Jess is probably most well known as the author of the best selling ACL book “Pop: when sport brings us to our knees” that explores 13 elite athletes on their own ACL injury journey. But what people may not know about Jess is that she has also had an eclectic career in high performance sport including working over a decade with some of the worlds best winter sports athletes, to being a sports physio for Sailing Australia, to spending 4 years in the AFL with the GWS Giants. Much like the books she's authored this conversation is filled with multiple chapters including working across various sports, to being a mother in high performance sport, to diverging from the norm as to carve out her own personal and professional journey in high performance sport.

Highlights from the episode…

• Having being profiled as a 2000 Olympic volleyball prospect and suffering many injuries of her own, this led her down a pathway to sport.
• Jess than moved from sunny Noosa to snowy Wanaka NZ, where she worked with the worlds best half pipe and slope style winter athletes, including Shaun White.
• How working with winter athletes differs from working with professional field sports athletes.
• Jess shares what it’s like to provide pitch side (slope side) emergency support when covering a winter sports event.
• After over 10 years in winter sports Jess made the move to Sailing Australia and in the AFL with the GWS Giants.
• We discuss why Jess chose to give up her role traveling the globe and working with the worlds best winter athletes.
• How "pushing a car" can help you excel in the sports industry.
• Jess shares her unique role at GWS where she was responsible for elevating movement efficiency beyond the historic gym based culture in football.
• Jess provides details of the contrarian approach GWS were using at the time to build resilience in their players.
• Having built incredible momentum working in winter sports, sailing and AFL, Jess decided to chuck it all in and bought a yacht to sail the globe…and why?
• We discuss mothers in elite sport and what Jess had to considered when pursuing personal and professional goals.
• What inspired Jess to write the best selling ACL book “Pop”.
• We discuss the next chapter in Jess' life, now with a focus on women’s health and what things we should consider when working with high performing female athletes.

Jess Cunningham contact details:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-cunningham-46816097/details/experience/
• Optima Female Performance: https://www.optimafemaleperformance.com/team.html
• Surf to Summit Physiotherapy: http://www.surftosummitphysio.com/
• Pop (book) website: https://www.jesscunningham.com.au/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesscunninghamphysio/?hl=en

People mentioned:

• Anthony Hirst: https://surreystreetclinic.com.au/antony-hirst/
• Shaun White: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_White
• Donna White: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-white-71753744/
• David Joyce: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-joyce01/

Host: Luis Resa

Contact me on:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-resa-a975196b/
• Email: luis.resa@outlook.com

Thanks for listening and please leave a review.

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