FOSBURY FLOP

John Kiely won the “monkey mind” every human has inside him and broke with all the biases, beliefs, thoughts... that unconsciously and erroneously reigned —and still do— in the world of sport. Unlike many, he does not go against the complexity and uncertainty of the sport, but moves in them like a fish in water. John Kiely is a sports professional with a way of doing things, of thinking... that allows him to treat athletes like people, not like machines. He knows why he does things, “that’s how always has been done” doesn’t go with him. He puts aside Excel and Big Data because he knows how to write down the most relevant information in his notebook. He masters the art of adapting to each context and player in front of him.Having had the honor of speaking with him, I take away the feeling that John Kiely is a very good definition of a coach made person.Martí Cañellas | Fosbury FlopCheck the notes, other episodes and related blog posts in: fosburyflop.blog This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fosburyflop.blog/subscribe

How do we improve what we can't measure?Go to FosburyFlop.blog to check the written version of the episode, its notes and much more content This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fosburyflop.blog/subscribe

Manuel Sola —great disseminator about to complexity and sport, among many others— interviews me in his podcast Evolutionary Performance. On it, Manuel connects science, practice and experience to talk about everything that helps you improve your performance, without neglecting your health. The conversation explores the story of a change of perspective towards training and life. I answer the questions of Manuel as best I can, but what I like most is the knowledge he adds to every topic. My favorite one was, talking about the role of the coach. He summarized it saying “we control the stimulus, but not the adaptation.” If you enjoy it a small part of what I did... I am more than satisfied.The conversation is in Spanish. You can watch it with English subtitles in the YouTube video of the episode or read the automatic English transcript by clicking on the menu above.You can check the notes of the episode and related posts on FosburyFlop.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fosburyflop.blog/subscribe

Look at the attached picture below and think about how many actions in a tennis match —or season— are identical. No action is the same: It is not said by Philip or me, Rafa Nadal says it. Well, tennis training has always gone in the opposite direction to this principle. The complexity of the sport has been forgotten and has been trained by breaking it down and repetitively. Philip provides us with the key information so that your training has a real transfer to the game. So that your players can perform thanks to you, not in spite of you.Martí Cañellas | Fosbury FlopCheck the notes, other episodes and related blog posts in: fosburyflop.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fosburyflop.blog/subscribe

How culture impacts how we play. Go to FosburyFlop.substack.com to check the written version of the episode, its notes and much more content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fosburyflop.blog/subscribe

The conversation is in Spanish. You can watch it with English subtitles in the YouTube video of the episode.10km running up the mountain, 1h and a half weights, 12km swimming with a shirt or weights, 1h gym, 1h and a half soccer match —because the coach wanted to play— and a last waterpolo training session was the daily bread of Dani Ballart and the entire Spanish waterpolo team to prepare for the Barcelona '92 Olympics. His coach, Dragan Matutinovic, justified his military methods in the face of the need to forge the character and mentality of a group of undisciplined players. Dani Ballart was the youngest of that historic team. He tells us how he passed the national team cut-off and what he has learned to become now a fighting for the Champions League title.Martí Cañellas | Fosbury FlopCheck the notes, other episodes and related blog posts in: fosburyflop.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fosburyflop.blog/subscribe

I would summarize the way of seeing the world of Raúl and his Fidias team with Mishima’s quote: “Qui n’ha begut en tindrà set tota la vida.” (“Whoever has drunk of this will be thirsty all his life.”) He doesn’t give us a recipe, but he teaches us how to cook. He doesn’t explain us a methodology or tell us what exercises to do, but he teaches us how to build our and choose them. That’s why his way of thinking and seeing the world applies to everything and, while he explains us how he trains, we learn how to live.The conversation is in Spanish. You can watch it with English subtitles in the YouTube video of the episode. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fosburyflop.blog/subscribe

Football is played all over the world but you can find many different game-styles depending on the culture and society in which they are carried out. In Barcelona, the Gothic cathedrals are wide, rather than deep, like the style of play of Pep Guardiola’s Barça. In Brazil, samba has influenced the moves of its players forged in the streets and in small playing spaces. A capitalist society focused on competition, not education, is also impacting how we play. Starting at the top and working his way down, James explains us how to let players and teams express themselves and gives us hints for developing more “mavericks”: those who refuse to play by the rules, that aren’t scared to cross the line of conformity, because their unorthodox tactics get results.Martí Cañellas | Fosbury FlopCheck the notes of the episode and related blog posts in: fosburyflop.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.fosburyflop.blog/subscribe