Coach Your Brains Out, by Gold Medal Squared

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**Coach Your Brains Out, by Gold Medal Squared**

Coach Your Brains Out, by Gold Medal Squared has been releasing weekly podcasts going on five years now! Founded by professional beach volleyball players John Mayer and Billy Allen, the primary goal is practical, useful education that will help you become a better coach. Our podcasts are released every Thursday afternoon, so set your notifications accordingly!

Latest Episodes:

PRACTICE DESIGN with Mike Gee - Part 2 Dec 16, 2021

Show notes

0:29 - How Mike adjusts games in practice based on skill level or age group.
- Very similar across the board.
- Based on the principle of “keeping everything together”.
- Simplifying everything for beginners.
1:47 - How Mike used half court Queen of the Court to teach younger players the 6-2 rotation.
3:20 - How Mike is able to still develop Volleyball IQ while emphasizing a 90% playing practice philosophy.
- Organization is key to an effective practice (example of making sure every coach and player knows their rotations).
5:28 - How Mike’s players have reacted to his ecological dynamics based approach compared to a more traditional approach to coaching.
8:46 - How parents have responded to Mike’s ecological dynamics based approach to coaching.
10:38 - Keeping parents engaged with the club.
- Answering questions, explaining the club’s philosophy.
11:34 - Dealing with both gaining and also losing players.
13:00 - Studying and implementing movement patterns of athletes in a realistic environment.
15:39 - Simulating realistic situations compared to more unlikely and unrealistic perfect scenarios.
- E.g. at the highest level setters are not using perfect technique, but situationally are able to adapt and execute effectively.
16:39 - “You’re either a setter, or you’re someone that just plays the setter position”.
- Instilling both confidence and identity within players.
18:01 - Does Mike include ques in his instruction and feedback?
20:03 - Why is the pre-game warmup so important, and what Mike’s looks like.
22:03 - Mike’s one piece of advice for coaches looking to try an ecological dynamics based approach to coaching.

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

PRACTICE DESIGN with Mike Gee - Part 1 Dec 09, 2021

Show notes

1:32 - Mike’s YouTube channel + videos he would recommend viewers/listeners start with.
- Ecological Dynamics (Eco D).
- Practice design
- Link to his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwdLRsJvwBV_UC3iANsHpng
2:17 - Introducing Mike: how he got into Eco D, and his experience as a club director for the North Pacific Juniors volleyball club.
- Dealing with limited practice time.
4:05 - Mike’s original coaching approach/philosophy in comparison to Eco D.
6:23 - Determining that new coaching approaches have a direct correlation to athletes’ performance.
8:16 - Important things to consider in practice design.
- Realistic drills (not necessarily framing it as “game-like”).
9:40 - The “Tennis” drill, and how it differs at different skill levels.
13:26 - What would Mike’s typical practice look like?
- Playing 6s and competing in games.
15:41 - If Mike had more time, how would his practices look? Would they be more realistic, or would it be broken down more by skills?
17:05 - The typical time breakdown of a 4-hour practice, and what skills Mike usually works on.
- Dynamics, serve and pass/Queen of the Court, playing 6s.
22:31 - Creating constraints in practices, particularly in 6s.
- Developing communication between players specifically by restricting communication with coaches.
24:56 - Are there go-to constraints that consistently work?
27:05 - Team constraints vs individual constraints.
- “Low-ceiling” constraint
29:36 - Does Mike explicitly give his players the purpose/intention of his drills/games?
31:12 - More examples of constraints Mike has used regularly in practice.

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show:

https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

SMARTER VOLLEY with Joe Trinsey - Part 2 Dec 02, 2021

Show notes

1:03 - Drawing from his own experience, how Joe has tried to develop skills within young and beginner players.
3:22 - Eliminating unforced errors in high school volleyball.
- Coaching a mentality of making the setter’s life easier.
7:55 - Without stats available in the early parts of the club season, how should coaches approach the triangle?
- Focusing on transition primarily.
- 8:41 - When first ball becomes a much more important part of the game.
10:07 - Joe’s experience coaching the national team at NORCECA + its importance to players involved.
11:04 - Difference in practice time between the national team and highschool/club, and even at the collegiate level.
- Maximizing practice time
13:11 - Focused coach = focused players
16:45 - Breaking down the women’s national team’s win against Brazil in the Gold Medal match in relation to the triangle, and Joe’s biggest takeaways.
18:48 - With little time to prepare, focusing on covering up weaknesses rather than expecting a quick change in an athlete’s ability.
20:14 - Breaking down the men’s finals in the Olympics, and how Joe would implement the triangle in the ROC/Russia’s coaching.
- 20:55 - Russia’s missed serves + resulting in only one ace, balancing aggressiveness with practicality/tacticality.
- 24:05 - Making the decision to serve with the purpose of blocking + defending, or serve with the purpose of getting aces.
26:54 - Joe’s thoughts on + takeaways from the beach in comparison to indoors.
- 28:01 - Increased possibilities + strategy.
35:56 - What Joe is looking forward to in the upcoming season.
- Another link to his blog: https://smartervolley.substack.com/

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show:

https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

SMARTER VOLLEY with Joe Trinsey - Part 1 Nov 25, 2021

Show notes

1:49 - Why Joe has been taking a break from social media and the internet + what he has gained from it.
- 3:45 - Freeing up time to focus on his own thoughts and opening up time to write a new book/training manual.
4:20 - Joe’s blog (what he was originally planning on writing in a book format)
5:00 - What Joe thought he gained or missed by taking a break.
6:20 - Value of being bored + value of also taking breaks from educational resources.
- Fostering great ideas from boredom.
7:14 - Joe’s blog (what he was originally planning on writing in a book format)
- Read Joe’s blog here: https://smartervolley.substack.com/
- Extra resources on his blog (some film, stats, etc).
10:59 - Joe’s triangle connecting terminal serves, first ball, and transition aspects.
12:36 - The extent to which the “Terminal Serves” aspect has an impact on matches from varying age levels.
13:55 - Putting terminal serves in the context of stats.
14:19 - “Our aces + opponent’s service errors” vs “Our service errors + opponent’s aces”.
15:16 - Measuring first ball attacking/putting it in the context of stats.
18:48 - Understanding transition win percentages.
22:25 - What to work on if one point of the triangle is successful, but another is lacking.
26:27 - What the standard would be in indoor volleyball + how high school volleyball practice can be structured to meet that standard and potentially go beyond it.

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

GUIDANCE HYPOTHESIS - Motor Learning for Coaches Nov 18, 2021

Show notes

Introducing Kasey, Andy, and Harjiv + why they think motor learning is important.
- 0:42 - Kasey’s thoughts.
- 2:00 - Andy’s thoughts.
- 3:46 - Harjiv’s thoughts.
6:16 - The Guidance Hypothesis in relation to feedback.
- 6:22 - The only law in motor learning: Fitts Law.
- 7:19 - Using the analogy of bowling balls and bumper lanes to demonstrate the importance of removing dependence in athletes.
- 8:30 - Information and feedback is better processed when given in a concise form + why coaches should put in the extra effort to do so.
11:29 - How coaches should approach giving feedback to their athletes.
13:25 - How much of feedback should revolve around the athletes thoughts + using open questions to elicit feedback from athletes.
14:51 - Limiting feedback to avoid overloading athletes with information, while also effectively sharing information with them.
- 15:00 - Evaluating the influence of the coach’s ego + pushing it aside to better develop athletes.
- 17:11 - Finding the right time to offer feedback to athletes.
- 18:32 - How the institution of self-regulated learning within athletes during practice can also be used as a constraint to main focus during matches.
19:43 - What do players actually benefit from becoming less reliant on coaches?
- 20:51 - Including a step-by-step process instead of overloading athletes with information all at once.
  - Identifying critical points of tasks.
  - Correlating it to success to improve the mentality of athletes.
- 21:56 - Precise feedback is not always the most effective feedback.
25:06 - Targeted feedback vs. “untargeted feedback”.
27:01 - Feedback is ultimately a constraint.
30:15 - Studying the effects of giving more feedback.
33:51 - Why youth coaches should hold back on giving vocal feedback without the backing of data, spreadsheets, film, etc.

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

YOUTH COACHING with John O'Sullivan - Part 2 Nov 11, 2021

Show notes

0:39 - Balancing development of athletes, starting from a young age and lasting as they become older.
- 0:42 - David Epstein - “cult of the head start” (balancing long term development and short term development in terms of success).
- 1:55 - John’s thoughts on how playtime should be treated with young athletes.
3:45 - Practice planning example: what John would do in one hour of practice.
- 4:05 - “Play practice play” model.
6:42 - Helpful advice coaches should give from the sidelines.
- 7:10 - Developing intuition and independent problem solving within young athletes.
9:11 - Effective debriefing post match.
10:49 - Effectively coaching young kids who are easily distracted or not paying attention.
- 11:07 - Creating standards.
- 11:59 - Quick, rapidly moving games to keep kids attentive.
14:37 - Tips for maintaining attention during offtimes where coaches may want to explain or demo a drill.
16:03 - Working with kids who demonstrate a lack of effort during practice.
- 17:06 - Trying to figure out why they might be not putting in effort during practice.
- 17:29 - Kids that are not trying vs. kids that are disrupting practice.
18:07 - In a situation with a variety of skill levels, challenging kids at a higher level while also not drowning out kids of a lower level.
20:39 - The greatest takeaways from all the interviews John has done.
- 20:59 - Importance of humility.
- 21:26 - Understanding that the core tenet of coaching is love (both the sports and the athletes).
22:46 - John’s plans on upcoming live and virtual coaching development programs.

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show:

https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

YOUTH COACHING with John O'Sullivan - Part 1 Nov 04, 2021

Show notes

0:27 - John’s podcast and development of the Changing the Game project.
- Podcast link: https://wayofchampions.libsyn.com/
- Changing the Game Project link: https://changingthegameproject.com/
1:56 - John’s main advice for youth sports coaching.
3:04 - Examples of negative coaching that drives off young athletes from playing sports.
- 3:27 - Importance of having fun and encouraging genuine enjoyment of sports.
6:57 - Differentiation between seriousness and having fun, and maintaining both.
7:39 - John’s “ideal practice” scenario + his advice on running an effective practice.
8:54 - How to effectively interact with parents in the early coaching stages.
- 9:29 - One of the most effective forms of practice - interleaved practice.
- 10:36 - Showing parents that learning is messy, and that effective practices are not necessarily organized.
- 13:07 - Building trust and connections with athletes and parents.
13:39 - What happens once coaches establish trust with parents?
15:16 - Dealing with parents coaching off the sidelines of games.
17:13 - Advice for parents to help their children grow as athletes.
20:44 - Establishing a healthy dynamic between parents and children in the context of sports.
24:01 - Do development and learning of fundamentals come before playing games, or do they emerge from playing experience?
26:51 - Why isolated, “fundamentals first” training is widely practiced.

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

COACHING COACHES with Chris Clements - Part 2 Oct 28, 2021

Show notes

0:31 - In contrast to the “before practice” checklist, what are key components of the “during practice” checklist?
- 0:58 - Dependent on the kind of coach and the “coaching moment”.
2:53 - Common things coaches should avoid when giving feedback to their athletes.
- Staying on track with the original goal of practice and minimizing information overload.
4:51 - Should coaches focus on working with groups of athletes at a time, or just individuals?
- 5:09 - Example given in the context of young athletes.
8:11 - Importance of encouraging athletes to practice on their own time by their own volition.
9:06 - Chris’ thoughts on including progressions and themes in practices.
- 9:41 - Benefits of interleaved practice that mimics the constant change in games.
- 11:42 - Balance of variety and consistency in practice planning.
13:32 - If the original practice plan seems to be ineffective, should coaches stick with the plan or improvise?
14:37 - “Coaching experiments” and the impact and importance of showing vulnerability as a coach.
16:01 - Chris’ thoughts on having post-practice consistent routines and discussions with either the coaching staff or the athletes.
20:23 - Ways in which coaches can get feedback on the effectiveness of practice
- Writing down things to focus on in one practice + increasing skill sets
23:03 - Similarities and differences of working with beach volleyball coaches and coaches from other sports.
26:34 - Chris’ thoughts on intentional coaching and why he emphasizes it.

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

COACHING COACHES with Chris Clements - Part 1 Oct 21, 2021

Show notes

00:35 - Making the transition from being the head coach of the USA Field Hockey national team to a coaching consultant.
2:04 - What Chris has used from his coaching experience and implemented into consulting + what he would have done differently throughout his early career.
3:41 - How coaches have received Chris’ advice + how he identifies what kind of coaches he is coaching.
7:05 - What Chris thinks are the most prevalent or frequent areas in which coaches can improve in.
9:30 - “Checking for understanding”: a technique Chris uses to make sure that coaches are on the same page.
13:54 - How Chris actively develops coaching skills by making them work harder to figure out through trial and error rather than through being lectured.
15:34 - Step by step process to make sure that all coaches are on the same page.
17:07 - Making sure to focus and maintain the goal or core idea of the game/activity.
21:12 - Key things coaches can do before a training session.
- 22:22 - Establishing the purpose of the practice to maintain engagement and actively attempt to accomplish goals of that practice.
- 23:49 - Importance of effective communication: implementing the best games or activities to get the standard/purpose of the purpose across to the players.
25:09 - Should players be involved in the planning process of practices?
- 26:57 - Benefits of letting players be included in this coaching process.
- 27:18 - Importance of letting go of your ego for the purpose of this process.

Get CYBO the book! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098630904

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/coachyourbrainsout

MENTAL HEALTH with Dan Friend Oct 14, 2021

Show notes

0:31 - How the pandemic has affected the mental health of Dan’s players.
- 1:43 - Ways in which Dan’s been trying to deal with feelings anxiety and pressure.
4:00 - Finding professional help to strengthen the mental health of athletes.
6:18 - Using the team environment to create bonds + having older players use their experience with playing anxiety to offer advice to younger players.
7:19 - How Dan has tried to maintain team bonds throughout the pandemic.
8:50 - Building connections even with pandemic restrictions.
9:46 - Exercises coaches can use to get players to open up about their mental health.
10:56 - Importance of communication with players and listening to athletes.
12:20 - Giving back to the community: why Dan and his players do community service.
13:36 - What Rae Strong is and how people can get involved.
- Link: https://raestrong.org/
17:40 - An update on how Rae is doing today.
18:38 - Why and how Dan ended up coaching Tim Bomgren and Jeremy Casebeer at the AVP Chicago event.
20:09 - Why Dan doesn’t take money for coaching on the sand + why he enjoys being a part of the beach community.
22:34 - Dan’s players getting involved in the AVP Events.
23:24 - How less established players can take down the “giants” of beach volleyball.
25:04 - What Dan is doing currently to grow as a coach.

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