Ahead Of The Curve with Jonathan Gelnar

Latest Episodes:

Kyle Wilson- MiLB Hitting Coach, Tampa Bay Rays Feb 13, 2020

Show notes

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Kyle Wilson, Milb Hitting Coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, OBU-TPI-FMS Certified, and Owner of TPA (The Performance Academy) in Apex, North Carolina. Kyle Wilson talks about how he got into coaching, starting his own performance facility, keeping players interested and engaged, making training more like real games, the importance of balance in your swing, and giving back to younger players through training and mentorship. Episode Highlights: How did Kyle Wilson get involved in baseball and as a coach? How did Kyle start his own performance facility? What does he wish he had known last year that he knows now? What were his main goals for the off-season? What are some things they do for teenaged players? What are some ways they train for adjustability in the swing? How can we train better for decision-making? Are there any competitions that he likes to use with players? What are things that he is looking for when watching video? How does he help players whom English isn’t their first language? How does he go about individualizing training in the team setting? What is something that Kyle Wilson is excited about learning and applying? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? Is there anything that he believes that other coaches might disagree with? What is something we would notice at one of Kyle Wilson’s practices? Are there any resources that Kyle Wilson would recommend? 3 Key Points: If you are not balanced through your move it becomes hard to control and adjust when you are swinging. Facilitate environments that are more game-like for players. The average attention span of people is 8 seconds. The attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds. Tweetable Quotes: “The game of baseball has taught me so much about life and how to overcome adversity and just the team camaraderie and the friends. I wanted to get into coaching to mentor kids through the game, which has taught me so much.” – Kyle Wilson (02:15) “I think why I truly enjoy coaching is just purely being able to impact and see the development of kids turn into young men and learn things through this beautiful game.” – Kyle Wilson (05:05) “Guys that are in professional baseball or have an opportunity to have a little bit of a break, I highly encourage to try and to get set up with some type of facility to give back to the youth, for one. For two, to maintain your craft .” – Kyle Wilson (08:51) “I set up evaluations. They come in and it’s an hour evaluation. We are sitting down, first and foremost, and I'm asking them a bunch of questions about what that player’s goals are.” – Kyle Wilson (13:05) “It should be a goal of every hitter in my opinion...become more adjustable, to have and create movements that allow you to sit on a fastball and adjust to an off-speed and still be able to do damage with that.” – Kyle Wilson (16:32) “I think we can learn to reward guys for taking good pitches.” – Kyle Wilson (21:55) “At the end of the day, if you aren’t competing and having fun, then it is going to be a long, long season.” – Kyle Wilson (25:29) “I personally believe there’s a lot of really, really good things from, call-it ‘old-school baseball.’” – Kyle Wilson (45:03) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Kyle Wilson: Twitter The Performance Academy: tpanc.com Kyle Wilson’s Email: kwilson@tpanc.com Book: Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson

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Michael Deegan- Head Baseball Coach, Denison University (OH) Feb 06, 2020

Show notes

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Michael Deegan, Head Baseball Coach at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Michael Deegan talks about writing his book Let It Rip: Life Lessons Learned Through Sports, being elite as a coaching staff before being elite as a program, competitive scrimmages, meeting with players individually, and facing the struggle of wanting to make everyone happy while knowing this is virtually impossible. Episode Highlights: How did Michael Deegan get involved in baseball and as a coach? What made Michael decide to write a book? How can you go about forming a strong team? Michael talks about 2013 and taking the job at Denison? What did this past fall look like in their baseball program? What are some of the details of building up his team culture? What are some of their favorite practice competitions? One-on-one meetings are crucial with players. How do they create a ‘culture of coaching?’” How does he prepare assistant coaches to be ready to be head coaches one day? What are some standards they have and how do they hold each other accountable for them? What does a typical day look like in the spring? How does their BP setup work? How does Michael handle the struggle of wanting everybody to be happy? What is something that Michael Deegan is excited about learning and applying? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? Is there anything that he believes that other coaches might disagree with? What is something we would notice at one of Michael Deegan’s practices? Are there any resources that Michael Deegan would recommend? 3 Key Points: Michael Deegan has been able to learn from fantastic people by sharing his own thoughts through his writing. Identify where you are has a coaching staff or as a baseball program, get your ego out of it, set goals, and take action. They do six individual meetings with the players to ask questions and listen to what motivates them. Tweetable Quotes: “What I’ve learned is that by having the courage to put something out there, then you learn a lot in return and so I did that through the newsletter and I’m just excited to see where the book takes it.” – Michael Deegan (03:41) “One of the things I have been able to do over my life is surround myself with really good people and put myself in environments that allow you to thrive and are curious and allow you to learn and grow, and to me, that is what team formation is.” – Michael Deegan (05:26) “If I were taking over a program right now I would say what you have to do is strip away everything. Take the emotion out of it and decide, where do you sit right now?” – Michael Deegan (08:31) “I think you really have to identify where you want to go. It’s creating clarity. We use a phrase that ‘clarity is king.’” – Michael Deegan (09:07) “We want to be elite as a coaching staff before we are elite as a program.” – Michael Deegan (09:44) “We want to play baseball a lot. I think there is sometimes a push for ways to manipulate our game. Our game is also beautiful in itself. So just a straight-up scrimmage is an opportunity to compete.” – Michael Deegan (18:21) “The biggest competition that we try to focus on is ‘me versus me.’” – Michael Deegan (19:29) “That inherent wrestling match between wanting everybody to be happy and also knowing that’s never happen, right? That’s just not going to happen. So for me, I always call on the shared vision of the program.” – Michael Deegan (39:34) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Michael Deegan: Linkedin Twitter Book: Let It Rip: Life Lessons Learned Through Sports by Michael Deegan

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Michael Schlact- MiLB Pitching Coach, Milwaukee Brewers Jan 30, 2020

Show notes

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Michael Schlact, MiLB Pitching Coach for the Milwaukee Brewers. Michael Schlact talks about ways to properly communicate with players on your team, the importance of learning how to lose, how he approaches data, and why pitchers needing to learn how their fastball works. Episode Highlights: How did Michael Schlact get involved in baseball and as a coach? What are some different changes he is making from last year? What has been Michael’s process to become better at incorporating data? How does Michael Schlact communicate with a large range of diverse players? What should a pitcher’s off-season look like? What are we missing at the amateur that at the major league level they need to know? What does Michael look for when viewing a player video? How does workload management factor into working with players? What are some different ways to address player development from a pitching standpoint? How do you address a player who needs to be convinced to use a better pitch? What is something that Michael is excited about learning and applying? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? Is there anything that Michael Schlact believes that other coaches might disagree with? Strive to make your players better people. 3 Key Points: Learn who your players are first, and then help them second. Be vulnerable enough to prove to your players that you are there for them when they are playing well and when they are making mistakes as well. Pitchers need to understand how their fastball works, what does it do, and how they can play it into your benefit. Tweetable Quotes: “I want to continue to learn what makes a player better, and specifically for me being a pitching coach, what is it that I can use that allows the pitchers to get better.” – Michael Schlact (05:22) “For me, it is what is most important and how can I communicate that to a player without overwhelming him?” – Michael Schlact (06:04) “Understand the player’s background that you are coaching. You have to know them as people. You have to know where they came from. You have to know what their learning styles are. There are so many different learning styles.” – Michael Schlact (07:56) “There is something really rich about a player asking you a question and you saying, ‘You know what, I don’t know. But let me find that out for you.’” – Michael Schlact (12:54) “If you don’t understand your fastball and the profile that it has, you’ll never truly understand the best pitches for you to work off of that.” – Michael Schlact (17:44) “If you don’t learn how to lose, you will never really win.” – Michael Schlact (19:08) “Pick out something each time. Don’t feel like you have to just watch that video, that one setting for 10 minutes, and never go back to it.” – Michael Schlact (22:27) “Everyone wants to be told the truth. People don’t like to hear the truth all the time. But everyone wants it.” – Michael Schlact (37:52) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Michael Schlact: Twitter

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Casey Dunn- Head Baseball Coach, Samford University (AL) Jan 23, 2020

Show notes

Suggested Title: Developing Players Individually Inside the Team Structure with Casey Dunn During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Casey Dunn, Head Baseball Coach at Samford University. Casey Dunn pulls from his extensive experience to talk about helping his players develop their own development plan, the importance of concentrating on advantages instead of what you are lacking in your situation, building a strong connection with players, and being aware of their needs. Episode Highlights: How did Casey Dunn get involved in baseball and as a coach? Baseball was very much a part of Casey’s upbringing. What are some of the first steps that Casey took as a coach? Don’t get caught up in what you don’t have. What did the fall look like for his team? How did he transition into his team and develop the baseball culture there? What are some ways that he connects with his players individually? How does he help develop his assistant coaches into potential head coaches? What are some rules and standards he has for his team? What does a typical spring practice plan look like? What does their BP setup look like? What is something that Casey is excited about learning and applying? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? Is there anything that he believes that other coaches might disagree with? What is something we would notice at one of Casey Dunn’s practices? Are there any resources that Casey would recommend? 3 Key Points: Casey Dunn started at Samford University in 2004 and he has been there for 15 seasons. Focus on the advantages of where you are at. Know where your team members want to go in order to provide them valuable opportunities and prepare them. Tweetable Quotes: “As a coach, it is tough to have a lot of family time with what we do and growing up and having a close relationship with my dad, going to the field, going to practice, going to the cage, that was the way for me to spend time with my dad.” – Casey Dunn (02:30) “It is so easy to get trapped in what you don’t have or get trapped in what other people have that you don’t.” – Casey Dunn (05:15) “There are positives to every situation.” – Casey Dunn (05:25) “The fall is a developmental time. The fall is not a period of time where you are trying to win games.” – Casey Dunn (06:54) “The thing I tell our guys all the time, in the game of baseball, I think more than any other sport, you have to take personal ownership in you. You have to invest in yourself.” – Casey Dunn (10:06) “The thing I like best that I get the greatest value out of at this time in my life is watching guys do it at an elite level.” – Casey Dunn (12:52) “One thing I tell our guys is you have to represent our program as you would your family, as you would yourself, your mom and dad, your last name.” – Casey Dunn (25:52) “A lot of this quote, ‘new stuff’ that is out there with the enhanced video and all the technology and all the metrics we’re getting on players, I don’t think it is that new.” – Casey Dunn (37:01) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Casey Dunn: Twitter

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Demetre Kokoris- MiLB Pitching Coach, Toronto Blue Jays Jan 16, 2020

Show notes

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Demetre Kokoris, Pitching Coach for the Vancouver Canadians, an affiliate team of the Toronto Blue Jays. Demetre Kokoris expresses his dedication to the game of baseball, the ways he solves problems with pitching development, strategies to enhance skill acquisition, communicating with players, and prioritizing individual player development within the team structure. Episode Highlights: How did Demetre Kokoris get involved in baseball and as a coach? What should off-season pitching development look like? Are there any common problems that he sees with development? How does Demetre use video in training? What is an area of skill acquisition that Demetre has gotten better at? What is Demetre Kokoris’ advice regarding prioritizing individual development within the team setting with a small budget or a small staff? How does he communicate particular needs with players? In what ways does he assist players whom English isn’t their first language? How does he tackle workload management? What are some of Demetre Kokoris’ favorite data to track? What is something that Demetre is excited about learning and applying? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? Which three pitching tools would Demetre Kokoris focus on if he could only have three? Is there anything that Demetre Kokoris believes that other coaches might disagree with? Which resources does Demetre recommend? The more information you put out the more information that comes back to you. Be sure to learn everyday. 3 Key Points: The more athletic and fluid players can be, and the better they understand the game, the better off they can be on the backend. Is a particular weakness a detriment to the club or to the individual? Or is it just something that would just be nice to have corrected? You’ve got to listen to your player and find out what that player thinks is going on and his impression of his skillset. Tweetable Quotes: “What I learned at the collegiate level that I saw guys be very successful with was, your off-season is your best opportunity to change your body.” – Demetre Kokoris (03:13) “With the off-season there is no competitive environment. So, it’s your chance to really slow things down from a movement standpoint on your throwing. So, I think that is your best opportunity if you want to make a mechanical adjustment.” – Demetre Kokoris (03:50) “At the age of 24, I took my first yoga class and I felt like I really felt my body and was able to begin to get a lot more coordinated.” – Demetre Kokoris (04:15) “When kids play the game of baseball and they start competing and they start learning the little nuances and the tactics of the game, that’s when they start doing things instinctually.” – Demetre Kokoris (06:46) “As far as skill acquisition is concerned, I think the things that I always go back to are, start with the anatomy, is making sure the guy is physically capable of performing the thing that you need.” – Demetre Kokoris (12:14) “I think first and foremost, you’ve got to understand your team and what you need each person to do. What role do they play?” – Demetre Kokoris (15:35) “If you do want to make changes, is having objective data. Showing him. Showing him with the numbers. ‘Hey man, I know you think your knuckleball is a good pitch. But you throw this at a 20% strike clip in such-in-such situations.” – Demetre Kokoris (19:07) “I think you have to take it back to the three things that you want to do with a pitch. Do you want it for called strike? Do you want it for a swing and miss? Or do you want it for weak contact?” – Demetre Kokoris (19:50) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Demetre Kokoris: Linkedin Twitter Instagram Demetre Kokoris’s Email:

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Reggie Christiansen- Head Baseball Coach, Sacramento State (CA) Jan 09, 2020

Show notes

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Reggie Christiansen, Head Coach of the Sacramento State Hornets college baseball team. Reggie Christiansen talks about the important balance between developing players individually and as a collective team, how a typical week of training unfolds, how he goes about getting to know his players better, and recommendations for building a productive team culture. Episode Highlights: How did Reggie Christiansen get involved in baseball and as a coach? What were the first steps Reggie took as a head coach? What did his team do last fall when his players started to report? What are they doing on a daily basis to build the team culture? How does he get players to buy into the individual player concept and the collective team concept? What ways does Reggie Christiansen get to know his players better? Does he have a process to help his assistant coaches to grow? What are some different competitions that he loves to use with his players? What are some important rules and standards that his team organization has? Reggie Christiansen talks about what they are doing this spring and making practices more efficient. What advice does he have for guys getting into their first year of head coaching? What are things his players get excited about doing during practice? What is something done during practice that his players really love? Is there anything that Reggie Christiansen believes that other coaches might disagree with? Which things that typically happen during practice would we notice? Are there any resources that Reggie Christiansen would recommend? Remember why we all got into baseball to begin with. 3 Key Points: Put players in training situations where they have to overcome fears and to evolve as a team. Take ownership of your performance and be honest about your mistakes. Balance routine training elements with switching things up. Tweetable Quotes: “When I was in high school I coached middle school basketball and I actually coached little league baseball when I was in high school my senior year. I just fell in love with the organization of putting practices together.” – Reggie Christiansen (00:40) “I think you are probably short-changing your players if you are trying to do everything.” – Reggie Christiansen (06:09) “I think that my job as a head coach is to really allow these guys to chase their dreams individually, and obviously we have team goals as well. So there is a balance.” – Reggie Christiansen (10:00) “Mondays and Wednesdays are very individual skill-based. The focus is on the player...We built Tuesday and Thursday night practices where the focus would be on the team...Friday would be a very short practice.” – Reggie Christiansen (10:50) “I think our players understand that I do care about them individually. But, we also need to make sure that the team component is at the forefront.” – Reggie Christiansen (11:27) “We do some other things that I would call, ‘shared diversity.’ Some might call it ‘shared suffering.’ We try to have as much competition or put them in some experiences that allow them to grow together.” – Reggie Christiansen (11:37) “Give the new guys more of an opportunity to talk a little bit more, to ask questions, to open a little bit, because I think those guys are somewhat pleasers, right? They want to say and do what they think we want.” – Reggie Christiansen (16:04) “I want their best effort all the time. I think that it is simple as that. There is nothing that frustrates you more than seeing a guy not run hard. Just do what you are supposed to do.” – Reggie Christiansen (23:27) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Reggie Christiansen: Twitter Reggie Christiansen’s Email: Christra@CSUS.edu

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Lorenzo Garmendia- Professional Swing Consultant and Founder of Gradum Baseball Jan 02, 2020

Show notes

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Lorenzo Garmendia, Founder of Gradum Baseball. Lorenzo shares information about his experiences training players from the major league all the way down to children. Lorenzo Garmendia also talks about exit velocity, launch angles, swinging flaws, and how hockey is a great way to train for baseball. Episode Highlights: How did Lorenzo Garmendia get involved in baseball and as a coach? What is Lorenzo doing with players for training? What are the first things Lorenzo Garmendia does with players? Lorenzo talks about the Tuesday Teaching videos. How does Lorenzo go about analyzing a player’s videos? What are some things that players are doing the same? What are some practical ways that Lorenzo helps players train their swing in practice? Is he training swings with slider pitches in practice? What spin rate does he want players to be able to be within? How does Lorenzo train players for decision-making? What is the best way to train hitters individually? How do you balance between staying directionally center to swinging pull side? What types of tools are Lorenzo using? Lorenzo shares his theories on exit velocity and launch angles. What are things his players get excited about doing? Is there anything that Lorenzo Garmendia believes that other coaches might disagree with? Which things that happen during practice typically that we would notice? What are some learning things that Lorenzo Garmendia is excited about? 3 Key Points: There are typically fives hitting flaws that you can train players on after accessing each player’s swing individually? Hitting is a physics equation. It is force equals mass times acceleration. It is the force you impart into the ball for exit velocity. The best launch angle you want as a hitter is 25 degrees. If you hit a ball at 25 degrees at a 100 miles-per-hour exit velocity, you are hitting a home run to dead center in any stadium in the United States. Tweetable Quotes: “I have a mathematical background and I was looking at it like, God, what they (coaches) are teaching them (players) really doesn’t make sense from a hitting perspective and from a pitching velocity perspective.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (01:10) “The first thing I look at is lower half. So, one of the main things is if you aren’t using your legs in the swing you’re not going to be very successful.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (05:50) “The biggest thing we see is what we call, ‘Whether you’re a pusher or do you swing the bat?’ Do you push your hands and your hands swing the bat? Or are you letting your body sequence correctly and the body swinging the bat?” – Lorenzo Garmendia (06:01) “Watch a hockey game and if let’s say the goalie is in front of you, you’ll never see a hockey player come around a puck. They are always to and through it. So, when you look at direction, that is huge in regards to baseball.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (06:16) “Every player was taught east to west. When in reality the object of the game is to hit the ball forward. So if you want to hit the ball forward, technically you want to be working from back to front south to north.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (06:35) “Even at the highest levels, guys don’t know what they’re doing. And what I mean by they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t know what they’re swing is supposed to be doing or how they can repeat it.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (09:22) “Let’s train the swing to be able to hit every pitcher’s pitch and then let’s go to work.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (13:39) “Contact point is huge. But contact point is determined by the pitcher and where you make contact.” – Lorenzo Garmendia (25:08) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Lorenzo Garmendia: Linkedin Gradum Baseball Website: gradumbaseball.com Gradum Baseball: Instagram

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The Best of 2019 Dec 23, 2019

Show notes

To wrap up a great year, we're featuring the top 10 most downloaded shows of the past year and combined them into one show. Here are the direct links to each episode. Dr. Greg Rose- Co-Founder of Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) and OnBaseU Steve Johnson- Founder/CEO of LegKickNation Tanner Swanson- MLB Catching Coach, New York Yankees Cage Work with Doug Latta and Craig Hyatt Ep. 1 Max Weiner- MiLB Pitching Coordinator, Seattle Mariners Robert Woodard- Head Coach, University of Charlotte (NC) Rob Benjamin- MiLB Hitting Coach, Seattle Mariners Chan Brown- Head Baseball Coach, Parkview HS (GA) Andrew Wright- Head Baseball Coach, University of Charleston (WV) Chase Lambin- MiLB Hitting Coach, Texas Rangers

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Tyger Pederson- MiLB Hitting Coach, St. Louis Cardinals Dec 19, 2019

Show notes

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Tyger Pederson, Hitting Coach at St. Louis Cardinals. Tyger discusses working with amateur players as well as more experienced players, communicating with players with whom English isn’t their first language, helping hitter improve their adjustability, and the importance of players getting into a good hitting position. Episode Highlights: How did Tyger Pederson get involved in baseball and as a coach? What are some of his main goals for the off-season? What are some resources that Tyger is making use of? What is Tyger’s process for working with amateur players? How does he approach more experienced players? What are some different ways that Tyger trains for adjustability? How does Tyger help out with decision-making? Is there anything that Tyger Pederson is very intentional with players? Does he ask more questions than give answers? How does Tyger work with players when English isn’t their first language? What do conversations look like when communicating from the top down? How does he communicate with players when emotions can run high? What does his pre-game time look like? How does he balance individual training for each player? What are some training things that Tyger is excited about? Are there training activities that his players love to do? What are the three things we would notice if we watched Tyger Pederson’s practice? What are some of Tyger Pederson’s favorite books and resources? 3 Key Points: Never stop learning. Get to know your players, what they need, what works best for them, and what their goals are. Hitting adjustability is key. Pitchers are getting better and better. Hitters need to make better decisions when they decide to swing. Tweetable Quotes: “I grew up in a baseball family in Palo Alto, California. My dad played 13 years professionally and definitely raised me and all my siblings up in a sport athletic environment.” – Tyger Pederson (00:26) “There comes that time in everybody’s career where you kind of decide what’s going to be the best move for you after your baseball playing career and I always knew that I wanted to be a coach.” – Tyger Pederson (01:14) “I would say one of my main goals as a coach is to definitely to continue learning. Continue to develop as a coach.” – Tyger Pederson (03:14) “When I get an amateur player who wants to work with me I usually start trying to get to know them as well as I can. Ask them about where they have been and their experiences and are they working on anything.” – Tyger Pederson (07:05) “A lot of amateur players have different goals and a lot of people aspire to play at the higher level. Maybe it’s college, maybe it’s pro. Some amateur players just want to have fun and enjoy their time.” – Tyger Pederson (07:52) “Being able to move efficiently and get yourself into a good hitting position is the number one most important thing. Once you can get into a good position and move efficiently it definitely promotes adjustability.” – Tyger Pederson (11:32) “Being able to challenge yourself in an environment where you can feel your misses is really important. The importance of feeling your misses is now you see where your swing is breaking down.” – Tyger Pederson (11:53) “I think it is really important to create a setting where you are challenging hitters to make game-like decisions.” – Tyger Pederson (13:36) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Tyger Pederson: Linkedin Twitter Instagram

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Jon Shehan- Head Baseball Coach, Millersville University (PA) Dec 12, 2019

Show notes

During this episode of Ahead of the Curve, I interviewed Jon Shehan, Head Baseball Coach at Millersville Univ. NCAA D2. Jon discusses the importance of coaches being humble and admitting that they don’t know everything, creating an enjoyable environment to make players love coming to baseball practice, and ways to adapt practice time to player’s needs. Episode Highlights: How did Jon Shehan get involved in baseball and as a coach? What were some of Jon’s first steps when he became a head coach? What is he doing with the time and staff he has? Are there things that have worked for team culture building? How can you go about relationships with players individually? What is he doing to make the lives of his assistant coaches easier? What are some other rules and standards he has in his baseball program? What are some different practice plan tips Jon Shehan recommends? If Jon Shehan could go back to being a first-year head coach, what advice would he have for himself? What are some training things that Jon is excited about? Are there training activities that his players love to do? What are the three things we would notice if we watched Jon Shehan’s practice? What are some of Jon Shehan’s favorite books and resources? 3 Key Points: Jon Shehan’s players track their nutrition using apps every single day and turn their numbers in on Friday mornings. Jon Shehan has read and recommends the book “Old School vs. New School” by Eugene Bleeker. Jon has read it twice now. Try changing practice activities every 5-10 minutes. Tweetable Quotes: “For the young coaches out there, man, just don’t be afraid to dream.” – Jon Shehan (05:08) “The guys that work for nothing are probably your most valuable resource and you have to find ways to thank them, and keep them involved, and keep challenging them as well. Not overwork them, but challenge them.” – Jon Shehan (07:21) “Being able to take that data, then show it to the players has been crucial for us. Because so many of these guys feel like things are going the right way. But I think what we have done is speed up the development process.” – Jon Shehan (09:47) “At the end of the day, our values aren’t going to change. That is what you are signing up for. Because we may find something better next week that we are going to adapt and put into our program..” – Jon Shehan (16:10) “Making it intentional that we are building relationships with each and every individual on the team, even though it is a competitive environment. And maybe one of the toughest things we have to do.” – Jon Shehan (17:36) “One of the interesting things we do as a team the first week of class every year is going over those core covenants, and first ask, ‘Are there any other values that we need to add?’” – Jon Shehan (26:00) “One of the biggest values, sometimes, it’s a blessing and a course, is...make it better. It’s just simple, make it better.” – Jon Shehan (42:33) “One of my biggest theories is making practice fun. I want our guys to show up and enjoy practice and have it be one of the best parts of their day.” – Jon Shehan (46:07) Resources Mentioned: Ahead of the Curve Podcast Twitter: @AOTC_podcast Jon Shehan: Twitter Book: “Old School vs. New School” by Eugene Bleeker

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