CVASPS The Podcast

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Episode 5: Season 4 Episode 5- Rodrigo Alvira Isla- “Be Critical of People Who Speak in Absolutes” Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

In this week’s episode I get to have a really awesome conversation about finding secondary ways to make money as a coach with Rodrigo Alvira Isla. If you’ve ever had the “privilege” of getting stuck with me during one of my rants about this topic you already know how passionate I am about this topic and how important I think this is, not just for coaches, but for everyone in today’s financial climate. Throughout the nearly 40-minute discussion Rodrigo and I get into:

1) Being an international, the visa process, and some of the challenges of coming to work in The States

2) Some of the differences in basketball preparation between Spain and the US.

3) What were the driving factors behind Spaniardperformance and how it has helped him become a better coach.

4) Why many of the fears people have behind why they don’t post content, or build an online product may be self-imposed.

5) Working with athletes on an online training program, steps you can make to make it scalable, and what is a reasonable time commitment to each athlete in his mind.

I cannot thank Rodrigo enough for being so open to sharing, not just his voyage, but also some ways that coaches can use platforms we all have to find a second source of income. He’s putting out awesome content with his business on Instagram, so make sure you give him a follow at @spaniardperformance. Even if you don’t speak Spanish, he’s providing a great template (how he’s doing things) as to how you can build, and scale, an online business as a coach.

If you found value in the show it would be a huge help to us if you could do me three favors: first, as with all all our content, please feel share this with a colleague you think could find value in the show. Second, if you haven’t please subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player, and lastly if you could leave us a 5 star review on that players I would greatly appreciate it.

Who is Rodrigo Alvira Isla?

Rodrigo was born and raised in Zaragoza, Spain. He came to America to play college basketball, playing division 2 basketball a lung injury during his Junior year. He graduated with bachelor in Exercise Science in 2018, worked in Dubai, Lincoln University, Exceed SPF, and Grand Canyon University, with different sports, including Basketball, Football, Volleyball and Golf. He created Spaniard Performance in 2018 to help the Spanish speaking world to learn the side for Sports Performance in the US.

Episode 4: Season 4 Episode 4- Amit Vohra "The Only Constant in Life is Change” Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

This week I’m so excited to welcome Amit Vohra to The Podcast. Similar to the past few guests we have had on the show I’ve been fortunate to watch Amit’s professional growth from a distance after getting his feet wet in the vocation under my former director Chris Stewart. During the 30+ minute discussion Amit and I get into:

1) How he has formulated his thought process around programming.

2) The role and power of belief in training, programming, coaching, and life.

3) What the goal of the program is, and where evaluations impact the directions they take to reach those goals.

4) Examples of how they utilize data to help structure and progress/regress drills in practice

5) Metrics that they look at, why they look at them, and how they impact decisions. Not just in practice but in training as well.

Amit is doing some great work up at Towson, it’s really been awesome watching him grow from intern here back in the day to where he is now. Super excited for the future he has as a practitioner. Make sure you give him a follow @vohra91 on Instagram. And please, if you find value in the show feel free to share this episode with a collogue that you feel would enjoy it, and please don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast player. I truly do appreciate it.

Who is Amit Vohra?

Vohra has been a strength and conditioning coach at Towson since August 2018. He currently serves as the director of basketball performance, primarily working with the men's basketball team.

Among his duties include leading the strength room’s internship program plus utilizing the catapult athlete monitoring system to help optimize training loads.

Vohra was the strength coach for the 2018-19 CAA Champion Towson women’s basketball team and the 2020 ECAC Champion Towson women’s indoor track team.

He came to Towson after a year at the University of Connecticut as a sports performance assistant, working primarily with men’s and women’s cross country/track & field and diving. His 2017 UConn women’s cross-country team won its first-ever conference championship in program history.

Previous to UConn, Vohra served as a graduate assistant for Springfield College for the 2016-17 season, working with men’s/women’s basketball, men’s soccer, men’s lacrosse and baseball. He has also worked as an intern for Wake Forest University, the College of the Holy Cross, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), and the University of Richmond.

Episode 3: Season 4 Episode 3- Dr. Aaron Heishman " You think differently when you’re expected to ask questions” Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

I am elated to get to sit down and discuss the role and impact of data in the return to play process with The Las Vegas Golden Knights Director of Sport Science and Reconditioning, Dr. Aaron Heishman. Throughout the 35-minute discussion Heish and I get into:

1) The impact of starting with the right mentor, and how his has left a mark on him professionally and continues to drive him forward.

2) Where he sees the role of “sport science” in their organization

3) The balance between skill and power, and the ways they evaluate where they fit on the continuum of how they move

4) The role of data in the RTP process, including what they utilized as preinjury baseline data.

5) How the process of evaluating and interrupting data is what makes it actionable, which is where the value truly is

6) What drives the conversation’s when an athlete is progressing through the RTP process, and how the objective and subjective work hand in hand to drive decisions.

Truly grateful for Dr. Heishman taking the time to be on the show and being so open to sharing. He’s doing some fantastic work in Vegas and is an absolute wealth of knowledge that’s absolutely driving our entire vocation forward by pushing the envelope in the performance monitoring world. Make sure to give him a follow @aheish11_ on Instagram. Feel free to share this episode with a collogue that you feel would enjoy it, and please don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast player. I truly do appreciate it.

Who is Aaron Heishman?

Aaron is the Head of Sport Science and Reconditioning for the Vegas Golden Knights. He is primarily responsible for directing the sport science initiatives of the organization, as well as leading the implementation of return to play programming for athletes undergoing long-term rehabilitation. Prior to his time with the Golden Knights, he worked as the Assistant Director of Basketball Performance and Sport Scientist at University of Oklahoma. While at OU, Aaron earned his PhD in Exercise Physiology with research focused on athlete monitoring strategies used to evaluate neuromuscular performance and fatigue in basketball players. Before Oklahoma, Aaron worked as the Graduate Assistant for Basketball Performance at the University of Virginia, where he found a passion for trying to bridge the gap between applied performance practices and research in effort to maximize athlete health and performance.

Episode 2: Season 4 Episode 2- Scott Kuehn "A holistic lens towards how athletes are prepared” Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

In this week we welcome LSU’s Scott Kuehn to The Podcast. I’ve been very fortunate to know Scott for what is going on 10 years, and it’s been fantastic to watch him grow professional and into his role with LSU football. Within the 42-minute discussion Scott and I get into:

1) How attending The Seminar impacted his growth and professional trajectory

2) What “the high-performance model” means to him?

3) Where do practitioners need to start when it comes to building their version of this model?

4) Where understanding the role of internal/external monitoring and subjective/objective lenses, and how they can each combine to provide unique data to help us do better for our athletes

5) The role of technology, and how adding too much to fast can lead to issues.

I can’t thank Scott enough for spending the time with us and being so candid with his thoughts on building a high-performance model. It’s been really awesome watching his career trajectory from a far, but I feel it’s safe to say that we can see why he’s climbed the ladder as quickly as he has. He’s doing fantastic work down in Baton Rouge. Make sure you give him a follow on the socials @scottkuehn88, and tap in to his Linktree to check out the great products that he has available here: https://linktr.ee/scottkuehn88 If you find value in the show please feel free to share this episode with a collogue that you feel would enjoy it, and please don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast player. I truly do appreciate it.

Who is Scott Kuehn?

Scott Kuehn is currently the Manager of Applied Sport Science for LSU Football. He has previously had stops at the University of Arizona, the College of William & Mary, the University of Tulsa, and the University of Kentucky in varying capacities as both a performance coach and sport scientist. Originally from the Chicago suburbs, he attended Illinois State University for his undergrad in exercise science, while going from walk-on to scholarship football player during his time there, then completed a Master's degree while at Tulsa.

Episode 1: Season 4 Episode 1- John Garrish "What is it that might add value to our program?” Sep 11, 2023

Show notes

The Podcast is BACK! In episode 1 of season 4 I had the fortune of being able to sit down and chop it up with North Broward Prep’s Director of Athletic Development and Head Track and Field Coach, John Garrish. Throughout the 45-minute discussion, John and I get into:

1) Even though his path has changed through his career, how his love in training has still been a driving force behind his decisions.

2) How the idea of “Shiny Object Syndrome” impact coaches

3) The role of identifying value in toys, tools, or tech, and where the research can impact progress either way.

4) Wickets, their value, where they can be helpful, and what you could do if you don’t have access to them, or a group too large to implement them.

5) Building progressions while keeping what’s “best available for the group” in mind

6) Utilizing constraints to correct technical issues in sprinting, and what he’s looking at to identify what need to be improved.

7) Where the weight room connects with speed training, including where its priority sits throughout the year and how that changes.

8) His entire weekly plan in “the perfect world”

I’m truly grateful for John being so open to sharing all of this with us today. Understanding how some of the best practitioners provide feedback and put athlete’s in situations to improve technique is so valuable, so I can’t thank him enough for sharing so many aspects of, not just his progressions, but what he’s identifying and correcting. His Instagram full of awesome content, including great “stories” giving great examples of his athletes in action, so give him a follow at: @coach_garrish. Lastly, if you find value in the show please feel free to share this episode with a collogue that you feel would enjoy it, and please don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast player. I truly do appreciate it.

Who is John Garrish?

Coach John Garrish has served the North Broward Prep community for nine years as the school's Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, five as its Head Track and Field Coach and three as a Middle School Faculty member. A native of South Florida, John attended Wagner College (B.S., Psychology '12) and the University of North Texas (M.S., Kinesiology '14) before serving as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at Rutgers University and finally joining the North Broward Prep family in 2014. Most recently, John served temporarily on the FAU Football Strength Staff during the summer of 2020. John is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and has served on the Board of Directors for the National High School Strength Coaches' Association as the Southeast Regional Director (2016-2020) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association's High School Special Interest Group Executive Council (2015-2016).

Episode 19: Season 3 Episode 19-Brittney Bearden “Understand where the athlete currently is and make the small changes” May 30, 2023

Show notes

I’m elated to introduce Brittney Bearden to The CVASPS family in this week’s episode of The Podcast. Britt has done some fantastic work with our guys over the past three years helping them to transform their nutrition routines. In the 33-minute discussion Brittney and I get into:

1) What drove her to go into sports nutrition and how the education steps to get licensed impacted how she practices today.

2) What is truly involved in how we select food, and how important it is to individualize nutrition programs based on the specific athlete.

3) The value in understanding where the athlete is in their nutrition voyage, and working with them to build from there.

4) Where the “line” is for where strength coaches may step out of their scope of practice, and what issues could arise if we over step our boundaries.

A huge thank you to Brittney Bearden for joining us today. She has been a huge addition to our group and has done great work helping our guys better understand how they fuel themselves, and also puts out awesome stuff so make sure you give her a follow @sportrdbritt on Instagram. I’m sure you’ll find a have a ton of value in the content she’s putting out. I can’t thank you enough for listening to The Podcast, and I hope you enjoyed the show. If so and could help us out by sharing the show with a colleague that would be greatly appreciated, and please don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player, and please leave us a review while you’re there.

Episode 18: Season 3 Episode 18- Andrea Comini “The journey is really what matters” May 23, 2023

Show notes

This week’s episode of The Podcast is a season review and audit with Andrea Comini. Dre and I have known each other for almost 10 years, and we had the opportunity to sponsor his visa to bring him back to The States to work with us in The Q this year and he was a huge addition. Dre’s a great coach who brought a unique view point to our daily routine, our programming, and our standard. In the 30-minute discussion Dre and I get into:

1) Where his love of basketball and coaching stems from.

2) How bringing in a new set of eyes helped point out some areas I became a bit comfortable

3) The value of having a standard in our vocation and how it can be helpful teaching leadership and accountability within a team

4) Being who you are at all times, how each individual has to be true to themselves, and how we can learn from each other’s true self

5) The training plan and facility they’re building in Italy, and what is the driving factor behind building the program.

Massive thank you to Andrea Comini for joining us today. This was a unique show for me, taking a step back and reviewing where we had to make some improvements, the results of them, and sharing with you. I can’t thank Dre enough for his help this year, both with the team and with driving me to be a better coach. Make sure you check out what they’re doing at the Pro Camp, they’re doing an awesome job sharing what doing down at the lake. Give them a follow at: @procamp__ on Instagram. I’m sure you’ll find a what they’re putting out to have a ton of value. Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed the show. If so and could help us out by sharing the show with a colleague that would be greatly appreciated, and please don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player, and please leave us a review while you’re there.

Episode 17: Season 3 Episode 17- Dominick Walker “The My Way or The High Way Thing Doesn’t Work Anymore” May 17, 2023

Show notes

This week I had the pleasure of getting to catch up with Dominick Walker on this week’s episode of The Podcast. Dom is doing some awesome work down at Mississippi State preparing his Men’s Basketball team, and also providing a ton of great content on the work they’re doing and the results he’s seeing. In the 35-minute chat Dom and I get into:

1) Some adjustments that we see that are needed in this new era of the portal and NIL

2) Picking what battle to fight knowing that you’re not going to win them all

3) What the role of having standards are in developing relationships with the athlete

4) The role of the strength and conditioning coach in the world of sport

Huge thanks to Dominick Walker for joining us today. This show, like many this season, has been a long time coming. He’s doing an awesome job sharing the work he’s doing down at MSU so make sure you give him a follow at: @raikage.com on twitter and Instagram. I’m sure you’ll find a what he’s putting out to have a ton of value. If you enjoyed the show and could help us out by sharing the show with a colleague that would be greatly appreciated, and please don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player, and please leave us a review while you’re there.

Episode 16: Season 3 Episode 16- Dr. Kessa Kuyper “Your Athlete is Not Always Wrong” May 02, 2023

Show notes

I am so excited to welcome Dr. Kessa Kuyper to The Podcast. “K” was a great addition to our staff for the 2021/22 season, helping one of the oldest teams ever in college basketball “survive” the season with her unique perspective on training after going through PT School. In the 30-minute conversation we discuss:

1) Why going to PT school may be a good decision for young coaches coming out of college

2) How having a role within the high-performance team is important, not just to the staff but the athlete even more.

3) The value in the athlete’s input to programming

K is doing awesome work out in Memphis. Make sure you give her a follow @kessakuyper and follow the staff at Memphis @mephisathleticperformance You’ll find a ton of awesome content on both pages. Also, if you find value in the shows please feel free to send it to a colleague that would enjoy it and don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review! I truly do appreciate it.

Episode 15: Season 3 Episode 15- Will Ratelle “Expand upon the context where you can improve your outputs” Apr 25, 2023

Show notes

In this week’s episode of The Podcast Will Ratelle and I discuss the vernacular of strength and conditioning, and why terms matter. Throughout the 35-minute chat Will and I get into:

1) How all too often we come up with terms that may or may not have an actual definition, and why this is really slowing down our progress as a vocation.

2) His view on the term rotational power, and why there may be some misconceptions around that term

3) The impact of range of motion on power athletes

4) What factors are important to Will in the training process, and how it drives his programming.

5) How can we communicate to coaches that they may not understand what they don’t understand

6) How the most important thing may be how your relationships with your coworkers are.

Will is doing great work, not just with his student athlete’s but with his two “Hoss” projects. Make sure you check them out here: and give him a follow on Instagram @will.ratelle. He puts out a ton of awesome content. If you enjoyed the show please subscribe on your favorite podcast player, and if you could leave us a 5 star review I’d greatly appreciate it!

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