272: Inside Catapult: Global Trends, Common Pitfalls & the Future of Sports Science

Science for Sport Podcast

This week, host Richard Graves is joined by Chris Polley, Vice President of Customer Success at Catapult, for a deep-dive into the world of elite sports performance monitoring. With over 55 sports scientists working across 16 countries, Chris shares what he and his team are seeing across top-tier teams in more than 40 sports worldwide.

Listeners will learn:

• The global trends shaping the future of sports science, including data integration and AI
• Why the best teams often do the basics exceptionally well
• Common mistakes when adopting performance tech – and how to avoid them
• How Catapult’s wearable and video technologies are being used to save time and unlock deeper insights
• What really makes a great sports scientist in today’s high-performance environment

Chris also shares practical advice for aspiring practitioners, highlighting the importance of communication, cultural fit, and the ability to simplify complex data to drive better decision-making.

Whether you're working in pro sport or just entering the field, this episode is packed with wisdom from someone who’s helped scale one of the most widely used performance platforms in the world.

About Chris Polley
Chris Polley is Catapult’s Vice President of Customer Success, formerly Senior Director of Sport Science, based in Victoria, Australia. Over the past 11 years at Catapult, Chris has played a pivotal role in scaling the team from its start-up beginnings to a global fixture, now supporting over 4,400 teams across 128 countries. He leads a diverse squad of approximately 55 sports scientists across 16 nations, delivering post-sales support, global training, analytics best practice, and insights-driven performance strategies. With a strong academic grounding, including published research on activity profiling in elite lacrosse and rugby forwards, Chris brings both scientific rigour and real-world expertise to Catapult’s wearable and video technology suite

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