Dr Troy Flanagan
Current role: Vice President, Performance
Current organisation: Milwaukee Bucks (NBA)
Last role at VIS: Head of Sport Science
Time VIS staff member: 2000 - 2007
Tell us about your life after your time at the VIS?
After leaving the VIS in 2006, I went to work for the US Olympic Team as Head of Sport Science and High Performance Director for the US Ski and Snowboard Teams. I was located in Park City, UT. I oversaw the preparation of the US Alpine, Snowboard, Nordic and Freestyle programs for the Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. After the Sochi Olympics I was recruited to the Milwaukee Bucks as the High Performance Director/VP of Performance in the NBA. I am currently in my 8th season with the Milwaukee Bucks. In 2022, I helped guide the team to an NBA championship.
What’s the one career achievement you’re most proud of?
The most rewarding and proudest moments of my career have been when I have helped someone else. The one occasion that I am most proud of is helping Russell Mark in the lead up to the Atlanta Olympics and seeing him go on to take gold. I went to a lot of clay target competitions over a number of years trying to figure out ways to help him cope with the stress of Olympic competition. We developed novel heart rate and video telemetry equipment and searched for patterns that were conducive to good performance. This feedback seemed to really help him learn how his body reacted to stress and he developed new skills to control it and the confidence to deal with the high pressure environment of an Olympic final.
What’s the most valuable lesson you learnt during your career at the VIS?
There was never a day at the VIS where I didn’t go to work and learn something. I like to say I was raised by coaches in a high performance environment and their perspectives gave me the applied and problem solving approach that I apply today in the NBA. Every day was a lesson and I thank those coaches for their time, patience and generosity
