Femme FC Podcast
Femme FC Podcast is brought to you by Femme Football Collective and focuses on elite women's soccer. It amplifies the voices of experts in athlete health and performance. Through insightful interviews, the show aims to empower the professionals behind the game with knowledge, community, and practical strategies. The podcast's mission is to elevate the game and empower the experts.
Episodes
Submaximal Fitness Testing in Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by sport scientist, strength and conditioning coach, and researcher Tzlil Shushan to discuss submaximal fitness testing and how practitioners can better monitor training response in women's football. Tzlil shares insights from his research exploring how simple, repeatable fitness assessments can provide meaningful information about an athle
My Next Chapter in Women's Soccer
In this solo episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole shares a personal and professional update on her recent transition into the role of Director of Medical and Performance for the Orlando Pride in the NWSL. Nicole discusses the recruitment process, why she decided to return to a team environment, and the factors that ultimately led her and her husband to relocate from Phoenix to Orlando. She also
Rethinking ACL Injury Prevention in Elite Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by Dan Kadlec, researcher and lecturer at Edith Cowan University, to challenge one of the most widely accepted approaches to injury prevention in sport. Dan recently co-authored the paper Warm Up is Not a Workout, which critiques the reliance on structured warm-up programs for reducing ACL injury risk. In this conversation, he explains why
The Current State of Research in Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by Kat Okholm Kryger, a researcher with UEFA, to break down the current state of research in women's football and what still needs to be done to truly support the women's game with high-quality evidence. Kat shares insights from her work connecting researchers and practitioners, highlighting how research questions should come directly from
Transitioning from Practitioner to Leader in Elite Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by Rachel Woodland, Head of Client Engagement at The Nxt Level Group and Assistant Coach for Fulham Women, to explore leadership in elite sport and what it takes to move from practitioner to effective leader. Rachel brings experience working across sport, business, and leadership development, and shares insights into what separates strong l
Turning Sports Science Data into Better Decisions in Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by world-renowned sports scientist Jo Clubb, founder of Global Performance Insights and former performance staff member at Chelsea FC and Brighton & Hove Albion. Jo has worked across multiple professional sports including football, the NFL, and the NHL, and now focuses on helping teams and practitioners translate sports science data into pr
Strategies for Success in Women's Soccer Using Stewardship Theory
In this solo episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole breaks down practical strategies for building effective health and performance systems in women's football using stewardship theory. This episode is based on Nicole's dissertation completed as part of her Master's in Sport Directorship at Manchester Metropolitan University, titled What Do Women Need? Developing a Framework for Athlete Health and
Fueling for Performance in Elite Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole sits down with Krysten McCaughey, Registered Dietitian, Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, and Sports Dietitian for Angel City FC. Krysten shares what the role of a sports dietitian actually looks like inside a professional women's soccer team and how nutrition supports every area of player health and performance. From fueling strategies and r
Individualizing Weekly Training Loads in Elite Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole sits down with Catarina Bajanca, Lead Sports Scientist for Benfica Women's Football, to break down how she individualizes weekly training loads inside a team sport environment. Catarina shares her philosophy on using match demands as the anchor point for planning, how she integrates GPS and heart rate data, and how she balances volume and intensity a
Breast Biomechanics in Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by Nichola Renwick, Senior Research Associate at the University of Portsmouth, whose work focuses on breast biomechanics and sports bra design. Nichola breaks down what breast biomechanics actually is, how breasts move during sport, and why breast support should be considered a performance, health, and injury risk issue rather than just a c
Sudden Cardiac Arrest Preparedness in Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by Jon Drezner, one of the world's leading experts in sports cardiology, to discuss sudden cardiac arrest in athletes and why preparedness is a responsibility shared by every member of the support staff. Dr. Drezner is the Director of the University of Washington Center for Sports Cardiology, Editor in Chief of the British Journal of Sports
Building Collaborative Medical and Performance Teams in Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by Scott Epsley, Director of Player Health and Performance at NJ NY Gotham FC, to explore how medical and performance departments should be structured to support collaboration, staff development, and ultimately player care in women's soccer. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience across professional, collegiate, and international sport
How Return to Play Works in NCAA Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by Jasmine Green, Division I Sports Fellowship Director at Body Central and team physical therapist for the University of Arizona women's soccer program. Jasmine shares an inside look at what it actually means to work in Division I women's soccer, where physical therapists, athletic trainers, strength coaches, sport scientists, and coaches
A Return to Contact Framework in Elite Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by Andy McKeown, Lead Performance Coach at San Diego Wave, for a deep dive into one of the most overlooked phases of return to play in elite women's soccer: return to contact. While return to running and on-field rehab are often highly structured, contact exposure is frequently treated like a "switch flip" at the end of the process, despite
Understanding Tactics to Understand Match Demands
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole sits down with legendary coach Laura Harvey to break down the tactical side of football in a way that medical and performance staff can actually use. Laura is the most winningest and longest tenured coach in NWSL history, and in this conversation she explains how phases of play, pressing strategies, transition moments, and team structure directly inf
Building Strong Female Soccer Players in the College Game
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by Malorie Henderlong, Assistant Director of Sports Performance at Auburn University, for a practical deep dive into strength and conditioning in Division I women's college soccer. Malorie shares how she approaches athlete development in a population that often arrives with a low training age, why she believes in doing the basics "simple, s
Managing Tendinopathy in Elite Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole is joined by Shawn Hanlon and Sarah Neal for a deep dive into Achilles tendinopathy management in elite soccer, blending cutting edge research with the realities of professional sport. Shawn shares insights from his research on tendon pathology, subgroup classification, and why symptom duration and imaging often fail to predict outcomes. Sarah brings
The Holiday Special
Enjoy this special episode of the Femme FC Podcast where we revisit every guest's favorite thing about women's soccer. We also hear from host Nicole Surdyka's former college teammates about their college soccer playing experience and how that has shaped who they are today. JOIN THE COLLECTIVE! TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@femmefootballcollective LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/femm
The Postpartum Path Back to Performance
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole speaks with Copa, physical therapist for the Houston Dash, about the real-world process of returning elite footballers to performance after pregnancy. Copa shares how she developed a postpartum RTP framework after managing three pro-player cases back-to-back, and what clinicians can do, especially in resource-limited women's sport settings, to suppor
Mechanism to Movement for Smarter ACL Rehab in Female Footballers
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Nicole speaks with Vittoria Marin of Isokinetic Medical Group to unpack what we truly know about ACL injuries in female footballers, and how clinicians can translate that knowledge into smarter, more individualized rehab. Vittoria discusses her recent publication on ACL injuries in women's football and shares insights from her clinical experience across the
Crossing Borders and Building a Career in Elite Women's Football
Lorena Sumser joins the show to share lessons from a global career across Germany, France, and Scotland. Lorena has worked in the private sector, the Bayern Munich Academy, FFC Wacker München, the German U20 and U23 National Teams, OL Féminin, and now Rangers FC Women, where she serves as the Lead Physical Performance Coach. We dive into the realities of supporting players in different systems, t
Understanding Fatigue and ACL Injury Risk in Women's Soccer
This episode takes a deep look at ACL injury patterns in women's soccer and explains new evidence showing that many ACL injuries occur early in matches rather than later. This challenges the long held idea that cumulative fatigue at the end of a game is the main driver of risk. We discuss how acute, transient fatigue during the early high intensity phases of play may influence injury mechanisms an
The 5 Pillars of Female Athlete Health in Professional Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, Suren Vata joins the show to break down the five pillars of female athlete health in professional women's soccer. Suren is a dual accredited physiotherapist, the Female Athlete Health Lead at Charlton Athletic Women, and a practitioner whose work spans elite football and rugby across Singapore and the United Kingdom. His recent research and his presentation
Helping Athletes Train Through Pregnancy
Dr. Margie Davenport joins the show to discuss the modern science of training through pregnancy. Margie is an exercise physiologist, professor at the University of Alberta, Christensen Professor in Active Healthy Living, FIFA Women's Football Consultant, and a leading researcher whose work has shaped international guidelines and supported athlete-moms across recreational and elite sport. We cover
Programming Gym Sessions and Velocity-Based Training in Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, host Nicole Surdyka talks with Christi Edson, Head of Performance for the Orlando Pride, about how she programs gym sessions and uses velocity-based training (VBT) to individualize and optimize strength work throughout the professional season. Christi shares her philosophy of keeping things simple and effective—focusing on movement patterns, player readines
Training Adaptations in Female Athletes
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, host Nicole Surdyka talks with Dr. Carol Mack, Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics Lab Coordinator at John Carroll University, about why we need to look past biomechanics when training and rehabbing female athletes. Carol shares emerging research showing that biomechanics vary just as much within genders as between them — and how training age may explain m
Planning the Training Week in Professional Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, host Nicole Surdyka talks with Gaby Smith, Performance Sports Scientist for Bay FC, about how she builds practical, collaborative sport science systems in elite women's soccer. Gaby shares how she bridges data and decision-making, the workflows that keep players and staff aligned, and how to make athlete monitoring meaningful rather than overwhelming. They
Monitoring the Menstrual Cycle in Elite Women's Soccer
In this episode of the Femme FC Podcast, host Nicole Surdyka talks with Georgia Brown, Sports Scientist for San Diego Wave FC, about her PhD research on menstrual health and performance in elite women's soccer. Georgia shares what she discovered while tracking menstrual cycles and symptoms in professional footballers, why irregularities are more common than most realize, and how practitioners can
Pelvic Floor Health in Women's Soccer
In this episode, Nicole Surdyka is joined by Emma Brockwell, pelvic health physiotherapist for several Women's Super League clubs including Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Aston Villa. Emma also serves as a female health consultant for FIFA, leading pelvic health research and education initiatives that are shaping the future of women's football. Together they dive into what pelvic health lo
Welcome to the Femme FC Podcast
Welcome to the Femme Football Collective Podcast — the show where we elevate the conversation around athlete health and performance in elite women's soccer. Hosted by Dr. Nicole Surdyka, a physical therapist, sport scientist, and founder of Femme Football Collective, this podcast was created to empower the experts behind the athletes. Each episode features conversations with leading practitioners,
Mental Health and Performance Support in Women's Soccer
Dr. Mariah Bullock — The Mind Behind Performance In this episode, Dr. Mariah Bullock joins Nicole Surdyka to explore the space where mental health meets mental performance. A former NWSL player turned clinical and sport psychologist for Seattle Reign FC, Dr. Bullock shares how her dual training allows her to support athletes through both the highs of competition and the challenges that come with i
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