Coach Your Brains Out

• 0:29 - How Mike adjusts games in practice based on skill level or age group.
  • Very similar across the board.
  • Based on the principle of “keeping everything together”.
  • Simplifying everything for beginners.
• 1:47 - How Mike used half court Queen of the Court to teach younger players the 6-2 rotation.
• 3:20 - How Mike is able to still develop Volleyball IQ while emphasizing a 90% playing practice philosophy.
  • Organization is key to an effective practice (example of making sure every coach and player knows their rotations).
• 5:28 - How Mike’s players have reacted to his ecological dynamics based approach compared to a more traditional approach to coaching.
• 8:46 - How parents have responded to Mike’s ecological dynamics based approach to coaching.
• 10:38 - Keeping parents engaged with the club.
  • Answering questions, explaining the club’s philosophy.
• 11:34 - Dealing with both gaining and also losing players.
• 13:00 - Studying and implementing movement patterns of athletes in a realistic environment.
• 15:39 - Simulating realistic situations compared to more unlikely and unrealistic perfect scenarios.
  • E.g. at the highest level setters are not using perfect technique, but situationally are able to adapt and execute effectively.
• 16:39 - “You’re either a setter, or you’re someone that just plays the setter position”. 
  • Instilling both confidence and identity within players.
• 18:01 - Does Mike include ques in his instruction and feedback?
• 20:03 - Why is the pre-game warmup so important, and what Mike’s looks like.
• 22:03 - Mike’s one piece of advice for coaches looking to try an ecological dynamics based approach to coaching.
   

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• 1:32 - Mike’s YouTube channel + videos he would recommend viewers/listeners start with.
  • Ecological Dynamics (Eco D).
  • Practice design
  • Link to his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwdLRsJvwBV_UC3iANsHpng
• 2:17 - Introducing Mike: how he got into Eco D, and his experience as a club director for the North Pacific Juniors volleyball club.
  • Dealing with limited practice time.
• 4:05 - Mike’s original coaching approach/philosophy in comparison to Eco D.
• 6:23 - Determining that new coaching approaches have a direct correlation to athletes’ performance.
• 8:16 - Important things to consider in practice design.
  • Realistic drills (not necessarily framing it as “game-like”).
• 9:40 - The “Tennis” drill, and how it differs at different skill levels.
• 13:26 - What would Mike’s typical practice look like?
  • Playing 6s and competing in games.
• 15:41 - If Mike had more time, how would his practices look? Would they be more realistic, or would it be broken down more by skills?
• 17:05 - The typical time breakdown of a 4-hour practice, and what skills Mike usually works on.
  • Dynamics, serve and pass/Queen of the Court, playing 6s.
• 22:31 - Creating constraints in practices, particularly in 6s.
  • Developing communication between players specifically by restricting communication with coaches.
• 24:56 - Are there go-to constraints that consistently work?
• 27:05 - Team constraints vs individual constraints.
  • “Low-ceiling” constraint
• 29:36 - Does Mike explicitly give his players the purpose/intention of his drills/games?
• 31:12 - More examples of constraints Mike has used regularly in practice.

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• 1:03 - Drawing from his own experience, how Joe has tried to develop skills within young and beginner players.
• 3:22 - Eliminating unforced errors in high school volleyball.
  • Coaching a mentality of making the setter’s life easier.
• 7:55 - Without stats available in the early parts of the club season, how should coaches approach the triangle?
  • Focusing on transition primarily.
  • 8:41 - When first ball becomes a much more important part of the game.
• 10:07 - Joe’s experience coaching the national team at NORCECA + its importance to players involved.
• 11:04 - Difference in practice time between the national team and highschool/club, and even at the collegiate level.
  • Maximizing practice time
• 13:11 - Focused coach = focused players
• 16:45 - Breaking down the women’s national team’s win against Brazil in the Gold Medal match in relation to the triangle, and Joe’s biggest takeaways.
• 18:48 - With little time to prepare, focusing on covering up weaknesses rather than expecting a quick change in an athlete’s ability.
• 20:14 - Breaking down the men’s finals in the Olympics, and how Joe would implement the triangle in the ROC/Russia’s coaching.
  • 20:55 - Russia’s missed serves + resulting in only one ace, balancing aggressiveness with practicality/tacticality.
  • 24:05 - Making the decision to serve with the purpose of blocking + defending, or serve with the purpose of getting aces.
• 26:54 - Joe’s thoughts on + takeaways from the beach in comparison to indoors.
  • 28:01 - Increased possibilities + strategy.
• 35:56 - What Joe is looking forward to in the upcoming season.
  • Another link to his blog: https://smartervolley.substack.com/

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• 1:49 - Why Joe has been taking a break from social media and the internet + what he has gained from it.
  • 3:45 - Freeing up time to focus on his own thoughts and opening up time to write a new book/training manual.
• 4:20 - Joe’s blog (what he was originally planning on writing in a book format)
• 5:00 - What Joe thought he gained or missed by taking a break.
• 6:20 - Value of being bored + value of also taking breaks from educational resources.
  • Fostering great ideas from boredom.
• 7:14 - Joe’s blog (what he was originally planning on writing in a book format)
  • Read Joe’s blog here: https://smartervolley.substack.com/
  • Extra resources on his blog (some film, stats, etc).
• 10:59 - Joe’s triangle connecting terminal serves, first ball, and transition aspects.
• 12:36 - The extent to which the “Terminal Serves” aspect has an impact on matches from varying age levels.
• 13:55 - Putting terminal serves in the context of stats.
• 14:19 - “Our aces + opponent’s service errors” vs “Our service errors + opponent’s aces”.
• 15:16 - Measuring first ball attacking/putting it in the context of stats.
• 18:48 - Understanding transition win percentages.
• 22:25 - What to work on if one point of the triangle is successful, but another is lacking.
• 26:27 - What the standard would be in indoor volleyball + how high school volleyball practice can be structured to meet that standard and potentially go beyond it.

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Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

• Introducing Kasey, Andy, and Harjiv + why they think motor learning is important.
  • 0:42 - Kasey’s thoughts.
  • 2:00 - Andy’s thoughts.
  • 3:46 - Harjiv’s thoughts.
• 6:16 - The Guidance Hypothesis in relation to feedback.
  • 6:22 - The only law in motor learning: Fitts Law.
  • 7:19 - Using the analogy of bowling balls and bumper lanes to demonstrate the importance of removing dependence in athletes.
  • 8:30 - Information and feedback is better processed when given in a concise form + why coaches should put in the extra effort to do so. 
• 11:29 - How coaches should approach giving feedback to their athletes.
• 13:25 - How much of feedback should revolve around the athletes thoughts + using open questions to elicit feedback from athletes.
• 14:51 - Limiting feedback to avoid overloading athletes with information, while also effectively sharing information with them.
  • 15:00 - Evaluating the influence of the coach’s ego + pushing it aside to better develop athletes.
  • 17:11 - Finding the right time to offer feedback to athletes.
  • 18:32 - How the institution of self-regulated learning within athletes during practice can also be used as a constraint to main focus during matches.
• 19:43 - What do players actually benefit from becoming less reliant on coaches?
  • 20:51 - Including a step-by-step process instead of overloading athletes with information all at once.
    • Identifying critical points of tasks.
    • Correlating it to success to improve the mentality of athletes.
  • 21:56 - Precise feedback is not always the most effective feedback.
• 25:06 - Targeted feedback vs. “untargeted feedback”.
• 27:01 - Feedback is ultimately a constraint.
• 30:15 - Studying the effects of giving more feedback.
• 33:51 - Why youth coaches should hold back on giving vocal feedback without the backing of data, spreadsheets, film, etc.

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Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

• 0:39 - Balancing development of athletes, starting from a young age and lasting as they become older.
  • 0:42 - David Epstein - “cult of the head start” (balancing long term development and short term development in terms of success).
  • 1:55 - John’s thoughts on how playtime should be treated with young athletes.
• 3:45 - Practice planning example: what John would do in one hour of practice.
  •  4:05 - “Play practice play” model.
• 6:42 - Helpful advice coaches should give from the sidelines.
  • 7:10 - Developing intuition and independent problem solving within young athletes.
• 9:11 - Effective debriefing post match.
• 10:49 - Effectively coaching young kids who are easily distracted or not paying attention.
  • 11:07 - Creating standards.
  • 11:59 - Quick, rapidly moving games to keep kids attentive.
• 14:37 - Tips for maintaining attention during offtimes where coaches may want to explain or demo a drill.
• 16:03 - Working with kids who demonstrate a lack of effort during practice.
  • 17:06 - Trying to figure out why they might be not putting in effort during practice.
  • 17:29 - Kids that are not trying vs. kids that are disrupting practice.
• 18:07 - In a situation with a variety of skill levels, challenging kids at a higher level while also not drowning out kids of a lower level.
• 20:39 - The greatest takeaways from all the interviews John has done.
  • 20:59 - Importance of humility.
  • 21:26 - Understanding that the core tenet of coaching is love (both the sports and the athletes).
• 22:46 - John’s plans on upcoming live and virtual coaching development programs.

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show: 

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• 0:27 - John’s podcast and development of the Changing the Game project.
  • Podcast link: https://wayofchampions.libsyn.com/
  • Changing the Game Project link: https://changingthegameproject.com/
• 1:56 - John’s main advice for youth sports coaching.
• 3:04 - Examples of negative coaching that drives off young athletes from playing sports.
  • 3:27 - Importance of having fun and encouraging genuine enjoyment of sports.
• 6:57 - Differentiation between seriousness and having fun, and maintaining both.
• 7:39 - John’s “ideal practice” scenario + his advice on running an effective practice.
• 8:54 - How to effectively interact with parents in the early coaching stages.
  • 9:29 - One of the most effective forms of practice - interleaved practice.
  • 10:36 - Showing parents that learning is messy, and that effective practices are not necessarily organized.
  • 13:07 - Building trust and connections with athletes and parents.
• 13:39 - What happens once coaches establish trust with parents?
• 15:16 - Dealing with parents coaching off the sidelines of games.
• 17:13 - Advice for parents to help their children grow as athletes.
• 20:44 - Establishing a healthy dynamic between parents and children in the context of sports.
• 24:01 - Do development and learning of fundamentals come before playing games, or do they emerge from playing experience?
• 26:51 - Why isolated, “fundamentals first” training is widely practiced.

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Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

• 0:31 - In contrast to the “before practice” checklist, what are key components of the “during practice” checklist?
  • 0:58 - Dependent on the kind of coach and the “coaching moment”.
• 2:53 - Common things coaches should avoid when giving feedback to their athletes.
  • Staying on track with the original goal of practice and minimizing information overload.
• 4:51 - Should coaches focus on working with groups of athletes at a time, or just individuals?
  • 5:09 - Example given in the context of young athletes.
• 8:11 - Importance of encouraging athletes to practice on their own time by their own volition.
• 9:06 - Chris’ thoughts on including progressions and themes in practices.
  • 9:41 - Benefits of interleaved practice that mimics the constant change in games.
  • 11:42 - Balance of variety and consistency in practice planning.
• 13:32 - If the original practice plan seems to be ineffective, should coaches stick with the plan or improvise?
• 14:37 - “Coaching experiments” and the impact and importance of showing vulnerability as a coach.
• 16:01 - Chris’ thoughts on having post-practice consistent routines and discussions with either the coaching staff or the athletes.
• 20:23 - Ways in which coaches can get feedback on the effectiveness of practice
  • Writing down things to focus on in one practice + increasing skill sets
• 23:03 - Similarities and differences of working with beach volleyball coaches and coaches from other sports.
• 26:34 - Chris’ thoughts on intentional coaching and why he emphasizes it.
•  

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

• 00:35 - Making the transition from being the head coach of the USA Field Hockey national team to a coaching consultant.
• 2:04 - What Chris has used from his coaching experience and implemented into consulting + what he would have done differently throughout his early career.
• 3:41 - How coaches have received Chris’ advice + how he identifies what kind of coaches he is coaching.
• 7:05 - What Chris thinks are the most prevalent or frequent areas in which coaches can improve in.
• 9:30 - “Checking for understanding”: a technique Chris uses to make sure that coaches are on the same page.
• 13:54 - How Chris actively develops coaching skills by making them work harder to figure out through trial and error rather than through being lectured. 
• 15:34 - Step by step process to make sure that all coaches are on the same page.
• 17:07 - Making sure to focus and maintain the goal or core idea of the game/activity.
• 21:12 - Key things coaches can do before a training session.
  • 22:22 - Establishing the purpose of the practice to maintain engagement and actively attempt to accomplish goals of that practice.
  • 23:49 - Importance of effective communication: implementing the best games or activities to get the standard/purpose of the purpose across to the players.
• 25:09 - Should players be involved in the planning process of practices?
  • 26:57 - Benefits of letting players be included in this coaching process.
  • 27:18 - Importance of letting go of your ego for the purpose of this process.

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

• 0:31 - How the pandemic has affected the mental health of Dan’s players.
  • 1:43 - Ways in which Dan’s been trying to deal with feelings anxiety and pressure.
• 4:00 - Finding professional help to strengthen the mental health of athletes.
• 6:18 - Using the team environment to create bonds + having older players use their experience with playing anxiety to offer advice to younger players.
• 7:19 - How Dan has tried to maintain team bonds throughout the pandemic.
• 8:50 - Building connections even with pandemic restrictions.
• 9:46 - Exercises coaches can use to get players to open up about their mental health.
• 10:56 - Importance of communication with players and listening to athletes.
• 12:20 - Giving back to the community: why Dan and his players do community service.
• 13:36 - What Rae Strong is and how people can get involved.
  • Link: https://raestrong.org/
• 17:40 - An update on how Rae is doing today.
• 18:38 - Why and how Dan ended up coaching Tim Bomgren and Jeremy Casebeer at the AVP Chicago event.
• 20:09 - Why Dan doesn’t take money for coaching on the sand + why he enjoys being a part of the beach community.
• 22:34 - Dan’s players getting involved in the AVP Events.
• 23:24 - How less established players can take down the “giants” of beach volleyball.
• 25:04 - What Dan is doing currently to grow as a coach.