Be Legendary Podcast

In this episode of Beyond Sets & Reps, I sat down with Becca Grizzard to discuss her unique journey into the strength and conditioning profession. Becca's path was anything but traditional. From pursuing veterinary medicine and working in animal research to creating her own graduate assistant opportunity and eventually becoming a collegiate strength coach, her story is a powerful reminder that car...

In Part 2, our conversation shifts toward leadership, organizational design, and what it takes to build high performing teams in today's rapidly evolving sports environment. Dave explains why rigid job descriptions can sometimes limit innovation, how organizations can identify gaps in expertise, and why leaders should continually evaluate and refine the systems they use. He also shares his persona...

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. David Tenney, one of the pioneers of sports science and high performance leadership in North America. Tenney shares how his career evolved from practitioner to leader and why he became interested in studying the leadership competencies required to manage modern high performance teams. We discuss the changing landscape of professional sports, the growing comple...

In the second half of this conversation, Katie Guillory shares a side of performance that has nothing to do with programming and everything to do with perspective. She opens up about a period where she had to step away from coaching completely after hitting a low point mentally, and how that decision ultimately changed the trajectory of her life. What followed was a series of events she couldn't h...

In this episode, I sit down with Coach Katie Guillory from LSU, and right away you understand this isn't just a conversation about performance. Katie shares her journey from being a relentless competitor at LSU to now coaching at the highest level, and the path in between wasn't clean or easy. Multiple knee injuries, constant setbacks, and the reality of fighting to find her role shaped how she ap...

In part two of this Research to Reps Roundtable conversation, we got practical and broke down what neck training actually looks like. Mike Jolly walked us through the fundamental Iron Neck exercises and explained why multi-planar movement, full ranges of motion, and neuromuscular control matter so much more than just loading the neck in one straight line. What stood out to me was the bigger princi...

In this Research to Reps Roundtable conversation, I sat down with Dr. Ernie Reimer, Coach Adam Davis, and Mike Jolly, founder of Iron Neck, to dig into a topic that deserves a lot more attention in performance training: neck strength. We unpacked Mike's personal motivation for creating Iron Neck after watching former teammates suffer from the long-term effects of brain injury, and we explored the...

n the second half, I talk with Pat about how his career evolved into building and leading outside of sports, and why he was able to impact so many different rooms without changing who he was. We dig into what development work really is and why raising major gifts is a competitive space that demands emotional control, resilience, and a deep understanding of people. Pat explains how learning the don...

Patrick Sapp and I go way back to our rookie days with the San Diego Chargers, and this conversation starts right where it should: with relationships, loyalty, and what it means to take care of people when nobody is watching. We talk about how those early years in the league shaped us, what it really feels like to fight for a roster spot no matter where you were drafted, and the kind of leadership...

In part two of my conversation with Dr. Paul Comfort, we shift from exercises and metrics to the bigger picture of performance itself. We unpack what performance really means and why it can never be reduced to a single number or test. Performance is technical, tactical, physical, psychological, emotional, and relational. It is how the mind and body work together in real time and how individuals co...

In this episode of Research 2 Reps, we had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Paul Comfort, whose work has influenced how so many of us think about Olympic lifting, power development, and applied sports science. Paul walks us through how his early research on pull variations reshaped real-world training for athletes who may not be ready for or suited to full catches. We talk about what happens w...

In part two of my conversation with Jason Dierking, we pick up right where we left off and go even deeper into leadership, identity, and what it really looks like to build a staff and a culture that lasts. Jason talks about how he structures his sports performance department, how he intentionally develops his coaches, and why character has to come first if you want sustained excellence. We get int...

In part 1 of this Beyond Sets & Reps episode, I get to sit down with my friend Jason Dierking, the Director of Olympic Sports Performance at the University of Louisville. We talk about his path from growing up in the Midwest to becoming one of the most respected leaders in our profession. Jason opens up about how his faith, values, and love for the training process shaped who he is as a coach and...

In part 2 of my conversation with Brett Hayes, we move from technology and tools into the real glue that holds high performance environments together. Brett talks about what happens when biomechanics, sport science, and strength and conditioning all show up in the same room speaking different "languages," and how ego, vocabulary, and mixed messages can quietly tear teams apart. He shares stories f...

In this episode of the Research 2 Reps Roundtable, I sit down with my longtime friend and collaborator Brett Hayes, a physical therapist who helped us shape what we now call corrective biomechanics. Brett shares how his journey from the Pacific Northwest and years with the Seattle Seahawks led him to Mizzou, where we started connecting clinical rehab principles with what was happening in the weigh...

In part two, I press into a word we throw around too loosely in college athletics: development. Rashard and I sort out the differences between strength and conditioning, scholar-athlete development across leadership, career, life skills and community, player development for team ROI, and capital or NIL fundraising. We also talk brass tacks on funding: start with your head coach and your developmen...

In this episode of Beyond Sets & Reps, I sit down with Rashard Hall, a man who's redefining what it means to be a scholar-athlete. From his days as a standout safety at Clemson under Coach Dabo Swinney to his current mission helping athletes find purpose beyond the game, Rashard's story is all about resilience, faith, and impact. We talk about the mindset that helped him go from a redshirt to an A...

In the second half of the episode, we take the discussion deeper into the evolution of sport science and the challenges of applying it across different environments. Emaly and I talk about how athletes transition from national teams to their college or professional programs and the difficulties that come with inconsistent resources and data. We also explore how sports scientists are learning to ba...

In the first half of my conversation with Emaly Vatne on the Research to Reps Roundtable, we dig into her background as both an Ohio State soccer alum and a sport science researcher. She shares how early experiences with HRV monitoring and internal load metrics sparked her curiosity for performance science and eventually shaped her career path. We talk through her master's thesis work with the wom...

In the second part of our conversation, we talk about what Krishna is doing now and the lasting impact she is making. After an impressive career as a thrower and coach, she found women's tackle football and made her way to the U.S. national team. She represented our country on the biggest stage, won a gold medal at the World Championships, and then shifted into leadership as the general manager of...

In this first part of my conversation with Krishna Lee, I reflect on what it means to see one of my former athletes grow, evolve, and accomplish so much. Krishna shares her journey from growing up in Kansas City, where sports were woven into her family life, to becoming a multi-time All American and Big 12 champion at Mizzou. She talks about the impact of her coaches, especially how they invested...

In Part 2 of our Roundtable chat with Rett Larson, we shift the focus to what happens once that trust is built. Rett breaks down how he uses warm-ups as more than just a physical prep; they're also a way to engage athletes mentally, meet the needs of coaches and support staff, and create a culture of energy and buy-in. He talks about designing sessions that athletes actually enjoy, and how that le...

In Part 1 of our conversation with Rett Larson, we dive into the global perspective he brings to the strength and conditioning world. Rett has worked with elite athletes across multiple continents, including his role with the Chinese women's national volleyball team—a team with a cultural presence and history that goes far beyond the sport itself. He talks about the challenge and importance of not...

In part two of our Research 2 Reps Roundtable with Dr. Curt Tomasevicz, we dive deeper into the science behind bobsled training, mechanics, and athlete development. We talk about how video analysis and biomechanics shape the training of elite bobsledders, from sprint mechanics to start technique. Curt shares how his engineering background uniquely informs his work with sled design and athlete feed...

In this episode of the Research 2 Reps Roundtable, I sit down with my co-hosts Ted and Ernie to welcome Dr. Curt Tomasevicz—Olympic gold and silver medalist, high-performance director, and assistant professor. Curt takes us on his journey from growing up in a small Nebraska town to competing in three Olympic Games and now balancing multiple roles in sports performance and academia. He shares what...