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, Scott explains why there is no single "right" org chart and why medical and performance teams should be viewed as living, breathing ecosystems that evolve over time. He shares lessons from the NBA, NCAA, and NWSL on how leadership decisions, role clarity, and communication pathways can either strengthen or fracture collaboration.

This conversation goes beyond job titles and reporting lines and dives into how leaders can build environments where staff feel empowered, supported, and accountable, even as teams grow and resources change.

Topics include:

• Why organizational structure should evolve with the needs of the team

• Collaboration versus role clarity and why both matter

• How leadership maturity shapes medical and performance culture

• Signs that an org chart is not working and needs to be adjusted

• Developing staff skills in resource constrained environments

• Why bigger teams are not always better teams

• Using women's soccer as a space to innovate rather than copy other sports

This episode is essential listening for medical and performance leaders working in women's soccer and for anyone stepping into a leadership role in elite sport.

Learn more from Scott at the Soccer Performance Support Summit this summer in New Jersey!

More info and registration can be found here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soccer-performance-support-summit-tickets-1625338644639?aff=oddtdtcreator

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 must collaborate daily to keep athletes healthy and available across a demanding collegiate schedule.

This conversation breaks down how Jasmine helped build a structured return to play process at U of A by leveraging preseason testing, in season monitoring, and simple internal load tools, all while working within the realities of the NCAA environment. She also discusses how roles overlap between PTs and ATs, how trust and communication are built inside a sports medicine team, and what it takes to succeed in a high performance collegiate setting.

Topics include:

• What a PT's role actually looks like inside Division I women's soccer

• How PTs and athletic trainers collaborate without turf wars

• Building a return to play system using strength testing, jump data, GPS, and RPE

• Managing soft tissue injuries in season with limited recovery windows

• Who owns testing, monitoring, and rehab in a collegiate performance model

• Why communication and adaptability matter more than technical skills alone

• Lessons learned from creating and leading a Division I sports fellowship

This episode is essential listening for physical therapists, athletic trainers, and performance staff working in or aspiring to work in collegiate women's soccer.

Register for the Soccer Performance Support Summit:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soccer-performance-support-summit-tickets-1625338644639?aff=oddtdtcreator

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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 the fact that football is a chaotic invasion sport where contact is unavoidable.

Andy shares how his Return to Contact framework developed through real-world NWSL rehab scenarios (including postpartum return to performance and acute injuries), and how he approaches contact progression using a control to chaos continuum, influenced by match demands, positional requirements, and team playing style. He also breaks down how performance staff can use objective data like GPS while still respecting the reality that contact is difficult to track. This makes athlete feedback, coach's eye, and trust-based communication essential.

Topics include:

• Why return to contact is a critical bridge between rehab and full training
• How to progress contact from controlled exposures to game-realistic chaos
• Different contact demands by position, team style, and phase of play
• Why "contact" includes more than collisions (blocking shots, aerial duels, 1v1s, etc.)
• How Andy integrates contact exposure while still building toward GPS targets
• The role of subjective readiness, autonomy, and athlete trust in return to play decision-making
• Practical drill examples for defending, duels, and contact-specific progressions

For more learning, growth, and connection, be sure to attend the Soccer Performance Support Summit this summer!

More info and registration:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soccer-performance-support-summit-tickets-1625338644639?aff=oddtdtcreator

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 influence match demands and physical preparation. From high press vs mid block vs low block, to why attacking transition can be so deadly, Laura gives a practical "Tactics 101" framework that helps support staff better understand what players are being asked to do on the pitch.

This episode is packed with real-world coaching insight and clear explanations that connect tactics to training load, rehab planning, and weekly periodization.

Topics include:

• What "phases of play" actually mean (structured attack/defense + transition moments)
• High press vs mid block vs low block and how each changes physical demands
• What different positions are responsible for during a high press
• Why the 5–8 second transition window can decide games
• How coaches manipulate opponents to create space in buildup
• What happens immediately after losing the ball (and why it matters)
• Set pieces, throw-ins, and the "decoy" roles that create goals
• How climate, travel, and league trends influence tactical choices
• How Laura structures a training week to prepare tactically while managing injury risk

Don't miss the Soccer Performance Support Summit where professionals across the NWSL, MLS, USL, and NCAA will gather to learn, grow, and connect!

June 20-21, 2026 in New Jersey

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soccer-performance-support-summit-tickets-1625338644639?aff=oddtdtcreator

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, savagely well," and how she programs an entire roster with wide variation in experience, injury history, and playing time. She also breaks down the realities of modern college soccer, including the impact of the transfer portal, managing roster turnover, and balancing physical development with the academic and life stressors that come with being a student athlete.

This conversation highlights what it really takes to keep players healthy, available, and progressing in a demanding NCAA environment where the calendar never truly slows down.

Topics include:

• Simple movement foundations for low training age athletes (squat, hinge, push, pull, core)
• How Malorie prepares incoming athletes before they arrive on campus
• Programming around injury history while still driving performance
• How the transfer portal changes long term development and load management
• Wellness surveys, RPE, and GPS data in the college setting
• In season lifting structure vs spring development blocks
• Fitness testing (Bronco), maximal aerobic speed, and individualized conditioning
• How to "fill buckets" based on position specific match demands

Register for the Soccer Performance Support Summit!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soccer-performance-support-summit-tickets-1625338644639?aff=oddtdtcreator

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 a clinician's perspective from professional women's soccer, discussing how tendinopathy typically presents as an acute on chronic issue, how flare ups are managed in season, and how load monitoring, athlete education, and collaboration across departments can keep players available.

This conversation reframes tendinopathy not as a simple overuse injury, but as a complex, system wide challenge requiring thoughtful load management rather than rest.

Topics include:

• What tendinopathy really is and why structure does not equal symptoms

• Tendon health subgroups and their relevance to elite athletes

• Acute vs chronic tendinopathy and why duration does not change rehab outcomes

• Safe loading through pain and the pain monitoring model

• In season management strategies for long, congested soccer schedules

• GPS, high speed running, and load metrics that matter most for tendons

Register for the Soccer Performance Support Summit!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soccer-performance-support-summit-tickets-1625338644639?aff=oddtdtcreator

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!

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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 support postpartum athletes safely and confidently.

Topics include:

• Early postpartum priorities and tissue healing considerations

• Pelvic floor cueing and progression into impact, sprinting, and sport demands

• Structuring return to run + strength training, and why recovery drives decisions

• Progressing workload week to week (when to repeat, when to push)

• Readiness for team training, contact exposure, and match minutes using key metrics

• The overlooked essentials: fueling demands (including breastfeeding), fatigue, and long-term monitoring

Register for the Soccer Performance Support Summit! Early bird registration ends on December 20th, 2025!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soccer-performance-support-summit-tickets-1625338644639?aff=oddtdtcreator