Magness & Marcus on Coaching

In this episode, we’re coming to you in-person from Palo Alto, California. In the day after the Stanford Invite, Jon and I invite a special guest onto the podcast. Brad Stulberg is an expert in human performance. You might recognize his name from his regular work with Outside Magazine where he writes a regular column investigating…

In this episode, we’re coming to you in-person from Palo Alto, California. In the day after the Stanford Invite, Jon and I invite a special guest onto the podcast. Brad Stulberg is an expert in human performance. You might recognize his name from his regular work with Outside Magazine where he writes a regular column investigating great performers from a range of non-traditional sports. He is also the co-author of my upcoming book, which will look at how the greats achieve peak performance across a wide range of domains. An endurance athlete himself, Brad breaks down the lessons that we can learn from our brethren in Big Wave surfing and rock climbing, among other sports. In this quick but information packed podcast, we cover a wide variety of topics ranging from how climbers learn what to pay attention to and what that means to runners to whether we should obsess over measurable metrics or not. We hope you enjoy this very free-flowing conversation on how to achieve mastery and excellence, regardless of the sport you are in. You can follow Brad’s work great work on performance on twitter: @BStulberg And finally, a special thanks to all of those who let us know they enjoyed the podcast at Stanford. The feedback (and simply letting us know you listen) helps us immensely and fires us up to keep putting these things out! (Photo credit: Marco Anzures) Shout out to @MM_Connelly – the #1 fan of the Magness & Marcus Podcast! Great connecting w/ you at Stanford Invite! pic.twitter.com/TppYlSgBqY — Jonathan J. Marcus (@jmarpdx) April 2, 2016 Lastly, if you are a regular listener to the podcast, venture over to iTunes and rate it for us, thanks a lot!   Steve and Jon @stevemagness @jmarpdx   Subscribe:   Subscribe on Stitcher Subscribe on iTunes  Subscribe through RSS

We have a special guest for this weeks episode, head coach of the Brooks Beasts Danny Mackey. Danny has numerous accolades, including coaching 800m runners Cas Loxsom and Nick Simmonds to spots on last years World Championship teams. In this episode, Danny traces his story in how he got into coaching and the lessons learned…

We have a special guest for this weeks episode, head coach of the Brooks Beasts Danny Mackey. Danny has numerous accolades, including coaching 800m runners Cas Loxsom and Nick Simmonds to spots on last years World Championship teams. In this episode, Danny traces his story in how he got into coaching and the lessons learned along the way. You’ll learn how Danny’s perspective on what is and isn’t important has shifted over the years.  We’ll dive into the difference between developing athletes and putting the cherry on top, and then how to create a solution-orientated approach to coaching. In this wide ranging, hour long podcast, Danny provides some gems on coaching, whether it’s for track or for a team sport. Lastly, if you are a regular listener to the podcast, venture over to iTunes and rate it for us, thanks a lot!   Steve and Jon @stevemagness @jmarpdx   Subscribe:   Subscribe on Stitcher Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe through RSSSubscribe to get all of the podcasts via e-mail! Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

The breakthrough is what we are all after. It’s what we spend months training for, visualizing, and dreaming about. But what’s the best way to get there, and how do we capitalize on it once we do. In this episode, Jon and I go through the psychology of a breakthrough. We start with defining a…

The breakthrough is what we are all after. It’s what we spend months training for, visualizing, and dreaming about. But what’s the best way to get there, and how do we capitalize on it once we do. In this episode, Jon and I go through the psychology of a breakthrough. We start with defining a breakthrough as being energized by a challenge, and then discussing how it is often ourself who holds us back. There’s a reason why we need to get out of our own way and how the search for the repeating ‘perfection’ can throw off our game. In the end, it’s not all about the single one off breakthrough but instead about using a boost in performance to bring you to a new norm. It’s about cementing those adaptations and increase in performance so that it becomes repeatable. It’s why, contrary to our natural inclination, often, we don’t need to push training to a new level after a breakthrough, but instead back off. Lastly, if you are a regular listener to the podcast, venture over to iTunes and rate it for us, thanks a lot!   Steve and Jon @stevemagness @jmarpdx   Subscribe:   Subscribe on Stitcher Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe through RSSSubscribe to get all of the podcasts via e-mail! Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

We’re back with a new podcast for 2016! This time we jump straight into what you guys have asked for, specifics on training. For this episode, we divert away from the bigger picture and discuss training for the 800. We start with going through the different types of 800m runners and why it’s an event…

We’re back with a new podcast for 2016! This time we jump straight into what you guys have asked for, specifics on training. For this episode, we divert away from the bigger picture and discuss training for the 800. We start with going through the different types of 800m runners and why it’s an event that demands such different training methodologies depending on the athletes strengths and weaknesses. From there, we discuss different ways to train the speed and endurance components and why distance coaches often struggle with understanding the power/nervous system requirements. To end with, Jon gives specific examples on training from some of his best athletes including 2:00 800m runner Mckayla Fricker, and I give examples from Mark English (1:44) and Lea Wallace (2:00) to Even if you’re not a track coach, we hope that this podcast gives you some ideas on how to train for an event that requires such a unique blend of aerobic/anaerobic and speed/power. Lastly, if you are a regular listener to the podcast, venture over to iTunes and rate it for us, thanks a lot!   Steve and Jon @stevemagness @jmarpdx   Subscribe:   Subscribe on Stitcher Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe through RSSSubscribe to get all of the podcasts via e-mail! Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

For our last podcast episode of 2015, it’s time to go on a few rants, call some ideas out, and create a little bit of controversy in our own little world of coaching. We’re going to cover bullshit. We start off with the myth of chasing perfection. Instead of seeing perfection as the ultimate goal,…

For our last podcast episode of 2015, it’s time to go on a few rants, call some ideas out, and create a little bit of controversy in our own little world of coaching. We’re going to cover bullshit. We start off with the myth of chasing perfection. Instead of seeing perfection as the ultimate goal, shooting for perfection is a way to create fragility. It puts us in a place where we are set up for failure, and more importantly, can’t learn it. Branching off perfection, we delve into the BS of norms and how our culture is set to drag people to the middle, eliminating outliars. Next up, we jump into training models and our favorite topic guru’s. Guru’s are those who give the perception that they have it all figured out and have all the answers. If someone gives off this vibe, run away…fast! If you think that there’s one magical training model that is best, then turn this podcast off as you’ve stopped learning and growing. From there, we delve into the topic of coaching champions. There’s a myth that you don’t know how to coach a world-class athlete until you do it. If you haven’t coached an Olympic medalist, then the thinking goes that you can’t figure out how to coach an athlete at that level. It’s BS. Coaching people, is coaching people. Coaching someone to near their potential is incredibly difficult, and takes the same skill, regardless of where their innate talent lies.  Additionally,  while we’re calling out BS, as coaches, we overvalue our impact. And when we let our ego get in the way, and think we have the answers and are the only way that an athlete can get better, we create dependency. Dependency, in any relationship, is a plague, and ultimately will fail. Finally, we take on one of Jon’s favorite topics: treatment. In the final rant of 2015, we go through how using treatment, such as massage, at the wrong time creates fragile athletes and dependency. It’s about the judicial and strategic use of treatment that matters, not making athletes reliant and dependent on it. Sometimes, if an athlete is just not ready, even if a workout is on the schedule, you have to walk away. Hopefully, you enjoy our rant to end 2015, and we wish you all a happy new year, filled with less BS, and more growth and learning! Lastly, if you are a regular listener to the podcast, venture over to iTunes and rate it for us, thanks a lot!   Steve and Jon @stevemagness @jmarpdx   Resources Mentioned in this episode: Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed Seeking Wisdom by Peter Bevelin   Subscribe:   Subscribe on Stitcher Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe through RSSSubscribe to get all of the podcasts via e-mail! Enter your email address:

In part two of Why we are horrible coaches, we continue down the path of bashing our own ability to coach. Starting with trap coaches fall into when they coach someone fast when they’re young- they now think that this is now the magical formula. We then delve into our worst moments of failure as…

In part two of Why we are horrible coaches, we continue down the path of bashing our own ability to coach. Starting with trap coaches fall into when they coach someone fast when they’re young- they now think that this is now the magical formula. We then delve into our worst moments of failure as a coach, hopefully making it clear that we all fail at moments. But instead of looking at them as failure and closing our mind off to new ideas, failure should be seen as an opportunity to grow. It’s a chance to realign your beliefs and viewpoints about training with the reality of training. From there we delve into the idea of perceived expertise. If you think you know what you’re doing, it’s going to come back to bite you. When you have that feeling of satisfaction that you have it figured out, that’s the time you need be wary. That’s a warning sign that you need to check with mentors and evaluate what you’re doing. We end with the idea of breeding autonomy, and not dependency. Take a day off from coaching, leave your phone at home, and go against the american culture of work for works sake and think critically about what your doing and how it’s promoting growth in your athletes and yourself. Hopefully in this two part series on our own failings as coaches, you guys can understand how perfection is impossible. We’re all going to make mistakes and fail miserably, but it’s how you accept that and grow from it. It’s your choice. Lastly, if you are a regular listener to the podcast, venture over to iTunes and rate it for us, thanks a lot!   Steve and Jon @stevemagness @jmarpdx Subscribe: Subscribe on Stitcher Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe through RSS

In this episode, Jon and I are coming at you together from Houston, Texas. In a rare podcast where we are actually face to face, we discuss why we are horrible coaches. Yes, we’re giving the trolls what they want and discussing all of the times we screwed up, made mistakes, and generally talk about…

In this episode, Jon and I are coming at you together from Houston, Texas. In a rare podcast where we are actually face to face, we discuss why we are horrible coaches. Yes, we’re giving the trolls what they want and discussing all of the times we screwed up, made mistakes, and generally talk about why you probably shouldn’t listen to us. The point isn’t to create some sort of false modesty, but instead to take you through the mistakes we made and are still making and get coaches to understand that even though there are plenty of Guru’s who may claim otherwise,  no one really has the answers. It’s in the process of never ending learning and development that we grow as coaches. This multi-part podcast, starts with us discussing the things that make us bad coaches. From Jon’s inconsistency and almost bi-polar approach to coaching to my own lack of organization and ADD-esque style, we discuss our short comings and how we are attempting to either embrace or work on those issues. Lastly, if you enjoy the podcast, venture over to iTunes and rate it for us, thanks a lot!   Steve and Jon @stevemagness @jmarpdx Resources mentioned: Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing by Jamie Holmes Subscribe: Subscribe on Stitcher Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe through RSS

In Episode 23 of the Magness & Marcus show, we talk about the importance of accountability and ownership. When success or failure comes, how you frame these outcomes can change not only each individuals motivation to succeed, but also whether they learn from their mistakes, and surprisingly how well the entire team does. We delve…