Wayne Diesel - From the Springboks, to the EPL, NFL and NBA...Sports Physiotherapist across various sports, eras and continents!

Send us Fan MailWayne is a highly regarded sports physiotherapist who has worked at the pinnacle of multiple sports and organisations across the globe for 40 years. He has worked in Olympic sports, with the South African National Rugby Team the Springboks, in the EPL with Charlton Athletic and Tottenham Hotspurs, in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs to only name a few. Few practitioners can match the breadth and depth of his experience, having led medical departments across multiple sports, countries, and high-performance environments. This is a must-listen conversation for anyone established or is building a career in sport, as Wayne blends practical clinical insights with hard-earned wisdom on what it takes to thrive in elite performance settings.Highlights from the episode…Wayne started physiotherapy during a period where there weren't an abundance of pro sport or high paying roles. So why did Wayne choose this career path?Working with the South African national soccer team (Bafana Bafana) and the national rugby team (Springboks).After a successful career in South Africa, why Wayne decided to sell everything and move the entire family to the UK to take a role with Gloucester Rugby.What he learnt from a “Witch Doctor” while working in South Africa. How player “Belief” can have the biggest impact on the success of an athlete’s rehab.The growing trend of athletes curating their own personal high performance support teams and how Wayne effectively collaborates with them from a clubs perspective. With endless wide spread scrutiny on performance, athlete health, injury rates etc. How do you deal with the added stress of media and opinion.When evaluating risk in RTP decision making who is “Responsible” for the decisions and who is “Accountable” to the decision?How do you work in a high performance sport where you are pushing the envelope but by doing so could be at risk of negative consequence and worse being sued?How Wayne found himself leaving the EPL moving to the USA and working in an unfamiliar sport of NFL with the Miami Dolphins.The unbelievable level of athletic potential he experienced and observed while working in the NFL.NFL is commonly referred to “Not For Long” due to the length of time players stay in the game. When navigating a transient player roster how do you develop trust?Having worked across different sports, organisations and countries. What do you do in the first 90 days to ensure the transition is a success?Working in the NBA with one of the most decorated coaches in NBA history Gregg Popovich.Wayne’s current mission to establish an open source platform for performance data that anyone working in high performance sport can access. People mentioned:Timothy Noakes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-noakes-294b048/Alan Curbishley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_CurbishleyMichael Davidson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-davison-0568a720/Wayne Diesel contact details: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayne-diesel-3012122a/Opensport Website: https://www.opensport.ioHost: Luis ResaContact me on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-resa-a975196b/Email: [email protected] for listening and please leave a review. If you would like more information on anything mentioned in this episode simply send me an email.