Captains & Coaches Podcast

What separates a good strength coach from a great one? According to Matt Nein, it's not the programming. It's the environment you create and the experience you deliver — every single day.

In his 21 years at Salisbury University, Matt has built one of the most decorated strength and conditioning programs in all of college athletics — 14 national championships, 360-plus All-Americans, and the 2018 NSCA Collegiate Strength Coach of the Year award. And he's done it without the budget, the staff, or the square footage of the programs that get all the attention.

We also go deep on his role as Strength and Conditioning Coach for USA Lacrosse's Box and Sixes National Teams, the physical demands of the fastest game on two feet, and what it means to keep a flame lit when your athletes are scattered across the country.

This one is for every coach trying to build something real with limited resources and unlimited heart.

Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

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You can spend an entire season with someone and still not know a single real thing about them. You know their position. You know what they do when the game's on the line. But you don't know their story — and that gap is exactly where teams break down.

In this episode, Tex breaks down the Three H's: Hero, Hardship, Highlight — a team building exercise used by Jon Gordon with Dabo Swinney's Clemson football program, adopted by elite teams across sport and military.

This isn't a feel-good exercise. It's a leadership tool backed by research, tested at the highest levels of sport, and built on one truth: you'll never have commitment without connection. A team that knows each other's story will always fight harder than one that only knows each other's stats.

Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

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Dr. Mike T. Nelson [@drmiketnelson] is a PhD exercise physiologist, metabolic flexibility expert, and one of the most applied performance scientists in the game. He's been researching and using creatine since 1995 — and today he's helping coaches and parents cut through three decades of myth, fear, and bad marketing.

Dr. Mike's Complete Creatine Manual: creatine.miketnelson.com

In this episode, Tex and Dr. Mike break down everything contact sport coaches need to know about creatine — what it actually is, why the steroid myth refuses to die, real dosing protocols, hydration in extreme heat, and the emerging research on creatine as a prophylactic for brain health in contact sports. They also get into caffeine and energy drinks, coaching leverage, exogenous ketones post-concussion, and why vision training may be the most underutilized concussion prevention tool in athletics.

If you coach football, lacrosse, wrestling, or hockey — this is a conversation you'll want your athletes and their parents to hear.

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Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com

Pat Riley called it the Disease of Me — and it doesn't start with losing. It starts with winning.

In this episode, Tex breaks down Pat Riley's 7 Danger Signals: the warning signs that individual ego is quietly taking over a team that's supposed to be chasing something bigger. From chronic under-appreciation to cliques forming in the locker room to players who are frustrated even when the team is winning — these signals show up on every team. The difference between good teams and great ones is whether anyone has the courage to address them early.

You'll learn how to spot each signal before it spreads, and get a specific action for each one — things you can actually do at practice this week, not just concepts to think about.

*NEW* Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

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There's no game like Army-Navy. No neutral site classic, no rivalry week hype machine — just two military academies, one football field, and everything that comes with wearing the uniform. Navy just won. And I wanted to talk to the guy who makes sure those Midshipmen are ready to play it.

Jim Kiritsy is the Head Football Strength and Conditioning Coach at the United States Naval Academy. He built his career at Vermont, The Citadel, and Kennesaw State before landing in Annapolis — and his philosophy has stayed consistent the whole way: injury prevention, athletic performance, and mental discipline. Not as buzzwords. As the actual job.

In this episode, Jim and Tex get into what the Army-Navy game means inside the locker room — not the spectacle, but the weight of it. We talk about his coaching philosophy, how he develops young men who are being asked to grow up fast, and what it genuinely takes — physically, mentally, and culturally — to play football at the Naval Academy.

If you coach, lead, or develop people under pressure, this one's for you.

*NEW* Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com

Most teams hand one athlete a title and expect leadership to follow. It doesn't work — and now there's research to prove it.

In this episode, Tex breaks down why the traditional captain model sets athletes up to fail, what social network analysis reveals about how leadership actually operates inside teams, and why distributing leadership across multiple players — with defined roles and real development — consistently produces stronger outcomes than concentrating it in one person.

You'll learn the three questions every leader has to answer honestly, why your role doesn't limit your leadership but defines it, and what it looks like to build a leadership system instead of just picking a captain.

Whether you're a coach designing your team's culture, a captain trying to figure out what the role actually requires, or an athlete who leads without a title — this one's for you.

*NEW* Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

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Research referenced: Fransen et al. (2014), Loughead et al. (2006), Vella et al. (2013), Price & Weiss (2011), Gould & Voelker (2010), Mertens et al. (2018)

Luka Hocevar [@lukahocevar] didn't choose coaching because it was safe. He chose it because nothing else gave him the same feeling — watching someone go from doubt to capable, from stuck to moving. Twenty-one years later, that hasn't changed.

Luka is the founder of Vigor Ground Fitness in Seattle, one of the most respected performance gyms in the country, and the creator of Built to Last — a consulting business helping gym owners build something worth keeping. He's coached everyone from Super Bowl champions to clients who were told they'd never walk again. And his philosophy is simple: coaching is the master skill, and most people are treating it like a hobby.

In this conversation, we get into the 51 percenters — Danny Meyer's framework for why emotional skills outweigh technical expertise in hiring and in leading. We talk about the service reflex, the self-esteem bank account, why regressions are the real progression, and what separates the coach who turns up the music from the one who actually changes lives.

If you lead people — on a team, in a weight room, or anywhere else — this one's for you.

*NEW* Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com

You made the team. You earned the spot. You hit the goal.

Now what?

In this episode, we break down one of the hardest truths in sports—and in life: the habits, effort, and mindset that got you here are now just the baseline. If you don’t evolve, you get passed.

We dive into why athletes lose motivation after reaching big goals, the difference between outcome goals and process goals, and how elite competitors shift from a “rookie” mindset to a “pro” mindset the moment they level up.

This is a conversation about identity.

Because success isn’t a finish line—it’s a new standard.

If you’re a captain, coach, or athlete who wants to keep growing after the win, this episode will give you the framework—and the language—to lead yourself and your team forward.

Key Takeaways:

• Why outcome goals can stall your growth
• How process goals build consistency and confidence
• The Rookie vs Pro mindset shift
• Simple leadership reps to reset the standard after success

You didn’t make it.
You qualified.

Now the real work begins.

*NEW* Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com

What happens on the youth sports field doesn't stay there. The culture a coach creates — the trust built, the conflict navigated, the way kids learn to repair relationships — travels with athletes long after the final whistle. And for the ones who go on to wear a badge, carry a weapon, or run toward danger for a living, those early lessons either become the foundation they stand on or the cracks they fall through.

Dr. Jenny Prohaska is a licensed clinical psychologist, founder of Tactical Longevity, and one of the few practitioners in the country working at the intersection of trauma, anti-fragility, and performance psychology with law enforcement and tactical teams. She's also spent over a decade screening new hire candidates entering the profession — giving her a rare, ground-level view of what's working and what's not in how we develop young people.

In this conversation, Tex and Dr. Jenny go deep on the psychological overlap between sport and public safety, the role of coaches in shaping (or breaking) long-term mental health, and the practical tools her tactical teams use to stay sharp under pressure — tools that translate directly to the locker room.

In this episode:

• Why emotional reactivity in coaches is often a skill deficit, not a personality trait
• The "Palms Up," "Be the Grass," and "Don't Feed the Weeds" heuristics Dr. Jenny uses with tactical teams
• How toxic coaching creates downstream relational damage that follows athletes for decades
• Why reparative relationships on teams are some of the most powerful mental health interventions available
• The psychological profile of athletes who can push through toxic environments and come out stronger

If you coach, parent, lead, or serve — this one's for you.

*NEW* Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com

Most teams don’t have an effort problem. They have an identity problem.

In this episode, we break down why yelling, punishment, and “trying harder” don’t fix the real issue—and why so many athletes today shut down, nod their heads without changing, or quietly check out while still showing up.

Using lessons from the 1985 classic Vision Quest, we explore the most overlooked truths in leadership.

You’ll learn:

• Why today’s athletes respond differently to traditional coaching
• The leadership mistake that triggers fight, flight, or freeze
• The identity chain: Language → Thoughts → Actions → Habits → Identity → Behavior
• How captains can use the Identity Ladder (I Want → I Will → I Can → I Am) to drive real buy-in
• Practical tools to build confidence, accountability, and ownership within your team

If you’re a coach or captain trying to get more out of your team, this episode will challenge how you lead—and how your athletes see themselves.

Because at the end of the day… Effort fades. Identity sticks.

*NEW* Education - Captains & Coaches course, "Why They're Not Listening - Coaching Today's Athlete": http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com

Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train

C&C Merch - shop.captainsandcoaches.com