Krush Performance

Sport Parents. Sport Coaches. This Season Is for You.

How good can your athlete become?

It’s one of the most important questions we can ask in sport.

And the answer?

We don’t know.

We won’t know until they go through the process of Athlete & Player Development.

The practices. The games. The training. The successes. The failures. The opportunities. And the decisions made along the way.

And those decisions matter.

Coaches create the environments. Parents help choose the environments.

Together, they have an enormous influence on an athlete’s development.

Welcome to Season 21 of Krush Performance!

This season, we’re turning our attention to the people making those important decisions — Sport Parents and Sport Coaches.

Sport has never offered more opportunities. More programs, more training, more competition, more technology, and more information than ever before.

But with all these opportunities comes an important challenge.

How do you know what’s right for your athlete?

What do they really need? When do they need it? How much is enough? And how do those answers change as they grow and develop?

Throughout Season 21, we’ll explore the science and real-world realities of Athlete & Player Development — from sleep, recovery, nutrition, and brain development to talent, specialization, training, readiness, and the environments that shape performance.

We’ll bring you leading researchers, experts, and thought-provoking conversations to help separate evidence from noise and turn complicated science into practical knowledge.

Because the challenge isn’t simply finding opportunities anymore.

It’s knowing which opportunities matter.

And while we may not know how good an athlete can become, we can work incredibly hard to give them the opportunity to find out.

Sport Parents. Sport Coaches. This season is for you.

Join us as we kick off Season 21 of Krush Performance as we help sports parents and coaches better understand athlete development so they can make smarter, more confident decisions for their athletes.

We’re here to help you think like an athlete.

GET The Season Opener now: JeffKrushell.com/podcasts

Follow @JeffKrushell on Instagram & YouTube for weekly updates, resources, and insights all summer long as we work to raise the level of human performance one athlete at a time.

If you have questions, thoughts or ideas, reach out: [email protected]

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio! Don’t forget to rate and review the show!

The post Episode 21-01: How Good Can Your Athlete Become? appeared first on Radio Influence.

SLEEP: THE #1 PERFORMANCE PRIORITY

Sleep Aids, Caffeine & the Performance Trap

If there’s one performance strategy every athlete needs, and every parent and coach needs to understand, it’s sleep.

Sleep impacts learning, reaction time, recovery, mood, health and performance…

But what happens when an athlete is having trouble sleeping?

This week, we’re opening the Krush Archives for a powerhouse conversation with Krush favourite Dr. Charles Samuels, Medical Director at the Centre for Sleep & Human Performance.

• The unseen risks of over‑the‑counter and prescription sleep aids for teens and athletes

• How accurately are wearables really measuring your sleep??

• The caffeine/sleep-aid yo-yo that can undermine performance.

• Time change: what it really does to your body and how to protect athletes

• Sleep debt, sleep banking, and how to plan sleep for peak performance

We dig into how sleep can influence brain function, learning, mood, reaction time, recovery and injury risk.

There are practical strategies here you can use right now to improve sleep, recovery and performance.

Sleep isn’t downtime. It’s performance time. Use it to Create More Coachable Players.

Join us All Summer as we help sports parents and coaches better understand athlete development so they can make smarter, more confident decisions for their athletes.

If you have questions, thoughts or ideas, reach out: [email protected]

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio! Don’t forget to rate and review the show!

Follow @JeffKrushell for weekly updates, show notes, and behind-the-scenes insight from Krush’s CREATING COACHABLE PLAYERS PROGRAM.

E-Mail Jeff with your questions and comments for the show and don’t forget to visit KrushPerformance.com for live streaming, blogs, links, and so much more

The post Episode #7 of the KRUSH SUMMER SERIES for SPORT PARENTS & COACHES appeared first on Radio Influence.

What if one of the greatest dangers surrounding performance-enhancing drugs in sport isn’t simply cheating?

What if it’s who is using them—and why?

PEDs and banned substances aren’t just an elite‑sport problem.

They’re a youth‑health, athlete‑safety, and education issue—and the fastest‑growing users aren’t who you think.

Many teens are chasing looks, not medals.

The average first use is shockingly young. Most haven’t heard the real risks.

This week, we are joined by Don Hooton, President of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, to examine the appearance- and performance-enhancing drug issues facing sport and our youth.

What are young people being exposed to?

Do they truly understand what they are taking—or what it could cost them?

And how can parents and coaches recognize the risks, begin better conversations, and help athletes make informed decisions before one choice creates lasting consequences?

Some substances are banned in sport.

Some may be legal to purchase but dangerous to use.

Others may contain ingredients athletes never knew they were consuming.

This is not simply an elite-sport problem.

It is a youth-health issue.

An athlete-safety issue.

And an education issue.

This isn’t about scare tactics.

It’s a clear, practical playbook that Parents and Coaches can use to keep kids healthy, engaged, and in love with sport.

I am very proud to share this conversation with you. It is an incredibly important topic that needs to be discussed with our athletes and our children (when they are the right age) and an critical part of Creating More Coachable Players.

I would love to hear your thoughts or comments on this topic. Write me: [email protected]

Listen now and share this episode with your team.

Join us All Summer as we help sports parents and coaches better understand athlete development so they can make smarter, more confident decisions for their athletes.

Follow @JeffKrushell on Instagram & YouTube for weekly updates, resources, and insights all summer long as we work to raise the level of human performance one athlete at a time.

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio! Don’t forget to rate and review the show!

Follow @JeffKrushell for weekly updates, show notes, and behind-the-scenes insight from Krush’s CREATING COACHABLE PLAYERS PROGRAM.

E-Mail Jeff with your questions and comments for the show and don’t forget to visit KrushPerformance.com for live streaming, blogs, links, and so much more

The post Episode 20-38: Appearance and Performance-Enhancing Drugs: What Parents and Coaches Need to Know appeared first on Radio Influence.

The Art of Problem Solving: Helping Athletes Overcome Adversity

With MLB’s Midsummer Classic fresh in mind, we’re using baseball as this week’s platform—but this episode is for every sport parent & coach.

This week we’re joined by pitching coach and consultant Hector Barrios to unpack one of the most remarkable comeback stories in Professional Baseball/Sport—his work helping Aroldis Chapman return to elite Major League Baseball after one of the most challenging periods of his career and how they engineered his return to elite performance.

If you’re raising, coaching, or supporting athletes, this episode is packed with practical insights that will change how you think about athlete development.

This is what coaching and parenting athletes is really about.

Because no one does this alone—and Creating More Coachable Players starts with teaching the art of problem solving.

And this is exactly what this weeks Episode of Krush Performance is all about.

I’m glad you’re here.

Let’s go.

Join us All Summer as we help sports parents and coaches better understand athlete development so they can make smarter, more confident decisions for their athletes.

Follow @JeffKrushell on Instagram & YouTube for weekly updates, resources, and insights all summer long as we work to raise the level of human performance one athlete at a time.

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio! Don’t forget to rate and review the show!

Follow @JeffKrushell for weekly updates, show notes, and behind-the-scenes insight from Krush’s CREATING COACHABLE PLAYERS PROGRAM.

E-Mail Jeff with your questions and comments for the show and don’t forget to visit KrushPerformance.com for live streaming, blogs, links, and so much more

The post Episode 20-37: Episode #5 of the KRUSH SUMMER SERIES for SPORT PARENTS & COACHES appeared first on Radio Influence.

Rethinking Long-Term Athlete Development with Dr. Jean Côté

What if one of the most widely accepted models in youth sport needs to evolve?

For more than 20 years, Long-Term Athlete Development has helped coaches, parents, and organizations better understand how young athletes grow and develop. But as research continues to evolve, so should the way we think about developing the next generation of athletes.

This week on the Krush Summer Series, I’m joined by world-renowned athlete development researcher Dr. Jean Côté to discuss the future of youth sport and one of the most important questions facing coaches and parents today:

Are we creating environments where young athletes want to stay in sport long enough to discover how good they can become?

Together, we explore why Dr. Côté believes Long-Term Athlete Development is an excellent model for understanding expertise, yet may not fully address what youth sport needs most. We also discuss his latest research on interest—and why it may be one of the most important factors influencing lifelong participation, healthy development, and even high performance.

Whether your goal is helping young athletes enjoy sport for life or supporting those who aspire to compete at the highest level, this conversation will challenge the way you think about athlete development.

You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of how coaches, parents, and organizations can create environments that keep young athletes healthy, engaged, motivated, and excited to keep learning all crucial elements for Creating Coachable Players.

This is an important conversation for anyone who wants to help young athletes reach their potential while developing a lifelong love of sport.

Join us all summer as we help sport parents and coaches better understand athlete development so they can make smarter, more confident decisions for the young athletes they support.

Follow @JeffKrushell on Instagram & YouTube for weekly updates, resources, and insights all summer long as we work to raise the level of human performance one athlete at a time.

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio! Don’t forget to rate and review the show!

Follow @JeffKrushell for weekly updates, show notes, and behind-the-scenes insight from Krush’s CREATING COACHABLE PLAYERS PROGRAM.

E-Mail Jeff with your questions and comments for the show and don’t forget to visit KrushPerformance.com for live streaming, blogs, links, and so much more

The post Episode 20-36: Episode #4 of the KRUSH SUMMER SERIES for SPORT PARENTS & COACHES appeared first on Radio Influence.

Episode 3: Mental Skills Every Parent, Teacher and Coach Should Master.

What if the biggest obstacle to your athlete’s performance isn’t talent, training, effort, or even skill?

What if it’s what they’re thinking?

This week on the Krush Summer Series, we go back to Krush Favorite, Dr. Jacques Dallaire of Performance Prime, and our discussion on his outstanding book: “Helping Kids Perform: Mental Skills Every Parent, Teacher and Coach Should Master.”

If your athlete is battling nerves, struggling with confidence, or “trying harder” without better results, this conversation is going to change how you support them.

We outline Dr. Dallaire’s “Performance Equation” and break down exactly how anxiety impacts performance, why more focus isn’t always the answer, and the practical tools you can use right now to help your child regulate their stress response, boost self‑esteem, and step into consistent, confident play.

This conversation goes far beyond sport.

The lessons Dr. Dallaire shares apply to school, life, relationships, leadership, and personal growth.

Perhaps most importantly, you’ll walk away with a better understanding of how the environment created by parents, coaches, and teachers shapes a young person’s confidence, resilience, and ability to perform under pressure.

This is one of the most important conversations we can have when it comes to supporting development and Creating More Coachable Players.

Join us All Summer as we help sports parents and coaches better understand athlete development so they can make smarter, more confident decisions for their athletes.

Follow @JeffKrushell on Instagram & YouTube for weekly updates, resources, and insights all summer long as we work to raise the level of human performance one athlete at a time.

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio! Don’t forget to rate and review the show!

Follow @JeffKrushell for weekly updates, show notes, and behind-the-scenes insight from Krush’s CREATING COACHABLE PLAYERS PROGRAM.

E-Mail Jeff with your questions and comments for the show and don’t forget to visit KrushPerformance.com for live streaming, blogs, links, and so much more

The post Episode 20-35: KRUSH SUMMER SERIES for SPORT PARENTS & COACHES Creating | Coachable Players: Raising Coachable Athletes. appeared first on Radio Influence.

We dive into The Most Misunderstood Currency in Sport – Talent.

Is my athlete talented enough?

Should they have made the elite team?

Are they falling behind?

Should they specialize?

Did we miss the window?

These questions shape youth sport every single day.

But what if much of what we believe about talent is wrong?

What if our understanding of talent, talent identification, and talent development is actually limiting athlete potential instead of unlocking it?

The research is becoming increasingly clear:

We are surprisingly poor at predicting future performance from current performance.

Late developers become elite athletes.

Early stars disappear.

And many athletes are overlooked—not because they lack ability, but because we misunderstand the development process.

If we want to move sport and human performance forward, we need to better understand:

• What talent really is

• When talent identification makes sense

• Why athlete development is a long game with countless variables

• And why success may depend less on what we should be doing—and more on what we should stop doing

This week on Episode #2 of the Krush Summer Series, we revisit our conversation with Krush Hall of Famer Dr. Joe Baker and his must-read book: “The Tyranny of Talent: How It Compels and Limits Athletic Achievement…And Why You Should Ignore It.

Follow the Krush Summer Series on Instagram for weekly updates, info and the Krush Report search out “JeffKrushell”.

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio! Don’t forget to rate and review the show!

Follow @JeffKrushell for weekly updates, show notes, and behind-the-scenes insight from Krush’s CREATING COACHABLE PLAYERS PROGRAM.

E-Mail Jeff with your questions and comments for the show and don’t forget to visit KrushPerformance.com for live streaming, blogs, links, and so much more

The post Episode 20-34: Episode #2 of the Krush Summer Series for Sport Parents & Coaches appeared first on Radio Influence.

A Summer Dedicated to Sport Parents and Coaches

Sport has changed.

Athletes are competing more. Seasons overlap. Expectations are higher. The pressure feels bigger than ever.

And somehow, parents and coaches are expected to navigate it all—with more pressure and less clarity than ever before.

How much sport is too much?

When should athletes rest?

What actually improves performance?

Why are injuries increasing?

What really creates long-term athletic success?

Is it genetics?

Hard work?

Coaching?

Opportunity?

Early specialization?

Playing multiple sports?

And why do some athletes thrive… while others burn out, break down, or walk away from sport altogether?

This summer, we’re cutting through the noise.

To kick off the Krush Summer Series, we begin with one of the most important conversations in modern athlete development.

In this special episode, we dive into our conversation with bestselling author David Epstein to unpack the science behind his groundbreaking book, The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance.

Together, we explore:

• What genetics really do—and don’t—tell us about athletic potential

Too many athletes are being rushed, overworked, over‑scheduled, or misunderstood—not from lack of care, but lack of a clear map.

That changes this summer as we work with sport parents and coaches to you cut through the noise and help them make smarter, more confident decisions for their athletes. Its all part of the process when you are Creating More Coachable Players.

Follow the Krush Summer Series on Instagram for weekly updates, info and the Krush Report search out “JeffKrushell”.

Listen Now

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio! Don’t forget to rate and review the show!

Follow @JeffKrushell for weekly updates, show notes, and behind-the-scenes insight from Krush’s CREATING COACHABLE PLAYERS PROGRAM.

E-Mail Jeff with your questions and comments for the show and don’t forget to visit KrushPerformance.com for live streaming, blogs, links, and so much more

The post THE KRUSH SUMMER SERIES: Creating Coachable Players. Raising Coachable Athletes™ appeared first on Radio Influence.

As baseball and summer sports ramp up, hockey and winter sports wind down, for athletes, coaches, and parents there’s one big question:

What comes next?

The truth?

The season between seasons may be the most important season of all.

Too often, athletes jump from one jersey to the next without recovery, repair, or a real plan for development.

But great performance doesn’t happen by accident.

It is built.

And the smartest athletes understand that transitions matter.

In this week’s episode of Krush Performance, The Krusher breaks down the hidden mechanics of the athletic calendar and why you can’t simply “play your way” into better performance.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• The 4 Jobs of the Off-Season — Recover, Repair, Rebuild, and Prepare

• The Fatigue Illusion — Why performance struggles may have more to do with hidden fatigue than missing talent

• The 4 Transition Traps — No decompression, one-sport overload, training beyond readiness, and copy-paste preparation that ignores sport demands

• The Multi-Sport Edge — Why movement diversity can build a higher athletic ceiling

• Winning the Transition — How great coaches connect off-season development to in-season performance

• The In-Season Myth — Why training and preparation shouldn’t stop once competition begins

Jeff also shares how performance and developmental goals are built across a season — helping athletes continue to improve while staying healthy, durable, as they prepare for the demands of competition.

The Bottom Line

We don’t know how far an athlete can go until they move through a well-organized, long-term development process.

Great performance doesn’t happen by accident.

It is built — one step, one season, and one phase at a time.

Because athlete and player development is a long game.

Athlete and Player development is a long game – and the Season between Seasons may be the most important Season of all – when you are Creating more Coachable Players.

If you are a coach or parent fighting for healthier, more durable, and more coachable players, this episode is non-negotiable.

Listen Now

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio! Don’t forget to rate and review the show!

Follow @JeffKrushell for weekly updates, show notes, and behind-the-scenes insight from Krush’s CREATING COACHABLE PLAYERS PROGRAM.

E-Mail Jeff with your questions and comments for the show and don’t forget to visit KrushPerformance.com for live streaming, blogs, links, and so much more

The post The Season Between Seasons: Why Smart Transitions Create Better Performance appeared first on Radio Influence.

The game keeps getting faster.

Athletes are Stronger.

Players are Better.

But, are athletes actually better—or did we get better at building them?

In this episode, we unpack the belief breaks and system upgrades that reset what’s possible.

From Bannister’s 3:59.4 to the sub‑2 marathon era, from periodization and recovery science to carbon plates and engineered tracks, records fall when preparation outpaces talent.

We hit the highs (Bolt, Serena, Gretzky, Tiger, Biles), the dark lessons from the doping era, and why today’s injury crisis proves the system—not the human—is the constraint.

Same human. Different systems.

Not evolution—optimization.

“Records don’t fall because athletes get better…

They fall because we change how we develop them.”

If you care about building better players by building better athletes, listen in now.

Join us as we work to raise the levels of human performance.

Understanding the process of development is a key component of Creating More Coachable Players.

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio! Don’t forget to rate and review the show!

Follow @JeffKrushell for weekly updates, show notes, and behind-the-scenes insight from Krush’s CREATING COACHABLE PLAYERS PROGRAM.

E-Mail Jeff with your questions and comments for the show and don’t forget to visit KrushPerformance.com for live streaming, blogs, links, and so much more

The post Breaking Limits: The Moments That Changed Sport Forever appeared first on Radio Influence.