Beyond Sets And Reps

As a long time professor of finance, Dr. Starla Ivey was a no-brainer as a guest author of the upcoming book, The Table, to help student athletes (and those who interact with them) take advantage of all the opportunities they have at their disposal. Anytime there’s a conversation or topic of substance with young adults, money and finances should be brought up. 

The first of this three part series by guest authors of my upcoming book, The Table, Coach Akeem Robinson is on the show to discuss his chapter on character development. With a diverse range of experiences - from a Clemson football athlete to homeless and living in his car - Coach Robinson has trained his mind to focus on the person he wants to become; and is on a mission to help his athletes do the same.

Crediting his ambition and work ethic to his family and their supportive upbringing, Dr. Andrew Paul is no stranger to success in the field of athletic performance. With great friends and coaches early on who provided positive experiences around sport, he quickly knew the kind of coach he wanted to be. Those early experiences set him on the trajectory to work at a Power 5 school, EXOS, and now at the professional level.

Trying to figure out if you want to play football or just say you were on a football team. That’s what Dave Roberson, the Director of Player Personnel & Recruiting Coordinator at Arkansas State University, helps kids figure out every recruiting season. With advice for high school coaches and how to best help their players get a scholarship, to how parents can assist their child in making the best choice, Dave fills this episode full of recruiting know-how.

Knowing from a young age he wanted to be a physical therapist, Brett Hayes has always had a knack for combining sports with the science of the body with the goal of optimizing performance. His mission is straightforward: doing what’s best for the athletes because when the team wins, everyone associated with it wins - there’s enough credit to go around. So Brett is trying to get physical therapy into the weight room, training room, on the field and intertwined with everyday sports.

Satisfied with the ‘old school’ label that Big D often gets, he’s confident in his old school values of treating people right, developing young men for a lifetime of success, and never letting the words “that’s not my job” pass through his lips. Having been in the game for so long, Donnie Sommer understands the cyclical nature of training - everything old is new and everything new is old. Even with changing times and approaching things a little differently, the underlying culture and lifestyle he teaches remains true.

As someone who had her collegiate athletic career abruptly cut short, Dr. Amber Selking knows what it’s like to feel lost after sport. She’s since made it her life’s work to help people with mental performance both on and off the field. With a deep belief that people want to be great, Selking is aiming to provide a template for that greatness via the mental game.

Coach Gabe Jackson’s passion for training today’s youth is evident throughout this entire episode. He takes us from his beginnings in athletics to now coaching young athletes with discipline and accountability, yet truly caring for them as people. The success he’s seen as an entrepreneur with both of his facilities is surely a result of the empathy and compassion he has in developing young athletes.

Eric Wood was forced into figuring out his “life after NFL” when he received the devastating news that a spine injury waiting to happen was found on a post-season MRI. This news came approximately 50 minutes before the birth of his son – to call it an emotional roller coaster doesn’t do it justice. In this episode, Wood takes us through transitioning his identity from 9 year NFL veteran to (soon to be) broadcast media personality.

From program structure to program philosophy, Coach Gary Pinkel is still not changing what he does. And with good reason – a track record of success done the right way is his proven methodology, and put simply, it works. He’s based his entire career on treating the people the right way and that’s something he’ll continue standing by.

Coach Aaron Ausmus had a rare opportunity to visit programs all over the nation while he was a sales rep for Sorinex Exercise Equipment. Even though he was between strength coaching jobs, he turned lemons into lemonade by broadening his knowledge base and cherry-picking the best parts of several programs. Now back at USC as the head strength coach for football, he’s confident his experience and knowledge gained is helping him make their program the best it can be.

After more than a decade long career in the NFL, 5x Pro Bowler Justin Smith is living life off the grid and raising his children to be as hard-working as he is. While he hasn’t yet gotten to the reminiscing phase for his NFL career, he’s confident his motivation was simple – to play ball. A no-frills, no b.s. kind of guy, Smith shares his outlook on the NFL, his family, and simple living.

Keyon Dooling is a Florida boy whose community supported him through adolescence and into adulthood when he ventured to the Midwest for college. Ultimately his successful 13-year NBA career came to an end as he began confronting his struggles with PTSD. Today he’s a mental health advocate raising awareness in society, but also on a deeper level advocating for the mental health of collegiate athletes.

Growing up with a chip on his shoulder to always exceed people’s low expectations of him, Bert Sorin has taken that drive and continued building the legacy of Sorinex Exercise Equipment. From developing state of the art equipment to bringing people together, Bert takes pride in leaving a positive footprint on the world, and on people’s hearts.

Having written the book, Joe Kenn (aka ‘House’) takes us through the philosophies that helped create the Tier System of training athletes. From how to most effectively put together a staff, to using the Tier System foundation to create your own programs, House delivers quotable ‘food for thought’ throughout the entire episode. It’s his way of paying it forward by teaching strength coaches around the world ‘how to fish’ rather than feeding them for a day.

A veteran of the profession, Duane Carlisle is a long-time coach, expert, and mentor to many. From the private sector to the public (and back again), middle schoolers to professionals, Coach Duane Carlisle has seen and trained it all. In this episode, he offers his perspectives on coaching the person, how a high-performance model should work, and the business savvy side of coaching.

Jen Widerstrom is a fitness icon and after listening to this episode you’ll know why. She’s humble, wise beyond her years, and eager to help guide others to success. From her own journey with sports and fitness to how we can each pay it forward, there’s no shortage of quotables from this show.

As my Yoda of all things mental, Dr. and Coach Rick McGuire joins us for this week’s episode. Long time track & field coach and a pioneer in the sport psychology field, he brings a perspective unlike any other. With the understanding that kids meet sport through the coach, Coach McGuire fully supports the comprehensive, integrated performance model which thrives on communication between professionals for the benefit of the athlete.

Professor of kinesiology and sports science, Dr. Bryan Mann teaches us about his specialty, Velocity Based Training (VBT). From being a “poor white boy from backwoods Oklahoma” to how he became an expert, Bryan takes us through his journey of becoming a strength coach and an academic. We also “geeked out” a bit on his VBT talking numbers and training methods.

Chase Daniel, 10-year NFL veteran, discusses leadership, mental performance, QBs in the NFL Draft, and how he improves his longevity in such a difficult arena. A must-listen for anyone looking for the performance edge as Chase says confidently he’s at his best when he goes Beyond Sets and Reps with spiritual, mental, and emotional aspects of life.   Chase describes how growing up in a Christian household with many opportunities for success helped develop his leadership, both vocally and by example. He learned at an early age leadership is earned, not given and is blessed to have been put in so many opportunities to exercise and improve his leadership skills. Going undrafted in the 2009 NFL draft was his first encounter with adversity, causing him to reevaluate his goals. Chase began taking one day at a time and learned to capitalize on each opportunity to get better, including learning what real hard work meant from none other than Drew Brees. He finds renewed energy when demonstrating his abil