The Adaptable Athlete Podcast SMSC 25' Speaker Spotlight: Michael Zweifel
This episode of the Adaptable Athlete Podcast is part of our special SMSC 25’ Speaker Spotlight Series, highlighting some of the world-class minds presenting at the 2025 Sport Movement Skill Conference, June 26–27 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
We're bringing back a classic: Episode 8 with Michael Zwiefel, an impactful voice in our field and a longtime influence on how we approach athlete development. Formerly the founder of Building Better Athletes, Michael now serves as Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator at Wisconsin–La Crosse, where he applies ecological principles in a team setting.
Key Topics Discussed:
✅ Making warmups representative and engaging
✅ Transitioning from coaching with instructions to guiding with environment
✅ Working with youth athletes in a way that ignites passion, not burnout
✅ Progressing from 1v1 to more complex and chaotic movement problems
✅ Why strength coaches must understand tactical demands of sport
✅ Finding “aliveness” in warmups—starting sessions with real movement problems
f you work with athletes in any context—private or team, youth or elite—this one is packed with insight.
Register for SMSC 2025
Come see Michael live at this year’s in-person Sport Movement Skill Conference:
🔗 Register here
Resources + Mentions:
- Warm-Up Course: Reconceptualizing the Warm-Up
- “Change of Direction vs. Agility” (Young et al., 2002)
- Origins Course
- Michael on X
- Emergence Website
Credits: Song- "Starstruck" by Freebeats.io
Let's Chat!
Twitter: @thecoachjav
IG: @thecoachjav