Just Kickin' It Pod

Today's conversation is with Ian Barker, Director of Coach Education for the United Soccer Coaches Association, and Vince Ganzberg Education Content Coordinator for the United Soccer Coaches Association. We discuss everything Game Model/Playing Styles.  What is a Game Model/Player Style? The relevance at the grassroots level Is a Game Model important or is it just for a certain level of the game?  Constructing or deconstructing a Game Model and various other aspects of this concept.    

I spoke with Alan Hazlett, Strength & Conditioning, and a member of the Team GB Intensive Rehabilitation Unit. Alan wrote a provoking article about the application of subjective and objective knowledge, specifically in the world of human performance. As practitioners, evidence and experience must guide our decisions, not the blind application of empirical research. We discuss his article and many other aspects of human performance. You can locate the article here: https://sportperfsci.com/sports-science-medicine-are-we-losing-the-art-in-the-science/

I had a conversation with Dr. Mike Young the founder and owner of the premier sport science research & training facility Athletic Lab, located in North Carolina. Dr. Young is a world-renowned physical preparation coach working with various sports. He currently works with the North Carolina Courage, in the women's professional soccer league. In this episode, Dr. Young and I spoke about principles revolving around returning to soccer after a pandemic. Dr. Young was getting ready to leave for the women's Challenge Cup which was the first live sporting event returning to full play in the United States.  Topics of discussion in this episode circle around: Things coaches and players should consider that need maintained during a moratorium.  Handling the communication with athletes, virtually. Periodized workouts when returning. Lower extremity considerations that may be sensitive to injury if not addressed when returning. Also, Dr. Young speaks about how the Courage weekly microcycle that sparks so thought.    

In this conversation with Raymond Verheijen, we discuss how to consciously improve your coaching.  Raymond discusses why an objective framework to coaching is necessary.  How this objective framework can improve coaches' knowledge through theorizing and critically analyzing ones coaching application.  Raymond gives a practical example of the theorizing process with his interviews with Louis van Gaal.  Finally, his recommendations to coaches on how not fall victim to the virtual tsunami which is plaguing the internet.

In today's conversation with Dr. John Cone, we discuss the science behind the methods. Topics such as: Signal vs Noise Objective and Subjective criteria Return to Play considerations using science to guide decision making. Physical Preparation Isolation and Game Experience the differences, and prescribing when you have to use them.   

Aaron Danks is the Head of Specialist Coaching for the English FA. Previously, Aaron was the Lead Specialist coach for "In-Possession" characteristics of the England Youth National Team's. He now overseas the Lead Specialist Coaches for in-possession, out-of-possession, transition, and set pieces.  

Franco Impellizzerri is an Italian Sports Science researcher that works at UTS in Australia. Franco has challenged the work done by Tim Gabbett and the so-called "Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio". He is also THE researcher that validated the use of RPE (Ratings of Perceived Exertion) for use in soccer players. We discuss the current trend of sports coaches and teams adopting data metrics for the sake of keeping up with the jones's in lieu of critical thinking. Does the Emperor have no clothes?

Nate Lie has been the head Women's Soccer Coach at Xavier University since 2017. He inherited a team that had failed to make a post-season appearance for the previous 3 seasons. In just 3 short years, Nate turned them into Champions of the uber-competitive BIG EAST Conference and led them to the NCAA Tournament for the 1st time ever. He tells us the story.

Alex Hutchinson is the author of Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. In this episode, we discuss Alex's book and the Philosophy, Science, and Art of endurance. What makes someone gas out in a UFC Fight? Why do teams look tired when trailing 2-0? Is it simply physiology, like VO2 Max? Is it psychology - mind over matter? We discuss these ideas in the context of soccer and possible implications for training design and match performance.

Robbie Church has been the head coach at Duke University for the Women's Soccer team since 2001. He has led Duke to 3 NCAA College Cup Appearances and was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2017. All together, he has over 32 years of coaching experience.

Matt Price is the Head Strength and Conditioning coach for the LA Kings of the NHL.

Dr. Steven Lockley, PhD is a professor at Harvard Medical School working in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders. He has worked with NASA, Formula 1, and various branches of the armed forces. His research interest include applied aspects of circadian biology to performance.

Dr. Andy Galpin is a Professor at Cal State Fullerton working at the Center for Sports Performance Lab/ Andy has worked with athletes and teams in a variety of sports and has a PhD in bioenergetics He has world class knowledge in muscle physiology, nutrition, and all aspects of the human body and sport performance.

Damian Roden is the High Performance Manager for the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer (MLS). Damian will be hosting and presenting the 2019 Seattle Sounders Sports Science Weekend June 20th - June 22nd, 2019 at The NINETY in Seattle, Washington. The event brings together some of the best minds in every area of sports science including sleep, nutrition, monitoring, strength training, conditioning, injury prevention, psychology, physiology, tactics, and more. If you are interested in registering and attending this years iteration of the conference, you can sign up at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2019-seattle-sounders-fc-sports-science-seminar-roots-of-performance-registration-54182146258

Ben works for the English FA as a Coach Development Manager. He has served in a variety of coaching roles and positions throughout his career and is considered one of the top coach educators in football. You can follow him on Twitter @benbarts

John Kiely is a Senior Lecturer in Elite Performance at the University of Central Lancashire. He has served in various roles throughout his life in sport including Strength & Conditioning coach to Olympic medalists & World champions as well as High Performance stats working in Rugby & Soccer World Cups. He most recently served in a performance role for Egypt in the 2018 World Cup. You can follow him on Twitter @simplysportssci

Mark O' Sullivan works in Coach Education and Player Development at AIK in Stockholm, Sweden. He is currently getting his PhD working at the crossroads of theory and practice vis a vis skill acquisition, constraints led approach, non-linear pedagogy, and culture. You can find Mark's very popular blog at -https://footblogball.wordpress.com/ You can also follow Mark on Twitter @markstkhlm

Ben Franks is a Lecturer and Sport Scientist at UCFB in London, United Kingdom. He is also the 1st team Head Coach at Sheppey United in the SCEFL Premier Division, a lower league semi-professional level in England. For links to the shownotes, visit justkickinitpod.com and click on Shownotes.

Today we are joined by repeat guest Adin Osmanbasic. Currently a Msc Student at Ohio University studying Soccer Coaching and a youth coach working at Georgia United, Adin talks with us about playing principles, player freedom and restriction.

Today, we finish our 3 part series on Michel Foucault and Sociology as applied to sport coaching. Joining us is Professor of Kinesiology and Sociology at the University of Alberta, Dr. Jim Denison.

Today we go deeper into the work of Michel Foucault and his work "Discipline and Punish." We are aided by the expertise of Professor of Sociology Dr. Joseph Mills, a contemporary of Dr. Brian Gearity (Season 03 Episode 08).

We speak with Dr. Brian Gearity about the work of Michel Foucault and how his research on discipline and punishment can help us think differently about sports coaching.

Mario Despotović is the Head Coach of Hajduk Split U19 Academy in Split, Croatia. In today's episode, we discuss his application of playing style principles and how he utilizes asymmetries in his team's structure to create chances while building up.

James Smith and Jamie Hamilton take on Objectivity, Subjectivity, and discuss their boundaries, relationship, and proposed synthesis.

James Smith and Jamie Hamilton take on Objectivity, Subjectivity, and discuss their boundaries, relationship, and proposed synthesis.

Chris Voss is a former FBI Negotiator and current consultant at Black Swan Group working with some of the largest corporations and influential CEO's, coaches, and leaders around the world. Chris shares insights gleaned throughout an impressive career as an FBI Negotiator. If you don't think coaching is a negotiation, then heed Chris's advice - "The most dangerous negotiation is the one you don't know you're in."

This is a re-upload from a 2016 podcast with Raymond Verheijen. We are posting this as an episode in our new season as it will increase the learning effect of the 1st podcast of Season 03, in which Raymond discusses Pre-Season training and football fitness.

This is a re-upload from a 2016 podcast with Raymond Verheijen. We are posting this as an episode in our new season as it will increase the learning effect of the 1st podcast of Season 03, in which Raymond discusses Pre-Season training and football fitness.

Dutch Football Coach Educator and Founder of the World Football Academy joins us to discuss Pre-Season training in general, and football fitness, in particular.

Kapil Gupta is the founder of Siddha Performance. In this episode, Kapil describes every problem as a thinking problem and how a player’s thinking is the biggest impediment to their performance.

Kapil Gupta is the founder of Siddha Performance. In this episode, we discuss the Coach – Athlete relationship, challenge the concept of ‘practice’, and why the great coaches will live a life of torment.

An Introduction into the 2nd season of the Just Kickin' It Podcast.

Dan Abrahams is a Sports Psychologist that has worked with England Rugby and various professional athletes. James Smith is the founder of Global Sports Concepts. In this episode, James and Dan debate the foundations of knowledge, how we know something is true, and how to best to approach the psychological preparation of athletes.

Peter is a football rehab coach working in Norway. In this episode, Peter explains a theoretical approach to rehab that takes the game as the starting point. We also discuss how the theory would be applied from the moment of injury through to the first game back and beyond.

John Kiely is a sport researcher at a University in the UK. In this episode, John discusses the falsity of the foundations of Periodization and what that means for current sport methodology and periodization approaches to sports training.

Jamie is a football coach working in Scotland. In this episode, Jamie and I debate the concept of 'true'. What makes something true? How do we know that something is true? What does it mean for something to be 'true enough'? And, what does all this mean for coaching theory and practice.

James is the founder of Global Sport Concepts. In this episode, we try and unravel the coaches and athletes that are very good at what they do, but lack the ability to explain how it is that they do what they do. What is the difference between intuitive knowledge and explanatory knowledge? Which is a better indicator of coaching competence?

Gerd Gigerenzer is a world-renowned Psychologist that works as the Director for Human Cognition at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin. In this episode, we discuss how we can help athletes make the best decisions possible by developing their intuition.

Dick Carpenter is the Director of Strategic Research at the Institute for Justice. Dick works to defend clients in cases where Government mandated Occupational Licenses restrict free-flow of workers and alienate talented people inside of industries. In this episode, we discuss the economics behind the Occupational Licenses and draw parallels to the current Coaching License structures across the world, and specifically in the US.

Lieven is a Goalkeeper Coach working in Saudi Arabia. In this episode, Lieven discusses a theoretical approach to goalkeeper training and how isolating your goalkeeper from the rest of the team may be counter-productive.

An introduction to the New Season of the Just Kickin' It Podcast.

James Smith is the founder of Global Sports Concepts and author of the Governing Dynamics of Coaching. In this episode, we discuss objectivity and subjectivity, the fallacy of experiential authority, and why the level someone works at means nothing in respect to their task-specific knowledge.

Jovan Dabic is the assistant coach of Guangzhou R&F in the Hong Kong Premier League. In this episode, we discuss the theory of football action language. Unfortunately, general non-contextual words are used far too often by coaches in communication with their players. Things like, "Be sharper" or "Lacking confidence" are said by nearly every coach, but what is the consequence of using non-descriptive language in how it is interpreted by the brains of our players? We then offer an alternative form of communicating called action language.

Jovan Dabic is the assistant coach of Guangzhou R&F in the Hong Kong Premier League. In this episode, we discuss the concept of football braining and create a theoretical reference that coaches can use to guide how they coach the brain of their players. This episode puts psychology into football language.

Marcus Walfridson is currently the Head Coach of Linköpings FC in the Swedish Damallsvenskan. He is also a coach educator and blogger that contributes theoretical articles that discuss leadership and coaching methods. In this episode, we discuss leadership in Football from a theoretical standpoint before discussing ways to apply the theory.

Mark Bennett is a former British Commando Instructor that has transformed his nearly 20 years of practice into leadership principles based on the best theory and practice available. Mark currently works as a consultant with various professional sport organizations and school systems to help transform the leadership capabilities of every coach and teacher that he comes in contact with. Put simply, Mark makes people better leaders. In this episode, we discuss the principles and tools that create the bedrock of successful leadership.

Fergus Connolly is the Director of Football at the University of Michigan. Fergus is the only performance coach to work across every major league in every major sport including the English Premier League, Rugby League, National Football League, NCAA Football, Australian Rules Football, and more. Fergus breaks down Complexity Science and what it means for coaches of all sports. Your sport is not as different as you think. Let Fergus explain why.

Perttu Kytohonka is a professional Floorball coach in Finland. Perttu has applied Positional Play and Tactical Periodization principles to his sport and his team. In this episode, we discuss how Perttu applies these concepts at the highest level of sport.

Mick McDermott is a well traveled football coach that has worked in the US College system, USL, the United Arab Emirates Pro League, and the International Level with the Iranian National Team. Over his 20 year career as an assistant coach, he has had the opportunity to work with a variety of managerial types. In this episode, Mick tells stories and provides insights about moments of great management, good management, and managerial mistakes.

Declan Edge, the Technical Director for Olé Football Academy in New Zealand, tells the story of his first youth team in Hamilton, New Zealand. Why is there a story there? That team of a fairly random collection of 11 year old's from a city the size of Green Bay, Wisconsin produced 6 pro players now playing in leagues around the world including the Eredivisie in Holland. How did that happen? Well, that's the story.

Alan Keane, the Head Coach of England U18 Basketball, discusses his application of Athlete-Centered Pedagogy in Elite Athlete environments. Alan provides listeners with the tools that he uses to improve athlete engagement, build culture, and teach decision making that actually transfers to the game.