Episode 118:  Lifestyle Performance with Portlands Bryant Ferate.  Bryant is the Assistant Director of Sports Performance at the University of Portland and works with their women’s basketball program.  We’ve had some awesome battles over the last few years, going back & forth during the regular season and WCC tournament championships.  And so this podcast was a great excuse to reach out to him and build our friendship.

Bryant's mission is to cultivate curiosity through performance coaching, writing and podcasting.  Before joining the Portland Pilot’s staff, he had experience at Washington state, Kentucky, Iowa, UT Arlington and the Minnesota Twins. 

Outside of coaching, Bryant writes a weekly newsletter, the Ferate 5, where he explores and shares something he’s curious about in less than 5 minutes.  He also has a podcast that focuses on health, sport and lifestyle performance… which is what we’re going to dive into today.

I hadn’t heard the term lifestyle performance, but it makes total sense that our lifestyle habits drive our performance.  And so today, I got to pick Bryant’s brain on how he helps athletes improve the way they eat, sleep, study and have fun. 

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Episode 117: There is huge value in doing hard things.  A challenging task can make normal, everyday life seem easier.  If you paddle boarded for 8 hours straight in the ocean, it makes going to the gym for a 30-minute run seem like a walk in the park.  It also raises your pain threshold and gives you confidence that you can try new things.  So many of us focus on how we can do less and less, how we can make our life more convenient, to a point that when difficult times arise, we’re unsure if we can make it through. 

While I see tremendous value in doing hard things, my current passion is finding out how people continue to do the easy thing, every day.  It’s not that I’m against doing the hard thing, it’s just that I believe most people, including me, would benefit way more from consistently doing the easy thing, day in and day out.  Instead of spending a massive amount of energy on doing a 5k underwater with a 70-pound boulder, it would be more beneficial for our conditioning and health to commit to 5 minutes of cardio work every day.  Instead of planning and spending a massive amount of money on a 1 time extravagant get-away with our spouse, most of our relationships would benefit way more from committing to giving our partner a compliment and asking them a good question every day. 

Check out this episode if you want to learn the power of small, easy, daily commitments.

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Episode 116: Today’s guest needs no introduction.  Anyone listening to the Hoop commitment podcast knows who Jay Bilas is.  And I feel so lucky that I was able to pick his brain on what it means to be tough.  If you’re like me, you read his legendary ESPN article and immediately shared it with your players and coaches.  It was the first time that someone defined toughness in a way that inspired me.  

Toughness isn't about pounding your chest after a routine play or getting in an opponent’s face.  It isn't about being physically intimidating.  Jay defined toughness as setting good screens, running to a teammate when they need help up and talking on defense. I loved the article so much that I bought his book, and in preparation for this interview, I just read it again.  

It is full of amazing stories from when he played at Duke, when got drafted in the NBA, when coached alongside Coach K, and when got his law degree.  There’s very few people that are more qualified to write a book on toughness than Jay Bilas.  He lives it every day with the amount of preparation he does as an ESPN announcer and the humility he shows as he lifts up those around him.  If you want to learn what it means to be tough on & off the court, you’ll love this interview.

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Episode 115: And now to part 3 of the Dr. Dave Tiberio Trilogy! I’ve been excited for this interview because I’m learning how important training fascia is, but I’m not sure I’ve been optimizing it with my players.  As always, DT does an amazing job of taking the complicated and making it understandable. 

Click here if you want to watch the 22-part Fascia Series on Youtube 

Keep listening if you want to learn what fascia is, why it is important, and how to optimize it during your training.

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Episode 114: This is part 2 with Dr. David Tiberio and he spends the entire episode talking about proprioceptors… what they are, where they’re located, how they communicate with the body, and how we can tweak exercises to improve  performance on the court.  You’re going to love learning the science behind activating specific proprioceptors by training in different ranges, at different speeds, and in different environments. 

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Episode 113: Dr. David Tiberio is the dean of the Gray Institute’s 40-week mentorship program, which is known for training, treating and conditioning athletes in all 3 planes of motion.  Dr. Tiberio has published numerous articles in scholarly journals and is professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut.  In 2007, Dr. Tiberio  received the Kendall Award from the American Physical Therapy Association for "outstanding and enduring contributions to the practice of physical therapy." 

Dr. Tiberio was kind enough to come on the podcast to answer the seemingly simple question, how do you activate muscles?  As a strength coach, I’ve always been confused on how to effectively cue athletes without telling them to, "squeeze their glutes" or, "focus on their core."  And what started as a simple question not only turned into an hour long episode, but Dr. Tiberio was nice enough to come on the show again to record parts 2 and 3 and talk about proprioception and fascia.   

If you’re a trainer or coach that wants to effectively train athletes to perform better on the court, Dr. Tiberio is going to give you a combination of timeless wisdom and the latest in scientific findings on how to activate muscles. 

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Episode 112: Now I’ll admit that I’m a little biased, but I don’t remember ever seeing a college basketball player with better footwork than Drew Timme.  He is unguardable in a 1-on-1 scenario because of his creativity and endless moves.  

Last year Drew was named the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year and this year became Gonzaga’s All-Time Leading Scorer. Every ESPN announcer that has ever covered the Zags is in awe of his footwork and feel for the game.  

And so I decided to dedicate this entire episode to finding out how he does it.  I asked Timme about the set-up work he does before even receiving the entry pass, how he uses his eyes and hips to feel the defense, how he decides what move to use and what drills he did to become such a great finisher.  

If you want to learn more about Drew, follow him online at @drew_timme2

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Episode 111: This interview is about finding better ways of having your practice time transfer to game success.  As a strength coach, I’m always thinking about how the exercises we do in the weight room impact my player’s ability to move and handle contact on the court.  Just because someone can add more weight onto a barbell, doesn’t mean  they’ve become a better basketball player.  

And what today’s guest shares is that just because your ball handling or shooting has improved in a drill, it doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to do it during a game.    

Tyler Leclerc is a gym owner and player development coach located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Tyler uses the constraints-led approach and small-sided games to get results that transfer for players of all ages.

Today I got to pick his brain on why a games-based approach to training produces superior results and is more fun than doing traditional 1-on-0 drills.  If you’re looking for new training ideas that are based in motor learning science, you’ll love what Tyler has to share. 

You can find Tyler on social media @tjltraining

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Episode 110: Now this month’s podcast is a little unusual, since my guest is the host of another basketball performance podcast, and in this episode, he actually interviewed me.  

We hit it off and so I wanted to share our episode and encourage you to check him out online.  Justin Ochoa is the owner of PACE Fitness Academy located in Indianapolis, working with basketball players from youth to pros in the weight room and on the court. 

We connected through his Gem sessions podcast, which bridges the gap between trainers, coaches, athletes and families in the basketball community.  Today he was kind enough to interview me about the 3 levels on basketball nutrition, 3 levels of basketball training, and the 3 levels of basketball leadership. For anyone who enjoys a systems approach to training, I think you’ll enjoy the conversation!

You can find Justin on social media at @justinochoa317

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Episode 109: Tyler Lesher the Head Athletic Trainer for UCLA men’s basketball program.  He’s a certified orthopedic physician extender and certified strength & conditioning specialist.  Before joining UCLA’s staff, he worked in the NBA and G League. 

Tyler earned his doctorate in Health Science and exercise leadership, focusing on reducing systemic inflammation through nutrition & exercise.  With his extensive basketball & medical experience at the college and pro level, I thought he would be the perfect person to chat with about reducing knee pain & inflammation.   

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