Coach Your Brains Out

1:39 - Outlining the benefits and drawbacks of specialization and generalization in sports.4:28 - To prevent the physical and mental “burn out” of a dedicated athlete, is it beneficial to try spending time playing a similar sport to their main one? (e.g. volleyball and tennis, basketball and soccer).6:05 - Even at the college level is there a benefit to practicing a “donor” sport in the offseason?8:43 - While certain physical skills and movements would not be transferable to the main sport from the donor sport, are qualities like mentality and other non-cognitive skills easily transferable?11:06 - Even with the variety of gameplay within sports, would solely playing one sport still be considered specialization?12:52 - How would Joe implement specialization/generalization in a youth club organization?14:43 - Introducing the German system of “Ballschool” and why Joe thinks highly of it.15:37 - How effective is the ballschool system?16:45 - Why Joe thinks that enjoyment, autonomy and intrinsic motivation are the key components of skill acquisition?17:25 - How can coaches inspire qualities like intrinsic motivation?21:10 - Should autonomy be more emphasized in youth athletes or in elite athletes?22:28 - How should autonomy be implemented in an ideal practice setting?23:29 - What should enjoyment look like in elite athletes?25:27 - What should coaches do to raise “enjoyment” in youth sports.27:14 - Key motor learning principles that coaches should implement in their own styles and practices.28:35 - Are there drawbacks to taking an ecological approach to sports?30:36 - Where to reach out to Joe.Twitter : @bakerjyorkuJoe’s book: The Tyranny of Talent.Coach Your Brains Out: The Art and Science of Coaching VolleyballThe Inner Knight: Train and Compete Like a ChampionContact us for bulk orders: coachyourbrainsout@gmail.com Become a Patron to support the show.

1:17 - Introducing Joe and explaining how he started becoming heavily invested in the fields of skill acquisition, talent identification, and athlete development.3:22 - Why do coaches and scouts as a whole struggle with talent identification?4:47 - Why is it important for coaches to recognize and acknowledge that because humans lack the ability to map out long term decisions, identifying successful athletes will also be difficult?6:42 - Do most coaches think that either they or others are skilled at talent identification?8:13 - Consequences of making mistakes or poor decisions when picking and choosing which athletes are projected to be successful.11:16 - Are successful athletes successful solely because of inherent qualities like height and body type, or also because they might have been “chosen” to receive development and training at an early point?13:28 - Examples of “soft skills” like aggressiveness or other mentalities that coaches should look out for.16:00 - Given that the ability to identify soft skills is linked to improving talent identification, what can coaches do to improve that ability?19:56 - Should a quality like technique also be highly valued, or do coaches often overvalue what they believe is the “ideal” technique when scouting athletes?21:55 - What Joe has found to be the most common “blind spots” of coaches.24:20 - Where in the world has Joe identified an effective talent identification system, and what are some of its core aspects that makes it so successful?26:16 - Given the limitations of being able to fully watch or analyze potential players when scouting, how should coaches go about effectively picking the most talented athletes?29:02 - When interviewing or talking to a player, how can coaches identify if the player has the soft skills they desire?Coach Your Brains Out: The Art and Science of Coaching VolleyballThe Inner Knight: Train and Compete Like a ChampionContact us for bulk orders: coachyourbrainsout@gmail.com Become a Patron to support the show.

1:23 - Thoughts on what the basis of in-game feedback should be (based on what the coaches think their players need vs. based on what the players want).2:04 - Should feedback be given based on past success?3:42 - Defining “guided discovery” and what role it should play when giving feedback.9:41 - Will forcing athletes to describe concepts and techniques in their own words create a better understanding?10:57 - Reflecting on Jamie Morrison’s episode on storytelling, how often does Andrew find himself using stories within practice, and has it been effective?13:14 - Creating intriguing names for drills to make it seem more exciting.15:13 - Balancing the “silliness” of naming drills with the actual competence of a certain drill to keep it fun, but also maintain its credibility.18:04 - Using the components of internal, external and holistic feedback, how would John structure his practices?20:37 - The most effective external feedback drills that coaches can implement into their practices.25:40 - Should coaches change internal ques or keys based on the athlete they approach (e.g. “slow to fast”)?29:31 - Are keys more so a tool for the coach or a solution given to the athlete?30:35 - Major feedback for coaches with regards to communication with their players.36:30 - A little bit about Nils’ new job working as the head coach for Baker University.BooksCoach Your Brains Out: The Art and Science of Coaching VolleyballThe Inner Knight: Train and Compete Like a ChampionContact us for bulk orders: coachyourbrainsout@gmail.com Become a Patron to support the show.

1:56 - Introducing today's topic: Feedback (Chapter 4 of the CYBO book).2:08 - What is effective feedback?2:59 - In terms of feedback, does “guiding” imply that the athlete is guided to only one solution? Or is it more flexible?3:36 - How can coaches determine if an athlete is ready to receive feedback?5:45 - Are TV’s and other video playback devices valuable in giving effective feedback?7:04 - Should athletes be intentionally directed to watch video feedback? Or should coaches put less emphasis on it?8:25 - Should coaches direct athletes to certain aspects of technique in video playback?10:22 - In John’s experience, have his players consistently requested feedback?11:17 - In general, have the players that request feedback consistently demonstrated improvement?11:54 - Dealing with athletes who constantly request feedback.15:04 - Should coaches encourage their athletes to give each other feedback, and what does that look like?Specifically in terms of beach volleyball partners.21:05 - Is it valuable to the player to have a fired up and encouraging coach?24:08 - Giving “non-cognitive” affirmations at a constant rate.27:04 - Balancing giving effective informative feedback while also being a lively coach.BooksCoach Your Brains Out: The Art and Science of Coaching VolleyballThe Inner Knight: Train and Compete Like a ChampionContact us for bulk orders: coachyourbrainsout@gmail.com Become a Patron to support the show.

1:24 - Applying “directness” to communication between Russ and his players.2:56 - In Russ’ experience, has being direct with his athletes ever backfired?4:51 - Has there ever been a time where Russ has avoided being direct?7:48 - Does Russ communicate differently with a group of athletes compared to individuals? And how does he adjust?10:05 - What kind of messages should coaches communicate to their athletes when they are successful (e.g. winning streak, defending champions).14:06 - How did Russ address his program’s 109-match winning streak?17:02 - Describing Russ’ approach to the recruiting process.18:13 - When communicating with recruits, how directly involved was Russ?21:37 - How did Russ cultivate the key components/characteristics of his championship teams?23:12 - What statistics does Russ value and why does he value them?27:29 - Russ’ advice for new and aspiring coaches.29:31 - Would Russ want to work with coaches outside of just volleyball?BooksCoach Your Brains Out: The Art and Science of Coaching VolleyballThe Inner Knight: Train and Compete Like a ChampionContact us for bulk orders: coachyourbrainsout@gmail.com Become a Patron to support the show.

1:06 - Introducing Russ, and his legacy as former head coach of the Penn State women's volleyball program.1:27 - What Russ will miss the most about coaching volleyball at Penn State.5:33 - Russ’ thoughts on if the strong desire to win can be a developed quality, or if it has to already exist in potential recruits.7:05 - What can coaches do to develop competitiveness in their players?9:13 - How can volleyball players and coaches find and develop a balance of being competitive, but also enjoying the sport?10:44 - Differentiating the players that say they want to win and the players that show they want to win.What does that look like?14:55 - Even if he knows he is going to win a match, does Russ still prepare in the same way?16:40 - What kind of practice environment has Russ cultivated, and what made practices successful in his eyes?20:32 - What does Russ mean when he wants his players to “go hard” in practices.24:39 - In challenging scenarios, does Russ believe in actively guiding his players, or letting them figure out a solution?26:14 - In a team with a smaller roster, how would Russ address a lack of effort among the players, or individuals?29:02 - Did Russ adjust his practices based on the physical or mental state of his players?34:21 - Is there anything Russ changed in his coaching strategy across his entire career that made a significant difference?35:51 - Russ’ travel story about a trip to Washington, and how it reflects his coaching strategy.Coach Your Brains Out: The Art and Science of Coaching VolleyballThe Inner Knight: Train and Compete Like a ChampionContact us for bulk orders: coachyourbrainsout@gmail.comBecome a Patron to support the show.

1:30 - Based on what Andy has seen so far, what are his expectations for the Pirates this season?2:41 - Will Andy travel with the players this year, or continue working with the coaches on the mental side?3:18 -  What are environmental constraints, and how can they be used?6:56 - Explaining the differences between “task” and “environment”11:43 - Using the example of a high net vs. a low net to explain these ideas.16:49 - In baseball practices, are environmental constraints used purposefully?18:14 - What environmental constraints can be observed indoors?22:46 - Should athletes (particularly college athletes) practice at the same time that their games would usually take place at?26:33 - Other factors besides the task, the organism, and the environment with respect to environmental constraints.28:57 - Is it important for coaches to know and recognize the differences in the aspects that they are constraining?Coach Your Brains Out: The Art and Science of Coaching VolleyballThe Inner Knight: Train and Compete Like a ChampionBecome a Patron to support the show.

1:04 - What are pre-mortems and post-mortems and where did they come from?Note: this idea is also referenced by Angie Akers in this previous CYBO episode: https://www.blog.goldmedalsquared.com/podcast/episode/3c92044d/preparing-for-the-olympics-with-angie-akers4:05 - John’s thoughts on what the most important principles coaches should understand or learn before implementing pre-mortem exercises.9:38 - Given the maturity needed to properly execute pre-mortem exercises, at what age group can be considered the starting point or cutoff at which these exercises can begin to be implemented?13:50 - How can coaches tell when players have developed a strong relationship with their teammates and reached a point of maturity where pre-mortem exercises can be implemented?16:40 - Should pre-mortems be changed or implemented in a different way based on the skill or success of teams?19:14 - How to encourage players to open up to coaches and their teammates and communicate their feelings and thoughts freely.25:54 - How to determine which idea should be prioritized among the others29:03 - Have there been common themes that emerge when implementing pre-mortem exercises across different sports?33:22 - After identifying the initial issue or focus, what is the next step to be taken?Using the A-Team and the problem of humidity when competing as the example39:30 - What kind of changes did John Mayer’s implementation of pre-mortem exercises make by the end of the season?43:18 - John’s book recommendations for coaches.BooksCoach Your Brains Out: The Art and Science of Coaching VolleyballThe Inner Knight: Train and Compete Like a ChampionBecome a Patron to support the show.

1:09 - Segwaying into this second part, John dives into the second scenario, and explains how it contrasts the scenario with the Cleveland Cavaliers.Showcasing autonomy within the team huddle2:43 - John’s thoughts on what the coach’s role should be in terms of creating team support and raising morale.4:24 - Benefits of giving the players/team more autonomy in situations like the Cavaliers and Warriors scenarios.“Players play the game”8:16 - Based on Steve Kerr’s method of supporting the Warriors, how would he have reacted if he was coaching the Cavaliers during their mishap with the J.R. Smith situation?11:20 - Analyzing a scenario that took place during a timeout from the U.S. women's national water polo team at the London 2012 Olympics.Context: U.S. were winning in the very last seconds of the game in a game against Australia14:18 - What was running through Adam’s head during the end of the water polo game?17:06 - How were Adam and the team able to effectively respond?Past mistakes allowed for the opportunity to grow and respond more effectively in similar situations that they were not able to overcome in the past21:01 - Recurring themes or qualities of coaches that are able to effectively overcome adversity in close matches.Importance of being more personal and connected with your players26:44 - How to effectively control or manage situations where players are slacking off, and how to set high expectations without yelling or freaking out.What kind of language should be used?Read Billy's new book! The Inner Knight: Train and Compete Like a ChampionGet CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

1:30 - John’s role in the Olympic process, and which teams he is currently working with.3:27 - Common themes or occurrences John has noticed within high level teams that he has worked with.8:24 - How and why do these themes occur in these scenarios?“Beginning with the end in mind” - determining the purpose of and goals of the team10:46 - Diving into specific scenarios, particularly one from when LeBron James was playing in the 2018 NBA Playoffs with the Cleveland Cavaliers.Specifically analyzing the body language and communication between the team.16:39 - John’s beliefs and thoughts on what part of the Cavaliers’ situation was the most detrimental to their play. 18:04 - John’s thoughts on what a much more effective response to the situation would look like.19:50 - Regardless of the consequences of destroying the morale of the team, is it still reasonable that LeBron was recognizably upset at J.R. Smith?22:50 - Addressing the need for someone to step up and raise the morale.Books:The Inner Knight: Train and Compete Like a ChampionGet CYBO the book!Support the show