This week’s podcast guest is Angus Ross.  Angus is a former Winter Olympian employed by High Performance Sport New Zealand.  He works with track and field and several other Olympic sports, including sprint cycling, skeleton, squash, rowing, tennis, and more.  Angus has a PhD in exercise physiology from the University of Queensland and has been a multi-time guest on the podcast.  He is an absolute wealth of knowledge on all things speed, power, and human performance. 

There is a lot that the world of sport can learn from track and field, but perhaps the most valuable lessons can be gained by studying the decathlon and heptathlon events.  Most sports performance programs will jump, sprint, and throw, but the focused, competitive aspects of those events bring out the highest level of expression for pure outputs, along with the speed-endurance aspects. 

In today’s podcast, Angus discusses the relationship between the multi-events and the needs of team sports, including the dynamics of creating scoring tables in a performance program and the connective tissue development multi-event training brings about.  He discusses the relationship between speedbag training and sprinting.  He also gets into isometrics and elasticity, as well as plenty of case studies and examples of putting these principles into action.  I always have fantastic conversations with Angus; this talk was no exception.

401: Angus Ross on Neural Wiring, Elasticity, and Dynamic Coordination in Sport

The Just Fly Performance Podcast is dedicated to all aspects of athletic performance training, with an emphasis on speed and power development. Featured on the show are coaches and experts in the spectrum of sport performance, ranging from strength and conditioning, to track and field, to sport psychology. Hosted by Joel Smith, the Just Fly Performance Podcast brings you some of the best information on modern athletic performance available.

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Health & Fitness

More show notes at https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-411/

Today's podcast features coach Tim Anderson. Tim is the co-founder of Original Strength and has been a personal trainer for over 20 years. He is an accomplished author and speaker known for streamlining complex ideas into simple and applicable information. Tim is passionate about helping people realize they were created to be strong and healthy. He has written and co-written many books on this subject, including The Becoming Bulletproof Project, Habitual Strength, Pressing RESET, and Original Strength Performance.

Tim's message is simple yet powerful: We were created to feel good and be strong throughout life. Many systems, philosophies, and assessments start with clients and athletes feeling broken, while Tim's work blends a positive message with functional strength and restorative movements. The longer I go through my journey as a coach, athlete, and mover, the more I value Tim's work, and I have incorporated many of his ideas into my own methods and programming.

On today's episode, Tim and I discuss fluidity of movement, body tension, and creativity, followed by a discussion on utilizing a variety of speeds in training. Much of our talk centers around the benefits of slow movements and how these can, in turn, benefit much higher velocity motions, as well as ideas on how these fit in training complexes. Tim speaks on this and much more in this episode.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr, the Plyomat, and LILA Exogen.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off of any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer head to Lilateam.com

TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at teambuildr.com.

The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at plyomat.net

411: Tim Anderson on Dialing the Spectrum of Speed in Movement and Performance

More show notes at https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-410/

Today's podcast features coach Bobby Whyte. Bobby is an athletic performance and basketball skill enhancement trainer in northern New Jersey. He trains players from multiple sides of the athletic equation (strength, speed, skill, general physical development) and has been known for the "good drill" ideology and training system.

In the world of modern sports performance, coach Bobby Whyte's approach stands out for its comprehensive nature. It's not just about 'speed' or 'skill ', but a balanced integration of all aspects of athleticism. This approach reassures athletes that their training is not one-dimensional, but a wide-spanning pyramid of development.

In today's episode, Bobby speaks on his process to help take basketball players to the edge of their ability, speaking from his perspective as both a basketball skills coach and athletic development coach. This show hits on filling the right bucket an athlete needs, at the right time, taking an integrated view on transference to the game itself, versus a more compartmentalized view. He also keys into the 7 first principles he uses, and refers to, to help push athletes to the overall edge of their ability. Also discussed are the importance of unstructured play, creativity and fun in the development process.

I love these conversations because they help to push the envelope of how the entire athlete training process unfolds, not only on a singular skill or strength side of things.

410: Bobby Whyte on Training at the Edge of Athletic Ability

More show notes at https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-409/

Today's podcast features sprint coach Jack Edwards. Jack is the coach and company co-founder with Track Speed Development and is experienced in club and high school track coaching. He runs the "Metamorphosis Track Project" page on social media, is the creator of the "Acceleration Monster" training manual, and can often be found at the Bankstown athletics track in Sydney. Jack works closely with individuals from diverse backgrounds and age groups, ranging from national-level competitors to newcomers in track and field. Jack's coaching approach underscores the significance of individual observation, athlete identity, and tailored strategies to optimize each athlete's s movement and performance.

It is easy in sprint training (or general athletic performance) to focus on the "micro" or isolated aspects of athletic performance training. It is easy to treat all athletes the same in programming and cueing. Although a general structure must exist in training groups, it must also be understood what drives each athlete's performance engine, their ideal cues and communication strategies, and related training constraints and exercises.

In today's episode, we delve into the unique coaching approach of Jack Edwards. He shares insights on painting a comprehensive picture of the athlete, considering the driving mechanisms of their movement, psychological factors, and adaptation in sprint training. Jack also discusses the importance of developing an athlete based on their needs, their "superpower ", and "identity", bringing the power of story into the sprint training equation. We also explore the concept of coaching based on big picture elements, versus a "micro" approach. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of these topics and more in today's episode.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr, the Plyomat, and LILA Exogen.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off of any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer head to Lilateam.com

TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at teambuildr.com.

The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at plyomat.net

409: Jack Edwards on Athlete Centered Speed Training

More show notes at https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-408/

Today's podcast features Kevin Mulcahy. Kevin is an experienced sports and S&C; coach and owner-operator of the Design the Game Project. He has worked with various sports teams, athletes, professionals, and clubs across three continents, for over 30 years. Kevin takes a multi-lateral focus on human movement, skill development, and S&C;, led by a deep interest in ecological dynamics and the constraints led approach to coaching and motor learning.

Sport and the process of athlete development has undergone a major shift in the last 3-4 decades. Where free play used to be a hallmark of young athletes, the majority of athletic development now happens in the realm of supervised, cognitively overloaded, and hyper-accelerated practices and games. This aspect of sport (and sports performance) does get talked about, but the nuances of how things should actually change from both a developmental aspect are rarely discussed.

On today’s show, Kevin gives his perspective on ideal athlete development from an ecological and environmental point of view. He lays out the difference between the dominant “cognitive” approach to coaching and training, relative to an ecological approach. Kevin also gets into skill development, game-play and the importance of motor learning, and an overall athlete-centered, approach to training. Kevin’s experience crosses many of the traditional lines drawn in athletics, and as such, helps us to form new connections and understand the athlete development process on a deeper level.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr, the Plyomat, and LILA Exogen.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off of any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer head to Lilateam.com


TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at teambuildr.com.

The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at plyomat.net

408: Kevin Mulcahy on The Evolution of Athleticism and Skill Development

More show notes at https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-407/

Today's podcast features Cameron Josse, Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at Auburn University. With experience at Indiana University Football and DeFranco’s Training Systems, Cameron has worked with athletes from various levels and sports like NFL, NHL, UFC, and WWE. A former football player at the University of Rhode Island and current PhD candidate at Jean Monnet University, Cameron's approach to performance training is both practical and comprehensive.

As we move forward in sports performance training, there is more data around speed training for athletes than ever, as well as corresponding logistics and systems. We are understanding that physical preparation is not a one-sized fits all approach, not only between sports, as well as within positions in a single sport. By better understanding key aspects of speed development on an individual level, as well as in knowing the evolving role of strength training over time, we can better serve the needs of the individual athlete.

On today’s episode, Cameron will cover the process of optimizing resisted sprint protocols in college football athletes, as well as important individual differences he sees between positions and maximal speed ability. We will cover strength training in light of long term athlete speed and power development, sprint biomechanics and injury prevention, as well as concepts of integration between strength and sport skill staffs. Cameron is a brilliant coach with an expansive view of the training process. This conversation is a valuable addition for anyone interested in long term development of speed and athleticism.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr, the Plyomat, and LILA Exogen.

Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off of any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer head to Lilateam.com


TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software at Teambuildr.com.

The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at plyomat.net

401: Angus Ross on Neural Wiring, Elasticity, and Dynamic Coordination in Sport

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