Mike Boyle Strength & Conditioning was founded in 1996 by Mike Boyle and Bob Hanson. Prior to co-founding MBSC, Mike served as the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at Boston University for 15 years. He also served as the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Boston Bruins from 1991-1999, the US Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team (Gold in 1998, Silver in 2014, Gold in 2018), and for the World Champion Boston Red Sox.

Mike is known worldwide as one of the foremost experts in the field of strength and conditioning, and spends his time lecturing, teaching, training, and writing. He is known for his no-nonsense approach to strength and conditioning and persists in a single effort: to provide safe and effective performance enhancement training for athletes and adults of all ages and training backgrounds.

With almost 30 years experience of professional coaching, Stuart McMillan is CEO and Short Sprints Coach at ALTIS. Stuart has worked with professional and amateur athletes in a variety of sports with a focus on power and speed development, and he has personally coached move than 70 Olympians at nine Olympic Games, winning over 30 Olympic medals. He has worked as part of national governing bodies in six countries and has been part of and/or led integrated support teams in the United States, Canada, and the UK. Stuart has also accrued the unique experience of coaching at three home Olympic Games, working with American athletes in 2002 at the Salt Lake City Games, Canadians in 2010 at Vancouver-Whistler, and British athletes in 2012 at the London Olympics. Most recently, he coached British sprinter Jodie Williams to a sixth-place finish in the 400m at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

PLEASE NOTE: Although Stu was originally confirmed to present in-person at this conference, due to unforeseen circumstances he is no longer able to attend on site. Stu has already confirmed his on-site attendance at the 2026 conference and will be delivering a remote session at the 2025 conference via video link.

Jason is the current Head of Athletic Performance at Kerry GAA. He has over 15 years’ experience working as an S&C Coach/Sports Scientist with elite international professional and amateur athletes within several high-performance teams. He holds an M.Sc. in Sports Performance, UKSCA Accredited Strength & Conditioning Coach, and ASCA Coach.

He completed a Ph.D. in Applied Sport Science, with special reference to training load, and its impact on training practice and performance. He has published in several peer-reviewed strength and conditioning journals and has presented at national and international conferences. Working as a sports science consultant and advisor for several teams and high-performance organisations around the world, he committed to providing ‘real world’ support for coaches and athletes.

Paul Comfort is a Professor of Strength and Conditioning at the University of Salford (UK) and an adjunct professor at Edith Cowan University (Australia). Paul is a founding member and accredited member of the UKSCA and was a board member of the NSCA from 2020-2023. Professor Comfort was also awarded the NSCA Educator of the Year in 2021. He regularly consults with numerous team sports and has authored / co-authored over 200 peer reviewed journal articles. His research focusses on training methods to enhance sports performance and the assessment of force production characteristics to monitor acute and chronic changes in neuromuscular function. Paul is also co-editor of the textbooks, ‘Advanced Strength and Conditioning: an evidence-based approach’, ‘Performance Assessment for strength and Conditioning’, ‘Laboratory Manual for Strength and Conditioning’ and recently edited the 2 nd edition of the ‘Developing Power’ for the NSCA.

David Grey is an Irish performance specialist and rehabilitation coach renowned for his innovative approach to treating pain and enhancing movement. Based in Waterford, Ireland, he is the founder of David Grey Rehab (DGR), a clinic and online platform that has assisted over 10,000 individuals—including elite athletes and everyday clients—in overcoming injuries and improving their physical performance .​

Dr. Denise Martin is a lecturer and researcher in Sports Performance Analysis at Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Galway. Her work centres on professional practice and practitioner development in applied sports performance analysis. A committed advocate for the discipline, She sits on the BASES Special Interest Group for Performance Analysis, the steering group of the Irish Sports and Exercise Science Association, and serve as Performance Analysis Lead for the Gaelic Games Sports Science working group. From 2016 to 2022, She designed and directed the GAA’s national practitioner-development and accreditation programme, having previously served on Sport Ireland Institute’s Professional Quality Assurance Committee (2014–2019).

An applied performance analyst since 2002, She has supported athletes with the Sports Institute Northern Ireland, the Irish Institute of Sport, and several national governing bodies, including the IRFU and Athletics Ireland. She pioneered public dissemination of Gaelic Games statistics—presenting live data on BBC NI in 2003 and authoring the weekly “Stats Box” column for The Irish News, The Examiner, and the Evening Herald. Recognised as an IPSAS Level 4 Applied Analyst, she has worked with numerous inter-county football teams and the Dublin hurling squad (2009–2014).

Her current research focuses on performance analysis in women’s sport, and she serves on the steering group establishing Ireland’s Research Centre for Women in Sport.

Nick Winkelman is the head of athletic performance & science for the Irish Rugby Football Union. His primary role is to oversee the delivery and development of strength & conditioning and sports science across all national (Men and Women) and provincial teams (Leinster, Munster, Connacht, and Ulster). Before working for Irish Rugby, Nick was the director of education and training systems for EXOS (formerly Athletes' Performance), located in Phoenix, AZ. As the director of education, Nick oversaw the development and execution of all internal and external educational initiatives. As a performance coach, Nick oversaw the speed and assessment component of the EXOS NFL Combine Development Program and supported many athletes across the NFL, MLB, NBA, National Sports Organizations, and Military. Nick completed his PhD through Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions with a dissertation focus on motor skill learning and sprinting. Nick is a recognized speaker and consultant on human performance and coaching science and has numerous book chapters and peer reviewed papers focusing on the intersection between coaching language and athlete learning.

Paudie Roche is an internationally recognised high-performance specialist whose career blends academic study at world-leading institutions with hands-on work for elite sports organisations. A pioneer in youth athletic development, Paudie led the creation of Arsenal FC’s globally acclaimed Youth Development Pathway and, in 2015, was honoured as the United Kingdom Strength & Conditioning Association’s Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year for Youth Sport.

Drawing on extensive experience across a wide range of high-performance programmes, [Name] applies evidence-based principles to help athletes and fellow coaches achieve world-class outcomes. Their mission is to develop performers who thrive not only throughout their sporting careers but also in life beyond sport. Central to this philosophy is the cultivation of safe, nurturing, and challenging environments that foster resilience, inner strength, and sustained excellence.

Committed to advancing the profession, Paudie shares expertise through mentoring and educating emerging coaches, coupling research-led insights with lessons learned from practice. Links to selected projects and resources are provided below as examples of Paudie’s impact and approach.