The Modern Coach’s Compass Podcast

In this episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I discuss some things for high school throwers to think about when making the decision to select a college/university to attend in which they will also be throwing.

In this episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I answer a specific question from a listener asking about making a successful transition to outdoor track and field after the indoor season has come to a close.

The conversation stemmed from a post an alum made in a Facebook alumni post about the college’s facilities.  It got our group in the chat going about how the recruitment process would be made easier if we had facilities that were upgraded and that would allow us (SUNY Fredonia) the chance to host meets again. Well, things got really exciting because there were two schools of thought.  Fi...

Our initial conversations early in the week were about his goals and how he wanted to wrap up this season.  I suggested that he had probably maxed out his Highland Games technique, and that a 44’ throw would not secure him a spot in the top 16 of the region in 3 weeks.  Rather than give it a shot in round 3, a safety throw was taken to ensure that he would at least finish 2nd in this mee...

Moving Glaciers “When significant changes are needed, we often assume a cataclysmic event is necessary to achieve them.  Which typically fails through the actions of impatience.  It takes glaciers a millennium to find the ocean, don’t assume you can push them back up the mountain in an afternoon.” Derek Woodske I was speaking to Luis this past weekend about the opportunity I had to work...

How Do You Know When You Are Ready to Compete? Yesterday I was on a coaching call with one of my holistic coaching clients.  We were having a great conversation about competing, competition, and when to open up the season.  This particular thrower has international experience, is a national record holder, and is on the cusp of hitting the 2024 Olympic Games mark in the hammer. They have...

My One Word: Focus A few years ago I was reading an article on Jon Gordon’s (one of my favorite authors) website about how each year he selects a word for himself to emphasize for the upcoming year.  Of course I thought that was a fantastic idea and quickly decided to begin a similar tradition of selecting my own word for the year. My word for 2022 is Focus. I’ve written about the skill and c...

In this episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I share some ideas and strategies that will help you maximize your winter training before you return for the spring semester of collegiate competition.

In this episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I provide some insight into our Utica College meet from last week.

This week I had the chance to catch up with Angelo State Throwing Coach Tim Miller.  Tim was one in the first group of athletes I coaches at SUNY Fredonia.  I was Tim's throwing coach for the 04-05 and 05-06 seasons.  In our conversation this week, we discussed:  1. Our time together at SUNY Fredonia  2. How to establish expectations with athletes  3. Differences betw...

Confidence You have invested an enormous amount of time preparing for your competition.  Use the meet as a reward to yourself for all the hard-work you have put into your training, throwing, nutrition, rest, recovery, and weight lifting sessions. This is the time to believe that our best effort will come out now!  This is the time to believe and trust in yourself that you have prepared t...

Composure Finding your optimal level of arousal takes time and deliberate practice.  As an athlete and high-level thrower, this is another key element in finding your desired level of success.  Maintaining a state of equilibrium is very necessary in throwing.  Having emotional outbursts on every throw during warm-ups may not physically prepare your body to compete when necessary, wh...

https://www.tfrrs.org/results/70794/Houghton_December_Classic/

Composure Finding your optimal level of arousal takes time and deliberate practice.  As an athlete and high-level thrower, this is another key element in finding your desired level of success.  Maintaining a state of equilibrium is very necessary in throwing.  Having emotional outbursts on every throw during warm-ups may not physically prepare your body to compete when necessary, wh...

The Skill of Focus In order to prepare our physical and mental states for throwing, it is vital for us to be ready and prepared.  Our mindset and emotions control our physical states. There are five steps to creating a clearer focus for ourselves as throwers and what we want to accomplish. Incorporating the five steps to prepare ourselves and be ready to compete are critical components to you...

I’m really excited to announce that I will be offering a free 30 minute Holistic Coaching and Mentoring Consultation session for throwers this year.  I’ve been thinking about putting together an opportunity like this for quite some time.  My approach to coaching and how I work with my athletes is more outside-the-box than what we might consider more traditional coaching methods.  I...

In this episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I share 3 strategies coaches and throwers can incorporate into their meet preparation for a 4 throw meet. 1. Encourage round 1 technique that helps make the thrower as comfortable as possible  2. Only focus on 1 to 2 technical cues through the competition 3. View the competition from the mindset of round 1 encompasses the first...

I’m really excited to announce that I will be offering a free 30 minute Holistic Coaching and Mentoring Consultation session for throwers this year.  I’ve been thinking about putting together an opportunity like this for quite some time.  My approach to coaching and how I work with my athletes is more outside-the-box than what we might consider more traditional coaching methods.  I...

This week I got the chance to catch up with former Ashland Eagle and National Champion thrower Jordan Crayon.  Jordan won the 2016 Division II Indoor National Championship in the 35lb. Weight Throw and is a multiple time All-American thrower in the 35lb. Weight Throw and Hammer Throw.  In this episode, we discussed:  1. How playing Football led him to throwing in college  2. Meeting Jud Logan for...

I'd like to take the time to express my gratitude to my current throwers and coaching staff at Alfred State for allowing me the opportunity to be your throwing coach.

As you have probably read or listened, the past couple of weeks I’ve shared a lot of strategies, suggestions, and tips for coaches and throwers when thinking about goals and the goal-setting process.  A central tenet of this process is establishing open lines of communication in sharing expectations with athletes, and in turn athletes sharing their expectations for themselves and their teamma...

In this episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I discuss strategies you as a coach can easily incorporate in your conversations with athletes that help establish realistic expectations and goals with your athletes.

In my last post I shared some thoughts about early season training, the complexities of how our season is structured, and the processes we implement as the season rolls on.  All of those topics are centered around one core item, Time . In total, 26 weeks may seem like a long season.  However, with the intermittent breaks along the way, some of the training time falls independently on eac...

Practice officially began a couple of weeks ago for our Alfred State throwers.  In the time we have had, everyone has worked diligently in honing their throwing craft or learning how to throw the various implements.  Efficient time management has been the conduit that has held things together. We have 11 total throwers (4 women, 7 men).  Some of which are returning (7) and some are...

In this week's episode of the Forza Athletics Life and Coaching Podcast I discuss ways in which you as a coach can begin to have a conversation with your athletes about goals/expectations/aspirations for the upcoming season.   This season at Alfred State I have 6 returning throwers and 5 new throwers.  As a group we have a wide range of ability levels with regard to the individual throwi...