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.

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