Just Fly Performance Podcast

This week’s podcast is with Ken Clark and Cory Walts. Dr. Ken Clark is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at West Chester University, specializing in the mechanical factors of athletic performance and injury prevention. With over a decade of hands-on coaching experience across various levels, Ken also teaches Biomechanics, Kinetic Anatomy, and Motor Learning. Cory Walts is the Director of Strength & Conditioning at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has led successful sports performance programs since 2019. A finalist for the NSCA College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year Award, he is highly certified and experienced in the field. Speed training, for team sports in particular, is an evolving method, specifically in how athletes are profiled and bucketed into training needs. There are more and less complex ways to do this. With the increased emergence and leaning into technology-assisted models, starting with a basic understanding of speed development principles across groups is essential. On today’s podcast, Cory and Ken discuss speed training for team sports in light of "low-tech" solutions and simple bucketing systems. We discuss critical differences between team sports and track and field athletes and the appropriate expectations for technical models. Ken and Cory discuss various speed training methods, including mini-hurdles, resisted sprint variations, stride frequency variations, environmental training considerations, and more. This was a great, practical show on developing methods in sprint development. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com To learn more about the Sprint Acceleration Essentials or Elastic Essentials courses, head to justflysports.thinkific.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 11:32- Optimizing Speed Training for Team Sport Athletes 17:40- Gamified Speed Training for Athletic Motivation 22:05- Tailored Training through Sprint Profiling Analysis 24:02- Optimizing Performance through Lumbo Pelvic Control 35:37- Dynamic Resistance Training with Bullet Belts 53:37- Enhancing Athletic Performance with Wearable Resistance 54:37- Angular Velocity Enhancement Through Flex Leg Training 56:41- Movement Variation for Optimal Running Mechanics 1:01:00- Balancing Intervention for Effective Coaching Results Quotes (12:00) “So the slow track and field athletes were still kind of like, you know, pretty front side, pretty short contact times and contact lengths, etcetera. But the team sport guys were not. They had longer contact times, longer contact lengths, like less, you know, more backside thigh, less frontside thigh mechanics. And so kind of the really cool thing that emerged from this data set was like, hey, our fast team sport guys can hit really fast top speeds as fast as some of the slower track guys, but with a different strategy. And frankly, a strategy that makes sense from a team sport standpoint” Ken Clark 22:25: “We just looked at relative to the others, the first zero to ten versus the 30 to 40, and then we bucketed them, and we had an acceleration group that needed to work on acceleration. We had a top speed that needed to work on that, and we had a balanced. So if you just think of a bell curve, majority of the team was in this balanced, and then the certain amount was in the other two” Cory Walts 40:00: “We're not going to be able to set up like individualized sled loads, which I think is great, but, you know, just was not, and I've done it with other teams, Corey and I both have,

This week’s podcast is with David Durand. David is a coach and author of "B.E.T. On It: A Psychological Approach to Coaching Gen Z and Beyond." He combines his expertise in coaching, strength and conditioning, and psychology to help athletes achieve their full potential. Through his company, Real Development LLC, he provides insights that address athletes' physical, mental, and personal growth, mainly focusing on the challenges faced by Gen Z. David advocates for a holistic approach that emphasizes the nervous system's role in enhancing performance and mental well-being. As technology and social media have facilitated a drastic change in the world, along with the prevalence of mental health issues, coaching athletes in Generation Z (currently ages 11-26, or under age 27 for current coaches in most situations) demands that we understand how stress impacts the training process. On today’s podcast, David speaks on aspects of the nervous system in light of modern life and technology and how we can use ideas based on Polyvagal Theory to help athletes have a training experience that gives them maximal benefit in their athletic journey. David’s concepts are a must-understand for those who work with young athletes, but the same concepts resonate with humans of all ages. In this show, David specifically covers how breathing, vision, and touch can drive beneficial responses from the body to the brain, providing mental and emotional benefits to the athlete. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio and Athletic Development Games. Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to: Lilateam.com TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30-day trial of the TeamBuildr software. For a Gym Studio 14-day free trial, head to gymstudio.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 1:47- Holistic Approach to Athletic Performance Enhancement 5:58- The Impact of Social Media on Generation Z's Mental Health 10:02- Optimal Performance through Autonomic Nervous System Balancing 14:41- Behavioral Indicators of Athlete's Action Mode 17:07- Athlete Well-Being: Social Media Stress Impact 21:45- Nurturing Growth Mindsets Through Positive Training 25:57- Nurturing Intrinsic Motivation in Sports Coaching 32:58- Impact of Everyday Gamification on Generations 36:47- Balancing Data Insights with Present-Moment Engagement 46:02- Enhancing Performance Through the Bet Method 1:01:43- Enhancing Sports Performance Through Vision Engagement 1:13:38- Enhancing Team Performance Through Physical Interactions 1:16:14- Team Bonding Through Physical Gestures in Sports Quotes (15:17) "In action mode, I typically look for an athlete. You know, if it's before a competition, it's pretty easy to see it sometimes. Maybe their eyes are kind of darting around all over. Maybe they're looking into the stands a lot. They're kind of feeling a little tense or jittery" (25:57) "Sometimes, however, when that becomes like your tactic day in and day out where you're trying to motivate by yelling or fear-based tactics, It's like putting gasoline on a fire. You may get a big blow up, which is probably why coaches do, but again and again because they feel like it gets a rise out of players and helps. But at the end of the day, it's not sustainable and that fire is going to burn out." (33:35) “When I talk about gamification, I'm not talking about games like basketball and football and not talking about competitions and track and field more. So just like how our modern culture with social media and just media in general has really latched on to gamification because, you know, humans are the product.” (47:15) "If you extend your exhale longer than your inhale, you're engaging the brake, you're accessing the parasympathetic,

Rick Franzblau, Assistant AD for Olympic Sports Performance at Clemson University, shares his wealth of knowledge on athletic movement and biomechanics. He dives into the balance between strength training and sport-specific performance, discussing concepts like skeletal compression and energy transfer. Franzblau emphasizes the importance of tailored training methods, including Olympic lifting and box squatting, to match an athlete’s structure. He also explores the role of connective tissue and the interplay of acceleration and deceleration in optimizing athletic performance.

Adarian Barr, a former college track coach and expert in human movement, dives deep into the mechanics behind athletic performance. He discusses the nuances of joint interactions and how these can optimize movement efficiency. Key topics include strategic foot placement in sprints, the importance of arms and legs working in harmony, and the role of isometrics in training. Adarian also reflects on recent Olympic races, emphasizing the critical mechanics of sprinting that can make or break performance.

In this discussion, Joel Reinhardt, the Assistant Athletic Performance Coach at San Jose State Football, shares insights from his extensive background in sports performance. He delves into modern training methodologies that harmonize on-field practice with scientific approaches, emphasizing tailored training systems for enhancing game speed. Key topics include balancing intensity with recovery, the integration of speed and power training, and the importance of psychological factors such as fearlessness and awareness during gameplay. Joel's innovative strategies provide a fresh perspective on preparing athletes for success.

Piotr Maruszewski, a strength and conditioning coach with a focus on multi-sport speed development, shares his insights from coaching athletes at major international events. He explores innovative training techniques, such as fast eccentric and oscillatory isometric methods. The conversation dives into the importance of rhythm in hurdling, tailoring strength training based on muscle types, and unique philosophies for youth athletes. Piotr also reflects on the influence of mentors in his coaching journey, emphasizing the need for personalized training to enhance athletic performance.

Rob Assise is a jumps coach and mathematics teacher at Homewood Flossmoor High School (2023 Illinois State Track Champions). He is also a writer, a regular “Track Football Consortium” speaker, and a multi-time guest on this podcast. In addition to high school sports, he owns the private training business Re-Evolution Athletics. Having good reactivity in the feet carries nuance with it. Some athletes can use their feet exceptionally well for sprinting or straight-ahead pursuits. Others have foot dynamics that allow them a better conversion of horizontal energy to vertical. Ultimately, the goal is to understand why athletes use their strategies and find areas of improvement specific to the individual. On today’s podcast, Rob covers ideas on intersections of sprint and jumps training in track and field, athletic asymmetry, plyometric coaching, speed and power complexes, and a nuanced discussion on the nature of foot placement in sprinting and plyometrics, on the level of both performance and injury prevention. Rob is a humble and experienced coach, and I’ve always loved having a chance to sit down and talk training with him. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio, and the Plyomat Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off of any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer head to: Lilateam.com The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at plyomat.net View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 1:00- Using Sprint Float Sprint Methods in Track Jumpers 10:00- Understanding Sprinting Better by Being a Jumps Coach 21:03- Enhancing Sprint Performance through Training Variety 27:00- Impact of Sports Tools on Running Mechanics 30:17- Utilizing Asymmetry for Optimal Athletic Performance 31:55- Addressing Athlete Asymmetry for Optimal Performance 42:31- RSI Scores and Foot-Ground Interaction Patterns 48:24- PVC Pipe Balancing for Foot Strength 55:54- Enhancing Athletic Performance Through Varied Plyometrics 57:54- Enhancing Sprinting Performance Through Plyometrics 1:02:01- Dynamic Foot Contact Options for Performance Optimization 1:02:01- Dynamic Foot Placements Enhance Plyometric Training 1:03:06- Enhancing Plyometric Performance Through Midfoot Engagement Quotes (7:43) "The best thing that happened to me as a sprint coach was focusing on the jumps. It just allowed me to kind of see things from a little bit of different perspective because on the Runway you're really not at maximum speed." (15:49) "When you do things that the brain finds interesting, your brain doesn't give a damn about volume." (32:20) “In general, when we're looking at asymmetry with a 1080 or something, like bounding, hopping, whatever, I usually just use, like, a 10% marker. So, like, if that asymmetry is greater than 10% or maybe approaching 10%, maybe we're going to tease in some things to try to get a little bit more of a balance” (42:31) “I've had sprinters who have had crazy good RSi scores. And they come over to the jumps and I'll have them, like, bound or hop, and they're going to have a contact that's more flat or rolling and they just can't do it. It looks like incredibly labored. It's like they just don't want to. They almost refuse to contact that rear part of their foot” (44:30) "Those athletes who struggle accessing that rear part of their foot, they were more prone to hamstring injuries." (48:52) “Very few people are going to hit a forefoot contact gallop” About Rob Assise Rob Assise has 20+ years of experience teaching mathematics and coaching track and field at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. He also has coached football and cross country, and is also the owner of the private training business, Re-evolution athletics. Additional writing of his can be found at Simplifaster,

Andrew Paul is the Director of Performance and Rehabilitation for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He is both a sports performance coach and a physical therapist.  Andrew has learned from a variety of performance and biomechanics experts and has a deep knowledge of individual factors in athletic movement, training, and performance. Individual factors in athletic movement and understanding the nuance of training in the athletic equation are where the future of training and performance is heading. At high levels of sport, this understanding becomes increasingly important to maximize players' health and vitality while catering to their primary performance drivers. Last time on the show, Andrew talked about the difference between propulsive and absorbing actions, as seen on court and in training. For this episode, we dig into Andrew's take on movement screens and how particular types of athletes tend to be biased to excel in those tests. We also deeply discuss forefoot and rearfoot-oriented elastic athletes and mid-foot dominant athletes and how these aspects play out in court movement and training. This was another fantastic discussion with a brilliant performance mind. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio, and the Plyomat Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off of any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer head to: Lilateam.com The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at plyomat.net View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Timestamps 2:50- Joint-specific Movement Analysis for Enhanced Functionality 5:19- Triple Extension and Force Absorption in Movement 9:29- Forefoot Elastic Athlete Performance Monitoring Techniques 13:00- Acceleration Strategies Based on Foot Elasticity 17:35- Hip Internal Rotation in Rearfoot Elastic Athletes 19:32- Foot Type-Tailored Training Strategies for Athletes 29:31- Tailoring Foot Loading Strategies for Athlete Performance 34:08- Optimizing Performance Through Tailored Foot Exercises 36:15- Enhancing Balance with Specialized Discs Training 48:10- Tailoring Warm-Up Routines for Athletic Types 58:53- Jump Performance Insights: Movement Strategies Unveiled 1:06:59- Versatile Athletes with Multiple Movement Styles Quotes (2:27) "And I think the evidence on that's pretty clear. I did go through a phase in my career where I was using (FMS) pretty heavily, particularly when I was in college, because I think the functional movement screen is meant to be used at scale. And in my current environment, we only deal with 18 players and so we don't really need anything that's utilized at scale." - Andrew Paul (3:40) Propulsive movers tend to rely on deep ranges of motion. And the reason why they rely on those things is because they're using a long concentric pushing action to create momentum, they tend to have more access to range of motion. They tend, and something like the FM's score higher than, than someone who's very fascial or elastic in nature. - Andrew Paul (14:42) "Rear foot elastics really use their tripod well when they go from horizontal to vertical." - Andrew Paul (22:40) “The fore-foot elastic to me is built for the long jump. Yes, it's like these are the guys that jogged on the court and dunk from the free throw line, but they're also the guys that don't have, like, a power dunking ability. Like they need a lot of runway to get their way up there. And then the rear foot elastic is a lot what you're talking about there. They, they kind of have to move in a spiral” (27:28) "I define the midfoot as when a majority of your weight is on the back side ball of your foot." - Andrew Paul (29:47) “And we, in jumping drills, we'll go barefoot and we will define. If you land on your toes and you rock back to your midfoot,

Chris Korfist and Dan Fichter are this week’s guests. Between the two of them, they have decades of successful coaching in the world of track and athletic performance training. They have each had a substantial journey in their study of human performance, and have made a substantial impact on the field in the process. Many years ago, Chris and Dan were on the podcast talking about the “DB Hammer” system, and how it impacted aspects of their speed and power training, particularly the individualizing aspect of auto-regulation and “drop-offs”. For today’s podcast, Chris and Dan get into details of their evolving approach to speed training, particularly on the level of complexes, and the methods they use to break limiting barriers of their athlete’s full potential. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio, and the Plyomat Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off of any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer head to: Lilateam.com The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at plyomat.net TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers.  Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software. View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Main Points 9:03- Coaching's Transition to Information Abundance Era 12:48- Training Philosophies for Enhanced Coaching Performance 21:38- Neurological Tailored Training for Enhanced Performance 29:48- Fly Tens for Maximal Speed Development Training 32:12- Real-Time Feedback Enhancing Athlete Performance 37:21- Enhancing Performance Through Diverse Sensory Inputs 41:03- Enhancing Athletic Performance Through Neurological Challenges 48:51- Enhancing Athletic Performance Through Reflex Integration 53:47- Real-time Performance Monitoring for Athletes 1:02:30- Enhancing Coordination Through Water Bag Training 1:08:52- Competitive Station-Based Training for Athletic Performance Quotes (00:10:50) "People just accumulate knowledge, or not so much knowledge, but information. They read it once and they store it somewhere. But back in the day, you didn't. Things took time, and so you had time to actually work through things because you may only get one article a month or something like that, and that's all you're getting. And so go ahead, work through that and try things and experiment. But today you can just go download 20 podcasts, look at three Instagram posts, you know, YouTube, and think you're an expert all of a sudden. And there's been no time to. To let things stew, to let things grow inside your own head and to take your own look at things and create your own system." - Chris Korfist (00:13:17) "You need to understand this stuff from the inside out." – Dan Fichter (00:32:37) "And then when you see it, then you start to be able to feel it. And when you can feel it, then you can change it." – Dan Fichter (34:50) I think oscillating isometrics may be one of the most profound training techniques out there. I really do in terms of teaching what movement really is and how. – Dan Fichter (38:36) I kind of do the same thing with overspeed. Again, there's a fear factor there that you're going to go faster than you thought - Chris Korfist (53:47) You know, we were putting our 1080 numbers up on a. A projector so everyone could see. We put our. We tied our timer up to a projector. - Chris Korfist (01:06:25) "The first thing is how good of timing does this athlete have?" - Joel Smith (01:14:23) "Getting strong is easy. Now, getting him fast, that's a challenge." – Dan Fichter Show Notes: How to Get Fast: Vol 1 korfist.sellfy.store/p/ymrl/ About Dan Fichter Dan Fichter owns and operates WannaGetFast Power/Speed Training, a sports performance training business in Rochester, NY that offers training to elite athletes.

Today's podcast features a Q&A with Joel Smith. Questions this round revolve around facets of sprint complexes, jump training, reactive strength, youth sports, and much more. Today’s episode is brought to you by TeamBuildr’s Gym Studio, and the Plyomat Use the code “justfly25” for 25% off of any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer head to: Lilateam.com The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing.  Check out the Plyomat at plyomat.net TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers.  Use the code “JUSTFLY” for a free 30 day trial of the TeamBuildr software. View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Timestamps 1:48- Optimal Squatting Form for Athletic Performance 8:13- Enhancing Sprint Acceleration with Shin Angles 13:38- Progressive Volume Approach in French Contrast Training 22:02- Enhancing Athlete Recovery Through Energetic Practices 30:29- Creative Development Through Imaginative Play in Youth Sports 40:17- Efficient Torque Transition with Power Cleans 47:14- Enhancing Speed and Recovery with Varied Movements 52:02- Optimizing Sprinting Technique Through Varied Drills 55:19- Enhancing Distance Running Efficiency with Elasticity 59:05- Enhancing Athlete Performance through Hurdles Training 1:03:45- Dynamic Athlete Engagement in Marinovich's Training Quotes (2:26) "My point for this, or the place of balance that I would lean towards is simply trying to help athletes have good general squatting mechanics and not so much squatting mechanics that force the ankle mobility or force the knees forward, but more a total body squat that helps the whole body to have this nice sequence of external to internal to external rotation that can line and stack the joints up well and then works with that." (18:13) "Take a step back and see what one set can do for you." (45:49) "The art of question asking, I think, is a really huge piece in finding understanding. It's been absolutely essential in my own development." (56:12) "Distance running, the more efficient every step, is ultimately less energy in each step. That's going to mean every. Every step. You're going to have less fatigue, you're going to have more energy at the end of the race, and it's a big deal." (1:02:59) "Ultimately, that true passion, that reason you got into this thing and the thing that you enjoy doing yourself, you love doing that movement, that style of training yourself, and you can intake that and run it through, you can embody it. That also helps your learning." About Joel Smith Joel Smith is the founder of Just Fly Sports and is a sports performance and track coach in Cincinnati, Ohio. Joel hosts the Just Fly Performance Podcast, has authored several books and coaches in both the high school and private sector. Joel was a strength coach for 8 years at UC Berkeley, working with the Swim teams and post-graduate professional swimmers, as well as tennis, water polo, and track and field. A track coach of 17 years, Joel coached for the Diablo Valley Track and Field Club for 7 years, and also has 6 years of experience coaching on the collegiate level, working at Wilmington College, and the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse. He is currently coaching high jump at Milford High School. Joel has coached 4 national champions, multiple All-Americans, and NCAA record holders in track and field. In the realm of strength and conditioning, his programs have assisted 5 athletes to Olympic berths that produced 9 medals and a world record performance at Rio in 2016.