Send us a text The Modern Coach's Planner — built for coaches who think differently — is now available for pre-order. This is a limited run, and once these copies are gone, they’re gone. Order yours today at: https://thecoachjav.com/products/modern-coach-planner In this episode, Coach Jav sits down with Greg Souders, founder of Standard Jiu-Jitsu, and DeAndre Corbe, one of the top grapplers in the world — the 2024 ADCC West Coast Trials champion and a recent competitor in the Craig Jones ...
Send us a text For today’s episode, I’m joined by Garrett Baker! (@coachgbaker) Garrett is the Director of Baseball Player development at Inspiration Academy in Bradenton Florida…Think IMG academy but with a focus on baseball on tennis. Prior to that Garrett spent 3 season as the recruiting coordinator, pitching coach and strength coach at American International College. He also spent 1 season as a pitching coach at and baseball strength and conditioning coach at Westfield ...
Send us a text Welcome to Athlete Blueprint Podcast!...For today's episode, I'm joined by coach Mike Gee (@coachmikegee). Mike is a volleyball coach and currently serves as Director of Volleyball at North Pacific Juniors VBC, a premier volleyball club based in Oregon and Washington. Prior to that, he coached on the division 1 volleyball level for several years In 2003 he told his mother that he wouldn’t be coaching volleyball for the rest of his life. Today, he’s still at it. The...
Send us a text For today's episode, I'm joined by Dr. Rob Gray (@ShakeyWaits)!! Rob is an associate professor of human systems engineering at Arizona state University and is the host of the wild popular podcast The Perception and Action Podcast. His podcast which he has hosted since 2015 and includes over 380 episodes focuses on taking the latest and greatest research in the field of movement sciences and distilling those high level topics down into digestible concepts so ...
Send us a text For this episode, I am joined by Preston Hale! (p_hale3) Preston is a performance coach and DB coach, who also happens to be my business partner over at Ignite Performance! Preston works w/ high level defensive backs from high school and to the elite pro level. He is one of the absolute best DB coaches in the country...I get to be w/ Preston everyday, so I'm excited to bring his vast knowledge to you guys! Preston does an amazing job of taking game concepts and...
Send us a text *Checkout the free practice guide at the end of the show notes! For decades, coaches and scientists have used the term skill acquisition — but what if that’s not what’s really happening? In this short episode, we dive into the idea that athletes don’t acquire skill — they adapt it. Inspired by our recent conversation with Duarte Araújo, this concept challenges the traditional view of skill as something stored or possessed, and instead reframes it as a continuous process shaped...
Send us a text *Checkout the free practice guide at the end of the show notes! What is skill, really? And what if it’s not something athletes acquire — but something they continuously adapt? In this episode, Duarte Araújo joins us on the pod to unpack one of the most fundamental questions in sport: what does it truly mean to be skillful? Duarte breaks down why “acquisition” is the wrong metaphor, and how coaches can design environments that bring intelligence and creativity to the surface. T...
Send us a text *Checkout the free practice guide at the end of the show notes! Alan Dunton is a lecturer in Coaching Science and Skill Acquisition at Munster Technological University (MTU) in Cork, Ireland. A former Taekwondo athlete and coach, Alan has spent his career exploring how people learn, adapt, and perform skill under dynamic conditions. In this conversation, we unpack metastability — what it means, how to design for it, and why adaptability is the hallmark of expert performance. I...
Send us a text Adam Singer is the head coach of SBG Athens, where he and his brother Rory have been developing fighters for over 25 years. A longtime practitioner of ecological dynamics in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA, Adam has coached multiple athletes to the highest levels of competition, including two world champions. He’s also a co-author of a landmark paper on ecological dynamics in combat sports with Shawn Myszka, Tyler Yearby, Scott Sievewright, and Andy Grahn. Known f...
Send us a text Shawn Myszka (the “Movement Miyagi” ) returns to the pod to discuss the theme he and his NFL athletes embraced this offseason: Wu Xin, or “no-mindedness.” It’s an idea that runs throughout skill acquisition — how athletes can free themselves from rigid intentions and better attune to the “what is” in front of them. From there, we dig into his new book, Enhancing Skill in American Football: Revolutionizing Practice Design for Transfer to Game Day, and the golde...
Send us a text Garrett Baker, Skill Acquisition Specialist and pitching coach with the New York Mets, returns to the Adaptable Athlete Podcast to dive deep into the realities of skill development in baseball. In this episode we discuss: Why breaking free from “perfect mechanics” often unlocks better performanceWhy pitching velocity isn't everythingHow reframing pitchers as “out-getters” changes the way we think about trainingThe pitcher-batter relationship and its central role in pitching suc...
Send us a text Welcome back to the Adaptable Athlete Podcast! In this episode, we dive into another edition of the 6 Minutes of Skill series — where Coach Jav breaks down a key skill acquisition concept in under 6 minutes (or close enough). This time, we’re tackling a big one: How does the weight room fit within an ecological approach? The weight room and ecological dynamics can often feel like they're pulling in different directions. But in this quick-hit episode, Coach Jav unpacks: &n...
Send us a text In this episode of the Adaptable Athlete Podcast, I'm joined by Justin Ferguson — Director of Player Development at Minnesota United FC and a coach who’s deeply committed to modern coaching principles. We dig into what it really means to rethink player development, why talent is not a linear process, and how coaches can better support athletes through complex, messy learning environments. Justin shares insights from his work in professional soccer, including how Minnesota...
Send us a text This episode is a special repost of my conversation with Stu McMillan on the ALTIS Podcast, originally recorded as a lead-up to the ALTIS Speed Summit where I will be presenting. If you’re attending the Summit this weekend, this will give you a preview of what I’ll be covering in my talk on Saturday, June 7th. The session will be titled "This is Not a Drill: Developing Speed Through Problem Solving." We cover a wide range of topics—everything from designing adaptab...
Send us a text This episode of the Adaptable Athlete Podcast is part of our special SMSC 25’ Speaker Spotlight Series, highlighting some of the world-class minds presenting at the 2025 Sport Movement Skill Conference, June 26–27 in St. Paul, Minnesota. We're bringing back a classic: Episode 8 with Michael Zwiefel, an impactful voice in our field and a longtime influence on how we approach athlete development. Formerly the founder of Building Better Athletes, Michael now serves as Assistant He...
Send us a text In this repost episode of the podcast, we revisit one of our most favorite conversations — a deep dive into combat sport skill acquisition with Scott Sievewright, founder of Primal MMA and host of the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast. Scott brings an athlete-centered and constraints-led approach to his work with MMA athletes. In this conversation, we discuss how to design representative practice without traditional drills, how to keep intensity high while still respecting athlete sa...
Send us a text SMSC Speaker Spotlight: Garrett Baker In this episode, we’re highlighting one of our featured presenters for the 2025 Sport Movement Skill Conference — Garrett Baker, Skill Acquisition Specialist and Pitching Coach for the New York Mets. Garrett joins us to talk about the current state of skill development in baseball and why he believes coaches must move beyond traditional notions of “perfect mechanics.” We dig into how Garrett blends theory and practice in the bullpen, ...
Send us a text In this Speaker Spotlight episode, Coach Jav sits down with Dr. Rob Gray—renowned researcher, author, and podcast host—for a timely re-release of their impactful conversation on ecological dynamics, information, and movement learning. Rob is one of the featured speakers at the upcoming 2025 Sport Movement Skill Conference, taking place June 26–27 in St. Paul, MN. As the SMSC returns to its in-person roots, Rob shares a preview of the thinking that’s shaped his writing, re...
Send us a text In this special episode of the Adaptable Athlete Podcast powered by Emergence, Javi welcomes back movement specialist and Emergence co-founder Shawn Myszka for the official preview of the 2025 Sport Movement Skill Conference (SMSC). They break down what to expect at this year’s in-person event -including immersive learning sessions, athlete-led demos, roundtable discussions, and a new certification opportunity -all designed to help coaches better understand and apply ecological...
Send us a text In this episode of the Adaptable Athlete Podcast, Javi sits down with performance coach Sean Smith, who shares lessons from a unique career that’s spanned elite collegiate volleyball and the high-octane world of IndyCar racing. They dive into what it takes to support athletes across vastly different sports, why curiosity and communication are non-negotiables for great coaching, and how to create high-performance environments without losing the human element. From letting athlet...