In this episode, Scott Kuehn, Manager of Applied Sport Science for LSU Football gives us an extensive view on how to build a sport science eco-system from scratch with the specialists you work with. In addition, Scott breaks down his webinar on The Strength Coach Network; Case Study: Using GPS to Influence Football Practice Design, and his first white paper LAX-Score: Quantifying Team Performance in Lacrosse and Exploring IMU Features towards Performance Enhancement.
Episode overview
Scott Kuehn, Manager of Applied Sport Science for LSU Football, explains how to build a sport science ecosystem from the ground up with the specialists already working around a team. He also discusses GPS-informed football practice design and his research into quantifying team performance in lacrosse. The conversation gives strength and conditioning professionals a practical way to think about coaching beyond sets and repetitions. It connects day-to-day training decisions with communication, leadership, athlete development, and the realities of working inside a larger organization.
Key themes from the conversation
Building a sport science ecosystem
Kuehn presents sport science as a collaborative operating system rather than a collection of devices. The people, questions, data flow, and communication process have to be established before technology can produce useful decisions. As you listen, pay attention to the decisions behind the approach: what problem the coach is trying to solve, what information matters most, and how the idea can be adapted to a different team, age group, or training environment. That context is more useful than copying a drill or program without understanding why it was selected.
Using GPS to inform practice design
The football case study connects external-load data with the way practice is organized. The important coaching question is not how much data can be collected, but which measures can help a staff plan, communicate, and review practice demands more effectively. As you listen, pay attention to the decisions behind the approach: what problem the coach is trying to solve, what information matters most, and how the idea can be adapted to a different team, age group, or training environment. That context is more useful than copying a drill or program without understanding why it was selected.
Turning research into applied decisions
The discussion of the LAX-Score work shows how performance questions can move from observation to measurement and then back into coaching. Applied research earns value when its findings can be explained clearly and used responsibly in the field. As you listen, pay attention to the decisions behind the approach: what problem the coach is trying to solve, what information matters most, and how the idea can be adapted to a different team, age group, or training environment. That context is more useful than copying a drill or program without understanding why it was selected.
Why this episode matters
Scott Kuehn’s perspective is useful because the role of a performance coach is never limited to writing a program. Coaches must earn trust, explain expectations, adjust to the people in front of them, and keep training aligned with the competitive calendar. This episode invites listeners to examine how professional growth and better athlete outcomes often come from the same habits: asking better questions, communicating clearly, reviewing results honestly, and staying willing to refine an approach.
For head coaches and administrators, the discussion also offers a window into the responsibilities carried by a strength staff. A successful program depends on shared standards, useful feedback, and collaboration across sport coaches, athletic trainers, medical staff, and performance specialists. The details will look different in every setting, but the need for alignment remains constant.
Who should listen
This episode is especially relevant for sport scientists, football performance staffs, coaches adopting athlete-monitoring technology, and administrators building interdisciplinary teams. It is also a strong professional-development resource for interns and graduate assistants who want to understand how experienced practitioners evaluate problems, build relationships, and grow into greater responsibility. Listen once for the story, then return to the sections that connect most directly to the challenges in your own program.
Turn the conversation into action
After listening, write down one idea that confirms your current practice, one idea that challenges it, and one question you want to discuss with your staff. Choose a small action that can be tested without disrupting the entire program, define what improvement would look like, and review the result after an appropriate training block. That simple process turns a podcast insight into a useful coaching experiment while keeping the athlete and the program’s goals at the center of the decision.
Explore more interviews on the Samson Strength Coach Collective, where coaches and performance leaders share the experiences, systems, and lessons shaping their work.
