The Athlete Development Show

Tennis FitHoward Green (@HGreenTennisFit) is a strength and conditioning coach working in tennis. He coordinates the sports science and medicine team at Bolton Arena International Tennis Academy and works privately with many up and coming and elite players, including Ana Ivanovic.Prior to his work in sport, Howard was a Commando in the Royal Marines. After completing his basic training just out of school, the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre happened and changed the world. Howard went on to complete tours of Iraq and Afghanistan over a space of six years that left him burnt out and suffering from PTSD.This is Howard's story. Kia ora,CraigIf you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps me keep producing the show. I also love hearing your feedback!Sign up for Craig's free weekly newsletter by scrolling down. It's full of research-backed, practical ideas for helping youth athletes defend against injury, overtraining and burning out.Follow Craig:Instagram: instagram.com/drcraigharrison/Facebook: facebook.com/drcraigharrisonTwitter: twitter.com/drcraigharrisonSupport the show

Talent Is Not ObjectiveDr Alex Roberts (@AlexHRoberts) teaches at La Trobe University in Australia and conducts research focusing on skill acquisition, talent identification and the science of coaching.In this conversation, Alex and I discuss her childhood growing up as a high-achieving Aussie, her journey as an athlete in the NCAA system and her fascinating PhD research that sheds new light on the role of the coach in talent identification, selection and development.Kia ora!CraigIf you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps me keep producing the show. I also love hearing your feedback!Sign up for Craig's free weekly newsletter by visiting www.athletedevelopmentproject.com. It's full of research-backed, practical ideas for helping youth athletes defend against injury, overtraining and burning out.Follow Craig:Instagram: instagram.com/drcraigharrison/Facebook: facebook.com/drcraigharrisonTwitter: twitter.com/drcraigharrisonSupport the show

Movement is Life Aaron (@movement_yoda) works at Apiros, a movement culture based in Santa Cruz, California, where he connects with athletes from developmental level to the professional.Aaron graduated from the University of California Davis with a degree in Genetics before going on to earn a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Azusa Pacific University.  He then did a 9-month residency program in Vallejo California, specialising in Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF).  Aaron taught residents and worked with people suffering from neurological insults, including stroke, traumatic brain and spinal cord injury as a faculty member for 5 years. In 2015, Aaron began working in the orthopaedic and athletic setting and expanded his skills to include Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilisation (DNS) and the Anat Baniel Method.In this conversation, Aaron talks about his unique approach to movement, what has led to it, and how he goes about helping his athletes to reach their maximum potential.Kia ora!CraigIf you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps me keep producing the show. I also love hearing your feedback!Sign up for Craig's free weekly newsletter by visiting www.athletedevelopmentproject.com. It's full of research-backed, practical ideas for helping youth athletes defend against injury, overtraining and burning out.Follow Craig:Instagram: instagram.com/drcraigharrison/Facebook: facebook.com/drcraigharrisonTwitter: twitter.com/drcraigharrisonSupport the show

Using Science to Help PeopleDaniel Greenwood (@DanielGreenw00d) is a scientist.He spends his days with athletes, coaches and other service providers solving interesting problems in sport.Dan started his sport science journey in Sydney as an undergraduate student. After earning his degree he moved to Canberra to complete postgraduate study at the Australian Institute of Sport. Next, Dan broadened his horizon with a job in Singapore at the Sports Council. Studying towards a PhD came next, as well as a role at the Queensland Academy of Sport. He then moved back to Canberra to take the position of Senior Skill Acquisition Scientist. Today, Dan Directs the Human Performance Centre at the University of Memphis.This is the story of Dan's quest to be the best scientist he can be. It's also about how he uses science to help people.I love the way Dan thinks and how he pushes past what's normal to get to the important.If you like to live outside the box a little, you're going to love this conversation.Kia ora!CraigIf you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps me keep producing the show. I also love hearing your feedback!Sign up for Craig's free weekly newsletter by scrolling down. It's full of research-backed, practical ideas for helping youth athletes defend against injury, overtraining and burning out.Follow Craig:Instagram: instagram.com/drcraigharrison/Facebook: facebook.com/drcraigharrisonTwitter: twitter.com/drcraigharrisonSupport the show

Reflections on the first 99 ShowsWow! 100 Epidoses! It's been awesome! Today, with the help of my good friend Dan Cooke (@cooke_dm), I take a look back on what I've learnt from the first 99 shows. A massive THANK YOU to you all for sticking with me and I look forward to sharing many more episodes with you. If you have any burning questions you'd like tackled on future shows or guests you'd really like to hear from, please flick me an email to let me know - craig@athletedevelopmentproject.comKia ora!If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps me keep producing the show. I also love hearing your feedback!Sign up for Craig's free weekly newsletter here. It's full of research-backed, practical ideas for helping youth athletes defend against injury, overtraining and burning out.Follow Craig:Instagram: instagram.com/drcraigharrison/Facebook: facebook.com/drcraigharrisonTwitter: twitter.com/drcraigharrisoSupport the show

Ben Pullen - Using Strength-Based Activities to Empower ChildrenBen Pullen (bpullen_coach) is a PhD student in Paediatric Strength and Conditioning in the Youth Physical Development Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University. His research investigates the effect of Strength and Conditioning in Physical Education on the athletic motor skill competencies and psychological constructs of school children.Check out his latest peer-reviewed paper here.Ben also owns a private training facility in the UK where he uses strength-based activities to empower children. Kia ora!If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps me keep producing the show. I also love hearing your feedback!Sign up for Craig's free weekly newsletter here. It's full of research-backed, practical ideas for helping youth athletes defend against injury, overtraining and burning out. Follow Craig:Instagram: instagram.com/drcraigharrison/Facebook: facebook.com/drcraigharrisonTwitter: twitter.com/drcraigharrisonSupport the show

My kōrero today is with Mike Schofield (@rotationalperf).  Mike grew up on a farm in Castlepoint, half an hour out of Masterton on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. He was raised by working-class parents who held fairly typical rural beliefs - you know, be courteous, respect your elders, work hard.  Mike loved sport and spent his formative years playing golf. And a lot of it. By his late-teens Mike was good. But, in the words of his then coach, he was told: "you're too small and will never hit the ball far enough to be elite."    This is the story of how those comments changed Mike and dramatically shaped the way he has conducted his life ever since. Mike tells of how he started to look for answers in places that he'd never thought to look before. He talks about his journey into weightlifting, sport science and postgraduate research. But most importantly, Mike tells of how being told what to do as a young athlete created a disdain for old-school learning pedagogies now as an adult.Mike is a coach for HPSNZ. The people he works with like to throw things really fast, and really far. His job, as he describes it, is to help them stay true to who they are. As an athlete. And as a human. Please enjoy the show. Kia ora!Support the show

"Locking back now, when I was younger I had an ability that my body couldn’t cope with. I had the ability to express a lot of force and speed and I was physically not able to cope with it. Also, technically I wasn’t that great when I was younger."    - Chris DonaldsonThis is a story of the relentless pursuit of excellence.It's also about empathy, and why in sport, you don't get anywhere without it.I met Chris Donaldson on the red rubber of the Caledonian, Dunedin’s athletic track, in 2000. He had what all of us in the training group so desperately wanted. Speed. And plenty of it.But more than that, he was the ultimate professional. On a perpetual search for the “the ultimate race, when everything comes together and produces something magical”, finding his best meant everything to Chris. It was inspiring.I also enjoyed his humour. Chris never took himself too seriously, which from what I learnt, helps to offset the rigorous demands of professional sport.Chris made his name on the track and represented his country at two Olympic Games. In 1998, he ran 10.17 seconds over 100 m in Kuala Lumpur – the second-fastest time in NZ history.He is also an optimist. As he explains in our chat, every race was a chance at success. Rarely thinking about the consequence of loss, Chris lit up every time he got to compete – especially against the best in the world.This is a conversation about how his positivity came to be. It’s about going all-in on a passion, what it really takes to pursue your best, and the empathy needed from your support network along the way.But it’s also a conversation about change.Just before the 200 Olympic Games commenced, Chris went down with an Achilles tendon injury that, despite being in the best shape of his life, ended his sprinting career and stopped him short of realising his dreams.And so out of nowhere, the hard road out of sport began. Chris talks openly about where he looked, and what he found.Chris oozes energy - you can hear it in his voice. This is a great conversation with a man who gives his all to what he loves.Kia ora!CraigSupport the show

Today's conversation is something different. In episode 75 of the show, I spoke with Austin Einhorn, founder of Apiros, a movement culture out of Santa Cruz in California. Austin works with a range of youth and professional athletes within the US and around the world. In that conversation, we dug into designing training environment for better movement outcomes, the future of sport and performance training, his forthcoming book (which is not far away) and much more. Since then, Austin and I have developed a close friendship and now regularly talk about our work and life in general. He's one of the guys I go to with the questions I'm struggling withAnd so we thought we'd see how it goes sharing some of our conversations with you.We're calling it the "Curious Mind."First up we dig into cultivating curiosity, social media, the law of entropy, skill versus fitness, Austin's vision for his life's work, coaching the squat, influencing change, and much more. Kia ora!Support the show

Nothing beats time spent practising to develop a skill. Getting better requires doing the work. But practice doesn't go the distance unless it's self-motivated.Inner drive is crucial to realising potential - I've seen it play out countless times in aspiring athletes.And there's no better example than David Gerrard - a man who swam for NZ at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.Growing up, David would strap his togs to the handlebars, throw his towel around his neck and bike his way the few blocks to the Mt Eden pool. His mum and dad never woke him up at 5 am to get him to the pool. He knew what he had to do to get better. And if he wasn't prepared to it, that was his problem.David's internal drive to get better not only served him well in his athletics but in a long and illustrious career in medicine.David worked a the University of Otago for 35 years and became a Professor in 2014. He retired two years later and was granted the title of Emeritus Professor.He has also held a number of highly distinguished sport administration roles including Chef de Mission at the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games and 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Medical Commissioner to eight Summer Olympic Games, Chairman of Drug Free Sport NZ, a member of World Rugby’s Anti Doping Advisory Committee, Chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency Therapeutic Use Exemption Committee and President of Swimming NZ.In 2007, David was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.Today he shares his inspirational story, dropping pearls of wisdom along the way.This is a conversation about the type of motivation that breeds success, and where it comes from.It's also a conversation about fairness in sport. And in life. Inspired early in life by Ludwig Gutmann - founder of the Paralympic Games - David learnt the importance of equitable environments. His life's work in sports medicine and the use of therapeutic drugs to level the playing field in sport is clear evidence of that.But more than anything else, this is a conversation about values. Raised by working-class parents in the 1950s, David grew up learning the importance of knowing where you come from and the power of unconditional familial support.David is a thoughtful and kind man and I love this conversation.To read more and listen click here. Craig -Support the show