Elevate with Robert Glazer Elevate Classics: Henry Abbott On Founding TrueHoop, His ESPN Career, And How To Train To Prevent Injury
Jan 22, 2026
Henry Abbott, an award-winning sports journalist and founder of TrueHoop, dives into his journey from journalism student to ESPN's NBA digital lead. He discusses the rise of TrueHoop from a blog and his groundbreaking investigative reporting on NBA doping practices. Abbott challenges injury prevention norms, sharing insights from his book, Ballistic, about effective training and recovery. He emphasizes the importance of varied play for kids and offers surprising training tips, like the role of hip mobility and sleep in performance. A mix of sports innovation and personal stories awaits!
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Training Rules Often Lack Evidence
- Most traditional training rules lack robust evidence because training is hard to study.
- Henry argues many commonly taught rules persist from lore rather than causal research.
Assess Movement, Then Strengthen Precisely
- Get assessed with motion capture to find upstream movement faults before injury occurs.
- Strengthen specific weak muscles and retrain landing mechanics to prevent ACL and other non-contact injuries.
Subtle Angles Predict Big Injuries
- Visible cues like knee valgus were overemphasized while subtler measures matter more.
- Small femur rotation and foot-landing patterns strongly predict many NBA ACL tears.
