Ben Ryan: From Olympic gold to powering performance at Brentford

Episode #77 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, in association with Genius Sports, is with Ben Ryan, the Performance Director of Premier League side Brentford.

Ben is responsible for making sure that the club's players are mentally and physically equipped for matchday. 

Before joining Brentford four years ago, Ben consulted with a number of leading organisations and was Head Coach of Fiji's rugby sevens team, leading them to Olympic glory in 2016.

Ben told us how someone from a rugby background landed a top role in football, what it's like to work with Head Coach Keith Andrews and about the club's secret supremacy rating. 

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SHOW NOTES =>

01:31: Facilities at the training ground, where the interview is taking place.

03:05: Concerns about players being pampered?

04:39: What does your role as Performance Director involve?

07:19: What have you been doing today?

11:50: Changes that took place at the end of last season, when Thomas Frank left and Keith Andrews took over as Head Coach.

15:54: How Keith Andrews confounded the critics and doubters. 

20:05: Brentford's supremacy rating. Taking a strategic view and not being overtaken by the emotion of results. 

23:22: Clever recruitment and importance of developing players.

26:00: Coming into football from rugby union. Importance of looking outside football networks. 

31:22: Head Coach of Fiji Rugby Sevens team - chalk and cheese with Premier League football. 

39:47: GPS - one of the first teams to use it (with England Rugby in 2006) but not the panacea and won't be important forever. 

42:07: Risk of over-monitoring players/ 24-hour surveillance.

43:58: Power of play/ how Brentford break up routine and regimen.

46:59: Setting up guard rails. Analogy about going across Firth of Forth Bridge.

48:52: Europe on the horizon. Challenge of extra games.

52:23: Premium Member question. Lessons from rugby. Chaos and surprise.

55:51: Ambitions: personally and for the club as a whole.