Pacey Performance Podcast

This week on the Pacey Performance Podcast, Rob is speaking to Movement Skill Acquisition Coach at Emergence, Shawn Myszka. Shawn currently serves as a personal performance advisor and movement coach for more than a dozen NFL players.

Coaching agility is much more than setting up cones and letting the athletes run routes around them. Agility is much more than just change of direction ability. But with so much complexity to improve the physical quality of "agility", how can we coach it effectively to ensure transfer to the field? In this episode, Shawn details his approach which dives into the world of ecological dynamics and a constraints led approach. He explains how his approach differs to a "traditional" approach of pre-planned movements and drilling them time after time. Shawn presents an example of a closed drill which aims to improve cutting and develops it into a much more open drill so the athlete has to react to a changing environment, much like they would have to do on game day.

This is an excellent episode for anyone that wants to ensure their time spent on the field developing "agility" is actually transferring to the field.

Talking points -

• Typical NFL drills to improve agility and how they can be improved

• Traditional approach versus an ecological approach to drill design

• How to integrate a constraints led approach into agility training

• Closed drills vs open drills

• Problems with coaching to a fixed movement profile

Ryan featured on episode #395 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• What gym based assessments he uses to guide speed training

Check out the full episode with Ryan here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/helping-athletes-get-fast-with-speed-profiling-is-it-a-technical-or-physical-adjustment-that-is-needed/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

This week on the Pacey Performance Podcast, Rob is speaking to Shane Lehane, Athletic Performance Coach at the Sydney Swans in the AFL. Shane has lots of experience in rugby union with Leicester Tigers and Melbourne Rebels and it is these two contrasting experiences that we chat about today.

Shane describes the programme at Leicester working under Alex Martin where the strength and power programme was high up on the priority list due to the demands of how the team played. That is in contrast to his time at Melbourne where the style of play was completely different, leading to the strength and power programme falling down the priority list when the weekly schedule was being developed.

He discusses how his philosphy evolved and how his time at Leicester, where they focused on lifting with exercise that had a low a technical bias so to maximise raw strength and power, has shaped his thoughts moving forwards.

Key talking points -

• Working at Leicester Tigers where strength and power was a priority

Luke featured on episode #291 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• What are common sleep problems athletes have?

Check out the full episode with Luke here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-291-luke-gupta/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is Seth O’Neill. He’s an Associate Professor in Physiotherapy at the University of Leicester. He has a PhD on tendinopathy and in this episode its all about the tendons, how we train them, how we reduce the chances of injury and how we rehabilitate them.

Seth tells us about the role of the tendon function and how it can adapt to dynamic movements. This includes the importance of tendon structure – and why this subject has been dividing opinion. Seth moves onto what causes changes to tendon structure, including ageing and how this can be mitigated for. There’s also some insight into muscle stiffness versus tendon stiffness, and how both affect performance.

Seth also discusses isometric training, including what does and doesn’t work for him in order to get the best performance benefits. He also talks about how isometrics can be the gateway to rehabilitation and how pain comes into the equation. He goes into specifics too, about patellar tendons, the Achilles tendon, and on to calf training and monitoring. This includes why calf injuries are now more common, and why hamstring injuries have plateaued in recent times. Finally, Seth tells us how to gain performance benefits through calf training. For all this insight and much more, hit the play button now.

This week’s topics:

• The main question sports clubs ask Seth regarding physiotherapy

Leigh featured on episode #355 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• Which or Frans' methods can be integrated into a team sport environment

Check out the full episode with Leigh here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/changing-the-way-we-think-about-training-speed-and-agility-and-implementing-the-methods-of-frans-bosch/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is San Antonio Spurs’ Sports Science Coordinator and Performance Coach Ryan Curtis.

He's here to talk to Rob about the link between sports science and coaching, including how he keeps a connection with athletes and what he believes are the minimum data skills required to be an effective strength and conditioning coach. He follows this up with his thoughts on hot topic in S&C – injury predicting technology.

Ryan tells us what his day-to-day approach is when testing and assessing athletes, such as data collection, data capture methods, technology, equipment used, and data points introduced and then removed from his setup. He finishes off by telling us how someone joining an organisation can quickly add value and make their mark, drawing upon his own vast experience. For all this great content and much more from a leading NBA sports scientist, hit the play button now.

This week’s topics:

• Keeping connected with athletes as a sports science coordinator

• Data capture methods

Les featured on episode #314 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• What are the first steps when coaching an athlete who hasn't done speed training before?

Check out the full episode with Jack here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-314-les-spellman/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.

This week’s guest on the Pacey Performance Podcast is National High School Strength Coach of the Year, John Garrish. He’s the Director of Athletic Development & Performance and Head Track and Field Coach at North Broward Preparatory School in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Following the receipt of his prestigious award from the NHSSCA, John is here to talk about coaching younger athletes at high school level, how he first broke into the industry, and some of his own tricks and tips for coaching speed with larger groups. First up, he explains how life works as a high school S&C coach, and how strength and conditioning fits in with the school curriculum in Florida. He moves on to his own strengths and weaknesses as a coach, and discusses how he overcomes any perceived flaws in his technique.

On the same subject, John tells us how he coaches training sessions using minimal verbal communication, an area where many coaches may struggle to get instructions and messages across. This involves how to manage larger groups of athletes, as is the case for many high school coaches. John also gives us his expert insight into the drills and exercises he likes to use in larger groups, including the progressions and regressions to look out for when using banding and hopping. For all this and much more from an award-winning coach, hit the play button now.

This week’s topics:

• How John became Head Track and Field coach at North Broward

Jack featured on episode #243 of the Pacey Performance Podcast. This #bitesize episode takes a great clip from that episode where he discussed -

• What is the traditional way to rehabilitate hamstring injuries?

Check out the full episode with Jack here - https://www.sportsmith.co/listen/pacey-performance-podcast-243-jack-hickey/

This episode is supported by RockDaisy, the only FREE AMS on the market. AMS Lite features reporting capabilities, questionnaires and forms, alerts and communication, data sharing, data visualisation and calendar views.