Going on year 7 with the Houston Astros, Zach Reding has seen it all (...besides AA...) working his way up from literally an internship to the Major Leagues as a Strength and Conditioning Coach. Tune in to hear all the crazy stories and stops along the way.

2:32 Winning the 2022 World Series, as the AAA strength coach getting to travel and work with the taxi squad players throughout the playoffs

6:29 Thoughts on growing deep with 1 organization over 7 years vs growing wide with multiple organizations

16:31 The key to good cross-department communication

23:30 Comparing/contrasting the training and lifestyle differences between the minor and major leagues, both for players and staff

27:52 Zach's "welcome to the Show" moment, Opening Day

29:53 Something Zach thinks the players wish fans knew about what it's actually like being an MLB player

33:15 Traits that players have get them to and/or keep them in the MLB

35:48 Tech Zach couldn't live without and tech that's (humbly) probably not worth the squeeze

37:53 Zach's top force plate metrics

Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xw3UbaRpSD0

Zach on Instagram: @ZachReding

A thank you to this show's sponsors:

Samson Equipment | 1080 Motion | FYTT | Isophit

Using technology is not a philosophy, but technology can help you develop your own philosophy and become the best coach you can be. And there's a process and mindset that comes with doing so. Tune in for real-life stories and examples of how you can use technology to accelerate the development your personal coaching philosophy.

2:22 2 ways to think about what a philosophy is and the definition of a philosophy

5:05 How technology helps confirm, deny, or modify hunches you have as a coach

9:44 The scientific mindset and step-by-step process

12:51 My journey of using the 1080 Sprint to develop part of my speed training philosophy

20:50 Example: philosophy, principles, and specifics of individualized strength training

24:06 Example: philosophy, principles, and specifics of individualized speed training

27:27 Closing thoughts and action items for "hunches, anecdata, apply the truth"

Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YOkqgjpwxnw

A thank you to this show's sponsors:

FYTT | Samson Equipment | Isophit

Finally, the world knows why Boo Schexnayder is called Boo... From coaching track and field, to strength and conditioning, to variation vs specificity, and return to play, Boo has the stories to teach some powerful lessons from his +40 years in the field.

4:14 Coolest story: being perfectly content coaching high school football, rejecting multiple college football offers, then a bad principal inspired him to leave and accept a college track coaching offer and the rest is history

9:14 Biggest lessons from being mentored by Dan Pfaff and shadowing him at LSU

18:32 How Boo got into return to play and reflecting on "the level of intensity you achieve is the level of performance you can expect"

40:33 Variation vs specificity, learning motor control from Dr. Richard McGill, and reflecting on "variation increases transfer but decreases performance" and "the struggle to attain mastery is what makes improvement"

55:06 What about current training technology has both exceeded and disappointed his expectations

Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ufXrcmqxMAI

Where to find Boo: @BooSchex (Twitter), https://www.sacspeed.com/wp/ , https://www.ascenttrackclinics.com/

A thank you to this show's sponsors:

FYTT | Samson Equipment | 1080 Motion | Isophit

From catching passes from Peyton Manning to changing how US Ski & Snowboard trains athletes to building an elite athlete management system in FYTT, Ernie Rimer has some crazy stories. Tune in to hear about how the +20 years are all connected in leading him from one opportunity to the next and the biggest things he learned along the way.

2:59 Coolest/craziest story: a variety from the Indianapolis Colts, Northern Arizona, and the "Hodge Podge Kids" from US Ski & Snowboard

23:20 Deciding to "rock the boat" and train all athletes at the A, B, C, and D levels instead of only the top athletes

33:04 Utah Football playing Michigan and remoting advising the coach's on how to manage a weather delay

39:25 The journey of how FYTT came to be

Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XsrreOvyqHY

Ernie on Instagram and Twitter: @ErnieRimer

A thank you to this show's sponsors:

FYTT | 1080 Motion | Samson Equipment | Isophit

My conversation with Denton is the perfect example of how everything in performance is more similar than dissimilar, meaning we can learn from the connections regardless of what it is. As the Pitching Coach at Lindenwood University, an 8-year baseball business owner, and time spent with the Houston Astros, Denton has some unique insights bridging the gap between all pieces of high performance.

2:35 Coolest/craziest story: World Series games working for the Houston Astros and working with Jeremy Peña

5:31 Explaining his role as a "Performance Coach" in the MiLB with the Houston Astros

15:18 How his well-rounded background/experience helps him now in a domain-specific position as a Pitching Coach

22:05 Story of turning Maryville around from an under .500 program to making a NCAA Regional in 3 years

31:24 How do you develop pitchers?

45:25 Being in the "business of finding outliers"

Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Wre0q64NItM

Denton on social: @d_cole32 (IG) and @EBA_MADE (Twitter)

A thank you to this show's sponsors:

FYTT | 1080 Motion | Samson Equipment | Isophit

Connor Schoepp returns to the podcast for round two, diving into the stories and lessons of specializing in return to play with athletes. With experience primarily as a performance coach, he brings everything full circle to help get your athletes back better than ever.

2:08 Journey to opening his own business "Rebuild Performance and Rehab"

4:38 Connor's non-negotiables and philosophies on return to play

10:56 Case study #1: learning to ask questions, no matter how simple

20:27 Case study #2: the value of the neural component and the brain in return to play

32:51 Case study #3: how data, in this case force plates, doesn't tell the full story

Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VR15tt_Tvms

Connor's website: https://www.rebuildperformancerehab.com/

Instagram and Twitter: @Rebuildpr_ @Rebuild_p_r

A thank you to this show's sponsors:

FYTT | 1080 Motion | Samson Equipment | Isophit

Mike Young, Director of Performance & Sports Science at Athletic Lab, has coached and spoken all over the world for 20+ years in all facets of sports performance. From track and field events, to professional athletes/organizations, and even WWE Superstars, Mike takes us behind the scenes to the stories and lessons that have led him to today.

8:11 Coolest story: becoming the landlord of a coach who rudely rejected him 5 years prior

14:42 Mike's journey to open his own business completely on his own

20:25 3 staples in all of Mike's programs

33:28 One thing that has exceeded and disappointed his expectations in training

44:11 One thing that has exceeded and disappointed his expectations in sport science

50:14 Mike's top force plate counter-movement jump metrics

53:31 Biggest thing he learned from coaching with Boo Schexnayder and how that opportunity came to be

1:01:23 From his experience as a track events coach and track S&C coach, what the team sport world can learn about speed

1:08:23 The value of coach education and his process in making his Coaching Academy

Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BhsAfdNlooY

Mike on social media (Instagram):

Mike's links: Athletic Lab | Coaching Academy | LTAD Network | YouTube

A thank you to this show's sponsors:

FYTT | 1080 Motion | Samson Equipment | Isophit

Tessa hops back on the podcast for her second appearance (previous #144) to dive into basketball-specific training topics, her experience at all levels of sports performance, and advice for coaches on increasing the longevity of their career.

1:51 Craziest story update since her first episode, sneak peek: it has to do with another private jet

7:26 A few training staples in Tessa's basketball-specific sports performance training program

12:39 Comparing football to women's basketball, thoughts on training differences for strength for male vs female athlete

22:15 Things the basketball world does well we can learn from and something it can improve on

29:18 A few things that surprisingly have stayed in her programs over time and a few things that surprisingly left quick

37:13 Comparing experiences at the mid-major, Power 4, and professional levels, what each level does good and bad

45:00 Advice to any coach looking to build more of a life outside the weight room

Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Et65nJlM7xc

Coach Tessa on Instagram: @CoachTessaGrossman

A thank you to this show's sponsors:

FYTT | 1080 Motion | Samson Equipment | Isophit

What a crazy 5 years it's been and I'm here to share some of my biggest lightbulbs along the way. Some that seem obvious and some that slowly came to me over time, these are things I could've only learned from coaching day-in and day-out. From training to being a professional and everything in between, tune in for these real-life stories and lessons to help you become the best you can be.

0:21 Recap of 4 lessons from 4 years and 3 lessons from 2023

3:00 #1 The best KPI for progress, something I never had as a college athlete

6:51 #2 The secret sauce, what would you say in an interview?

12:21 #3 How to network like friends, with real-life examples

14:33 #4 It really is about expectations

19:01 #5 Coaches can get out of touch, and how it manifests in your coaching

21:57 Connecting the dots with more examples

23:59 5 action items for you to get better starting today

Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MmbcnhULSxc

A thank you to this show's sponsors:

FYTT | Samson Equipment | Isophit

John Grace has been in professional soccer for the last 9+ year and in the performance world even longer, seeing some crazy things like JOHN CENA. Tune in to learn more about John's takes on training high-level soccer players, how this can apply to you, and some of his coolest stories along the way.

4:13 Biggest realization of soccer-specific performance training: keep the in-season training as general as possible

18:31 Learning from the extensive (starting at age 12) pro soccer academy system, the value of some early specialization, and building relationships with the sport coach

30:32 One thing the soccer world can do better: actually addressing sprint mechanics, at least a little

37:31 Fork in the road story: stumbling into an internship with Mike Young at Athletic Lab and doing a totally *legal* internship in Vancouver with Mike

47:06 Coolest/craziest story: John Cena training at Athletic Lab and watching him crush facility records

Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EXbgVl_ZC3c

John on Twitter: @john_r_grace

A thank you to this show's sponsors:

FYTT | 1080 Motion | Samson Equipment | Isophit