology: "Using infrared thermography to reduce and manage injury", with Dr Ismael Fernández Cuevas
17:45 - 18:15
Expert Panel Discussion: "Endurance training Whats changing? Whats staying the same? ", with Kerry McCawley, David Tilbiry-Davis and Fergal O'Callaghan
Day 2
JUNE 17th - Full Conference Day 1
08:30 - 9:00
Registration
09:00 - 9:15
Opening Remarks: Prof Giles Warrington and Irish rugby International and British & Irish Lion, Keith Wood,
9:15 - 10:00
My Innovation: Optimising Human Performance effectively in a World of data: The Formula 1 pitstop, with Dr Paul Walker, Haas Formula 1 Team
10:00 - 11:00
Performance innovation workshop: Reshaping coaching paradigms and practices in professional football, with Jordi Fernandez (Venezia FC, ITA) and Pau Casassa (Barcelona FC, ESP)
11:00 - 11:15
Break
11:15 - 12:00
My innovation: The Power of Embedded Beliefs: How your history shapes your future, with Caroline Currid, Limerick Hurling
12:00 - 13:00
Performance innovation Workshop: Optimising performance: Harnessing the power of Multi-disciplinary teams, with Nick Chadd, Dr Paul Catterson, Aidan O'Connell, Shea Thompson
13:00 - 13:30
Lunch
13:30 - 14:00
Spotlight on innovative Technology: Isometric training to enhance performance and reduce hamstring injury, with Dr Martin McIntyre
14:00 - 14:15
Interview with an innovator: with Pau Casassa (Barcelona FC)
14:15 - 15:00
My innovation: Developing the Antifragile Athlete, with Professor Adam Kiefer, University of North Carolina, USA
15:00 - 15:15
Interview with an innovator: with Assoc Prof Kerry McCawley, Winner of the World Triathlon Long Distance Championships, Ibiza, 2023
15:15 - 15:30
Break
15:30 - 16:15
My innovation: What is the Biopsychosocial model model and does the world of sport need it anyways?, with Ben Cormack
16:15 - 16:45
Interview with an Innovator: Dr Paul Catterson M.D, Head of Medicine, Newcastle United FC
16:45 - 17:45
Audience interviews with todays Innovators: Discussion and review of key takehomes
Day 3
JUNE 18th - Full Conference Day 2
08:30 - 09:00
Registration
09:00 - 09:45
Interview with an Innovator: An extended interview with Rita Guarina, Head Coach, Inter-Milan FC
09:45 - 10:45
Performance innovation Workshop: "The future of athletic monitoring", with Dr Daniel Cohen, Dr Damian Harper and Dan Ridenour
10:45 - 11:00
Break
11:00 - 11:45
My innovation: "Optimising recovery strategies in high-performance team sports: Future directions’, with Professor Warren Gregson
11:45 - 12:30
Expert Panel Discussion: "Designing and Managing Training to Optimise Performance", with Nick Chadd, Aidan O'Connell, Shea Thompson
12:30 - 13:00
An Interview with Innovators: Audience-driven Q&A with a panel of conference presenters
13:00 - 13:45
Lunch
13:45 - 14:30
My innovation: "Strength in Numbers": Optimising data science in performance sport (a practitioners guide), with Professor John Newell
14:30 - 15:00
Innovation in the NFL: with Shea Thompson (Arizona Cardinals) and Daniel Ridenour (Minnesota Vikings)
15:00 - 15:15
Interview with an Innovator: with Nick Chadd, Head of Sports Science and Strength and Conditioning for Benfica FC
15:15 - 15:30
Break
15:30 - 16:15
My innovation: "Unleashing the Potential of Athlete-Centred Behavioural Design", with David Dunne
16:15 - 17:00
Audience interviews with todays Innovators Audience interactions and review of key takehomes
17:00 - 17:10
Synopsis and closing
The overarching theme of the Cutting Edge 2023 conference is innovation.
To help us navigate through the confusion of emerging theories, thoughts, technologies, and ever-expanding research, we’ve invited a collection of innovators and thought leaders (both scientists and practitioners) to discuss the theory and practical implementation underpinning their most powerful innovations. Importantly, we’ve directed these experts to focus specifically on the translation of theory to practical implementation; thereby providing you with a detailed overview of how these innovations can be implemented to directly enhance your impact on athletic performance.
This year's conference will focus on emerging practices across a range of critical topics, including:
- Optimizing female athlete preparation
- The future of athletic monitoring
- The revolution in coaching practices and philosophies
- Biological intelligence: Emerging concepts and implications
- Optimizing multi-disciplinary performance teams
We are also offering a pre-conference event, on Friday June 16th, 2023. The pre-conference event offers an opportunity to engage with expert researchers and sports practitioners. During the pre-conference event we will take a deeper dive into a number of the emerging topics that, collectively, are changing the landscape of coaching and sports science practice and delivery.
The pre-conference day is specifically designed for coaching, medical practitioners, sports science support providers, academics and researchers.
Learn more about the 2023 Conference and view the full program above.
The Venue
Kemmy Busines School, University of Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland
The University of Limerick is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick. Kemmy Business School is one of the largest business schools in Ireland and is the academic home to almost 3,000 students and over 100 enthusiastic faculty and staff.