Episodes
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Episode 123: Today’s episode is a sneak peak into our new book, There Is More Than One Way To Skin A Cat, where I interview nine basketball strength coaches and ask, “What’s your approach to testing and what’s the most common test you use? And then you get to hear exactly how the Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Kansas Jayhawks and Louisville Cardinals do it here in the states. And you’ll also get to hear how professional teams in Istanbul, Brescia, Jerusalem, Slovan and Maccabi do it in the European Leagues.
My goal for this episode is to prove that there really is more than one way to train & condition a basketball player. Here's an overview of the nine basketball performance coaches I interviewed:
Luka Svilar has a PhD in Sport Science with a master’s degree in Kinesiology. He brings a wealth of experience from working with esteemed teams such as Bayern, Baskonia, Turk Telekom, Unics and Croatia’s NTs.
Ramsey Nijem is the Director of Performance for the University of Kansas Men’s Basketball Program. He holds a Doctorate of Science in Human and Sport Performance and a Master of Science in Kinesiology. Before joining the Jayhawks, he spent 5 seasons with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.
Jure Drakslar is the Head S&C Coach and Rehabilitation Specialist at BC Zenit Saint Petersburg and has over two decades of experience in professional basketball. He hold’s a masters degree in sports science and has got to train my son’s favorite NBA player, Luka Doncic, for 3 off-seasons.
Matt Comer is currently working on his PhD in Health & Human Performance while holding a master’s degree in biomechanics and a bachelors in athletic training. He began his basketball strength & conditioning career working in the G-League before getting promoted to the NBA.
Roberto Iezzi holds a master’s degree in sport science and has almost 20 years of experience in basketball. He’s currently the head of performance at Brescia Basketball, responsible for the players performance and rehabilitation.
Kostas Chatzichristos is the Head of Performance at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. He holds a masters degree from the University of Texas at Austin and is a current PhD candidate at Democritus University of Thrace. Kostas also serves as the director of the Euroleague Strength & conditioning Coaches association.
Adam Petway is the Director of Strength & Conditioning at Louisville basketball and leverages extensive NBA experience with the 76ers and wizards. He holds an MBA in sport management and earned bachelors and PhD degrees in Sport Science. He’s also author to the latest book I’m reading right now titled, Basketball Mechanics.
Reggie Fanan is a graduate of the Zinman School of Coaches at Wingate and has served as Maccabi’s Head Strength & Conditioning coach for over a decade. Reggie is a former Euroleague player, which gives him a unique perspective as a basketball performance coach.
Claus Souza holds a master’s degree in applied sciences, a bachelors degree in physical education, and is an NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets. He has over 15 years of strength & conditioning experience, working with the NCAA, WNBA and private sector.
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Episode 122: Learn everything you need to know about basketball pre-game meals from one of the best in the business. Jessica Isaacs, RD, CSSD is a Los Angeles-based Sports Dietitian with an eclectic career working with elite-level athletes, creating engaging social media content, and is a highly sought-after speaker and mentor.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from Purdue University and is a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. In her career working as a Sports Dietitian, she has supported thousands of athletes from youth to professional level, serving as the Sports Dietitian at Kobe Bryant's MAMBA Sports Academy, the Basketball Performance Dietitian at UCLA, and spent two seasons as the Lead Sports Dietitian for the LA Clippers.
To learn more about Jessica, check her out on social media @jessicathesportsrd
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Episode 121: Dr Andy Galpin has his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Linfield college, a masters degree in human movement science from the university of Memphis and his PhD in human bioenergetics.
He considers himself a scientist, teacher and coach, with his full-time job being a professor at Cal State Fullerton.. As a scientist, he’s the co-Director of the Center for Sports Performance where he conducts research on anything that is relevant to human performance. He’s also the founder and director of the Biochemistry and Molecular Exercise Physiology Laboratory, with over 100 peer-reviewed publications and presentations.
As a teacher, he’s written countless articles, created an awesome YouTube page and teaches grad classes in strength & conditioning, program design, muscle physiology and nutrition at Cal State Fullerton. And as a coach, he’s worked with professional athletes for over 15 years that include NBA All-stars and Hall of Famers in multiple sports.
So with a resume like this, I thought Dr Galpin would be the perfect person to share the big picture principles of designing a year long training program while also providing actionable specifics that we can apply starting next week
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Episode 120: Tyler Whitmer oversees the Olympic Sports Performance department at Boise State, works with their men's basketball program, and started an athlete mentorship group for their athletic department. Prior to joining the Broncos, He earned his masters of science in Education with a concentration in Exercise Physiology from the University of Kansas and coached at Treasure Valley & Oral Roberts.
Boise State was in town last month and I was lucky enough to reconnect with Tyler. We hung out for almost an hour and the funny thing is, we talked about almost everything BUT strength & conditioning. When I asked him what he was passionate about, he started telling about a mentorship group that he helped create for male athletes.
As he was explaining his mentorship program, Get Reps, I knew the Hoop Commitment community needed to hear about it. For anyone who has lost faith in high level athletics, it will warm your heart to know there are programs investing in areas that really matter.
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Episode 119: Ben Greenfield is a New York Times best-selling author, health & fitness biohacker, and fellow podcaster who is extreme about practicing what he preaches. I don’t know anyone who pursues mental, physical and spiritual health more passionately than Ben.
His book, Boundless, is a health encyclopedia that combines timeless wisdom with up-to-date science and then he wraps it with a nice bow by giving simple, actionable solutions for the reader to implement.
Today I chose two chapters in his book to focus on that don’t require any complicated technology or expensive supplementation to improve on. Everyone listening to this podcast sleeps and breathes every day, and with Ben’s help, we can optimize the way we do it.
Check out Ben on social media @BenGreenfieldFitness and his website www.bengreenfieldlife.com
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Episode 118: Lifestyle Performance with Portlands Bryant Ferate. Bryant is the Assistant Director of Sports Performance at the University of Portland and works with their women’s basketball program. We’ve had some awesome battles over the last few years, going back & forth during the regular season and WCC tournament championships. And so this podcast was a great excuse to reach out to him and build our friendship.
Bryant's mission is to cultivate curiosity through performance coaching, writing and podcasting. Before joining the Portland Pilot’s staff, he had experience at Washington state, Kentucky, Iowa, UT Arlington and the Minnesota Twins.
Outside of coaching, Bryant writes a weekly newsletter, the Ferate 5, where he explores and shares something he’s curious about in less than 5 minutes. He also has a podcast that focuses on health, sport and lifestyle performance… which is what we’re going to dive into today.
I hadn’t heard the term lifestyle performance, but it makes total sense that our lifestyle habits drive our performance. And so today, I got to pick Bryant’s brain on how he helps athletes improve the way they eat, sleep, study and have fun.
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Episode 117: There is huge value in doing hard things. A challenging task can make normal, everyday life seem easier. If you paddle boarded for 8 hours straight in the ocean, it makes going to the gym for a 30-minute run seem like a walk in the park. It also raises your pain threshold and gives you confidence that you can try new things. So many of us focus on how we can do less and less, how we can make our life more convenient, to a point that when difficult times arise, we’re unsure if we can make it through.
While I see tremendous value in doing hard things, my current passion is finding out how people continue to do the easy thing, every day. It’s not that I’m against doing the hard thing, it’s just that I believe most people, including me, would benefit way more from consistently doing the easy thing, day in and day out. Instead of spending a massive amount of energy on doing a 5k underwater with a 70-pound boulder, it would be more beneficial for our conditioning and health to commit to 5 minutes of cardio work every day. Instead of planning and spending a massive amount of money on a 1 time extravagant get-away with our spouse, most of our relationships would benefit way more from committing to giving our partner a compliment and asking them a good question every day.
Check out this episode if you want to learn the power of small, easy, daily commitments.
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Episode 116: Today’s guest needs no introduction. Anyone listening to the Hoop commitment podcast knows who Jay Bilas is. And I feel so lucky that I was able to pick his brain on what it means to be tough. If you’re like me, you read his legendary ESPN article and immediately shared it with your players and coaches. It was the first time that someone defined toughness in a way that inspired me.
Toughness isn't about pounding your chest after a routine play or getting in an opponent’s face. It isn't about being physically intimidating. Jay defined toughness as setting good screens, running to a teammate when they need help up and talking on defense. I loved the article so much that I bought his book, and in preparation for this interview, I just read it again.
It is full of amazing stories from when he played at Duke, when got drafted in the NBA, when coached alongside Coach K, and when got his law degree. There’s very few people that are more qualified to write a book on toughness than Jay Bilas. He lives it every day with the amount of preparation he does as an ESPN announcer and the humility he shows as he lifts up those around him. If you want to learn what it means to be tough on & off the court, you’ll love this interview.
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Episode 115: And now to part 3 of the Dr. Dave Tiberio Trilogy! I’ve been excited for this interview because I’m learning how important training fascia is, but I’m not sure I’ve been optimizing it with my players. As always, DT does an amazing job of taking the complicated and making it understandable.
Click here if you want to watch the 22-part Fascia Series on Youtube
Keep listening if you want to learn what fascia is, why it is important, and how to optimize it during your training.
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Episode 114: This is part 2 with Dr. David Tiberio and he spends the entire episode talking about proprioceptors… what they are, where they’re located, how they communicate with the body, and how we can tweak exercises to improve performance on the court. You’re going to love learning the science behind activating specific proprioceptors by training in different ranges, at different speeds, and in different environments.
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Episode 113: Dr. David Tiberio is the dean of the Gray Institute’s 40-week mentorship program, which is known for training, treating and conditioning athletes in all 3 planes of motion. Dr. Tiberio has published numerous articles in scholarly journals and is professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut. In 2007, Dr. Tiberio received the Kendall Award from the American Physical Therapy Association for "outstanding and enduring contributions to the practice of physical therapy."
Dr. Tiberio was kind enough to come on the podcast to answer the seemingly simple question, how do you activate muscles? As a strength coach, I’ve always been confused on how to effectively cue athletes without telling them to, "squeeze their glutes" or, "focus on their core." And what started as a simple question not only turned into an hour long episode, but Dr. Tiberio was nice enough to come on the show again to record parts 2 and 3 and talk about proprioception and fascia.
If you’re a trainer or coach that wants to effectively train athletes to perform better on the court, Dr. Tiberio is going to give you a combination of timeless wisdom and the latest in scientific findings on how to activate muscles.Instagram @HoopCommitment
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Episode 112: Now I’ll admit that I’m a little biased, but I don’t remember ever seeing a college basketball player with better footwork than Drew Timme. He is unguardable in a 1-on-1 scenario because of his creativity and endless moves.
Last year Drew was named the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year and this year became Gonzaga’s All-Time Leading Scorer. Every ESPN announcer that has ever covered the Zags is in awe of his footwork and feel for the game.And so I decided to dedicate this entire episode to finding out how he does it. I asked Timme about the set-up work he does before even receiving the entry pass, how he uses his eyes and hips to feel the defense, how he decides what move to use and what drills he did to become such a great finisher.
If you want to learn more about Drew, follow him online at @drew_timme2
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Episode 111: This interview is about finding better ways of having your practice time transfer to game success. As a strength coach, I’m always thinking about how the exercises we do in the weight room impact my player’s ability to move and handle contact on the court. Just because someone can add more weight onto a barbell, doesn’t mean they’ve become a better basketball player.
And what today’s guest shares is that just because your ball handling or shooting has improved in a drill, it doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to do it during a game.
Tyler Leclerc is a gym owner and player development coach located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Tyler uses the constraints-led approach and small-sided games to get results that transfer for players of all ages.
Today I got to pick his brain on why a games-based approach to training produces superior results and is more fun than doing traditional 1-on-0 drills. If you’re looking for new training ideas that are based in motor learning science, you’ll love what Tyler has to share.
You can find Tyler on social media @tjltraining
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Episode 110: Now this month’s podcast is a little unusual, since my guest is the host of another basketball performance podcast, and in this episode, he actually interviewed me.
We hit it off and so I wanted to share our episode and encourage you to check him out online. Justin Ochoa is the owner of PACE Fitness Academy located in Indianapolis, working with basketball players from youth to pros in the weight room and on the court.We connected through his Gem sessions podcast, which bridges the gap between trainers, coaches, athletes and families in the basketball community. Today he was kind enough to interview me about the 3 levels on basketball nutrition, 3 levels of basketball training, and the 3 levels of basketball leadership. For anyone who enjoys a systems approach to training, I think you’ll enjoy the conversation!
You can find Justin on social media at @justinochoa317
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Episode 109: Tyler Lesher the Head Athletic Trainer for UCLA men’s basketball program. He’s a certified orthopedic physician extender and certified strength & conditioning specialist. Before joining UCLA’s staff, he worked in the NBA and G League.
Tyler earned his doctorate in Health Science and exercise leadership, focusing on reducing systemic inflammation through nutrition & exercise. With his extensive basketball & medical experience at the college and pro level, I thought he would be the perfect person to chat with about reducing knee pain & inflammation.
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Episode 108: Cliff Spiller is the Director of Strength & Conditioning for Men’s Basketball at the University of Oregon. Prior to joining the Duck’s staff, he was an assistant with the NBA’s Utah Jazz.
We became friends through the Gray Institute’s 40-week Fellowship in Applied Functional Science, so I couldn’t think of anyone better to talk about functional training for hoops. In this episode, Cliff shares how he designs programs in the spectrum between traditional and functional, the importance of variability, and how he’s preparing his college players for the next level.
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Episode 107: TJ Conley is the Head of Sports Performance for EWU Men's & Women's Basketball. He's a former NFL player turned strength & conditioning coach who joined me on the podcast to talk about the importance of speed in basketball.
I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside TJ Conley for years at U-District PT and Gonzaga, and I don’t know if I’ve seen a coach pay more attention to detail. He is meticulous with his coaching cues and creates a motivating, high energy environment for his players to learn and train in.With his extensive football background, I wanted to pick TJ’s brain on how he incorporates speed training with his basketball players. And so in this episode, we chat about why basketball players need speed, the best exercises and drills to use and how to avoid common mistakes that coaches make in the weight room.
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Episode 106: The Hooptown Youth League will launch in Spokane, WA in the fall of 2022. Our schools, private businesses, coaches and basketball experts have all come together to create the best youth basketball league on planet Earth.
If you want to learn more, go to hooptownusa.com. Our website will be updated with information by mid-July.
If you want to help or have suggestions to improve the league, please email me at [email protected]
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Episode 105: Brandon Davis is a mental performance consultant at U-District PT and holds a masters degree in Sport & Performance Psychology. In addition to his formal education, he also has real life experience playing collegiate and professional basketball.
Brandon joined me on the show today to talk about pre-game routines. He shares how to use tools like visualization, meditation and neutral thinking to be your best on the court.
You can learn more about Brandon on Instagram @bdsportpsych
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Episode 104: Author & keynote speaker, Alan Stein, joined me on the podcast to share ways to manage stress, beat stagnation and avoid burnout.
Alan started his career as a basketball performance coach, working with NBA greats like Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Kobie Bryant. He now works in the corporate world, taking the lessons he learned in sports and applying them to business.
If you want to sustain your game, you'll love this episode!
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