Zach McClean, PhD
Applied Sport Scientist · Strength & Conditioning Coach
McClean Performance Consulting
Dr. Zach McClean works with sport scientists, coaches, and clinicians to translate athlete data into applied, decision-relevant insights for performance and return-to-performance contexts. His work focuses on rigorous analysis, practical interpretation, and systems-based approaches that align with the real-world constraints of elite sport environments.
Experiences & Environments
Zach completed his PhD in the University of Calgary’s Integrated Neuromuscular Sport Performance Lab. Along with developing a multifactorial athlete monitoring system at the University of Calgary (>900 athletes), Zach has acted as a trusted consultant for multiple professional sport organizations, including in the National Hockey League and the National Football League.
Zach holds a PhD focused on using advanced analytical approaches to monitor return to performance after ACL injury in athletes. Additionally, he holds a Master of Science specializing in neuromuscular and cardiovascular responses to fatigue, as well as a Master of Kinesiology specializing in exercise testing and prescription for both clinical and high-performance populations.
Zach has worked across professional and university sport settings as a strength and conditioning coach and sport scientist.
He has contributed within interdisciplinary high-performance teams, balancing scientific rigour with the practical constraints of daily training and competition to support athlete health and performance outcomes.
Zach specializes in the consolidation, management, and analysis of large sport science datasets. Drawing on expertise in exercise physiology and advanced analytical methods, he translates complex data into clear, practitioner-friendly outputs that directly support decision-making.
He also works with organizations to automate athlete monitoring and reporting systems, enabling scalable, consistent, and decision-focused use of performance data.
Across research, applied practice, and data systems, Dr. Zach McClean’s work is guided by a single priority: helping practitioners make better decisions in environments where uncertainty and consequences are real.