Mike Young, Director of Performance & Sports Science at Athletic Lab, has coached and spoken all over the world for 20+ years in all facets of sports performance. From track and field events, to professional athletes/organizations, and even WWE Superstars, Mike takes us behind the scenes to the stories and lessons that have led him to today. 8:11 C…

Tessa hops back on the podcast for her second appearance (previous #144) to dive into basketball-specific training topics, her experience at all levels of sports performance, and advice for coaches on increasing the longevity of their career. 1:51 Craziest story update since her first episode, sneak peek: it has to do with another private jet 7:26 …

What a crazy 5 years it's been and I'm here to share some of my biggest lightbulbs along the way. Some that seem obvious and some that slowly came to me over time, these are things I could've only learned from coaching day-in and day-out. From training to being a professional and everything in between, tune in for these real-life stories and lesson…

John Grace has been in professional soccer for the last 9+ year and in the performance world even longer, seeing some crazy things like JOHN CENA. Tune in to learn more about John's takes on training high-level soccer players, how this can apply to you, and some of his coolest stories along the way. 4:13 Biggest realization of soccer-specific perfo…

Trevor Abshire joins the pod to share the biggest stories from his strength and conditioning career and transition to sport science. What started as an internal fascination with answering his own questions turned into landing him a job in the MLB with the Cleveland Guardians. Tune in to learn about what it was like making that transition and how he…

Sean Swetnam, Performance Coach for UCLA Football and PhD candidate, shares his inspiring journey in the world of collegiate athletics. From overcoming personal setbacks to witnessing major shake-ups in top football programs, Sean's story is a testament to perseverance and the power of manifestation in achieving one's dreams. 2:46 Fork in the road:…

By avoiding bodybuilding content, you're missing out on a crucial aspect of strength and hypertrophy development for sports performance. In this episode, I break down how learning from bodybuilding experts like Mike Israetel has made me a better coach. We'll dive into key truths, compare principles, and show how applying bodybuilding concepts can e…

Adam Moreau is on a mission to protect UCL's in baseball players everywhere. Although the application is much wider than just reducing Tommy John surgeries, he and his team created a revolutionary product to do just that. The FlexPro Grip directly strengthens and trains the muscles and tendons from the fingertips through the elbow with real-time da…

In this episode, I demystify the sprint force-velocity profile and connect it to its crucial role in speed training. I break down how to interpret the data to to directly enhance your speed training programming and performance. Drawing from real-life sprint testing with D1 college and high school football teams, as well as anecdotal evidence, I pro…

Nieko Torres (Louisville Baseball S&C) shares his journey from turning down his first job offer after his GA to being a part of a historic NCAA baseball run at Tulane. He reflects on his evolving philosophy as a strength coach to the nuances of contributing to a program during rebuilding years. 4:51 Fork in the road: deciding to not take his first …

Corey Petersen shares his top stories from almost 10 years in strength and conditioning. Highlights include the backstory to his unique approach to injury management, insights from working with elite athletes like Christian McCaffrey, and the story of a remarkable ACL rehab getting back on the field in just 5.5 months. 3:10 Fork in the road: from h…

Brad Thorpe, the inventor/CEO/Founder of Isophit, shares his incredible journey from facing daunting legal and medical bills to getting $100,000 from a Facebook post. Discover how he turned personal health challenges into a groundbreaking fitness innovation which even landed him a contract with the US Military. 6:31 Fork in the road: from a lawyer …

Josh Seligman shares some of the coolest, craziest, and most fulfilling stories from his 12 years as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Milwaukee Brewers. 4:55 What it's like working with Cy Young's, MVP's, and Olympians 10:21 Fork in the road story: leaving a fitness manager job in Hawaii to pursue his dreams in pro baseball 14:39 Re…

Tom Barbeau, going on year 5 with the Carolina Panthers, takes us through the coolest stories from his career so far. -2:52 Fork in the road story: Quitting his last college basketball season to get into coaching, then switching to strength and conditioning -6:21 Explaining the Burdenko Method and his connection to it -13:08 Coolest/craziest story:…

Force plates can be your competitive edge as a coach or a fancy decoration in the corner collecting dust, depending on your understanding of how to use of them. But whether you currently have them or are interested in getting some, let's discuss how to maximize the value of force plates. . Timestamps:-0:58 Who is this episode for? -2:15 What I want…

Your network and networking isn't good enough to help you achieve what you want to achieve. "It's all about who you know" and "your network is your net worth" isn't cutting it anymore. Time to take action to take control of your networking! Top quotes: "If you do the right stuff for the right people over a long period of time, that's when the oppor…

I was fortunate enough to spend a few hours and connect in person with Dan, and I must say he's not only an amazing coach with 20+ years in the field but an even more selfless and thoughtful person. I'm extremely excited to share some of his stories from the journey along the way. 2:19 Biggest fork in the road: picking between moving from Assistant…

"Although it doesn't make sense now, I know one day it will," and today is that day. In this episode, I reflect back on an internship I was supposed to do, that didn't end up working out, that still changed my life either way. Not to give too much away, but let's just say I was on the line for $12K on an Airbnb when I needed to decide... Now, 2 mon…

Steve Breitenstein, a mentor/fantastic speed coach/friend, joins TSP for the third time to reflect on the journey leading to his next career. From 10+ years at TCBoost, to the last 6 years of becoming a better leader, he takes us through it all. Although I've heard all the stories and lessons live the first time when recording, and seeing him 6 day…

In a fantastic roundtable-style discussion with Mike and Hunter, I ask them to reflect on their most recent jobs and what their journey taught them. In the high turnover field of strength and conditioning/sports performance, I ask and they answer some very real questions we all face. Mike and Hunter met coaching at UC Davis, Mike went private to TC…

If I typed out all the lessons, that would defeat the purpose of the episode, right? Here's a top quote from each lesson. -2:02 #1 "It's valuable for yourself as a coach, but also on the flip side for the athlete, to describe 'hey, I love the big goals, let's break it down into a little bit smaller goals. I think it'd be super impressive, based on …

Eric Udelson has been crushing it in the Philadelphia Union organization, working his way up to the 2nd team level. A good friend who always brings thoughtful discussions, he joins TSP to talk about the some of the biggest moments on from his journey so far. -2:43 What it's like working in an MLS organization -8:10 The value of experiments and gett…

Juwan, who I had the pleasure of training this past off-season, joins TSP to share the biggest stories, lessons, and experiences from his playing days, including his insights planning for his life after football. 1:56 All his stops along the way, playing basketball and football, his double offer to play at NIU, playing in the CFL, and winning multi…

If I listed all the lessons here, that would defeat the purpose of the episode, right? Here's a top quote from each lesson and a link to the episode on YouTube: 1:15 Lesson 1. "If you're doing everything you can do to close that gap between what you're saying and what you're doing, then you're not an imposter." 7:26 Lesson 2. "The fact that I went …

Brian Anderson has done a lot of incredible things in the baseball world, both as a player and as a coach. He and I discuss his major stops along the way, including winning the World Series, and all the stories that came with it. Top quotes: "I don't really tell them what to do, like 'you should do this' or 'do that because I did it' or 'that's how…

Joey Cunha shares his biggest stories, lessons, and experiences along the way from not getting recruited out of high school to building the successful business he runs now with all the biggest stops along the way. Key quotes: "During that 2 year span I watched no baseball. I was completely out, I wanted nothing to do with it, I felt resentful. I wa…

Brendon Ziegler, one of the top performance coaches in college men's basketball, joins TSP to share his stories, lessons, and experiences from almost 20 years in the field. 1:32 Brief overview of Brendon's first internship and coaching experience with Al Vermeil and the Chicago Bulls 4:01 Fork in the road story: internship with Al Vermeil, learning…

Brett Platts takes us through his crazy introduction to professional baseball and all the top moments along the way. Having spent time at the University of Iowa, the Chicago Cubs, and the Texas Rangers, he's been around some of the best of the best. -1:50 Writing emails to all 30 MLB directors and hearing back from the Chicago Cubs -9:29 Craziest s…

Brandon Golden is back for a 2.0 episode! A lot has happened between episode #97 and now... Brandon sits down with me to reflect back on his career so far and all the insights he has gained. 1:08 What he learned in the beginning, middle, and end of his 4 years with East Carolina Baseball 13:07 Finding ways to continually grow and progress within ha…

Sharing some real (and embarrassing) stories from my first 3 years of coaching. Each mistake comes with a summary of the mistake, 1 or 2 anecdotes, and the lesson learned. 0:27 Applying the Dunning-Kruger Effect (Peak of Mount Stupid, Valley of Despair, the Slope of Enlightenment) 1:46 Mistake #1: thinking I had enough stories 2:26 Story about when…

The 1080 Sprint is an awesome piece of technology and definitely a competitive edge of mine as a speed coach. Over the last 3 years, I've tracked a bunch of sprints and dove done a lot of different rabbit holes. In this episode I'm going to share all my experiments, successes, failures, and everything I've learned to help you understand (almost) ev…

Jay Ehrenstein is an international translator (for publications like MASS and Renaissance Periodization) and educator/coach at APEKS Performance Institute working with the Mexican national men's soccer team and world champion fighters. 2:55 What Jay's parents were like growing up 7:40 Biggest moment of his life leading him to now: being incarcerate…

As a speed coach, business owner, and family man, Kyle Davey is always looking to level up his knowledge and consequent results when training athletes. As my friend for over a year, it's been crazy to watch all the things he's able to constantly learn. I had him on this episode to share all about how he does it all. 3:20 Introduction, how he does w…

Connor Schoepp has done a lot of things and been a lot of places in the coaching world, and he's here on TSP to share some of his top stories with us! 3:18 Brief summary of Connor's parents and how impactful it was having the example of his mom being a teacher 6:02 Formative childhood experience: not being inclined to anything sport or training rel…

4:03 Brief summary of the stops along the way in his journey 6:10 "Fork in the road" story: getting his Graduate Diploma of Education in Physical Education and the foundations he learned about teaching and working with athletes 14:53 Coolest/craziest story: officially moving to the United States with his family for this job then COVID happening a w…

Getting faster is simple in theory: get from A to B in less time. Speed training is simple in theory: we know what "good mechanics" are, we know how top speed and acceleration are different, we know drills that are effective. But what about the missing link? What makes some athletes faster than others? How do you continue getting faster after years…

Kyle Sammons takes us through some of the most foundational stories of his journey leading us to now: 4:05 The impact his parents had, always being a good example, and having the real conversation of almost having to move due to the financial state of California at the time 7:50 Biggest moment growing up: not getting recruited despite having the st…

3:18 Reflecting on the impact of his parents: growing up playing AAU basketball in Alaska, learning about being hard-working, productive, and efficient 7:42 Big moments from childhood: the great people in his corner, highlighting his high school basketball coach 11:05 Biggest "fork in the road": college professor while studying physical therapy gui…

You owe it to yourself as a professional to become the best consumer of social media as possible. This isn't for casual scrolling, this is for the people you intentionally follow and the content you intentionally seek out to help yourself become the best version of you as a professional you can be. Listen to this full episode to learn the perspecti…

Tessa Grossman has done a bunch of stuff and been a lot of places so far accumulating a bunch of super cool and unique stories. Such stops have included playing softball at Dartmouth, coaching with the LA Rams, Cal Berkely, Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals as a Bill Walsh Fellow, Illinois State, and now Middle Tennessee State University. Here…

Interviews can be intimidating, especially if you've never done it before. But what if you knew exactly how it was going to go down? I believe all interviews are more similar than dissimilar, but something as specific as an on-campus interview is a unique challenge in and of itself. Level up your skills and yourself as a professional by learning fr…

Matt Kaskey who's been playing in the NFL since 2019 spending time with both the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers joins TSP to walk us through the top stories of his journey from high school, to playing at Dartmouth, to the NFL. 1:18 His childhood experiences in the Kaskey household growing up, playing multiple sports 6:36 Realizing he could …

4:41 Bill's childhood and parents, those experiences that've formed and shaped with current world view, habits, etc.: the influence his dad and brothers with sports had on him 9:05 The moment when Bill had to make a decision: talking trash and getting tossed into an Oklahoma drill, overcoming the fear 14:28 Fork in the road moment learning to be an…

Sharing an interview with Carl Valle that's different than his traditional content, diving into his background and stories of everything that has led him to now. 3:14 Brief intro into Carl's background 9:57 First coaching role after graduating from college, "once I left the Tampa Bay Devil Rays they dropped the 'Devil'" 16:28 Moving back to Massach…

Social media and growing your brand can be a powerful thing for you as a professional, making connections and opening doors you never thought were possible. I take you through my stories, lessons, and experiences about how to maximize and crush your social media. Understanding your reason, knowing what category you want to fall into, and my 5 actio…

3:13 First fork in the road moment: deciding to go to the weight room before starting high school and receiving a brochure about a strength and conditioning degree 9:50 Coolest/craziest story: some of the stories his athletes would tell about the reason why they were late to training and the relationship they had 16:31 Biggest full circle moment: b…

5:04 One choice I intentionally made during freshman orientation at Truman State that ended up changing it all 7:59 Opportunity to train my advisor's son and friend for sprinting, and why I almost said no 11:24 Making it happen and doing speed training for my teammates (baseball and softball teams) after my internship 13:39 Walking into TCBoost and…

Being a coach (sports performance, strength and conditioning, etc.) and within coaching a lot there are going to be good and bad days, just like any other job, in contrast to the somewhat monotonous training day/week. That combined with the classic imposter syndrome creates quite an interesting emotional rollercoaster. A little different of an epis…

1:15 Magic box question: Christmas gifts of training at TCBoost 2:41 His beginning as a coach at TCBoost and how that influenced his next steps 5:34 When Pat knew he wanted to start his own business 8:04 The first steps of starting PSP 12:31 What to do and what not to do before starting your own business 14:11 The conversations/questions/topics he …

Getting away from more traditional vertical jump content, Tyler Ray shares his stories/lessons/experiences from all throughout his life ranging from his time as professional dunker, travelling across the world, starting and running his own business, and the rest of the timestamps below: 4:11 How Tyler got the nickname "Jukebox" 8:04 Sales pitch of …