The Samurai Shift

In this episode of The Samurai Shift , Peter "Chico" Jones is joined by renowned high-performance coach and coach developer Michael Nelson. Having coached Australian athletes through multiple Olympic campaigns before transitioning into national coach development with the Australian Institute of Sport, Mick brings a rare perspective on what it takes to build not only successful athletes,...

What is the ultimate purpose of a sporting system? In this episode of The Samurai Shift , Peter "Chico" Jones sits down with three-time Olympian, Volleyball Australia Board Member, and President of the FIVB Athletes' Commission, Louise Bawden. Having experienced sport as an athlete, leader, and international athlete representative, Louise offers a rare perspective on the pressures,...

In this episode of The Samurai Shift, Peter "Chico" Jones sits down with Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist and Olympian Damian Schumann to explore a journey that challenged conventional thinking about talent identification and athlete development. Repeatedly told he was too short for Australia's high-performance pathway, Damian found another way forward. Supported by a passionate be...

What do our sporting systems actually produce? In this episode of The Samurai Shift , Peter “Chico” Jones sits down with Boris Georgieff — long-time President of Volleyball Queensland — to explore the realities of building and sustaining a state-wide sporting system. From grassroots participation through to representative pathways, this conversation examines how systems are structured, what they p...

What does it actually take to create opportunity in sport? In this episode of The Samurai Shift , Peter “Chico” Jones sits down with Nathan “Wombat” McLeod — whose journey through volleyball spans grassroots events, national tours, and international competition. From building local beach volleyball series to working across the national and global stage, Nathan offers a unique perspective on the un...

Where did beach volleyball in Australia begin? In this episode of The Samurai Shift , Peter “Chico” Jones sits down with Carl Graham — one of the founders of Australia’s first beach volleyball community on Sydney’s Northern Beaches more than 40 years ago. Long before formal pathways and high performance systems, the game was built through simple, community-driven experiences — portable courts, sha...

What is sport really for? In this opening episode of The Samurai Shift , Peter “Chico” Jones sits down with Sarah Maxwell to explore the thinking behind the podcast — and the question that has shaped his 40-year journey in sport. From grassroots beginnings to Olympic pathways, Peter reflects on the evolution of sporting systems and the growing tension between performance and human experience. Draw...