Sports Coaching, Elite Sport, Sports Psychology | Sports Coach RadioSports Coach Radio

Apr
10

By Glenn Whitney

USA Swimming & Cal Bears Teri McKeever on Winning in the Water and Life

Category: Olympics, Swimming

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Missy Franklin, Jessica Hardy, Natalie Coughlin, Dana Vollmer

Teri McKeever is one of the leading swimming coaches in the world and has been guiding some of the very top women in the sport

In addition to heading up the USA Women’s Team in London, which took home 15 medals, Coach McKeever also served as assistant coach in Beijing and Athens. She is currently head coach of the perennial powerhouse University of California at Berkeley, known as the Cal Bears, winning NCAA championships in 2009, 2011, and 2012.
Sports Coach Radio is a series of weekly in-depth interview with world-class sports coaches, leaders and scientist, hosted by Glenn Whitney, a coaching psychologist. Follow us on Twitter, where we post coaching tips and links to interesting articles ust about every day of the week. The handle is @sportscoachtalk. And we’d be grateful if you’d leave a short review of the show on the Apple iTunes page

Apr
2

By Glenn Whitney

Winning Under Pressure: How to be a Clutch Performer With Paul Sullivan

Category: Mental toughness, Motivation

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Focus, mental toughness versus choking

Why do some people excel under pressure while others fail?

Paul Sullivan has written an excellent book exploring this question, called Clutch.

We talk about the numerous case studies he’s looked at including the likes of Tiger Woods in golf, as well as examples from basketball, baseball and football.

Paul is a columnist for the New York Times and a contributor to several other major publications. He’s also on a quest to become a better golfer while still being a decent husband and father.

Transferring what you can do in a relaxed atmosphere to a tenser one is not easy—or else everyone would be clutch.

Five Key Traits to be Clutch
1. Focus
2. Discipline
3. Adaptability
4. The ability to be present
5. The push and pull of fear and desire

People cannot succeed under pressure if they are thinking of anything other than what they are doing right now.

Mar
25

By Glenn Whitney

Carl Lewis’s Coach Tom Tellez on Creating the Self-Empowered Athlete

Category: Olympics, Track & Field

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Sprint & Long jump expert, discusses illegal drugs

The master coach of one of the most successful athletes of the 20th Century. I don’t think that’s an exaggeration. We’re honored to have Tom Tellez, the long-time coach of track and field legend Carl Lewis, join us for an in-depth conversation.

Tom Tellez was head coach at the University of Houston for 22 seasons. In addition to working with Lewis, he also guided Joe DeLoach, Kirk Baptiste; Frank Rutherford, Leroy Burrell, Mike Marsh and Michele Finn-Burrell.

From 1984 to 1996, six of the seven U.S. sprinters who won Olympic Gold Medals were coached by Tellez, and seven of the USA’s 13 overall medals were claimed by his athletes.

Sports Coach Radio is a series of weekly in-depth interview with world-class sports coaches, leaders and scientist, hosted by Glenn Whitney, a coaching psychologist. Follow us on Twitter, where we post coaching tips and links to interesting articles ust about every day of the week. The handle is @sportscoachtalk. And we’d be grateful if you’d leave a short review of the show on the Apple iTunes page.

Mar
17

By Glenn Whitney

Triathlon’s Brett Sutton: Innovative and Iconoclastic Rebel

Category: Ironman, Olympics, Triathlon

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Siri Lindley, Chrissie Wellington Ironman Coach

Brett Sutton is one of the most successful and provocative triathlon coaches of all time.

He’s particularly noted for having helped Siri Lindley, Loretta Harrop and Chrissie Wellington achieve multiple world championship, as well as working with the top males triathletes Greg Bennett and Ben Bright.

For some he’s a living legend; for others a disrespectful irritant. You’ll get a good sense of his stimulating, iconoclastic character in this wide-ranging interview.

Sports Coach Radio is a series of weekly in-depth interview with world-class sports coaches, leaders and scientist, hosted by Glenn Whitney, a coaching psychologist. Follow us on Twitter, where we post coaching tips and links to interesting articles ust about every day of the week. The handle is @sportscoachtalk. And we’d be grateful if you’d leave a short review of the show on the Apple iTunes page.

Mar
11

By Glenn Whitney

Justin Gatlin Coach Dennis Mitchell on the Art of Speed

Category: Olympics, Track & Field

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Usain Bolt’s Biggest U.S. Rival

Part Two of our in-depth interview with sprint specialist Dennis Mitchell.

Coach Mitchell, a multiple medallist at the Olympics and several World Championship, now leads Star Athletics, a club based near Orlando, Florida. In his group is the leading U.S. 100 meter runner of the moment Justin Gatlin, gold medallist in Athens and Bronze medallist in London. Both Coach Mitchell and Gatlin were suspended earlier in their careers. You’ll hear some interesting thoughts about illegal performance enhancing drugs in this conversation.

Mar
3

By Glenn Whitney

The Sports Gene: An Innovative Take on Nature vs. Nurture

Category: Strength & Conditioning, Talent ID & Development

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Genetic advantage, illegal drugs & messing around with mother nature

Is world-class sports performance just a matter of thousands of hours of deep practice, or do you have to have the right genes? What’s the latest on the nature versus nurture debate?
David Epstein has studied the issue intensely over several years and has produced the excellent book: The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance. Join us a most incisive conversation.

Sports Coach Radio is a series of weekly in-depth interview with world-class sports coaches, leaders and scientist, hosted by Glenn Whitney, a coaching psychologist. Follow us on Twitter, where we post coaching tips and links to interesting articles ust about every day of the week. The handle is @sportscoachtalk. And we’d be grateful if you’d leave a short review of the show on the Apple iTunes page.

Feb
22

By Glenn Whitney

Explosive Sports Expert Dan Pfaff on Highly Specific Training

Category: Olympics, Strength & Conditioning, Track & Field

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Sprinting to long & high jumping to NFL preparation

It’s always an honor to have a true master coach on the show. This week, sports renaissance man Dan Pfaff joins us.

Coach Pfaff has worked with 49 Olympians, including nine medallists, most recently helping Britain’s long jumper Greg Rutherford win a gold medal in London. The Canadian 100-meter champion Donovan Bailey was also one of his charges.
He’s also served on five Olympic Games coaching staffs in five different countries and nine World Championship staffs for six different countries.

Among Coach Pfaff’s many other achievements: he has tutored five world record holders.
Coach Pfaff also provides consultancy to players and teams in professional football, baseball, hockey, golf, tennis, European soccer and the Canadian Winter Olympic Program.

He was appointed last year Education Director and Jumps Coach at the newly created World Athletics Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Sports Coach Radio is a series of weekly in-depth interview with world-class sports coaches, leaders and scientist, hosted by Glenn Whitney, a coaching psychologist. Follow us on Twitter, where we post coaching tips and links to interesting articles ust about every day of the week. The handle is @sportscoachtalk. And we’d be grateful if you’d leave a short review of the show on the Apple iTunes page.

Explosive sports

Feb
15

By Glenn Whitney

100m Sprint Specialist Dennis Mitchell on Coaching Transitions and Beating Bolt

Category: Olympics, Track & Field

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Justin Gatlin, Strength Training for Explosive Sports

Gold in 4 X 100m in the Barcelona Olympics, we have one of the top speedsters of his generation on the show this week. Dennis Mitchell is now the coach of the leading U.S. sprinter, Justin Gatlin, currently the fastest man in the world who isn’t Jamaican. Can Justin beat Usain Bolt in the upcoming track season? You’ll hear how in this two-part interview. Coach Mitchell is also training a dozen other world-class athletes from about 10 different countries, at his club Star Athletics, based in Montverde, Florida, near Orlando.

Both Coach Mitchell and Justin Gatlin have had negative experiences with illegal performance enhancing drugs and have learned valuable lessons, which you’ll also hear about in this interview.

Sports Coach Radio is hosted by Glenn Whitney, a coaching and leadership psychologist. You can follow us on Twitter, where we post useful articles and coaching tips just about every day of the week. The handle is @sportscoachtalk. And we’d be grateful if you’d leave a short review of the show on the Apple iTunes page.

Usain Bolt’s and Yohan Blake’s top rival is now Justin Gatlin, following the disqualification of Tyson Gay, who test positive for illegal performance enhancing substances last summer. Justin Gatlin won the Bronze Medal in the London Olympics. His all-time personal best 9.79 for 100 meters. He won the Gold Medal at the Athens Olympics.

Feb
8

By Glenn Whitney

US Ski Team: Women’s Head Coach Alex Hoedelmoser Revisited

Category: Olympics, Skiing

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Mikaela Shiffrin, Julia Mancuso head coach

With the focus firmly fixed on the slopes of Sochi, we thought it would be an excellent time to revisit our in-depth interview with the head coach of the U.S. Women’s Ski Team, Alex Hoedlmoser.

It’s filled with insights into the ultra high-performance and rather risky world of alpine ski racing. With Lindsey Vonn out of this year’s Olympics, there is even more pressure on some of the younger skiers on the team, including slalom phenomenon Mikaela Shiffrin, as well as on the veteran downhill racer Julia Mancuso.

This interview was recorded just before the start of the 2012-2013 ski season.

US Ski Team: Alex Hoedlmoser, Women’s Head Coach: Mikaela Shiffin, Julia Mancuso.

Jan
31

By Glenn Whitney

Primal Health, Recovery and Resilience With Mark Sisson

Category: Sports nutrition, Strength & Conditioning

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Preventing Over-Training the Paleo-Primal Way

It’s an honor to have Mark Sisson on the show this week. He’s the go-to-guy for guidance and inspiration in high-performance nutrition, anti-inflammatory diets, weight loss, and rest and recovery. His incredibly useful and comprehensive website is www.marksdailyapple.com

One of the key founding fathers of the currently rampant Paleo-Primal nutrition movement, Mark has a strong background in high-performance sports. He was a top-level national marathoner in the 1970s and a world-class level triathlete in the 1980s.

Mark also served for 15 years as the anti-doping and drug-testing chairman of the International Triathlon Union and as its liaison to the International Olympic Committee.

In this interview we talk extensively about his shift from competing and coaching in endurance events to his current focus on happiness, meaning and purpose, and sustainable health. We also explore how these ideas can be used by the coaches of elite athletes to keep athletes injury free and healthy, and to prevent over-training and depression.

Sports Coach Radio is hosted by Glenn Whitney, a coaching and leadership psychologist. You can follow us on Twitter, where we post useful articles and coaching tips just about every day of the week. The handle is @sportscoachtalk. And we’d be grateful if you’d leave a short review of the show on the Apple iTunes page.

Mark Sisson Primal Paleo Diet

Jan
25

By Glenn Whitney

Balancing Athletics With a Corporate Career: Martin Bingisser

Category: Athlete-to-coach transition, Track & Field

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Anatoli Bondarchuk; Remote coaching

We’ve got the thinking man’s hammer thrower on the show this week. Martin Bingisser is an international tax lawyer, a world-class athlete and a writer about all things related to track and field, strength and conditioning, you name it.

As Martin puts it – he leads two lives: During the day he’s tied to his corporate desk and after work he trains hard as the Swiss national champion and is developing as a coach, learning from some of the top names in athletics, especially his long-time coach and mentor Anatoli Bondarchuk.

Bondarchuk is a multiple Olympic medal-winning hammer thrower who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1970s and has since coached over a dozen Olympic medallists. He is now based in Canada. Martin tell us how this long-distance coaching works and he shares tips for optimizing similar remote relationships.

Martin’s website, which covers a wide-range of track & field throwing-related topics is: www.hmmrmedia.com and his Twitter handle is @bingisser

Jan
16

By Glenn Whitney

U.S. Rowing Coxswain Mary Whipple: A Decade at the Very Top

Category: Olympics, Rowing

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Two Olympic Gold Medals; One Silver
Three Olympics in a row: One silver medal and two golds. A winning streak that culminated in London under the weight of the heaviest of expectations.

Mary Whipple was literally the driving force of the indomitable U.S. women’s eight rowing crew for over 10 years. As coxswain she was responsible for setting the pace, motivating the rowers and steering the boat, as well as taking the lead role in hundreds and hundreds of workout over the period. Working often as go-between the coach and the rowers, Mary was the ultimate middle manager in one of the most successful Olympic rowing boats of all time.

Now she’s educating a new generation of coxswains, leading specialized training camps throughout the year and running a website called 9thseat.com – a reference to her place at the stern of the boat.

Sports Coach Radio is hosted by Glenn Whitney, a coaching and leadership psychologist. You can follow us on Twitter, where we post useful articles and coaching tips just about every day of the week. The handle is @sportscoachtalk. And we’d be grateful if you’d leave a short review of the show on the Apple iTunes page.

Jan
9

By Glenn Whitney

Ultra Runner & Triple Ironman Champion Christopher Bergland on Sporting Obsessions

Category: Marathon, Triathlon

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Triathlon, 24-Hour Running Record

Christopher Bergland ran 153.76 miles in 24 hours on a treadmill and lived to tell about it – just barely. That’s an average per mile pace of 6 minutes and 24 seconds for an entire day and night – a world record that’s held up for nearly a decade.

Christopher has also won three different triple Ironman triathlon competitions, including one in a record-breaking 38 hours and 46 minutes.

Now he’s a thinker, a writer and an ultra-endurance athlete in recovery. A fascinating person, Christopher now looks closely at what makes us happy, how to stay healthy and what place sports and exercise can and should play in our lives.

Christopher is the author of the book The Athlete’s Way: Sweat and the Biology of Bliss and writes a regular blog column of the same name for Psychology Today.

Sports Coach Radio is hosted by Glenn Whitney, a coaching and leadership psychologist. You can follow us on Twitter, where we post useful articles and coaching tips just about every day of the week. The handle is @sportscoachtalk. And we’d be grateful if you’d leave a short review of the show on the Apple iTunes page.

Dec
30

By Glenn Whitney

Dr. Sweat Science is Back With Hits & Misses of the Year

Category: Sports nutrition, Strength & Conditioning

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Sports science research

We’re very glad to have “Dr. Sweat Science” back on the show. Alex Hutchison has a PhD in physics, a passion for running and an intense calling to comb through the constant flow of sports science research to highlight the good, the bad and the ugly.

Alex writes a highly engaging and practical blog for Runner’s World and the Jockology column on fitness and exercise for the Globe and Mail in Toronto, where he is based.

One point of clarification – about half-way through this interview we’re talking about protein supplementation. Alex’s preferred type is whey protein rather than casein protein.

Alex is also the author of the highly useful compendium “Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?”

Dec
20

By Glenn Whitney

Golf and Improving Your Emotional Control With John Haime

Category: Golf, Mental toughness

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Mental toughness & emotional intelligence

It’s about time we had a guest from the golfing world!

John Haime is a mental and emotional performance specialist and former professional golfer. His expertise is particularly in the area of developing emotional intelligence in athletes from golf as a well as a wide range of other sports and he works with business people too. John is the author of the book You are a Contender! Build Emotional Muscle to Perform Better and Achieve More … in Business, Sports and Life. He’s the president of the consultancy New Edge Performance and co-creator of the Emotional Intelligence Sports Inventory, an innovative evaluation tool.

Dec
10

By Glenn Whitney

Thriving Under Pressure With High-Performance Psychologist Michael Gervais

Category: Mental toughness, Motivation

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Winning mindset, mental toughness

This week we’re joined by one of the world’s top independent performance psychologists – Michael Gervais. Michael works with a wide range of athletes, coaches and leaders, including NBA players, the Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll, mixed martial arts fighters, the military, world-class surfers – you name it.

Michael has also worked with three-time Olympic gold medallists in beach volleyball: Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor.

Sports Coach Radio is hosted by Glenn Whitney, a coaching and leadership psychologist. You can follow us on Twitter, where we post useful articles and coaching tips just about every day of the week. The handle is @sportscoachtalk. And we’d be grateful if you’d leave a short review of the show on the Apple iTunes page.

Dec
1

By Glenn Whitney

Tim DiFrancesco Inspires An L.A. Lakers Real Food Revolution

Category: Strength & Conditioning

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Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Paleo Diet Nutrition

Here’s Part Two of our interview with Tim DiFrancesco – the L.A. Lakers’ head of strength and conditioning and all-around inspiring chap. In this part, Tim talks in detail about the truly all-natural power foods he has been instrumental in getting the players to eat. He gives some exercise tips and tells who among this team of superstars is a model Paleo athlete. Is it Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash or someone else?

Tim’s Twitter feed is: @tdathletesedge