Dan Pfaff and Coach Loren Landow join Donnie Maib and Anna Craig to take training back to the “Fundamentals and Foundations of Coaching and Performance”. This episode includes evaluation of sport and athletes, starting points in programming and conditioning, instilling fundamentals into high level athletes, the significance of movement literacy, and creating buy in.

Coach Dan Pfaff is a world-renowned track and field coach: including 49 Olympians, nine medalists, 51 World Championship competitors (also nine medalists), and five world-record holders. He has directed athletes to 57 national records across a multitude of events. He is currently the Head Coach for Altis-elite training for athletes, and a global leader in education for sport performance.

Coach Loren Landow enters his third year as the Broncos’ head strength and conditioning coach and is owner/founder of Landow Performance. He is a world-renowned movement and sports performance expert who is highly sought after for his ability to analyze and correct biomechanics. He has trained thousands of athletes of all ages and abilities.

This month we hear from Daniel Martinez as he displays his versatile background by sharing his experiences and views on a variety of performance topics. He shares his approach to coaching 17 teams, insight to force plate application, perspective on demands of court-athletes, and he discusses the practicality of sales as a coach. This episode is filled with examples of Daniel’s unique lens as a performance practitioner.

Coach Daniel Martinez is in his 4th year as the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at Trinity University, where he works with 17 teams. In addition to coaching at Trinity, Daniel coordinates a Trinity conference on sport science and strength & conditioning. He has previously served as a consultant for ForceDecks where he worked with many teams at the collegiate, professional, and international level.

Dr. Mike Voight joins Coach Maib to define and discuss leadership, a sought-after trait of successful teams that is often overlooked and underdeveloped. Dr. Voight shares practical ways to develop leadership within teams, illustrates traits of successful leaders, discusses the impact of belief and buy-in, in addition to highlighting why developing leadership should be a priority for every team.

Dr. Voight is a Professor in the Physical Education and Human Performance at Central Connecticut State University, where he teaches graduate courses in leadership, sport psychology, and sport philosophy/sociology, and undergraduate classes in stress management & exercise science. Prior to this position he lectured at the University of Southern California. He’s worked with numerous of professional & collegiate teams including Texas, USC, Wake Forest, Virginia, Kentucky, Harvard, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, and more.

Michigan head strength & conditioning coach, Lew Porchiazzo, joins Donnie Maib & Mike Hanson to discuss how he has evolved as a coach and to share his insight on sought-after coaching qualities, recovery, collaboration, and more. Tune-in to hear Lew’s approach to training and several other coaching principles.

Lew Porchiazzo is in his 11th season at the University of Michigan where he currently serves as a Head Strength & Conditioning Coach working with Softball, Women’s Gymnastics, and Men’s Soccer. Prior to Michigan, he completed internships at Baylor University and at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Additionally, Coach Porchiazzo has presented on various performance topics at a number of coaching clinics over the past several years.

We welcome the perspective and thoughts of our very own team physician at Texas Athletics, Dr. James Bray. Dr. Bray shares his day-to-day as a team physician in college athletics as well as his role in the performance team model.  He discusses how to build trust with student-athletes, why his job is fulfilling, how he maintains a healthy work-life balance, and more!

Dr. James Bray is entering his ninth year as the head team physician for Texas Athletics. Prior to Texas, Dr. Bray spent 10 years in clinical medicine working in primary care and non-surgical orthopedics. Additionally, he has been elected to the Clinical Staff Organization of Scott & White, served as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Texas A&M Medical School, and is currently Affiliate Faculty at Dell Medical School in Austin, Texas.

This episode features a coach who has a wealth of knowledge and is loaded with lessons that are applicable for both young and veteran coaches alike. Director of Strength & Conditioning at the UFC Performance Institute, Bo Sandoval shares his approach to collaborating with coaches and athletes, how seemingly small opportunities can move your career forward, the importance of adding versatility to your role, and much more!

Prior to joining the UFC Performance Institute, Sandoval served as a Strength & Conditioning specialist at the United States Olympic Training Center and as the Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports at the University of Michigan. While at UM, he expanded his involvement with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), participating in multiple Special Interest Groups, as well as serving as a subject matter expert on Weightlifting for the Essential Lifts Certification and Curriculum, and was honored by the NSCA as the 2015 College Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year.

Well renowned coach, Zach Even-Esh, joins Donnie Maib and Mike Hanson to dive into Zach’s perspective as a veteran coach. Key topics discussed include coaching the modern athlete, the impact of training in different environments, the benefits of being a multifaceted coach, and a lot more. As always, Coach Even-Esh will leave you fired up with plenty of takeaways!

Zach Even-Esh is the founder of The Underground Strength Gym and creator of The Underground Strength Coach Certification. He has served in both the collegiate setting and private setting, working with hundreds of athletes from a number of sports. He is the author of The Encyclopedia of Underground Strength & Conditioning, and continues to provide many training resources on his website and speak to coaches around the country.

Coach Andrea Hudy and Dr. Phil Wagner hop in the booth to discuss their paths that led them to working in sport, the role of data in performance and insight that data can provide, gaining coaching experience, diagnosing needs of athletes, what makes a good coaching candidate, and much more.

Andrea Hudy is entering her second season as the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for Men’s Basketball at the University of Texas. Prior to Texas, Coach Hudy served as the Assistant Athletics Director for Sport Performance at the University of Kansas, and also served as a performance coach at the University of Connecticut, spanning 25 years in the industry working primarily with Basketball. In 2013 she earned NSCA Coach of the Year honors while coaching at Kansas.

Dr. Phil Wagner is the founder of Sparta Science, a data management platform for athletic development. Additionally, Wagner has served as a performance coach at the University of California Berkeley and the University of California Los Angeles, as well as coaching Rugby in New Zealand and Australia.

Nutrition is an important puzzle piece to performance which led to us to our next guest, University of Texas Director of Performance Nutrition, Amy Culp. Amy discusses her path to becoming a director in addition to establishing a nutrition department at UT. She gives insight into collaborating within the performance model, factors of fueling for performance, establishing buy-in from athletes, nutritional considerations for injured athletes, and addressing eating disorders.

Amy Culp is beginning her 9th year as a sport dietitian at the University of Texas. She is both a registered and licensed dietitian and is board certified in sports dietetics. She is an active member of the national and local chapters of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association (CPSDA), Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Dietetic Practice Group (SCAN), and serves on the board for CPSDA.

Coaches Donnie Maib and Mike Hanson received the privilege to pick the brain of one of the best innovators in sport performance, Coach Dan Fichter. Dan sheds light on his unique approach to training, how he trains the nervous system to improve motor control, strength, and performance. Tune in as he litters this episode with thought-provoking training gems and great pieces of advice!

Dan Fichter owns and operates Wannagetfast Power/Speed Training, a performance training business in the upstate New York area that offers training to elite athletes. Additionally he travels the country speaking to numerous coaches on speed training, strength training, and nervous system development and how to pull these elements into a comprehensive package that can substantially elevate an athlete’s speed and strength. Uniquely, Fichter’s system attacks the athlete at the individual specific level (SBN-Specific body needs) unlike most programs that offer a more standard approach.

In this episode of The Team Behind The Team, Donnie sits down with the Director of Applied Sport Science at the University of Texas, Travis Vlantes. Donnie and Travis pull back the curtain to discuss a host of topics relating to the emerging field of sport science, including advice for young professionals, a team-first model, collaborating with sport coaches, athlete monitoring, the direction sport science is heading, and professional development.

Travis Vlantes is a native of Mason City, Iowa. He earned a degree in Biology at Wartburg College, and a master’s degree in exercise science at West Texas A&M. Currently, he is in his fourth-year as the Director of Applied Sport Science at the University of Texas. Prior to Texas, Vlantes served as a sport performance coach at the University of Wyoming where he worked with several Olympic sports implementing athlete monitoring.

This month, Sheri Walters joins Donnie Maib to discuss a performance model from the lens of sport medicine. Sheri shares her professional journey that has led her to Texas A&M and how her philosophy has evolved over the years.  She dives into topics relating to performance versus safety, recovery modalities, return-to-play strategies, collaborating with sport coaches and strength coaches, and continued education.

Dr. Sheri Walters most recently served as an assistant professor at A.T. Still University in the Department of Kinesiology while concurrently serving as a consultant for USA Women’s Ice Hockey. Sheri has served for a variety of companies and teams over the years including for US Paralympic Track and Field, EXOS, Indiana State University, the Detroit Shock, and more.

Brett Bartholomew stops by the booth to talk shop with Donnie Maib. Brett dives into a plethora of topics that expand the role of performance coaches. He revisits the intricacies and importance of building buy-in, having transparent communication, and having skin in the game. Other subjects that Brett shares his thoughts on include his influencers, the process of writing a book, the governing bodies of certification, marketing in strength & conditioning, adding value to yourself and others, and career evolution. It’s imperative to note that Brett’s principles can be applied far beyond strength & conditioning!

Brett wears many hats as a strength & conditioning coach, best-selling author, philanthropist, and more. His experience includes coaching athletes in the private sector, collegiate field, and in the U.S. Special Forces. Altogether, Brett has coached a wide-range of athletes from youth athletes to Olympians across 23 sports. For more information, visit artofcoaching.com.

All the way from the land down under, Ben Haines joins Donnie Maib to discuss Ben’s career path, the shaping of his philosophy, working with high school athletes, Ben’s role in utilizing sport science, an integrated approach to performance, the challenge of earning a PhD, mentoring younger coaches, and keeping an open mindset.

Ben Haines has been coaching in Australia since 1999, working with a wide range of sports in the professional, private, and academic setting. In addition to becoming a Level 3 ASCA Master Coach, Ben earned his PhD examining the neuromuscular effects to maximal strength and power training. Currently, he is the head of Physical Preparation for Australia Volleyball.

Donnie dialogues with behavior health specialist, Ashley Harmon. Behavior health is an essential component to performance, yet is seldom spoken about. Ashley educates listeners on the multitude of services that are provided for student-athletes at the University of Texas. Additionally, she covers working collaboratively with a performance team, what mental health is, the power of getting to know athletes, how social media and injuries can drastically effect mental wellness, life after athletics for athletes, and resources for those wanting to learn more.

Ashley Harmon is in her fourth year at the University of Texas, serving as the Assistant Director of Clinical Behavioral Health. She’s no stranger to the 40-acres, having earned her master’s degree in social work at UT in 2013. Additionally, Ashley provided clinical services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault along with medical social work services at two community hospitals.

While visiting the forty-acres, Australian strength & conditioning coach, Andrew Pyke, gets a moment to dialogue with our Director, Donnie Maib. Andrew offers a unique perspective, being from Australia and also wearing many different hats as a teacher, sport coach, and S&C coach. He takes listeners through the vigorous process of becoming a credentialed coach in Australia, programming philosophies, building trust with sport coaches, utilizing technology, and the direction that Australia S&C may be heading.

Andrew Pyke is a certified ASCA Professional Coach from Gold Coast, Australia. Currently, Andrew works with both swimming and rugby as a strength and conditioning coach, is a school teacher, a high school rugby coach, and much more!

On this episode of The Team Behind The Team, Donnie dialogues with Texas’s very own, Kassi Hardee. Kassi, who currently serves as the athletic trainer for Texas Softball, shares her insight on many topics related to sports medicine in the college setting.  She discusses her team approach to return-to-play, recovery modalities, communication strategies, advice to aspiring professionals, work-life balance, and the power of listening.

Kassi Hardee is a longtime Longhorn, having graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training from UT in 2008. Following graduation, Kassi earned her master’s degree from the University of Virginia, working with football and rowing. Her journey as a sports medicine professional has been decorated having earned the Big-12 Conference Assistant Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2018, and receiving the Achievement of Distinction for Clinical Suggestion Manuscript Award in 2013.

For the inaugural episode of the Team Behind The Team, we sit down with renowned coach and author, Cal Dietz. Cal sheds light on what he’s been working on, the shift in his competiveness, and a variety of training topics. He discusses the importance of fluid periodization, his views on core bracing, squat depth, and unilateral training, what makes interns successful, communication and culture within a team, and much more!

Cal Dietz serves as the Associate Director of Athletic Performance at the University of Minnesota, where he has coached many championship teams over the last twenty years. He is the author of Triphasic Training, co-founder of the Reflexive Performance Reset system, and continues to travel the country speaking on sport performance.