Episode 228: In this episode of Inform Performance, host Steve Barrett is joined by Dan Ramsden — Head of Performance for Super League's Hull KR, promoted into the role after eight years as the club's Head Physiotherapist.

Dan now leads the club's strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation programmes, bringing together medical and performance functions under one department. Alongside a physiotherapy degree and a PhD focused on concussion, he holds a 5th Dan Black Belt in Aikido, and specialises in injury prevention and building athletic resilience in a collision sport.

At the centre of the conversation is Dan's transition from clinician to department lead. He discusses what changes when your remit shifts from treating individual athletes to setting the direction of an entire performance team, the skills that transfer from physiotherapy, and the ones that have to be learned on the job.

The discussion also explores the culture required to build and sustain a high-performing staff — how roles are defined, how disciplines are integrated rather than siloed, and how Dan develops the practitioners around him.

Dan then unpacks player availability and its relationship with training and match intensity, before moving into his research area: concussion, neck strength, and the role of rate of force development (RFD) as a measure that goes beyond maximal strength testing.

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Topics Discussed:

Progression from Physio to a Head of Performance role
Culture and development of a high performance team
Player availability and its link to intensity
Concussion and the use of rate of force development (RFD) within neck strength

Where you can find Dan:

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Sports Science Insights: Dan Ramsden - Career Transition, Leadership & Concussion.

Inform Performance

Sports Science Insights: Dan Ramsden - Career Transition, Leadership & Concussion.