Effortless Athlete

Episode 8 features the host of Combo's Court podcast, more commonly known as Combo, Andrew Salop. Combo shares stories from his professional career in Israel and Demark. He talks about dealing with adversity and the cultural shock of living in a foreign country. On the training front, Combo shares advice on always looking for new information to improve, doing things differently than others and finding your “edge.” We discuss the importance of defining goals for your players and helping them become self-sufficient in training. Combo shares his five keys to reaching your hoop dreams and advice for balancing rigidity with play. And finally we talk about today's NBA, how the game has changed and where it's going, and some of Combo's predictions for the playoffs and future MVP races. For more from Combo, you can follow him on Instagram @onetwocombo or subscribe to his podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/combos-court/id1323624192

Episode 7 features Director of Training at Varsity House Gym and partner in Business of Strength, Adam Menner. Adam has worked with thousands of athletes over the years, from gen-pop and novices to ESPN Top 100s and world-class professionals. On today's episode, we talk about what it means to take a truly global approach when assessing athletes and managing their stress, Adam's ideal 2:1 ratio for mitigating injury and maximizing performance, and how to create a culture that your athletes will succeed in. This is a great episode for any trainers and coaches, as Adam shares some of the principles on which he's really grown his business. He breaks down his testing methods and the 13-week block cycle he uses at Varsity House, and shares advice for helping athletes transfer their training to the court or field. We briefly touch on his Business of Strength consulting company, but if you want more information on that go to https://businessofstrength.com/ You can also find Adam on Instagram @adammenner

Episode 6 features special guest Jake Tuura. Jake is former collegiate strength coach and now has his own online programs available at his website, www.jackedathlete.com. Jake talks about his journey as an athlete growing up in Wisconsin, his first collegiate job working under Cal Dietz and some of the struggles and frustrations he's faced working for college programs. We talk about our continuous efforts to progress the strength and performance world and the importance of admitting how little we really know. We also discuss the cultural gaps between different sports, why some athletes are more reluctant to commit to the weight room than others, and how we as coaches can better serve the athletes by understanding them. Jake touches on the basic principles of his hypertrophy clusters, vertical jump and jumpers' knee protocols. If you want more information on those programs just click the link we've included below. You can find Jake on instagram @jaketuura and all the information you need for his programs at https://jackedathlete.com/

Episode 5 features Columbia University doctor of physical therapy student, master of Taekwon-Do, and Functional Range System's assistant instructor, James Chung. On this episode, James shares his ultimate vision of helping one billion people solve complex movement problems, the importance in understanding the person in front of you and why we must accept that everyone learns to move differently. James talks about the current shift he sees happening in the world of physical therapy and how he plans to contribute. We discuss how we as coaches need to teach athletes to focus on their movement and understand their own bodies. Finally, James shares some of the principles behind the FRS and the importance of preparing our joints and tissue for the demands of sport and everyday life.

Episode 4 features strength and movement expert Eric D'Agati. Eric has over 20 years of experience in the industry as a coach, trainer and consultant. He has worked with Olympians, World Series Champions, Pro-Bowl Athletes and several NFL teams, including a 9-year stint with the New York Giants. Eric also serves on the advisory boards for On Base University, The Baseball Health Network and the Raritan Valley College Exercise Science Department and has been a lead instructor with Functional Movement Systems since 2006. On today's episode, we discuss the three domains of personal health and development, working with professional athletes, and the ultimate goal of finding efficiency in movement. Eric shares some of his best stories from his coaching experience, drills he used to help guide his trainers, and explains the importance of developing awareness and behavioral changes within athletes.

Episode 3 features shooting author, Mike Dunn. Mike has grown an Instagram following of over 200 thousand in the past few years as one of the top shooting coaches in the basketball community. On top of training players down in South Jersey, he now has his own online “Keep Shooting” subscription program through which he coaches players all over the world. Mike shares some of his principles of what it takes to become an elite shooter. He takes the same concepts of understanding human movement, levers, and sequencing – things that we often discuss on the performance side of training – and applies them to his shooting methods. We talk about understanding and adapting to the players you work with, the powers of visualizing and acting upon your goals, and some of Mike's top book recommendations for anyone who wants to succeed.

Episode 2 features owner and operator of Pace Fitness Academy, Justin Ochoa. Justin started Pace in 2017 and has since grown it into an elite facility where athletes across multiple sports develop strength, speed and skill. In this episode, Justin explains why he considers training a "relationship, service-based industry," the importance of building lasting relationships with your athletes, and the distinction between IQ and EQ. We discuss generational impacts, Justin's transition from trainer to gym owner, what basketball players really need, and the beauty of keeping it simple.

Episode 1 features world-class sprint coach and innovator, Adarian Barr. Adarian shares his expert opinions on what athleticism really means, why understanding speed is the key to athletic performance, and the things coaches should really focus on when developing young athletes. We discuss the impact of running on curved angles, foot strength and the transition from Class 1 to Class 2 levers. Finally, Adarian explains why athletes need to understand and trust their teammates and the issue in relying too heavily on trainers and coaches.