Shawn Myszka, an innovator in ecological dynamics and veteran trainer for NFL athletes, shares insights from his 16 seasons in the league. He discusses adapting training to boost players' movement skills and self-discovery. Myszka highlights balancing personal interests with professional goals during off-seasons. He advocates for flexible training environments that promote creativity, emphasizing the importance of adaptability in athletes. This dynamic approach to training could revolutionize how players prepare for the challenges of the upcoming season.
The theme of 'riding the wave' emphasizes adaptability in movement, encouraging athletes to view each challenge as a unique opportunity for learning.
Fostering creativity through experimentation in training allows athletes to develop innovative strategies and enhances team dynamics through shared learning experiences.
Deep dives
Bulletproofing Human Movement Systems
To effectively prepare NFL athletes for the challenges of the season, it's essential to focus on strengthening their human movement systems and enhancing problem-solving abilities across varying situations and conditions. This involves presenting players with complex movement problems that mimic the unpredictability of the game. The understanding is that no two movement problems or solutions are identical, and each interaction is distinct, requiring athletes to adapt their strategies constantly. By creating a training environment that reflects these complexities, athletes can develop a deeper understanding of their movements and how to address diverse challenges.
Theme of the Offseason: Riding the Wave
This offseason's training theme revolves around the concept of 'riding the wave,' inspired by a player's surfing experience and emphasizing adaptability in movement. The idea encourages athletes to perceive each wave—representing movement problems—as a unique challenge that must be approached without preconceived notions. This theme promotes the understanding that failures or falls during interactions with these waves are valuable learning experiences. By embracing this perspective, athletes can cultivate resilience and creativity in their problem-solving approaches.
Cultivating Creativity Through Exploration
A crucial aspect of the training environment is fostering creativity by allowing players to explore and experiment with their movement solutions. Encouraging athletes to make mistakes has been emphasized to promote innovative strategies from positions they are not typically expected to excel at. This leads to players breaking traditional rules of movement, facilitating a deeper connection with their perceptual awareness during gameplay. Ultimately, this method not only enhances individual skillsets but also enriches team dynamics through shared learning experiences.
Understanding Complexity in Training
The concept of complexity in movement training is vital for equipping athletes with the tools necessary to handle diverse challenges on the field. It involves gradually increasing the complexity of movement problems as athletes progress through their training regimen, ensuring they are mentally and physically prepared. By starting with simpler tasks and progressively introducing more interacting component parts, trainers can enhance athletes' adaptability and problem-solving skills. Recognizing that complexity is subjective and varied based on individual experiences allows for a tailored approach to addressing each player's unique needs.
On this episode, my guest is Shawn Myszca! Shawn has appeared on this podcast a number of times and I’ll there will be a link to some of his previous appearances so you can catch up with his work!
In my humble opinion, this episode tops all of Shawn’s other appearances! Today, we dive into a recap of Shawn’s work with his NFL athletes. Shawn has been an innovator of using an ecological dynamics framework in American football as partnered with NFL athletes for 16 seasons.
We discuss the theme that is players created this off-season, how Shawn scales complexity in his learning environments, and so much more!
One quick note before we get started, you may have seen on social media that we at Emergence have announced the dates for the 2024 Sport Movement Skill Conference. This is a hybrid online and in person event and is my favorite event of the year. You have the option of attending for the lectures, the in person coaching or both. It’s completely up to you
If you want to learn more about this year's conference, check out this podcast episode!
If you like today's episode, leave a review here....If you want to reach me directly, contact me on social media or shoot me @javier@emergentmvmt.com.