Ben Ryan: From Olympic gold to powering performance at Brentford

Ben Ryan: From Olympic gold to powering performance at Brentford

From Training Ground Guru Podcast by Training Ground Guru

April 21, 2026 · 57 min · Season 7 · Episode 77

About this episode

Ben Ryan discusses his transition from rugby to football and his role as Performance Director at Brentford.

Episode #77 of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, in association with Genius Sports, is with Ben Ryan, the Performance Director of Premier League side Brentford. Ben is responsible for making sure that the club's players are mentally and physically equipped for matchday. Before joining Brentford four years ago, Ben consulted with a number of leading organisations and was Head Coach of Fiji's rugby sevens team, leading them to Olympic glory in 2016. Ben told us how someone from a rugby background landed a top role in football, what it's like to work with Head Coach Keith Andrews and about the club's secret supremacy rating. We hope you enjoy this episode and if you do, please give us a follow via your preferred podcast provider. SHOW NOTES => 01:31: Facilities at the training ground, where the interview is taking place. 03:05: Concerns about players being pampered? 04:39: What does your role as Performance Director involve? 07:19: What have you been doing today? 11:50: Changes that took place at the end of last season, when Thomas Frank left and Keith Andrews took over as Head Coach. 15:54: How Keith Andrews confounded the critics and doubters. 20:05: Brentford's supremacy…

People in this episode

Guest: Ben Ryan

Topics covered

  • performance
  • football
  • rugby
  • Olympics
  • coaching

Keywords

  • Brentford
  • Olympic gold
  • performance director
  • Keith Andrews
  • supremacy rating

Sponsors

Genius Sports

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Fiji

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