So your kid wants to play sport...

A podcast about young athletes

a room filled with furniture and a large window

Tapping into Bond University's extensive network of medical, health science and elite sporting expertise, this podcast digs into issues relevant to younger athletes — mindset, injury management, training and playing load, weights and resistance training, diet, and rest and recovery.
Hosted by broadcaster Matt Webber.

Season 2

Episode 1: The elephant in the room

Guest: Andy Lovell

CONTENT WARNING: Discussions of mental health and suicide

Bond University Head of Football Andy Lovell discusses mental health following the sudden death of West Coast Eagles player Adam Selwood.

Episode 2: Leaving elite sport behind

Guest: Jo Fargus

Olympic swimmer Jo Fargus has always been an achiever. But when things didn't fall her way ahead of the 2008 Olympic Trials and she missed Australian team selection, she retired. And for a while there, adrift in a post-competition void, her world fell apart. She joins Matt to talk about why many athletes struggle to transition to life after elite sport.

Episode 3: Building resilience in young athletes

Guest: Jackson Silvester-Lee

A back injury changed things for Jackson Silvester-Lee. Through his postgraduate work as a strength and conditioning coach, he discovered netball. And that's led to not just a new sporting passion but also a burning desire to teach kids how to get the best out of themselves

Episode 5: 'Everyone gets a ribbon'

Guest: Assistant Professor Shawna Campbell

Is there a reason schools and clubs are so big on handing out participation prizes? Bond University Assistant Professor Dr Shawna Campbell is a psychologist whose research focuses on the prevention of the development of psychopathology in young people. We invited her in to answer the question: why are all the kids going home with a prize?

Episode 6: Coming soon

Guest: TBA

white and red nike sneakers on green grass field
“If you get them to love the learning, then you have a team with no ceiling.”
— Strength and conditioning coach Jackson Silvester-Lee

Season 1

Episode 1: Knee injury prevention for young athletes

Guest: Dr Adam walker

Matt speaks with Bond University Doctor of Physiotherapy and Founder of the Gold Coast Knee Group about why so many young athletes rupture their ACL.

Episode 2: The science of strength for younger athletes

Guest: Dr Justin Keogh

More than ever, young athletes are encouraged to supplement their participation in sport with strength programs. Do they really need it?

Episode 3: Food for thought — fuelling young athletes

Guest: Mitzi Adamson

Do we take nutrition seriously enough? Matt talks Bull Sharks AFL player and Masters of Nutrition and Dietetic Practice student Mitzi Adamson.

Episode 4: Food for thought — fuelling young athletes (pt. 2)

Guest: Matt Hart

Matt speaks to Bond alumnus and dietician Matt Hart about fuelling before, during, and after training and competition.

Episode 5: Coaching the next generation

Guest: Bec Stower and Andy Lovell

Hear from Bull Sharks netball coach Bec Stower and Bond University Director of Football Andy Lovell on generational shifts in coaching styles.

swimming pool close-up photography

Updated on July 30, 2025.