CVASPS The Podcast

Today I have the pleasure of sitting down and discussing the development of the physical preparation programming for H2F with Carson Randall. Carson is leading the way with the development of the H2F programming, and all of its branches, helping to better prepare the best of the best, the American Soldier. Throughout the greater then 30-minute discussion Carson and I get into: 

1)     Where a military background both helps and hinders in the tactical training world

2)     Things that coaches need to understand when making the transition to the tactical side

3)     How defining terms, or at least coming together on the goals of the higher ups, is a game changer

4)     Comfortable lifestyles effect on how they need to program for soldiers, and how it could be a positive for their realm of the profession

5)     Making a scalable training system on a grand scale using basic and simple assessments

6)     Why general training, is always general, and its supportive nature to the specific, if it’s team sport or the military

7)     Educations vital role within boot camp with preparing the soldiers to make better decisions once they’re moved around the world

Such and awesome look into a unique training environment, I can’t thank Carson enough for spending the time with us today and being so open and candid in his sharing. Physical preparation for the tactical “athlete” is a realm in our vocation that is growing by the year, and a lot is due to the great work that Carson is doing with H2F, laying the foundation for more strength coaches to build upon. As with all our content, if you found value in the discussion please feel free to share the show with a colleague, and if you haven’t yet, please subscribe to the show on our favorite podcast player to stay up to date with all our shows.

I am elated to welcome Aaron Abraham to The Podcast this week. Aaron is doing some really awesome work up at Eastern Michigan. His voyage to EMU is one that many have looked at and turned their nose up at, but as a guy who started at a Division III school I have a ton of respect for coaches who start at DII and DIII because of the unique perspectives that you can gain at those levels. 

1)     Pros of working at a Division II school for a starting point in your professional evolution

2)     What the impact of being the son of immigrants on work ethic and humility

3)     The leadership role he feels that we can play as a vocation including examples that he utilizes

4)     Three terms that he teaches to dictate how the program will progress, that have nothing to do with progressions

5)     Advice for coaches who are rotating in internships and could possibly be getting frustrated about it

6)     Ways he has found success connecting with other practitioners, and its effect on the projection of his career. 

There are so many great lessons that I learned as a DIII strength coach, and I’m so happy to hear a similar story from Aaron. A great voyage to EMU that lead to a great strength coach working in the MAC in college basketball, it really hits close to home with Old Greybeard. Aaron is doing some fantastic work up at EMU, so make sure you give him a follow on x @strengthcoacha and on IG at @strengthcoachabe to keep up with everything he’s got cooking and make sure to sign up for the newsletter while you’re checking out his content! There’s so much value in Aaron’s journey and the lessons he shared today, and I took a ton from this conversation. If you found value in it as well please feel free to share the show with a colleague, and if you haven’t yet, please subscribe to the show on our favorite podcast player to stay up to date with all our shows.

Today I am so excited to welcome Justin Landry to The Podcast. Justin is doing some absolutely great work with the development of basketball players. He’s had a really great path to get him to Atlanta that has molded a unique philosophy with his training. Throughout this aweseome 30-minute conversation Justin and I get into:

1)     Driving factors behind the directions of the programming he utilizes for his athletes

2)     Simple evaluations of common sequences that help him drive programming decisions

3)    The role of still photos and video in his practice

4)    Examples of his progressions in different mobility and stability situations

5)    Autonomy’s role in his program

6)    What the transfer portal has changed in his programs

7)    How he defines functional training, and how that definition impacts how he evaluates and trains his guys

8)    Monitoring/Tracking of practice as an evaluation of preparation

A great conversation with a fantastic practitioner who has a unique perspective on developing the athlete’s he gets to work with. Justin is really doing great work, and I’m so grateful for his open and candid sharing today. Make sure you give him a follow on The Gram at @jland_perf. I truly hope you took as much from this discussion as I did, and if so, please share this with a colleague that would find value in the episode. Also, if you haven’t subscribed on your favorite podcast platform yet and could do that for us, we would greatly appreciate it.

On this week’s episode of The Podcast I have the pleasure of sitting down and discussing training, nutrition, and the life on the NASCAR Circuit with Ashley Muschiatti. Ashley has a unique background and qualification of being both a Registered Dietitian and Strength and Conditioning Coach, thus qualifying her to both prescribe training and the nutritional requirements for both success in training and performance.

• The uniqueness of the athlete that she gets to work with, both as a sport but also individually
• Where each of her “hats” impact decisions with programming daily and in the long term
• Driving factors behind training and programming decisions
• Positive aspects of being a licensed nutritionist and registered dietitian and how it works symbiotically with her role as a performance coach
• How taking this different route in her education could be a great example for younger coaches to increase their marketability
• What coaches can do when they don’t travel to help best educate their athlete’s on how they can do better for themselves on “game day”

Such a cool conversation with an awesome person with a really cool job. This show was an absolute blast for me, so many unique aspects to what Ashley’s practice and the athlete’s she gets to work with, it’s really fascinating to me. I can’t thank her enough for being so open to sharing with us today. To keep up with everything she’s doing make sure you give her a follow over on Instagram at @amuschiatti. I hope you found as much value in the chat as I did, and if so, please help me out by doing three things: 1st, please share this with a colleague that you think would find value in the show, 2nd if you haven’t please subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player, and 3rd if you could please leave us a review I’d greatly appreciate it.

Who is Ashley Muschiatti?

Ashley Muschiatti RD, LDN, CSCS is a sports dietitian and certified strength coach who has worked with high school and college athletes, as well as the general public who wants to reach their health and wellness goals. She has experience with body composition and analysis using the BodPod as well as performance nutrition counseling.

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She received her B.S. in Exercise Science and B.A. in Spanish Language at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. During her time at Appalachian State, Ashley was a thrower on the track and field team where she sits high in the school’s All-Time record books. She then went on to attend Delaware State University’s Coordinated Dietetic Program where she became a Registered Dietitian. Throughout her years of education, Ashley completed multiple strength and conditioning and sports nutrition internships at multiple NCAA Division 1 Institutions.

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Ashley enjoys helping athletes reach their full potential on and off the field. She combines her experience and knowledge in strength and conditioning and nutrition to help athletes of all ages fuel properly and reach their performance goals.

Ashley lives in Charlotte, NC where she is a Performance Specialist with Novant Health Sports Performance.

Muschiatti's previous positions include:​

• Performance Specialist & Registered Dietitian at Novant Health SportsPerformance
• Assistant Strength Coach & Nutrition Coordinator at Delaware State University
• Professional Strength and Conditioning Internships:
  • ​Clemson University Basketball
  • UNC Chapel Hill Olympic Sports
  • Appalachian State University Olympic Sports
  • University of Delaware Football

He’s baaaaccckkkkkk! I am so excited to welcome my good friend Charlie Weingroff back to The Podcast and to introduce him as a presenter at The Seminar. Charlie has been, and always will be, one of the greatest sound boards to me in the world of performance. It doesn’t matter if we are speaking training or rehab (see what I did there), whenever I have a question or an idea about a direction we are thinking, he’s always been a person that provided some of the most constructive insight and thought-provoking questions about the directions we are looking to go in, to help us make better decisions. His track record in working in sport speaks for itself, and his willingness to share and help coaches and therapists learn and grow is second to none. All of this makes him, once again, the perfect addition to the docket this summer, and I couldn’t be happier to welcome him back to RVA this July. Throughout the awesome 60-minute chat Charlie and I get into:

1)    Social media as a tool to help educate coaches and grow as a professional  

2)    The line between raining and rehab, and why it may be translucent at best

3)    Work places culture’s impact on the success of rehab programs

4)    How teamwork, roles, and the hierarchy of positions drive culture in the performance and rehabilitation world.

5)    Where he sees the true role of leaderships positions, and how being in business has impacted this

6)    A change of perspective that could have a vastly positive impact on your teams’ culture

7)    The value of understanding what other people in your department do, while understanding where your role and lines you shouldn’t cost.

8)    Safety’s role in professional growth

This conversation, as they always are with Charlie, was sensational. I’m so happy to not just have him back on The Podcast, but cannot wait to have him here and back on the docket for The 2024 Edition of The Seminar. He’s always been a mentor and a great friend for as long as I’ve known him, and can’t wait for us all to be able to see him “in action” breaking down his approach to evaluating and programming in his presentation. Also, please let us know if you have a direction for Charlie’s presentation by using the link here:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Lc4lTXOtwRxQD_oGlO1B4reVUmbAdhDr3q1Bj9IYMUM/edit?usp=sharing

This conversation, just like every conversation I’ve ever had with Charlie has made me take a step back and reevaluate some things we are doing, and I hope it has had the same effect on you. If you found value in the show please help me out with three things: 1st, please share the show with a colleague that would find value in the show; 2nd, if you haven’t subscribed on your favorite podcast platform please do; and 3rd, if you wouldn’t mind leaving us a review on our podcast player of choice I’d truly appreciate it. 

I could not be more fired up to welcome Heather Mason to The Podcast and introduce her as our 5th presenter for this summer edition of The Central Virginia Sport Performance Seminar. Heather is one of the true trailblazers in the field and one of the best people I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with in the world of performance. Her unique experience has help her develop a great system, not just in developing athletes, but also developing the next generations of coaches. Throughout the 30-minute discussion Heather and I get into:

1)     Continuity’s role in building a department.

2)     Incentives role in professional development and program growth, and how they have built a model that allows their coaches to have upward growth

3)     How individualizing their coaches continuing education has helped drive their entire staff forward

4)     The positives and negatives of social media’s role in our vocation

5)     Diversifying your educational modalities to help find better ways to be a coach

As I said on the show, having Heather on the show and her as on the docket for The Seminar has been a long time coming, and am super grateful for he, not just taking the time to be on the show, but for all she’s done to help drive this profession forward. She has been leading from the front for longer for her entire career, and what she’s doing up in Columbus is no exception to that. I hope you found value in the show, and if you did please feel free to share this episode with a collogue that you feel would enjoy it, and please don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast player. I truly do appreciate it.

Today I am so happy to welcome Dr. Aaron Heishman back to The Podcast and introduce him as our 4th presenter for The 2024 edition of The Central Virginia Sport Performance Seminar. 
“Heish” is doing some fantastic work in Vegas with the Golden Knights and is researching with the best of the best in the world at their sport. Throughout the 30-minute discussion Dr. Heishman and I get into:

1)     Some of the “challenges” that have reared themselves after the short off season.

2)     What is means to be “a fiduciary” in sport, and why it’s vital in situations where you are collecting and utilizing data.

3)     Factors that impact what data they’re collecting and the devices/means they’re collecting it

4)     Why patience is so important from a science perspective 

5)     How vital it is to keep in mind, “what performance is” if we call ourselves performance coaches.

6)     The positive value that research in other vocations can have on us as performance coaches

I could not be happier to have Heish on the docket this summer and am super grateful for him taking the time to be on the show and, as always, being so open to sharing. He’s truly is doing some awesome work in Vegas and is an absolute wealth of knowledge that’s not just absolutely driving our entire vocation forward by pushing the envelope in the performance monitoring world, but leading from the front with the actual “applied sport science” that he’s practicing. Make sure to give him a follow @aheish11_ on Instagram. I hope you found value in the show, and if you did please feel free to share this episode with a collogue that you feel would enjoy it, and please don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast player. I truly do appreciate it.

Who is Aaron Heishman?

Aaron is the Head of Sport Science and Reconditioning for the Vegas Golden Knights. He is primarily responsible for directing the sport science initiatives of the organization, as well as leading the implementation of return to play programming for athletes undergoing long-term rehabilitation. Prior to his time with the Golden Knights, he worked as the Assistant Director of Basketball Performance and Sport Scientist at University of Oklahoma. While at OU, Aaron earned his PhD in Exercise Physiology with research focused on athlete monitoring strategies used to evaluate neuromuscular performance and fatigue in basketball players. Before Oklahoma, Aaron worked as the Graduate Assistant for Basketball Performance at the University of Virginia, where he found a passion for trying to bridge the gap between applied performance practices and research in effort to maximize athlete health and performance. 

I could not be more excited to introduce our 3rd presenter for The 2024 edition of The Central Virginia Sport Performance Seminar, Dr. Mike Davis. Mike has one of the most unique thought processes when it comes to performance and rehabilitation that I’ve ever come across. Mike is one of those people who I’ve never had a conversation through any medium that I haven’t walked away and reevaluated something that I’m doing, and that could be professionally or personally. Throughout the fantastic hour discussion Dr. Davis and I get into:

1) What it means to be a pursuer of truth
2) Collaborations role, both within your staff and with the athletes, and how positive relationships drive improvements in those collaborations
3) How performance staffs need to be on the same page, but also need to understand that there needs to be some boundaries to what you’re responsible for
4) The value of knowing “why are they here” in all forms of prescription
5) What evaluations and systems are set in place to ensure we are providing the proper stressors for each individual situation
6) Our definitions of selfish, and how being selfish can be both a pro and a con in professional situations
7) History’s role in what we do, and the value in understanding the history of physical culture
8) Asking Questions vs Questioning, why it’s misinterpreted and why it can lead to growth

I’m so excited to have gotten to catch up Dr. Davis and have him on The Podcast, and cannot wait to have him here for The 2024 Edition of The Seminar, and this back and forth conversation is exactly why. Mike has always been a person who has challenged me to be better in so many different realms of life, and I’m truly grateful for that. Make sure you give him a follow and keep up with Dr. Davis on X @ MikeDavisDPT. This conversation, just like every conversation I have with Mike makes me think a bit differently, and I hope it has had the same effect on you. If you found value in the show please help me out with three things: 1st, please share the show with a colleague that would find value in the show; 2nd, if you haven’t subscribed on your favorite podcast platform please do; and 3rd, if you wouldn’t mind leaving us a review on our podcast player of choice I’d truly appreciate it.

I am so excited to welcome Dr. Ernie Rimer to, not just The Podcast, but to The 2024 Seminar. Dr. Rimer is doing fantastic work for The University of Louisville and his forward-thinking, inquisitive approach, brings a unique perspective on how we can all do better for our athletes with the data that we collect to The Seminar. Throughout the 35-minute discussion Dr. Rimer and I get into:

1)     The importance of systems, especially in difficult times of the year, to help streamline processes to help make the data collected more actionable.

2)     Hydration monitoring and prescribing, why it’s important in August, but not JUST important in August.

3)     Finding better ways to evaluate what we do to ensure what we are programming for our athletes is actually making the positive impact we believe it is.

4)     How to “fast track” knowledge in reference to continuing education, including how valuable he sees the ability to take classed at U of L.

I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Dr. Rimer to The Seminar, and so appreciative of his openness on today’s episode of The Podcast. This coming edition of The Seminar’s docket is absoultly awesome and Ernie is a huge part of that. Make sure to give him a follow to keep up with everything he’s got cooking on X and Instagram at @ErnieRimer. I really hope you enjoyed the discussion as much as I did, Ernie is such a wealth of knowledge and his openness to share and grow is such a valuable asset to the entire vocation. If you did find value in the discussion please feel free to share the show with a colleague, and if you would please subscribe to the show and leave us a five-star review on your favorite podcast platform I’d be greatly appreciative.

For more info on The 2024 Edition of The Seminar hop over to The Seminar Page here: https://cvasps.com/2024-seminar/

Who is Dr. Ernie Rimer?

Dr. Ernie Rimer is the Director of Sport Science for the University of Louisville Athletics. He supports the health, safety, and performance of student-athletes through research, education, and innovation. Before Louisville, Rimerwas the Director of Sport Science at the University of Utah and held strength and conditioning positions at the United States Ski & Snowboard Association and Northern Arizona University. Rimer co-founded FYTT, a high-performance software for sports performance professionals. He has a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Utah and is certified in strength and conditioning. Rimer has presented at numerous national and international conferences on various sport-related topics.

Today we introduce our first presenter for The 2024 edition of The Central Virginia Sport Performance Seminar, Auburn’s Cam Josse. Cam is one of the best practitioners in the world when it comes to bridging the physical preparation process to the sporting activity, and I couldn’t be more excited to not only have him on the show, but to have him as part of The Seminar as well. Throughout the 44-minute discussion Cam and I discuss

1)      What drove him to dig to find better ways to deliver transfer from training to sport performance.

2)     The role of observation in daily periodization and how simply watching the athletes can have a massive impact on programming decisions.

3)     His interpretation and the role of minimal effective dose in his programming

4)     Long-term education’s value, and why the rush to learning could be holding people (and our whole vocation for that matter) back

5)     Yin Yang of being present vs the present state of the industry

6)     Where things outside of physical preparation impact what they do on the day to day

7)     Ways expanding your learning lens can have a positive impact on a practitioner’s ability to improve their craft.

I am elated to welcome Cam to The Seminar, and so grateful for his openness on today’s episode of The Podcast. This coming edition of The Seminar’s docket is sensational and Coach Josse is a huge part of that. Make sure to give him a follow to keep up with everything he’s got cooking on X at @CoachJosse. I really hope you enjoyed the discussion as much as I did, I really thought this was a great show with a ton of awesome insight from Cam. If you did enjoy it and found some value in it please feel free to share the show with a colleague, and if you would please subscribe to the show and leave us a five-star review on your favorite podcast platform I’d be greatly appreciative.

For more info on The 2024 Edition of The Seminar hop over to The Seminar Page here: https://cvasps.com/2024-seminar/

Who is Cam Josse?

Cam Josse is a Strength & Conditioning Coach for football at Auburn University. Prior to arriving at Auburn, Cam spent 3 seasons at Indiana University as an Athletic Performance Coach for football. He began his career in sports performance in the private sector with DeFranco's Training Systems, operating as Director of Sports Performance from 2014-2020. Cameron has worked with a multitude of athletes in high school and collegiate sports as well as professional athletes in the NFL, NHL, UFC, and WWE. Cameron earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology while playing football at the University of Rhode Island, holds a master's degree in exercise science from William Paterson University, and is currently pursuing his PhD from Jean Monnet University in France under the supervision of Dr. JB Morin.

Today I’m super excited to sit down and discuss the preparation programming for wrestlers with Josh Jirgal. Combat sports have become more and more of a “sexy” topic in strength and conditioning with different opportunities becoming available, and Josh is doing a lot of great work with the wrestlers he gets to work with every day. After a quick run-down of how he got to Duke Josh and I get into:

1)    A wrestler’s mindset and how it impacts his programming decisions.

2)    What he’s looking at to monitor readiness and training status.

3)    Communication strategies he utilizes when he needs to lighten the loads on the guys

4)    Where the peripheral fatigue of wrestling fits into their developmental program

5)    How he looks at “special days” vs the norm for his wrestlers and the impact it has on preparation.

6)    The peaking/tapering process with both the wrestlers and the rowing team.

7)    Subjective feedbacks role in his fluid model of periodization. 

8)    Confidence, belief, and its impact on intent of training in the weight room. 

What a great look behind the curtain to the world of developing college wrestlers. I can’t thank Josh enough for being so open to share not just what he’s doing but the thought process behind his decision making. I really enjoyed hearing how someone coaching athletes in such a unique sport utilizes theory that so many of us do in team sport, and where he’s seeing success with it. If you enjoyed this discussion as much as I did, please do me three quick favors: first, please share this with a colleague that you feel would find value in the show; second, if you haven’t subscribed please subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player; and lastly, when you’re there, if you could leave us a 5 start review I would greatly appreciate it!

Who is Josh Jirgal?

Josh Jirgal joined Duke Athletics in August 2022 and serves as an Assistant Sports Performance Coach for the Blue Devils, working with the wrestling, and women’s rowing teams.
 
Prior to his arrival in Durham, Jirgal worked as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for UT Permian Basin. He has also had coaching stops at Sacramento State, the US Army Special Operations Command, Wingate University, Champions Sports Performance, Webber International University, the Oakland Raiders, and the SF Rush Pro Rugby team. Jirgal has also coached professional boxers Andre Ward and Amir Khan.
 
He graduated from Appalachian State in 2013 with a B.S. in Exercise Science and went on to earn his Master of Science in Exercise Science from the California University of Pennsylvania in 2017. Jirgal is certified through both the CSCCa (Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association certified) and NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association).

I am fired up to welcome Clare Kaufman Quebedeaux to The Podcast to talk about leadership and developing basketball players. Clare has had a really cool voyage that has brought her to Columbus to work alongside her first boss and mentor. Throughout the 30 plus minute discussion Clare and I get into:

1)    Being intentional in developing your staff in leadership

2)    A wake-up call that brought her to understand her role as a leader developing coaches

3)    Some unique aspects to their staffing system to help coaches grow professionally within the department.

4)    The importance of finding the right fit during the hiring process.

5)    How the transfer portal and foreign trips in the summer had a massive impact on summer training.

6)    Where the limitations to motivation have changed some of her perspective.

7)    Ways she has had success helping athletes who return from international competition to reintegrate into the team setting.

A huge thank you to Clare Kaufman Quebedeaux for sharing so much of her voyage through the coaching world. They have built a great system in Columbus for coaches to grow and develop and she was so kind in breaking down not just the X’s and O’s to it, but the thought process behind how it has evolved. Make sure you give her a follow-on Instagram at @ckarequib to keep up with all the things she’s doing. If you did enjoy the show please share this with a colleague. Lastly, if you haven’t subscribed to the show please do on your favorite podcast app, and if you would be so kind as to leave us a review, I’d greatly appreciate it. 

Who is Clare Quebedeaux?

Clare Quebedeaux joined the Buckeye strength and conditioning program in 2017. Her core responsibilities include serving as the Facility Supervisor for multiple facilities as well as overseeing the Women’s Basketball and Men’s Golf programs.

Prior to Ohio State, Quebedeaux was the director of strength and conditioning at Southeastern Louisiana University, working with the football, basketball, women’s soccer, women’s tennis and men’s golf programs. She was also an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Temple University and the University of Hartford. She served as a graduate assistant for strength and conditioning while attending University of Tennessee.

Quebedeaux earned her bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in Strength and Conditioning from University of Wisconsin – La Crosse in 2010. She went on to receive her master’s in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Physiology from the University of Tennessee in 2013.

Today I’m really excited to welcome “Mr. Rugby Strength Coach” Keir Wenham-Flatt back to The Podcast, and discuss a different topic with Keir, and that is ways coaches can do better for themselves with secondary forms of income. This is something that, if you’ve ever heard me get on my soap box about, I’m very passionate about, and really feel that we all, me included, need to take a much deeper look at. Throughout the 30-minute discussion “The Rugby Guy” and I get into:

1)    The factors that drove him through the steps leading him to each step of his “side hustle” journey.

2)    Why there are things that can help coaches improve may not help drive careers forward

3)    How having a secondary income stream can help improve your freedom to make better decisions in and out of work.

4)    Persuasion vs coercion, how they work hand in hand if you don’t have a backup plan.

5)    Escape velocity numbers, what that means, and how it fits with coaches and side hustles.

6)    Skills learned from being in business that transferred into coaching.

7)    What is Money Moves and why should coaches care?

This topic is one that I really think needs to be talked about exponentially more than it is, and one that I’ve tried to push for more coaches to share how they’re finding alternative ways to make some cash to better themselves. To me, it doesn’t matter if it’s finding a second job, starting an online business, or getting into real estate, as long as you are finding a way to better yourself in the long run I think that is absolutely huge. If you have interest in checking out K’s sight for more info on Money Moves or to sign up hop over to www.callmekeir.com/squeeze. I think that this could be a great avenue for many coaches out there to help find ways to scale what they do and make a little extra cash on the side. Keir is one of the few people I talk to when it comes to ways I can be better online, so I was really excited to get him back on The Podcast to talk about this topic. I hope you enjoyed the banter as much as I did, and if you did, please share the show with a colleague that you think could find some value in it. Also, if you haven’t subscribed and left a review on your favorite podcast player and could do so I would truly appreciate the support!

Who is Keir Wenham-Flatt?

Keir Wenham-Flatt is a recovering strength coach. After a decade of coaching at the elite level in five different countries, he grossed over $1m in 3 years of operating Strength Coach Network before selling the company in September 2023.

These days he helps Strength Coaches to make more money through his long form course Money Moves and his personal site www.callmekeir.com

This week I’m so fired up to welcome Jonathan Dahuya to The Podcast for a unique conversation about how coaching has led him into other great professional endeavors. Jonathan was a Division I strength and conditioning coach who has made a professional pivot into real estate and provides some great insight into how the coaching world has transferred to the “real world”. Throughout the 30 minutes plus conversation, Jonathan and I get into: 

1)    A voyage that led him to choose another vocation

2)    Skills that coaches develop that have “transfer” to the real world

3)    Where who you are and who the staff/admin you work with may have a different view of what that should be.

4)    The value of asking “what do you want me to accomplish?”

5)    Aspects of coaching that provided issues in his family life, thus driving the decision to change professions

6)    What drove him to his latest professional venture. 

7)    How coaches should practice what they preach about embracing change when they get to a point where they need to make a change. 

I really can’t thank Jonathan enough for sharing so much of his voyage in and out of the coaching world. It’s a transition that isn’t easy on anyone, but we all should always happy to see someone find a better way for themselves, in and out of coaching. His path hasn’t been an easy one for sure, but one that I hope helps others have a better understanding of where they are in their voyage, and maybe take a deep breath and assess where they are in theirs. I know I did. To keep up to date with all that he’s doing make sure you give him a follow on The Gram at @jonjay.dahuya. If you did enjoy the show please share this with a colleague. If you haven’t please subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a review, I’d greatly appreciate it. 

Who is Jon Dahuya?

Jon Dahuya is a former Director of Sports Performance who took a leap away from the collegiate realm to craft a life abundant in love and enriching experiences for himself and his son. 

With a decade-long dedication to pouring knowledge into the lives of young athletes and learning from fellow coaches and administrators, Jon brings a wealth of experience to the table. Beyond the sports arena, Jon has seamlessly transitioned into real estate, infusing his passion for growth and mentorship into every facet of his life. Jon continues to apply the coaching tools honed over the years to his real estate business, stays sharp as a coach by working with local youth athletes, and lends his expertise to coaching athletes associated with Fil-Nation Select & the Philippines Youth National Basketball teams. 

Today I have the privilege of welcoming Connor Schoepp to The Podcast and discuss return to play. Connor is doing some great work at Liberty within the realm of applied sport science, and he shares a lot of what he does and how he looks at that part of the world of sports. Throughout the 30-minute discussion Connor and I get into:

1)    What is applied sport science to him.

2)    The roles of systems and principles in his programming

3)    Ways being a strength coach impacts how he interrupts metrics

4)    Collecting data vs acting upon what the data is saying

5)    Meeting the coaches where they’re at, and providing the information that they need to answer the questions they have or solve the problems that arise. 

6)    How he is structuring the weeks, both in training on and off the field

7)    Where these metrics fit in the RTP setting

8)    His concerns with looking for metrics that “cause” injuries

A great look through the looking glass to what Connor, not only sees the role of sport science in performance, but how he goes about trying to move the needle daily for the coaches and athletes he gets to work with. Make sure to keep up with everything he’s doing by following him on Instagram and Twitter at @connorschoepp. I hope you enjoyed this discussion as much as I did, and if you found value in it please feel free to share the show with a colleague, and if you haven’t subscribed please do on your favorite podcast platform. 

Who is Connor Shoepp?

Connor Schoepp currently serves as the director of Applied Sport Performance and Performance Coach for Men's Soccer. Previously he has held positions with the Arizona Cardinals, Mississippi State University, and University of Pittsburgh. Originally from South Dakota where he received his undergrad from the University of Sioux Falls. 

This week’s episode of The Podcast brought me back to some of CVASPS’s roots, talking training with one of the worlds the top and most forward-thinking track and field coaches, PJ Vazel. I’m a huge fan of PJ’s love for history and how it has impacted him as a researcher and a coach. Throughout this fantastic 35-minute plus conversation, PJ and I get into:

1)    The role of fine arts studies leading him to dive into the history of sport science

2)    Improvisations role in coaching, and why understanding your processes and goals are vital to being able to improvise

3)    Where the Soviets were correct back in the day, and what has stood the test of time from their work

4)    Specificity vs variability, where is the balance in this contradiction

5)    How being calm and relaxed tends to lead to greater performance

6)    Is it too strong or is it that the training leads them to be to tense?

7)    What challenges are there when coaching “relaxation” with athletes

8)    Talent identification, it’s challenges, and why it may come down to getting lucky

PJ provides such a fantastic perspective on the preparation of, and cannot thank him enough for being so open to share with us today. His understanding of history and the arts, and how it has formulated how he works as a coach is really awesome. I really enjoyed hearing how he looks at the history of training means and methods, the research behind it, and how he evaluates and implements that in his programming today. Make sure you give him a follow on the socials at X and Instagram @pjvazel. I really hope that you enjoyed this discussion as much as I did. As always, please share the show with someone that you feel could find value in it, and if you haven’t, I would greatly appreciate it if you subscribed to the show and left us a review on your favorite podcast player.  

Who is PJ Vazel?

PJ Vazel is currently national athletics coach for France having coached sprinters, hurdlers, and throwers at each of the Olympics and world championships since 2004. He has been an IAAF correspondent and chronicler for Le Monde for a decade and has participated to scientific and historical projects in athletics.

In a season of “long time coming” guests, I am so excited to get to welcome Wannabefast’s Dan Fichter. Dan is doing absolutely fantastic work in the 585, and is one of (in my opinion) the most forward-thinking practitioners in the world. Though out the nearly 40-minute conversation, Dan and I get into: 

1)    “What Matters” in strength and conditioning in Dan’s eyes

2)    Voluntary movement vs, reflexive, vs anticipatory 

3)    Where technique fits in movement work

4)    If there is one thing that all athletes “have to work towards” what would that be?

5)    The future direction of our vocation, and how can we evolve with the future of coaching?

6)    What brought Dan to start running down the neurological rabbit hole and where does he suggest we can start educating ourselves on the topic.

7)    Unintended consequences to lifting weights and what can be done to counteract that.

The unique lens that Dan looks through to evaluate how athletes perform is one that more of us need to take a step back and peer through. This conversation has led me to reevaluate so many of the progressions and programming that we have set. I can’t thank Dan enough for being so open with us today, and challenging me to understand a totally different perspective, one that I know holds immense value. This is a show was really fun and the conversation really opened my eyes, and I hope you found as much value in it as I did. If you did, please share this conversation with a practitioner who could find value in it as well, and if you haven’t subscribed to the show and left us a review, if you could do that as well I’d greatly appreciate it. 

Who is Dan Fichter?

Dan Fichter has been involved in strength and conditioning for well over 20 years, Wannagetfast became a reality in his garage in the early 2000s. With Boots on the ground in the early 90’s Dan has studied closely with some of the elites in the field of physical preparation.  Dan has a very diverse education that literally spans the globe. Dan was responsible for designing and implementing speed, strength, conditioning, and mobility training programs for athletes in men’s lacrosse, alpine ski, volleyball, tennis, swimming, basketball, Football, lacrosse, and a variety of other sports. As a high school coach Dan has won 8 Sectional Titles in Track and Football and has coached numerous professional athletes, Olympians, and some of the most high-profile Hockey and Lacrosse players in the world.  

Fichter has traveled the country lecturing to numerous NFL, MLB, NHL, on speed training, strength training, and nervous system development and how to pull these elements into a comprehensive package.  At the High School level Dan teaches fundamental postural and force absorption techniques and how it easily translates into sporting prowess and bullet proofing against injuries

This week we welcome back the OG of The Podcast, Dr. Christian Carter who was on the first “interview show” I did back in the day on YouTube was with Willie Danzer (check it out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwBjea_f5e0&t=217s). This was a long overdue catch up, and a fantastic 30 plus minute discussion including:

1)    Driving factors to why his mindset on our positions has changed over his career.

2)    What could be leading to this shift in focus from just programming to improving the relationships with our athletes.

3)    The “Do More” or the “Good but” responses lead to athletes looking for some sort of praise.

4)    A two-way street of getting to actually know your athlete’s but be vulnerable enough to let your athletes truly know you as well.

5)    How being a happier and nicer person can really help improve your relationships with your athletes, their improvements, and enjoyment for being at work daily.

6)    Where he feels “coaching” happens, and how setting the “standard” and teaching can lead to better opportunities to learn and connect with your athletes in the long run.

It’s always awesome to catch up with Dr. Carter and this conversation was no exception. For someone who’s gone through the educational steps to change his first name to Doctor, and has been doing this at such a high level as a practitioner, to share his evolution and the driving factors to these changes in perspective was really awesome. I can’t thank Christian enough for being so candid in sharing his story and thought process and growth as a coach and person. This is a talk that I took so much from, and hope you did as well. As with all of our content, if you found value in the show and think a colleague could as well, please feel free to share the show with anyone you think would find it valuable. Also, if you could please subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app, I’d truly appreciate it if you could.

Who is Dr. Christian Carter?

Christian Carter joined JMU Strength and Conditioning for Olympic sports in 2013. He is in charge of designing and implementing programs for women's track and field, volleyball and men’s soccer. Christian is also the Head Weightlifting Coach for Renaissance Periodization as well as a nutrition consultant for RP. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Wisconsin, his Master's in Health Promotion from Virginia Tech, and his Doctorate in Sport Performance from East Tennessee State University.

I am really excited to discuss building a program the new world of college athletics with Asa Britt. The evolution to the “new normal” of college sports has led to so many of us needing to evolve how we, not only program, but go throughout our day to day schedule with the athletes. Inside this packed 35-minute discussion Asa and I dive into:

1)    The importance and power of routine in an athlete’s life

2)    How the landscape of college athletics with the portal has impacted how we need to teach routines and behaviors with these athletes.

3)    Ways the athlete’s coming in from other schools may need help adjusting to the new team, but also how you can learn from them improve different aspects of your program.

4)    What the importance of understanding how the player felt about their past program and their training, and what their past strength coach as to say about the player and how they trained.

5)    Strategies used to build different routines and help the players understand different behaviors so that they can make better decisions to reach their goals.

I’m so appreciative of Asa for spending the time today and sharing so many of his experiences and growth through his coaching evolution. I know that this past off season I’ve had more “growing” experiences and has pushed me in many unique ways, and through this conversation and other, I’m certain I’m not alone with that. 

Make sure you give him a follow him IG @abritt_19! This chat is full of great info and I really hope you enjoyed as much as I did. If so please feel free to share the episode with a collogue, and if you haven’t subscribed and left a review for the show on your favorite podcast platform I’d greatly appreciate it.

Who is Asa Britt?

Asa Britt was name Assistant Director of Sports Performance at Fairfield University in 2022. He develops and oversees strength and conditioning programs for Men's Basketball, Softball, and Golf.

Britt came to Fairfield from Sacred Heart University, where he was elevated from the position of Graduate Assistant to Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach in 2021. He worked directly with men’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, and softball. He was also in charge of developing the internship program, connecting with Sacred Heart’s exercise science program. As a Graduate Assistant, he was in charge of men’s and women’s soccer, tennis, dance, and assisted with football.

Prior to his stint at Sacred Heart University, he had internships at the University of Kentucky, Manhattan College, and the University of Iowa. Britt also served as a Volunteer Assistant for the women’s tennis team at Rutgers University as well as being a Sport Performance Coach at AP2T.

Britt received a B.S. in Exercise Science from Manhattan College. He is a member of the NSCA and holds a CSCS certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Britt also hold certifications from USAW and RPR.

This week I have the pleasure of sitting down and discussing the management of coaches and administration with the performance director of first special forces command, Ryan Carroll. Throughout the 30-minute discussion Ryan and I get into:

1)    The unique challenge of his position and how some challenges cross into both tactical and collegiate strength and conditioning.

2)    How implementing things at scale creates great challenges and increases the need for collaboration between coaches

3)    Ways that he and his staff communicate information to the higher ups to show that there is a return on the investment being made.

4)    Conversations that the information they collect lead to, both to those above him and the service members that help with buy in at all levels.

5)    Changing your thought process from being a dictator to coworkers with those you’re coaching, and how it can impact your trajectory as a coach.

I’m really grateful for Ryan spending the time today to discuss some of the systems and processes that they’re putting together to help build out an all-encompassing performance and wellness program for a variety of different service members. Although at a different level, many of these issues are similar to those that arise at the collegiate level as well, like scaling, individualization between units/team, donated equipment we are expected to utilize and so on. This chat is full of great info that I hope you enjoyed as much as I did. If so please feel free to share the episode with a collogue, and if you haven’t subscribed and left a review for the show on your favorite podcast platform I’d greatly appreciate it.

Who is Ryan Carroll?

Ryan Carroll, MS, CSCS*D is the Human Performance and Wellness Director at 1st Special Forces Command at Fort Liberty, NC.  He has been a strength and conditioning coach for over 20 years and in the tactical space for 8. He has worked with the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, Loyola University Chicago, BridgeAthletic, and an Air Force Special Operations Unit in North Carolina.

Ryan has spoken at several NSCA Tactical Conferences on training female soldiers, as well as the design and implementation of a comprehensive operator "Reset Week".  

He can be reached at rcarroll2214@yahoo.com or on instagram at @rcsc14