The Team Behind the Team

In this month's episode we sit down with Macy Franklin who is currently the Associate Athletic Trainer for Women's Soccer at the University of Texas at Austin. With a diverse background and experience in treatment protocols and methodologies in sports medicine her approach to performance is unique. From return to play protocols and progressions to […]

This month we finish up our interview with Mark Henry, the World's Strongest Man, Olympian, Athlete, Wrestler, Showman, Humanitarian, Husband, and father to talk all things life, WWE days, as well as next steps for his career. From competing in the world games in Olympic Weightlifting, working out with the governor of Texas, to electrifying […]

This month we sit down with Mark Henry, the World's Strongest Man, Olympian, Athlete, Wrestler, Showman, Humanitarian, Husband, and father to talk all things life, performance, and what it takes to be the best. From competing in the world games in Olympic Weightlifting, working out with the governor of Texas, to electrifying crowds for WWE […]

This month we welcome special guest Deann Koehler to the show. She is no stranger to workingwith Championship caliber coaches, teams, and staff over her decorated career as an athletictrainer. Deann and Donnie cover a wide array of topics from career path advancement, bestpractices as a professional, recovery methods for injury prevention, how to manage […]

This month we step into the studio for a special episode with our 2024 Spring Internship Class. Avery Rodgers, Dawson Dinh, Justin Shelby, and Brenda Savariego just finished up their internship in the Texas Athletic Performance department and they knocked it out of the park. You will not want to miss this session as they […]

Coach Stephanie Mock joined us this month to talk about her career and how she built a staff by advocating for new and current roles. Coach Mock talks about how young professionals need to be strategic about their career path. Advocating for yourself is very important when applying for a role, but once you have […]

Dr. Jon Daly joins us in the studio to discuss an incredibly important issue of self-advocacy in the Athletic Performance community. As professionals in athletic performance, how do we advocate or ourselves in a job where our value is always in question? Dr. Daly speaks to how crucial communication is to getting what you want. […]

As we continue to roll through the Spring Season, we brought in Coach Erica Suter from Tampa, Florida. Coach Suter joined us to discuss the challenges facing female athletes in the High-Performance environment. Some of the biggest issues today come from poor information distributed over social media. Two examples include poor nutrition advice and a […]

Joining us this month, all the way from Central Florida, is Coach Charles Stephenson. In this episode we discuss some of the biggest changes happening in Collegiate Athletics and how they affect our communication with our athletes. Key concerns such as Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal are two of the biggest entities transforming the college landscape. These changes present a challenge to holding athletes accountable. Coach Stephenson dives into how he holds his athletes accountable and how training today's collegiate athlete is becoming more similar to a professional performance model. Lastly, we discuss a great event that Charles has been putting on since 2008, the High Performance Basketball Symposium. Tune in for this month's episode as we continue to kick off the year. Charles Stephenson is currently the Director of Basketball Performance at the University of Central Florida. Coach Stephenson has over 35 years of experience as a strength coach at the collegiate level. Stephenson is also the founder and director of High-Performance Basketball Symposium, an annual symposium for strength and conditioning coaches from college to high school and the NBA. Stephenson earned his master's degree in exercise physiology from UVA in 1989 and did his undergraduate work at the College of William & Mary, graduating with a bachelor's degree in physical education. If you would like to reach out to Charles Stephenson or find more information on the High Performance Basketball Symposium, visit the website highperformancebasketball.com.

How in the world can I turn one of my failures into a positive? Ashley Kuchar joins us in the studio to discuss how athletes can approach their game with confidence using resilience and self-compassion. We discussed how athletes deal with a lot of internal and external criticisms and ways they can block that out. Unfortunately, some of these criticisms come from us as coaches, and it's up to us to consider how we speak to our athletes. Additionally, Ashley talks about how a lot of internal criticisms can begin at a young age. There are many factors in our life that can negatively impact us before or after competition, and it's up to coaches to help athletes find the solutions. This month's episode is a great resource to kick off 2024 and help our athletes overcome failure with compassion instead of criticism. Dr. Ashley Kuchar is the founder of Fail Better Training. Ashley completed her PhD at The University of Texas at Austin, working alongside Dr. Kristin Neff. In 2019, Ashley was one of five graduate students to receive an NCAA research grant to aid in the development of her resilience program RESET (formerly "Fail Better"). In college, Ashley was a starting guard for the Fort Lewis College women's basketball team and at the conclusion of her athletic career, she was awarded the Dr. Troy Bledsoe Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. You can reach Ashley Kuchar on the website failbettertraining.com, Instagram @failbettertraining, and Ashley Kuchar, PhD on LinkedIn.

This week Coach Jesse Wright joins us before the holidays to discuss his work through his book “The Intent is to Grow”, his consulting company TruPro Systems and his extensive experience in strength and conditioning. We jump right in discussing communication within the workplace and the dangers of developing silos versus collaboration. We discuss how self-improvement begins with communication and how we need to spend time around people who are where we want to be. Lastly, we discuss managing our time learning to master the hard and soft skills of being a strength coach. Our final podcast of 2023 is a great one, tune in to finish the year strong! Jesse is the founder and president of TruPro Systems LLC, a consulting company that focuses on comprehensive solutions in three key areas of human performance: emerging technologies, athlete testing and assessment, and sports performance services. He also founded and developed the Balance the Bar initiative, providing continuing education resources, public speaking, workshops, and private coaching in interpersonal skill development for both teammates and organizational leaders. You can reach Jesse Wright on Instagram @jessekwright, balancethebar.com and Jesse K. Wright on LinkedIn.

This month's show features a little twist as Coach Maib and Coach Joe switch roles in the booth and we discuss a topic that is near and dear to Donnie's heart, Leadership. Throughout the episode we'll discuss our past leadership experiences and lessons learned from the past. We start with 14 leadership traits and discuss which two we find to be the most valuable. Throughout any coach's career, there are those moments where we hit valley floors and moments where we sit on mountain tops. Coach Maib gives us his experiences and advice from when he was in those positions. Finally, Donnie reveals a project he's been working on for some time and takes us through the process of completing his first book. Tune in for a sneak peek at the ingredients for the secret sauce in this month's episode. Donnie Maib has been the Director of Olympic Sports Athletic Performance since 2011. Coach Maib oversees all aspects of athletic performance efforts for all sports at the University of Texas with the exception of Football. Coach Maib has been with the University of Texas since 1998 working with football and various other Olympic sports – Women's Track & Field, Women's Golf, Men's Golf, Men's Tennis, Soccer, & Volleyball. He came to the University of Texas after four years at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he worked as an assistant with all varsity sports. You can reach Coach Maib on Instagram @donniemaib and Twitter @coachdonnie. Donnie's book, The Secret Sauce of Leadership, can be found on Amazon and will release on November 6th 2023

All the way from Dublin Ireland, JP joins coach Maib to discuss his book “The Culture System”. Right away, JP and Donnie discuss the differences between transformational and transactional leaders. Their effect on the culture of a team is crucial as JP breaks down the three most important traits in developing team culture. Building Relationships, Being the Example, and Creating Feedback Loops are critical to leading and developing culture. JP and Donnie go even further into enforcing culture in which JP shares two rules: No Blaming and No Shaming. Check out this episode to hear JP and Donnie share more valuable experiences in an excellent show on leadership in sports. J.P. Nerbun is a bestselling author, leadership coach, and the founder of TOC Culture Consulting, a leading global sports consulting business. Nebrun's expertise extends across various fields and has a proven track record of guiding leaders at prestigious institutions such as Stanford University, Harvard University, the University of Texas, the USGA, PwC, and Chick-fil-A. Nerbun has written two books, “Calling Up: Discovering Your Journey to Transformational Leadership” and “The Culture System”. His podcast, “Coaching Culture”, is among the top sports leadership podcasts globally. You can reach JP Nerbun on Twitter @JpNerbun and over email at jpnerbun@tocculture.com.

In this week's episode, Sam Contorno walked over to the Olympic side from football to discuss her career and thoughts on Sport Science. We discuss the Sport Science industry today and what are some of the tools that really matter. With all of the access she has to the latest testing technology, Sam also covers how she communicates an endless amount of data to coaches and athletes. Lastly, Sam discusses how lasers and a scale can probably accomplish 90% of what you need to do in Sport Science. Sometimes less is more, so we do not get consumed by our technology available to us. Sam provided us with great insight this week and a valuable episode for Sport Scientists and Strength coaches alike. Sam Contorno currently works at the University of Texas at Austin as the Associate Director of Applied Sports Science for Texas Football. Previously, she was the Coordinator of Sports Science at the University of Maryland. She also spent five years at Stanford Universityfrom 2017 to 2022. Sam graduated with a BS in Molecular Integrative Neuroscience and a minor in Health & Wellness Studies from Binghamton University in 2012, and a MS in Human Nutrition from University of Bridgeport in 2018. You can reach Sam Contorno on Instagram @samcontorno and Twitter @sam_contorno.

This week Eric McMahon hopped on Zoom with us to discuss his career and what the future holds for Strength and Conditioning. Moving forward, Coach McMahon presented a great question, are we sport coaches who also do strength and conditioning, or are we strength coaches who lean more towards a medical model? Possibly the most important topic we discussed is advocacy in sport. Coach McMahon states that you can't just be a member of the industry, you have to be an advocate. Communication and maintaining a level head in an alpha community are some of Eric McMahon's greatest strengths, and he covers those in depth in this month's episode.

Brittany Ducroz joined Coach Maib in the booth for an awesome conversation about understanding our self-worth in the strength coaching profession. The important questions that they present is: How much are you worth? What is your value? Brittany stresses being true to yourself and making the difficult decision to walk away from an opportunity that will not pay you what you're worth. She also emphasizes getting different viewpoints from other professions to help relate with Directors when negotiating your worth. This is a popular topic in strength and conditioning that both Brittany and Donnie hammer extremely valuable points in the show. Brittany Ducroz currently works as the Director at St. Edwards University here in Austin, TX as well as British Diving in London, UK. Before working for St. Edwards, she worked for the University of Houston in 2013. From 2012 to 2013, Brittany worked for Purdue University with Volleyball, Basketball, Swimming, Cross Country and Cheerleading. Brittany also worked at the University of Texas from 2011 to 2012 with Volleyball and Golf. You can reach Brittany over email: info@mtgatx.com

Sam Partida joins us in the booth to talk about some of the most critical topics within sports nutrition and athletic performance. Sam shares some of her strategies in myth busting diet fads and understanding where and why athletes found them. One of the most critical challenges today is eating disorders. How to identify which athletes are going through it and communicating with the athlete about their eating disorder are two examples of what Sam work through and discusses with us. Lastly, Sam shares some of her tactics in prescribing meals for different athletes in different situations. Samantha Partida joined the Texas Performance Nutrition staff in 2020. Prior to her time at Texas, she worked as a sports dietitian at North Carolina State University. Sam earned a Bachelor of Science in nutrition in 2013 at the University of Texas and worked as a clinical dietitian for people with disabilities after college before realizing her passion for sports nutrition. Sam is a registered and licensed dietitian in Texas and is a certified specialist in sports dietetics. You can reach Sam Partida on Twitter and Instagram @sampartidard.

Former Texas Volleyball star Molly McCage and Donnie hit the booth to discuss a variety of topics, but none more important than the impact of sports on her life. Molly and Donnie touch on how sports can help athletes find themselves as individuals and even find their voice as leaders. Additionally, the ongoing concern of mental health in sports continues to be at the forefront of concerns in athletic performance. Molly and Donnie discuss how a communal approach through former athletes, current teammates or professionals are some of the best people to lean on to support mental health. Tune in this month to listen to one of the all-time Longhorn greats. Molly McCage currently plays for Athletes Unlimited and is the manager of Player Care and Coordination. From 2021-2022, Molly was the Director of Volleyball Operations at Pepperdine University. Molly played for the Allianz MTV Stuttgart Pro Team in Germany as well as being a member of the USA National Team from 2017-2019. You can reach Molly on Instagram or Twitter: @mollymccage. “

From Ice Baths to Gatorade, this week's guest Christie Aschwanden joins us from her home in Colorado to discuss her book, GOOD TO GO. Christie covers multiple modalities we use today for recovery, but also debunks some of these methods as well. Is beer hindering or helping your recovery? Is Gatorade the best product for performance hydration? Are ice baths and cryotherapy really beneficial to recovery? In today's world of fitness, we follow lot of misleading protocols for recovery and things we think will enhance our athletic performance. Tune in and listen to Christie break down these methods and whether or not they are really helping you. Christie Aschwanden is the author of Good To Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery and co-host of Emerging Form, a podcast about the creative process. She's the former lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight and was previously a health columnist for The Washington Post. Christie was a National Magazine Award finalist in 2011. Other honors she's received include a Best Article Award (2005) and Outstanding Essay Award (2007) from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. A frequent speaker at writer's workshops and journalism conferences, Christie is the founder of the Creative Convergence freelance writing workshops. You can reach Christie Aschwanden at her website: christieaschwanden.com, on Instagram @cragcrest, and her podcast Emerging Form.

Whenever there's a group of people, there's a culture” -Martin Rooney. This month we were lucky to catch Coach Martin Rooney while he was in town for a presentation. Coach Rooney discussed how we as leaders can inspire our athletes, but need to inspire ourselves as well. He and Donnie explored going “into the roar” and how the analogy applies to training not only his Mixed Martial Artists, but athletes and business professionals alike. Lastly, he covers not only pursuing and accomplishing your dreams, but addressing what we should do once that dream has been accomplished. If you ever run into coach Rooney, maybe you'll be lucky enough to watch him tear a deck of cards with his bare hands, but for now, tune in to some of the most inspiring career advice we've had on the show. A former US bobsledder and two-time Guinness World Record holder, Coach Rooney is the creator of the Training for Warriors system and former COO of the Parisi Speed School national franchise. Martin has presented to Fortune 500 companies, Military Organizations, and consulted numerous professional NFL teams. Martin has trained athletes from the NFL, MLB, UFC, NBA, WNBA and multiple top Division I collegiate programs. Martin has written five best-selling books for Harper Collins and Wiley publishers which have sold over a combined 200,000 copies. You can reach Coach Rooney on Instagram @themartinrooney and on Facebook @Martin Rooney.

Arianna Luther left the warm Miami beach to join us in the chilly Austin weather for a great show just before Christmas break. In this episode we discuss the important task of building trust with your athletes and sport coaches. We discuss what it takes to earn buy-in from the teams you work with. Additionally, in a post COVID era, we examine Mental Health and how it's affected our athletes. Lastly, Arianna dives into her work on social media and some material her and her colleagues are releasing. Grab a notepad and enjoy! Arianna Luther came to the University of Miami as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach in October of 2020. She serves as the strength and conditioning coach for the women's soccer, swimming and diving, and rowing programs. Luther joined the Hurricanes after one year at the University of Nevada, where she worked with track and field and men's tennis. You can reach Arianna Luther on Twitter @Arianna_Luther and on Instagram @ariannaluther.

This week's special guest is local to Austin, Texas and is a legend in the field of strength training. Dr. Jan Todd, the Director of the Stark Center at The University of Texas and former powerlifter shares her story as a pioneer for women in the sport. Throughout the podcast, she dives into her extraordinary journey and experiences with some of the strongest humans the planet has ever seen. We also touch on her life in academia and the critical role she has played in breaking barriers and stigmas for women and weightlifting. Dr. Jan Todd is a Roy McLean Centennial Fellow in Sports History, and the Interim Chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Todd is also the executive editor of Iron Game History: The Journal of Physical Culture, that she and her husband Terry Todd founded in 1990. During her career, Sports Illustrated often described her as the “strongest woman in the world”. As a powerlifter, she set more than 60 national and world records (in five weight classes) and was included in the Guinness Book of Records for over a decade. Jan Todd was the first woman inducted into the International Powerlifting Hall of Fame and was in the first class of the USA-PL Women's Powerlifting Hall of Fame. You can reach Jan Todd at her email: j.todd@austin.utexas.edu Additionally, you can get ticket information for the Arnold Strongman Classic at: https://www.arnoldsports.com/sports-and-events/strongman/arnold-strongman-classic/

David Joyce is back for a bonus episode! This episode is a speaking engagement he did while here in Austin. Coach Joyce speaks about how WHAT we are doing in the future will not change, but HOW we do it will change. In what way do we bring the future forward? Additionally, he addresses 8 complex issues that should be considered moving forward in our careers. One example is the economy, and understanding the stability and allocation of funds from your respective athletic departments. This is an amazing episode and will force you to consider issues you wouldn't normally associate with athletic performance. Enjoy! David Joyce is the Founder of Synapsing, a global strategy and decision-making consultancy linking the boardroom to the front line in complex environments. He has extensive experience leading elite sports around the world, stretching from Premier League and European Football, to the Olympics, from international Rugby o the NFL. You can reach Coach Joyce on Twitter: @DavidGJoyce, Email: David.joyce@synapsing.com and Linkedin: David Joyce.

David Joyce joins us on a special visit all the way from Australia! Coach Joyce lays down a great deal of knowledge on improving integration amongst the separate positions in our field i.e. athletic trainers, strength coaches, etc. We discuss two of his books (titles in bio) and what his purpose was behind each one. The most critical piece in our conversation was addressing “in-groups” and “out-groups”. Lastly, we cover the importance of time management and learning when to say “NO”. Grab a note pad, this is an episode you'll want to take notes on! David Joyce is the Founder of Synapsing, a global strategy and decision-making consultancy linking the boardroom to the front line in complex environments. He has extensive experience leading elite sports around the world, stretching from Premier League and European Football, to the Olympics, from international Rugby to the NFL. You can reach Coach Joyce on Twitter: @DavidGJoyce, Email: David.joyce@synapsing.com and Linkedin: David Joyce.

Coach Scott Caulfield joined us over Zoom from The Green Mountain State to discuss his great career. Coach Caulfield has done it all from his service in the United States Navy to being the head coach at the NSCA headquarters. We talk about his unorthodox coaching philosophy and some of the research he conducted at the University of Denver on The Social Construction of Strength and Conditioning. (Also see the Dr. Gearity interview, Episode 34) Coach Caulfield also catches us up on the life of a strength coach in division 3 collegiate athletics. Lastly, we cover his time in the military and how that helped shape his career.

Coach Ryan Davis flew in from Maryland and took the time to discuss his career with Coach Donnie Maib and guest host Kylie Lahey. Coach Davis really explained the importance of family, and ways we as coaches can maintain a work/life balance with such a demanding position. Mistakes early in our careers is something we simply cannot avoid. Coach Davis talked about mistakes he made as a young coach and how that helped shape his career. Finally, Coach Davis dives into the process of working with Rogue Fitness to build a new weight room for Maryland Football. This is a great quick episode you'll definitely want to listen to.

Coach Jeff “Maddog” Madden joins us this week to share his stories and thoughts on a long and successful career in the field. For four decades, Coach Madden has done it all in strength and conditioning. Managing hard times, good times, and everything in-between, Coach Madden was able to push his athletes with great leadership skills. His leadership not only earned respect from his athletes, but from his peers as well. This episode is packed with stories that are too valuable to miss, and you don't have to be at IHOP at 2 a.m. to hear them! Coach Madden's resume more than checks all the boxes required to have achieved this lofty status. An All-City, All State and All-Star athlete in his day, he went on to train over 15,000 athletes, hundreds of whom went on to become professional athletes and Olympians, in a coaching career that's spanned nearly four decades. The football teams he was directly responsible for training, most notably The University of Texas, had a combined record of 244-70 and won Two National Championships. You can reach Coach “Maddog” Madden at his email: jmaddog59@gmail.com and his website at maddogmadden.com This episode was mixed and mastered by Morgan Honaker and Karoline Pfeil

All the way from Vancouver B.C., Coach Peter Twist joins us to discuss his long and successful career in sport performance. He talks about his experiences with the Vancouver Canucks and writing the book, Complete Conditioning for Ice Hockey before heading into the private sector. Coach Twist also walks us through the details of fascial line training and getting out of the weight room for running in the mountains. This episode is packed with positive and insightful tips that you do not want to miss! Peter Twist is from Peterborough Ontario, where he was drawn to becoming a Physical Education Teacher. Peter instead progressed to achieve his Masters in Coaching Science at the University of British Columbia. He graduated to work as a sport scientist conducting brain-body research and coached for 11 years in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks. Coach Twist has worked with over 700 professional athletes, published over 400 papers, authored 10 books and 19 DVD's on athletic development. Two major honors include the NSCA's 1998 Presidents Award and the Can-Fit-Pro 2003 Specialty Presenter of the Year Award. You can find Coach Twist on Instagram @coachpetertwist and on Facebook: Peter Twist This episode was mixed and mastered by Will Kurzner

Are we disciplined enough to win a Championship? Did we look perfectly in sync during our warm up? Did we follow our program to a tee, and execute it on time just like the strength coach told me to? Dr. Gearity aka Dr. G joins us from the University of Denver to discuss society in sport and how we view discipline as a major contributor to winning… or is it? Major companies and athletic programs have modeled themselves with military style leadership for a long time, but the outdated and often abused system may be holding us back. Check out this month's episode to hear why. Dr. Brian Gearity, is founding Director and Assistant Professor of the Master of Arts in Sport Coaching program at the University of Denver. Dr. Gearity has been a S&C coach for youth, high school, collegiate, and professional athletes, including stops at the University of Tennessee and Cleveland Guardians.  You can reach Dr. G online: @DrGearity on all social platforms.

This summer we tip off with Coach Molly Binetti. Molly joins us from South Carolina, fresh off winning the Women's Basketball National Championship. In this episode we discuss her coaching philosophy and the challenges women face in sport performance. Molly also shares how her programming strategies reflect her research, Mechanical Determinants of Faster Change of […]

The long wait is over! Zach Dechant joins us in the studio to share his thoughts on strength training and topics alike. Coach Dechant works primarily with baseball players both Collegiate and Professional. In this episode, Donnie and Zach go in depth on shoulder health for the overhead athlete. We also cover the nature of […]

Craig Moore joins us in the studio to talk about his career as a Dietician in the collegiate setting. Craig spent time with us explaining the importance of “Buy-In” with athletes and coaches. This helped him engage with athletes on a more personal level and in turn, allowed him to prescribe in-depth nutrition strategies. Lastly, […]

Kylie Lahey came down to the studio to record a fantastic episode on some of the mental obstacles that athletes and young adults alike face on a daily basis. Kylie comes from both a Psychology and Athletic background as both a Behavioral Health Professional and a former Swim Coach. Kylie helps us clear up one […]

Dan Fichter and Chris Korfist join us during their weekend visit to speak at the University of Texas Athletic Performance Clinic. Both Dan and Chris come from a background of traditional weight lifting while playing football at the Collegiate level. When it came to athletic performance, they both knew there had to be more than […]

Associate Athletics Director-Human Resources at The University of Texas, Rianne Brashears joins us to discuss her career and offer up some terrific advice when applying for a job during challenging times as we continue to come out of the pandemic. Rianne uses the phrase, “The Great Re-Shuffle” to describe the challenges in finding qualified candidates. […]

Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Medicine at the University of Texas, Adam Pecina joins us to discuss his career and some of his experiences that have affected him as both a leader and Athletic Trainer. From mentoring young, up and coming Athletic Trainers to working closely with Head Coaches in some of the most demanding […]

Texas coaches, Anna Craig and Clint Martin, make their way out of the weight room and into the recording studio to share their thoughts, experiences, and ideas within Athletic Performance. Each spoke to the power and strategy of building relationships, their experience as a minority in Strength & Conditioning, and how they address specific demands […]

Stanford coach, Tyler Friedrich, joins Donnie Maib and Anna Craig at the 40 Acres while away from The Farm. Tyler explains the benefit of working with a variety of sports and elaborates on qualities he looks for in hiring coaches. He dives into how he's utilized technology and the skill of presenting data to coaches. […]

From across the world, Coach Nicolai Morris makes time in the midst of the Olympics to share her lens on training a variety of sports. She expounds on her use of gymnastics as a training strategy, the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach, and her joint founding of ‘Women in Sport'.  Nicolai Morris is a Strength […]

Zack Zillner joins us in the studio to share experiences and anecdotes from his career as a sport performance coach. Zack elaborates on characteristics of high performing teams, collaborating with sport coaches, the simplicity of specificity, KPIs for basketball players, and more. This episode is packed with coaching principles and lessons specific to strength and […]

Samuel Gardner is currently in his 6th year supporting Team USA as a Strength and Conditioning Coach. Sam has worked with medalists from the London, Sochi and Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games. Sam has also spent time working as an Athletic Development coach in professional basketball supporting the Santa Cruz Warriors and Golden State Warrios. […]

Donnie Maib & Mike Hanson had the privilege to hear from University of Florida Strength & Conditioning Coach, Matt DeLancey. Coach DeLancey shares how his philosophy has evolved, characteristics he sees of high performers, nuances of programming for separate sports, and advice for aspiring coaches. Matt DeLancey is in his 18th season as a strength […]

Tracy Fober has a unique perspective in performance after having served as a physical therapist and strength & conditioning coach. She visits with Donnie Maib and Mike Hanson to share her thoughts on a variety of topics including how proximity breeds collaboration, gaps in returning athletes to training, the importance of leadership in high performance, […]

Hear from author, coach, and sport dietician, Dr. Marc Bubbs, as he expands on the pillars of recovery. Dr. Bubbs addresses the impact of sleep on performance, the double-edge sword that is sleep monitoring, contextual dietary considerations, simple strategies for stress-management, and why building relationships with athletes is important. Tune in for an extremely insightful […]

Dan Pfaff and Coach Loren Landow join Donnie Maib and Anna Craig to take training back to the “Fundamentals and Foundations of Coaching and Performance”. This episode includes evaluation of sport and athletes, starting points in programming and conditioning, instilling fundamentals into high level athletes, the significance of movement literacy, and creating buy in. Coach […]

This month we hear from Daniel Martinez as he displays his versatile background by sharing his experiences and views on a variety of performance topics. He shares his approach to coaching 17 teams, insight to force plate application, perspective on demands of court-athletes, and he discusses the practicality of sales as a coach. This episode […]

Dr. Mike Voight joins Coach Maib to define and discuss leadership, a sought-after trait of successful teams that is often overlooked and underdeveloped. Dr. Voight shares practical ways to develop leadership within teams, illustrates traits of successful leaders, discusses the impact of belief and buy-in, in addition to highlighting why developing leadership should be a […]

Michigan head strength & conditioning coach, Lew Porchiazzo, joins Donnie Maib & Mike Hanson to discuss how he has evolved as a coach and to share his insight on sought-after coaching qualities, recovery, collaboration, and more. Tune-in to hear Lew’s approach to training and several other coaching principles. Lew Porchiazzo is in his 11th season […]

We welcome the perspective and thoughts of our very own team physician at Texas Athletics, Dr. James Bray. Dr. Bray shares his day-to-day as a team physician in college athletics as well as his role in the performance team model.  He discusses how to build trust with student-athletes, why his job is fulfilling, how he […]

This episode features a coach who has a wealth of knowledge and is loaded with lessons that are applicable for both young and veteran coaches alike. Director of Strength & Conditioning at the UFC Performance Institute, Bo Sandoval shares his approach to collaborating with coaches and athletes, how seemingly small opportunities can move your career […]

Well renowned coach, Zach Even-Esh, joins Donnie Maib and Mike Hanson to dive into Zach’s perspective as a veteran coach. Key topics discussed include coaching the modern athlete, the impact of training in different environments, the benefits of being a multifaceted coach, and a lot more. As always, Coach Even-Esh will leave you fired up […]