CVASPS The Podcast

By Central VA Sport PerformanceSports Health & Fitness Fitness

CVASPS The Podcast episodes

October 26 Episode 8: Season 7, Episode 8- Marshall Repp: “I don’t make it fair”
Marshall Repp on Player Profiling, Lessons from the SEAL Teams, and Building Toughness Together

Jay DeMayo welcomes Marshall Repp, who recently joined the Maryland men's basketball program, for a conversation about how he profiles athletes and why he builds his programming around how each one is built. Marshall traces his path from Velocity Sports Performance to Eastern Michigan, Michigan State, and the East Coast SEAL teams, and explains how that last stop reshaped his approach to testing, training, and team culture. We discuss how Marshall turns test data into a simple two-axis profile, why that profile guides his training without limiting athletes, and how he uses force-plate jumps to manage fatigue during the season. Marshall also explains why he still mixes in carefully chosen, deliberately unfair high-intensity sessions to build trust and toughness within a team.

Key takeaways
· Marshall's time with the SEAL teams led him to study what makes elite performers different and sparked his deep dive into athlete profiling.
· Profiling starts with testing a wide range of qualities, converting each result to a sten score (a standardized 1-to-10 score), and plotting the scores on a radar graph to show where an athlete is above or below average.
· His main profile plots athletic expression (RSI mod from the counter-movement jump) against aerobic ability (a three-mile run for the SEALs and a three-minute max aerobic speed test for basketball).
· That profile sorts athletes into hybrids, racehorses, workhorses, and athletes who are weak in both areas.
· Workhorses tend to respond best to higher volume and longer, steadier conditioning, while racehorses tend to prefer heavier, lower-rep lifting and shorter, harder intervals.
· The profile guides how he trains each athlete, but the goal is still to move everyone toward being a hybrid.
· Marshall went from a high-intensity, machine-based background to a sports-science approach, and he still keeps doses of high intensity in his programs.
· He sometimes makes sets unfair on purpose, a habit he took from the SEALs, because sport and life are not always fair and the shared struggle brings teammates together.
· Surprise last sets and a partner-based turf grinder that ends in a 100-yard buddy carry show him who will push through for a teammate.
· At Michigan State he got Coach Izzo to move lifting before practice, using short daily sessions that he called "microdosing" and that he adjusted day to day with force-plate data.
· He tracks time to takeoff and jump height against each athlete's own average to decide when to pull back and when to push.
· Marshall closes by recommending Ken Mannie as a future guest, calling him a mentor and a former Michigan State strength coach.
36 min
October 19Episode 7: Season 7 Episode 7- Matt Gildersleeve: “You Don’t Get Awards For Protecting Your Desk”
Matt Gildersleeve on trust, authenticity, and rebuilding onboarding for a faster college football world
Jay DeMayo welcomes back Matt Gildersleeve for a wide-ranging conversation about coaching philosophy, staff development, family life, and the increasingly demanding reality of college football roster management. Matt shares how his program rebuilt its onboarding process to gather better injury, leadership, and learning-style information before athletes ever hit the weight room.We also discuss why trust is built through character, competence, and connection, why coaches should be their real selves instead of copying someone else’s style, and why young coaches need an extra skill beyond hard work if they want to stand out.
Key topics
In this episode, Matt makes the case that coaches can live full lives outside the weight room and still be excellent coaches.
He emphasizes that family, marriage, and travel are not distractions from coaching, but part of a healthy and sustainable coaching life.
Matt and Jay revisit the idea that trust is not something you ask for, but something you build through repeated actions over time.
Matt breaks trust development into three parts:
Character
Competence
Connection
He argues that coaches should not copy another coach’s personality or style, but should lead with their own authentic voice.
Matt explains how his program audited a full year of training and realized they were wasting the first four weeks with transfer athletes.
The transfer-portal era forced his program to become much more aggressive and detailed in pre-training evaluation.
His onboarding now includes:
Full injury history review
Weight-room modification history
Additional movement screening
Leadership and personality questions
Learning-style questions
Direct contact with previous strength staffs
Matt says the goal is to know every athlete before the first whistle, so training starts with context instead of guesswork.
He and his staff also learned that many athletes are kinesthetic learners, which changed how they approach teaching and film work.
Matt explains why he prefers face-to-face conversations over mass questionnaires for building real connection.
A major theme is that hard work is expected, but young coaches also need an “and” - something beyond effort that makes them valuable.
He believes coaches should be able to explain their unique value, not just say they are early, energetic, and hardworking.
Matt closes by stressing three responsibilities for anyone in the profession:
Take care of the athletes
Take care of the team
Take care of the industry
39 min
October 12Episode 6: Season 7, Episode 6: Jason Martinez, "Everything We Teach Is Intent"
Programming for a younger roster, intent-driven training, and building resilience with Jason Martinez

Jason Martinez joins Jay DeMayo to break down how he approaches programming for a new roster at West Virginia Men’s Basketball, especially when turnover is high and last year’s results can’t be copied over. The conversation focuses on evaluating what this team needs now, not punishing them for what previous teams did, and how to build conditioning, movement quality, and buy-in through intentional daily exposures.Jason also shares a broader coaching philosophy around intent, movement variability, and using training as an assessment tool. This episode is especially useful for strength coaches, performance staff, and anyone working with athletes in constantly changing environments.

Key topics
Jason shares how he approaches each new roster as a clean slate, rather than letting last year’s team dictate this year’s programming.
In this episode, he explains why high roster turnover forces coaches to re-evaluate everything from training stress to meal compliance to daily structure.
Jason discusses removing the traditional hard Friday “bury them” session and replacing it with smaller, more frequent exposures across the week.
We discuss how a younger team often needs broader movement exposure, not just more intensity.
Jason breaks down his idea of a “well-rounded training program” through categories like single-leg work, rotation, anti-rotation, flexion, and anti-flexion.
He explains how spreading conditioning across the week made the work more digestible, improved outputs, and created better enthusiasm.
The conversation digs into intent as a coaching principle, not just bar speed or load, but also range of motion, control, rest, and recovery.
Jason shares how different athletes can show intent in different ways and why that matters more than chasing one universal standard.
We discuss eccentric control and movement variability as the two biggest limiting factors he prioritized in the summer.
Jason explains how small changes like tempo, balance, and implement choice can create major adaptations without constantly changing the entire program.
He describes how training now doubles as an assessment tool, helping staff see which athletes are progressing well and which may need a different stimulus.
The episode closes on the importance of asking questions instead of questioning athletes, and understanding that pain or improvement can come from many different causes outside the weight room.
40 min
October 05 Episode 37: Season 7, Episode 5- Matt Aldred: "I don’t think we win games in July"
This week we welcome Matt Aldred of the University of Michigan to The Podcast to discuss preparing basketball athletes for performance—and what it means to be a strength and conditioning coach beyond the weight room. Matt shares how he adjusted summer training after a long season, why he prioritizes keeping players fresh, and how he builds individualized plans around each athlete’s goals, movement, and needs.In this episode, the focus is on thoughtful coaching systems that support both athletes and coaches: managing training volume, adapting programs, creating athlete buy-in, and explaining the purpose behind the work. Matt and Jay also have an honest conversation about the emotional demands of coaching, the pressure to make work your identity, and the importance of protecting relationships and life outside the profession.

Time Stamps
00:00 - Welcome and why this conversation matters for young strength coaches
01:40 - Matt’s coaching journey from Alabama Huntsville to Michigan
04:21 - How a long postseason run affected the offseason
05:46 - Reducing summer training intensity and session length
07:12 - Keeping summer work in perspective and preparing for the season
10:03 - Adapting training around travel and player availability
10:58 - Using coach feedback and movement observations to individualize programs
11:56 - Setting specific summer goals with athletes
13:12 - Aligning player, coach, and program priorities
14:41 - Listening to athlete ideas while staying grounded in training principles
15:10 - Explaining training choices and building trust
16:31 - Making athletes co-authors in their development
18:41 - Building relationships through intentional one-on-one conversations
19:38 - Using visuals and practice examples to explain the purpose of training
21:19 - Shifting the conversation from coaching to identity
22:30 - Coaching as experimentation and learning
23:00 - How work follows coaches into life outside the gym
24:26 - Separating professional success from personal identity
25:52 - “Leasing the jersey” and letting go of ego
27:20 - The challenge of switching off after work
28:48 - The uncertainty of evaluating strength and conditioning work
31:16 - Why coaches keep thinking about work during personal time
32:13 - The emotional swings of wins, losses, and close games
33:36 - The value of talking openly about the strain
34:03 - A reminder to keep family and personal priorities in view
35:55 - Supporting relationships through the demands of coaching
36:08 - Communicating when work changes family plans
37:17 - Checking in with your partner and creating boundaries
38:16 - Being present instead of letting work and ego take over
39:50 - Matt’s suggestion for a future podcast guest
41:38 - Finding practical ways to help athletes
42:56 - Closing thoughts and thanks

43 min
September 28Episode 36: Season 7, Episode 4- David Ventress: "Building Competitive Culture"
In this weeks episode of The Podcast, host Jay DeMayo sits down with David Ventress, strength coach for the University of Louisiana men's basketball program, to break down how speed work, movement training, and weight room design fit into a basketball culture. The conversation focuses on how to build acceleration and speed reserves, then carry those qualities into competition, conditioning, and team identity.David also explains how he adapts his programming to the realities of a team setting, from group-based sprint work to position-specific lifting for guards and bigs. The big theme throughout is simple: the program has to serve the culture, not the other way around.

Key topics
In this episode, David Ventress shares his background across Nicholls State, Tulane, South Alabama, and now Louisiana, where he is entering year two with the Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball staff.
Jay and David discuss why top-end speed still matters in basketball, even on a court where max velocity is less frequent than in field sports.
David explains his view that exposure to higher speeds helps build speed reserves, improve hamstring resiliency, and support rate of force development.
The speed program is built around two weekly days:
one linear day focused on max velocity
one change of direction and multi-acceleration day
David says the biggest coaching challenge is not exercise selection but getting maximum intent from players, especially in a team environment.
Group-based sprinting is used to drive competition, with three to four players going at a time, winners and losers called out, and built-in consequences or rewards.
Rather than relying on timing gates, David uses competition as the main driver and believes the rise in performance within the same groups shows progress over time.
In the weight room, the program shifts by position:
guards get more eccentric, reactive, single-leg, and high-speed plyometric work
bigs get more concentric, two-foot, and strength-focused work
David uses jump mats and VBT-style feedback to gamify lifting, but he emphasizes intent and competition more than prescription by exact load or speed targets.
As the team moves from eight-hour to 20-hour NCAA rules, the focus shifts from building speed reserves to repeat sprint ability and post-practice conditioning.
David says practice itself provides much of the high-velocity exposure during the season through accountability, transition work, and down-and-back efforts.
31 min
September 21Episode 35: Season 7, Episode 3- Allison Wade: "Gradual change prevents psychological fatigue"
This week we welcome Allison Wade of LSU to The Podcast to share with us how sports nutrition fits into a sport performance system, specifically in basketball. Allison explains how she works alongside strength and conditioning, athletic training, and coaches to individualize hydration, fueling, and recovery without losing sight of the team-wide routine.In this episode, the focus is on practical nutrition systems that actually work in a team setting: sweat testing, plate coaching, mandatory snacks, recovery strategies, and how to build athlete buy-in through consistent habits. Allison also shares how her background in private practice and her relationship-driven approach shaped the way she works today.

Key topics
Allison’s path from private practice to NC State and then LSU
Individualized sports nutrition for basketball athletes
Collaboration between dietitians, strength coaches, athletic trainers, and coaches
Building trust through daily interaction with athletes
Baseline testing, including blood work, DEXA scans, and injury history
Using weekly performance meetings to identify each athlete’s biggest need
Sweat testing, hydration, and sodium-loss measurement
Individualizing water bottles with carbohydrates and electrolytes
Mandatory shakes, snacks, and dinners for athletes trying to gain weight
Plate coaching for athletes with limited food preferences
Why small nutrition changes are more effective than drastic overhauls
The importance of carbohydrates for performance and recovery
Nutrition strategies for athletes with a history of cramping
Recovery nutrition based on player load and practice demands
Turning nutrition strategies into daily team habits
Action items
Build a simple nutrition system around collaboration, not one-off fixes.
Use sweat testing and weigh-in, weigh-out data to educate athletes visually.
Match fueling strategies to individual player needs instead of giving every athlete the same plan.
Focus on carbohydrates as well as protein when athletes are under-fueled or cramping.
Introduce small, realistic nutrition changes rather than forcing a complete overhaul.
Create consistent opportunities for snacks, shakes, and recovery nutrition throughout the day.
Make nutrition part of practice and recovery routines so buy-in becomes habit.
Help athletes understand their own fueling needs so they can become more independent.
Timestamps

00:00 - Welcome to the show and why nutrition matters in performance
01:56 - Allison’s move from NC State to LSU and her relationship with Coach Wade
03:26 - Why her private practice background made her more individualized
06:16 - Building a performance system through collaboration and baseline testing
08:39 - Mandatory shakes, extra calories, and hands-on weight gain strategies
13:00 - Sweat testing, hydration data, and showing athletes what they lose
15:49 - Using carbohydrate powder and electrolyte strategies in practice
17:14 - Building a halftime routine into practice for fueling and recovery
19:33 - Cramping, carbohydrate under-fueling, and fixing the real issue
23:26 - Learning why athletes are picky and meeting them where they are
26:46 - Why carbohydrates are often the missing piece—not more protein
29:55 - Why observation and communication beat blanket nutrition rules
31:07 - Creating opportunities throughout the day instead of forcing every meal
34:31 - How recovery nutrition is tied to player load and practice demands
35:52 - Smaller-volume recovery shots, smoothies, and anti-inflammatory support
37:50 - Making team nutrition habits part of the culture
40:25 - Who Allison wants to hear from next
40 min
September 14Episode 34: Season 7, Episode 2: Abby Sherard: "Stress The Body To Handle The Demand"
In this weeks episode of The Podcast, Abby Sherard joins Jay DeMayo to discuss the changing demands of college basketball strength and conditioning. With transfers, international competition, new coaching staffs, and constantly changing rosters, Abby explains why athletes must be evaluated individually instead of placed into a one-size-fits-all program.She emphasizes giving athletes time to recover and move independently before beginning a demanding summer program focused on foundational movements, volume, heavy lifting, tempo work, and conditioning. The conversation also explores how coaches can balance structure with athlete autonomy, communicate individualized plans, and prepare players for the entire season—not just the first practice.Abby’s overall philosophy is simple: meet athletes where they are, identify what they need, train the basics well, and help them become independent athletes who understand how to train, recover, and care for themselves beyond college basketball.

Key Topics
Summer training strategies for college basketball
Managing roster volatility and transfer athletes
Building trust and autonomy with athletes
Individualized programs based on athlete needs
Handling stress and recovery in training
International athlete management and expectations
Sound Bites
"Give athletes space to be themselves"
"Meet athletes where they are in their development"
"Handle stress better by doing simple things well"
Chapter List

00:00 — Intro and Abby’s background

03:41 — The new reality of college basketball rosters

04:35 — Evaluating athletes during the summer

07:14 — Why transfer summers are so important

08:30 — Giving athletes autonomy in May

09:56 — Building individualized summer programs

10:54 — Training volume and handling stress

12:16 — Adjusting training for a younger roster

13:13 — Foot training and conditioning foundations

14:13 — Trust, autonomy, and athlete buy-in
31 min
September 07Episode 33: Season 7, Episode 1: Chase Campbell- "Keep The Love For It"
Season seven of the Central Virginia Sport Performance Podcast 0pens with return of my good friend Chase Campbell, who joins from South Florida after a unique path through college basketball and IndyCar. The conversation centers on how Chase’s background has shaped his coaching, how the transfer era has changed the way strength programs are built, and why connection and mentorship matter just as much as sets and reps.Chase walks through how he ended up in South Florida after working with ECR and Ed Carpenter in IndyCar, where he trained both drivers and pit crews. That experience reinforced how important it is to tailor training to different demands, different bodies, and different levels of readiness. From there, the discussion shifts into the reality of modern college basketball, where rosters can turn over quickly and coaches have far less time to build athletes up the old way.A major theme in the episode is adaptability. Chase explains how having 15 new players from 15 different places forces him to be more efficient, more thoughtful, and more open to using tools and methods he may have resisted earlier in his career. He talks about changing his mind on machines, especially as a way to create a high training stimulus in a shorter amount of time, and how the current landscape has pushed him to sharpen his programming rather than rely on old habits.The episode also goes deep on mentorship. Chase shares what it means to move into a more direct teaching role with GAs and interns, how his own early career was shaped by trial and error, and why he wants the next generation to be more prepared than he was. He and Jay compare old-school graduate assistant experiences, the value of being challenged, and the difference between productive struggle and being left without enough guidance.Another strong thread is the importance of keeping the environment enjoyable. Chase reflects on the mentors who made the weight room somewhere he wanted to be every day, and he says that same kind of culture is what he wants to create now. Even as the profession gets more complicated, he emphasizes staying connected, staying curious, and keeping the love for the work alive.

Key topics
Chase explains how he got to South Florida after working in IndyCar with ECR and Ed Carpenter.
He describes how racing showed him the importance of fitness, recovery, and individualized training.
Jay and Chase discuss how college basketball has changed, especially with heavy roster turnover.
Chase says the staff’s goal is to become the most connected team in the country.
He explains why current roster turnover requires faster, more efficient training progressions.
Chase shares how his views on machines have changed and why he now sees them as high-value tools.
The conversation explores how limited time changes programming and forces coaches to be more intentional.
Chase talks about stepping into a mentor role with GAs and interns.
He reflects on being underprepared when he entered his first full-time job and how that affects how he teaches now.
Jay and Chase compare older GA environments to more focused modern mentorship.
Chase explains why he wants his staff and interns to genuinely enjoy coming to work.
The episode closes with a discussion about learning from others, staying humble, and keeping the profession connected.
43 min
July 20Episode 32: Season 6 Episode 32- Brian Bingaman- There’s Not a Lot of Old Strength Coaches
In this episode of the Central Virginia Sport Performance Podcast, host Jay DeMayo sits down with Brian Bingaman, an athletic director who spent years building his career in strength and conditioning at programs including Penn State, LaSalle, St. Joe’s, and Eastern University. The conversation centers on Brian’s transition from strength coach to administrator, and how the lessons he learned in the weight room—work ethic, communication, organization, and relationship-building—prepared him to lead an entire athletic department.Brian shares how unexpected job changes, COVID-era responsibilities, and years of wearing multiple hats helped him develop the confidence and skill set needed to move into administration. He and Jay also dig into hiring, professionalism, self-advocacy, side income, and why young coaches should think strategically about the paths they want to build. The episode closes with a broader reflection on the realities of coaching careers, the value of transferable skills, and the importance of building security and flexibility over time.

Takeaways / Key Points
Strength and conditioning develops transferable leadership skills.
Work ethic remains one of the most valuable traits in any athletic role.
Scheduling and planning in coaching directly translate to administration.
Communication and soft skills matter as much as technical knowledge.
Building relationships with athletes, coaches, and campus partners creates trust.
Taking on unexpected responsibilities can accelerate career growth.
Small institutions often force staff to learn multiple roles quickly.
Hiring should focus on work ethic, professionalism, and fit.
Good interview questions help reveal the real candidate behind the resume.
Self-advocacy is necessary, but timing and approach matter.
Coaches should understand the full athletic department, not just their silo.
Young coaches need to decide what kind of role they actually want.
Side income or a second revenue stream can create career stability.
Scalable systems and online training can help build long-term flexibility.
Career security in athletics is fragile, so planning ahead matters.
Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction: The journey from strength coach to athletic director
02:11 - Lessons from working in collegiate strength and conditioning
09:25 - Transferrable skills gained from strength coaching
13:32 - Evolving hiring criteria for coaching staff
14:07 - Developing soft skills: communication and professionalism
18:43 - Reflecting on the support staff role and career growth
20:03 - Advocating for more responsibility in your career
22:01 - Diversifying revenue streams and side projects
27:18 - Leveraging technology and social media for career advancement
33:14 - Valuing strength and conditioning in the broader athletic landscape
34:54 - Recommendations: Next guests and inspiring storiesThis episode underscores that the skills coaches develop on the gym floor—work ethic, communication, leadership—are highly transferable and valuable for upward mobility in sports organizations. Encouraging ongoing learning, soft skills mastery, and strategic career planning will empower support staff and coaches alike to reach new heights.
36 min
July 13Episode 31: Season 6 Episode 31-Dr. Tommy Otley- The Game Is The Metric
This episode dives into how Dr. Tommy Otley blends sports science, rehab, and performance strategies within college basketball. Gain insights into athlete evaluation, injury mitigation, and the balance between team-wide systems and individual athlete needs.

Main Topics
Comprehensive injury screening and assessment as the foundation for decision-making
Balancing team protocols with individualized athlete programming
How collaboration across staff improves injury prevention and performance
Integrating analytics, PT, and strength training into daily team operations
Using game demands and practice simulation to guide in-season training and recovery
Key Insights
Initial athlete evaluations combine physical exams, injury history, and tailored testing like force plates, isometric strength, and mobility assessments.
Screening data is not predictive, but it helps shape treatment priorities and readiness decisions.
Force plate and testing data can be interpreted differently by PTs, strength coaches, and sports scientists, so communication matters.
Injury history helps determine whether a deficit should be addressed or accepted as part of an athlete’s normal profile.
Periodization requires building volume, peaking appropriately, and adjusting for game demands throughout the season.
Effective injury mitigation depends on combining team-wide strategies with athlete-specific adjustments.
Data should support coaching decisions and athlete identity, not override them.
Timestamps

00:00 - Welcome and introduction to Dr. Tommy Otley’s role and background
02:25 - Path from athletics to sports science and PT in college basketball
04:11 - The athlete mindset: work ethic and attention to detail
06:37 - Balancing rehab, sports science, and performance work across teams
09:53 - The athlete evaluation process and how injuries affect screening priorities
11:11 - Customizing assessments based on injury profiles
12:07 - Interpreting testing data across PT, strength, and science roles
14:06 - Turning assessment results into training, rehab, and communication
15:24 - Team-wide benchmarks versus individual extremes
18:52 - Thresholds for intervention based on injury history and testing
20:19 - Retesting and process evaluation in injury mitigation
22:41 - Using historical injury data alongside athlete-specific nuances
24:51 - Size, athleticism, and sport-specific demands in performance metrics
26:40 - When to individualize training versus use group programming
28:07 - Tracking game demands and translating them into practice plans
30:16 - Season periodization: balancing volume, intensity, and recovery
33:33 - Managing training load in team sports
35:29 - Coach-athlete collaboration and strategic communication
38 min

About CVASPS The Podcast

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Thanks for checking out The CVASPS Podcast! On our show will bring the best practitioners in the field of strength and conditioning from around the world together to discuss all aspects of athlete…

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