Podcasts by The World According to Gar
The World According to Gar is a completely personal podcast based on the unique life experiences of Gar Leyshon. Gar is currently a track and field coach, and more specifically the personal coach of The World's Greatest Athlete: Damian Warner, the Olympic Gold Medalist in decathlon from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. But this podcast is not just about sports and coaching the decathlon; Gar also talks, rants and swears about politics, pandemics and pinheads who piss him off. And he does so from the perspective of a man who has lived and worked in Taiwan, Australia, England, Scotland, the USA and on an oil rig in the arctic. On top of that Gar, who retired from teaching in 2021, has taught and coached for 25 years, has a wife and 2 teenaged sons, and STILL doesn’t drink! He does however, have a bad attitude and an ugly ass beard to match. So, if you are looking for a sports themed podcast about coaching world class athletics, with plenty of bizarre stories, strong opinions and foul language, then you are in the right place!
Further podcasts by Gar
Podcast on the topic Sport
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Episode 90: Ignorance at the heart of the Convoy Occupying Ottawa from 2022-02-20T16:00
My thoughts on the harm caused by the Convoy that has occupied Ottawa for the last 3 weeks, plus a shot at Own the Podium.
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Episode 89: Russia's doping history, Canada's lunatic fringe from 2022-02-13T16:00
I wonder why is Russia even allowed to compete internationally, and how Canadians living in the freest country in the world have been manipulated into thinking they need to overthrow the governm...
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Episode 88: China and the I.O.C. from 2022-02-06T17:00
My thoughts on the wisdom of holding the Winter Olympics in Beijing this year.
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Episode 87: Analytics from 2022-01-30T15:00
The numbers and what they mean and how they effect Damian Warner's training and planning.
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Episode 86: The"Get Back"Effect from 2022-01-23T13:00
The Beatles documentary "Get Back" is a learning tool for anybody trying to achieve greatness.
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Episode 85: Motivation! from 2022-01-16T14:00
How doing "hard" things like hurdles or ground school or writing a book is what keeps us motivated.
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Episode 84: Mental and Emotional Health for athletes from 2022-01-09T13:00
I talk about the "web" of support Damian has to help him retain his emotional balance and be the best decathlete in the world.
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Episode 83: Komodo New Years, and on to 2022! from 2022-01-02T17:00
My favourite New Year's Eve memory and my thoughts on what I need to do to enjoy 2022.
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Episode 82: A Recap of 2021 from 2021-12-27T02:00
The two halves of 2021: the uncertainty and stress, then the competitive season and success
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Episode 81: The Heptathlon, and a Christmas message from 2021-12-19T17:00
Damian inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame, an explanation of the indoor heptathlon, and two people who make me proud to be a coach.
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Episode 80: Damian Warner, Canadian Athlete of the Year! from 2021-12-13T12:00
Damian Warner wins the Lou Marsh Award as Canadian Athlete of the Year, then faces tough questions about racism and a boycott of the Beijing Olympics.
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Episode 79: Money Money Money! from 2021-12-05T16:00
I talk about funding and where the money comes from and how little of it is available! Also, how and where a decathlete might win money, if he was good enough.
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Episode 78: Damian's training plan for December from 2021-11-28T14:00
Some specifics on what Damian does at practice and how we are constantly searching for ways to work smarter rather than harder.
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Episode 77: Competition and preparation from 2021-11-22T00:00
I talk about how sweet it is when athletes finally overcome obstacles and have the emotional stability to find joy in competition.
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Episode76: Training tips and advice from 2021-11-14T18:00
I talk about my conversations with Damian and British marathoner Mara Yamauchi about training for beginners and experts. Books too!
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Episode 75: Damian Warner (Post/Pre) Season Interview from 2021-11-07T15:00
Damian and I talk about last season, this season, and what it feels like to win a gold medal at the Olympics.
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Episode 74: Damian talks, qualification rules and Hallowe'en! from 2021-11-01T00:00
I talk about the stresses leading into the 2021 season and marvel at Damian's growing voice and maturity.
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Episode 73: Talking to Dennis about the upcoming season from 2021-10-24T14:00
I consult the big man and we talk about what Damian's 2022 season will look like. And marvel at how close the 2024 Olympics are already!
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Episode 72: Getting shit done from 2021-10-17T17:00
Bleeding your own brakes, delivering papers, working on an oil rig and listening to Dave Chappelle are all important to achieving success in life!
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Episode 71: Thanksgiving from 2021-10-10T21:00
Tibet, Haiti, The Darien Gap, Olympic athletes and the amazing toughness of human beings. And why we should all be thankful for what we have!
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Episode 70: Doctors, Emotions and meeting Nick Nurse from 2021-10-03T22:00
I talk about the horrors of the annual physical, homicidal Tibetan dentists, and how coaches need to understand emotions!
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Episode 69: Games, Talent and Context from 2021-09-26T19:00
The games kids play are more important than the drills they do, plus games give athletes context. And what exactly is talent? Here's a new definition!
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Episode 68: The Importance of Telling Stories from 2021-09-19T16:00
How telling stories and creating metaphors help us learn and teach and, hopefully, change people's minds: even if those stories are about shit eating pigs and homicidal turtles!
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Episode 67: The events, the planning, and how coaches learn from 2021-09-12T21:00
I talk about world rankings, Damian's numbers in specific events, and how having a cadre of professional colleagues is vitally important to every coach and teacher.
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Episode 66: The Art of Making Appearances from 2021-09-06T21:00
Attending corporate and athletic events as a "celebrity" requires energy and patience and is not as easy as Damian made it look this week!
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Episode 65: Shooting Commercials, and the importance of Listening from 2021-08-30T12:00
My apologies, lots of technical difficulties this week! Another busy week, shooting a commercial, schmoozing, and of course attending the air show.
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Episode 64: Gold medal aftermath from 2021-08-22T13:00
The celebration and the media whirlwind, or at least some of it, after returning home with Damian and his gold medal from the Olympics!
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Episode 63: The Olympics Part 3, Damian carries the flag! from 2021-08-15T11:00
In the aftermath of Damian's gold medal performance in the decathlon he was chosen to be Canada's flag bearer at the Closing Ceremonies, and I got to go with him!
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Episode 62: The Olympics Part 2, Damian wins Gold! from 2021-08-10T16:00
Damian Warner wins the GOLD MEDAL in decathlon at the 2020 (21) Olympics in Tokyo with an Olympic record score of 9018 points. Damian not only wins gold and shatters the Olympic record by 125 po...
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Episode 61: Tokyo Olympics Part 1 from 2021-08-01T11:00
I made it to Tokyo, the Village, and the Olympic Stadium and for some reason it all feels more real now. Damian competes in 3 days and I can't wait!
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Episode 60: Reporting live from Gifu, Japan from 2021-07-25T07:00
Damian and I are here at the Athletics Canada Training Camp in Gifu Japan. Most of Team Canada's track and field athletes are here and we are prepping for the Olympics.
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Episode 59: Off to Tokyo from 2021-07-18T11:00
Final stressors and preparation for not only the Olympics but the 30 hour trip to get there! And BTW why are things like golf and tennis even in the Olympics?
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Episode 58: We leave in a week! from 2021-07-11T14:00
The final preparation and all the rules and regulations we have to follow in Japan. And my take on removing names from schools.
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Episode 57: Celebrating records or disputing drug tests? from 2021-07-04T15:00
This has been a weird week for Track and Field and I believe we spend too much time on positive drug tests and suspensions and not enough celebrating World Records. And Global Warming/Climate ch...
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Episode 56: National Championships 2021 from 2021-06-27T20:00
Damian competed in long jump and the 110 hurdles at Nationals in Montreal. It was an ... interesting but ultimately successful competition.
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Episode 55: Father's Day from 2021-06-20T16:00
I've been lots of things and done a variety of jobs but nothing is more important or fulfilling to me than being a father.
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Episode 54: Quarantine Thoughts from 2021-06-13T15:00
I try consider the idea of survivor bias in coaching but end up talking about the horror of the mass murder of the Afzaal family last week here in London Ontario. Morality and mortality and raci...
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Episode 53: Dennis and I talk Gotzis from 2021-06-06T23:00
I talk to Dennis about Damian's fantastic results at Gotzis and the plan moving forward to the Olympics. And the super cool robotics (sort of?) factory we toured in Austria!
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Episode 52: Damian Warner wins Gotzis 2021!! from 2021-06-02T14:00
Holy shit what a performance, and just in time for the one year anniversary of my podcast! We had a fantastic weekend in Austria and Damian kicked ass and took names! I'm a little fired up ...
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Episode 51: Do athletes have a voice? from 2021-05-23T01:00
Olympic athletes have to sign away their right to protest or use their own images to make money during the Olympics, and anybody going to the Olympics cannot post on social media without permiss...
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Episode 50: Dealing with Stress from 2021-05-16T13:00
We went to Toronto to compete for the first time this year and it was VERY stressful. Dealing with stress is the key to success and I talk about how our mental coach J.F. Menard has helped and s...
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Episode 49: Decathlon scoring explained! from 2021-05-09T12:00
I compare Olympians to 17 Year Cicadas, and then try to explain the history and complexity of decathlon scoring, and then rant about Covid-19 being an airborne disease.
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Episode 48: Thinking Outside the Box from 2021-05-02T12:00
Sometimes solutions to problems are found in unusual places where "specialists" in the field might never think to look. The longer we do something, be it coaching track and field, prac...
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Episode 47: Overcoming Fear and Fatigue from 2021-04-25T13:00
Fear and fatigue are the enemies of performance. So how does somebody like Alex Honnold handle fear? How does Ashton Eaton push himself to break the world record in decathlon?
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Episode 46: The importance of having a"Home" from 2021-04-18T14:00
Traveling around the world to compete as a professional athlete is more difficult, and much less glamorous, than most people think. And if you want to be the best in the world then having a stab...
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Episode 45: How did I get here? Part 1 from 2021-04-11T13:00
Just me trying to figure out how the hell I ended up where I am today. This may take a while!
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Episode 44: Inequality and the Abuses of Power from 2021-04-04T13:00
Eyewitness testimony in the Derek Chauvin trial and calls to boycott the 2022 Olympics set me OFF this week! I rant about everything from China's horrific treatment of minorities to coaches...
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Episode 43: Is the system too big to succeed? from 2021-03-28T14:00
This week I talk about how funding works, or doesn't, in the Canadian sports system. I draw some parallels between the wildly unsuccessful business model at UBER and the equally unsuccessfu...
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Episode 42: A year's worth of Pandemic from 2021-03-21T13:00
The (dubious) one year anniversary of the Pandemic got me thinking about the past year, and the rapidly approaching Olympics. Only four months to go before the Olympics start in Tokyo!
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Episode 41: Guts and Brains from 2021-03-14T15:00
The complexity of our bodies is so great that it seems miraculous that they work at all, let alone as well as they do for elite athletes. I talk about nutrition and the brain and how I believe s...
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Episode 40: The Goldilocks Zone from 2021-03-07T14:00
This week I use science to explain the metaphor of the "Goldilocks Zone" and how coaches can not only get athletes there but keep them in "the zone". I also rant about the va...
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Episode 39: Is there a Plan B? from 2021-02-28T13:00
I talk about full moons, ducks, mental fatigue and Damian's mental coach J.F. Menard. Then I lose my shit about democracy and the clowns in charge. Last chapter of Ventland Book 1 as well!<...
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Episode 38: Damian Warner: Results by the number from 2021-02-21T14:00
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GarLeyshon)
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Episode 37: Are they listening? from 2021-02-14T14:00
You can be as brilliant a coach or teacher as there is in the world but what's the point if nobody's listening? I also rant about the education system's role in the divisiveness o...
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Episode 36: Evolution from 2021-02-07T14:00
I talk about what the theory of evolution really means and how it can apply to athletes. More ranting about the bullshit surrounding kids "missing out" by not going to school, and the...
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Episode 35: Big picture ideas from 2021-01-31T13:00
I quote one of my favourite authors, Kurt Vonnegut, extensively this week because he was a humanist who believed in the inherent goodness of people. He also thought most people were idiots, but ...
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Episode 34: Coaching 101 from 2021-01-24T16:00
This week I talk about the lessons to be found in Raptor's coach Nick Nurses' book Rapture. I also talk about the difference between internal and external cues. And I read a 3...
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Episode 33: Testing, Testing from 2021-01-17T15:00
I talk about genetic testing, physical testing, school testing, testing as competition and all sorts of different types of assessment. I also wonder why we are so obsessed with testing when so o...
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Episode 32: Too good too soon from 2021-01-10T14:00
I talk about the relative age effect and how difficult it can be to overcome. I also talk about how harmful it can be to keep telling kids and athletes just to work harder if they want to succee...
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Episode 31: Doping, Resolutions, and Ventland from 2021-01-03T13:00
The show Chernobyl - Soviet Union - Russia - doping - what the hell is going on with doping anyway?! And what about New Year's resolutions? As an added bonus I read a story rather than reco...
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Episode 30: Merry Christmas! from 2020-12-27T14:00
Spending Christmas in a foreign country can really make you miss home, even if home is boring and predictable! Oh, and I read my favourite Christmas story this week.
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Episode 29: The Season has started! from 2020-12-20T13:00
Not the Christmas Season, the Decathlon Season! The first results of the year are in and the countdown to the 2021 Olympics has begun. I talk about the qualifying process, and Christmas and new ...
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Episode 28: Music to my ears! from 2020-12-13T14:00
Music fans are gonna want to listen to this one, it's pure gold! I talk about musical connections and my memories of Tom Waits, April Wine, and my all time favourite from Gotzis: "Th...
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Episode 27: Generalists vs Specialists from 2020-12-06T14:00
All this talk about "genius" got me thinking, and reading, about the topic. I have always had issues with the way we teach and coach exceptional people and this week I talk about it in...
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Episode 26: Could the glass be half FULL? from 2020-11-29T13:00
My new class, The Queen's Gambit and a solid week of practice in the new arena have all conspired to open my eyes. It's late November, the days are short and dreary and we're in t...
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Episode 25: Jen and Tracey Interview from 2020-11-22T13:00
This week I talk to a pair of women who have unique perspectives on what Damian and I are doing. Jen Cotten is Damian's long time partner and Tracey Watson-Leyshon is my sainted wife. Our ...
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Episode 24: Kris Mack interview from 2020-11-15T15:00
This week I talk to Kris Mack, the multi-events coach at the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista California. We talk about coaching and social media and dancing on the track at Gotzis and ...
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Episode 23: Is 99% better than 100%? from 2020-11-08T12:00
Inspired by the Biden victory I talk about the polarization of politics and how blindly believing 100% in something can be dangerous and unhealthy. I also get around to talking about coaching an...
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Episode 22: Damian Warner Interview from 2020-11-01T13:00
After 22 weeks I figured it was time you actually heard from Damian himself! Damian Warner talks 2019 World Championships, the 2020 COVID non-season, making the best of the situation and what t...
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Episode 21: Dennis Nielsen Interview from 2020-10-25T15:00
Okay, I finally interviewed Damian's "other" coach and you get to hear somebody else talk! Dennis talked to me about Damian and coaching the decathlon and how COVID may not have b...
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Episode 20: 2020: The decathlon from 2020-10-18T15:00
The episode where I moan about the realities of 2020, and ramble on about the decathlon. There may be some foul language, but it kills me that 6 year old kids can still play hockey while one of...
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Episode 19: Learning in 2020 from 2020-10-11T14:00
2020 has been an asshole of a year so far, but we have learned a lot! Despite the cancellation of the Olympics and the closure of training facilities, Damian has come through this year healthy a...
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Episode 18: The 2019 Season Finale from 2020-10-04T17:00
The 2019 World Championships and My Octopus Teacher all rolled into one! I get all Zen with it this week.
Topics:
2019 Worlds
Decathlon
My Octopus Teacher
Orangutans
Komo...
Episode 17: 2019 Season, Part II from 2020-09-27T17:00
The Pan Am Games in Lima Peru were grey and cold and much less fun than they should have been, despite Damian's victory. But our subsequent trip to Machu Pichu was absolutely phenomenal, wi...
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Episode 16: 2019 Season, Part 1 from 2020-09-20T13:00
We're almost caught up on the details of the Damian/Gar coaching journey! The 2019 season was very successful for Damian and reminded me of how important adapting to circumstances and being...
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Episode 15: Dealing with stress from 2020-09-13T18:00
After a VERY stressful week trying to reinvent the wheel I began thinking about stress. How do non-athletes deal with stress in difficult physical conditions, and what we can learn as coaches fr...
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Episode 14: New Beginnings from 2020-09-06T13:00
Damian came home in 2018 and I went on leave from teaching to coach full time. Two years later it's September and school is starting again, but everything is new and different in the COVID ...
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Episode 13: Planning from 2020-08-30T12:00
How poor planning, minimal training and bad communication almost got me killed. And worse, I almost drank shit water!
Topics Include:
Maine
Backcountry skiing
Periodization
...
Episode 12: The Rio Olympics from 2020-08-23T02:00
Damian wins his first Olympic medal in Rio; and I get puked on flying home! The ups and downs of the Rio games and the bittersweet ending of an era.
Topics Include:
Damian Warner
Dec...
Episode 11: Making Changes from 2020-08-16T14:00
The only constant in life, and sports, is change. Change is hard physically and even more difficult emotionally. The 2015-16 season was tough because it was an Olympic year, with all the extra p...
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Episode 9: Marginal Gains? from 2020-08-02T14:00
If you were a world class athlete and you could improve every aspect of your performance by 1% you'd be a superstar, right? It sure sounds simple, but in 2014 we learned how difficult it ca...
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Episode 8: Strategy and Tactics from 2020-07-26T14:00
Alexander the Great was called that because he wasn't an ordinary leader, he was ... well, Great! And what he was great at was planning a strategy and finding tactics that ensured the succe...
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Episode 7: Coaching Part III from 2020-07-19T14:00
The good the bad and the ugly in a single season! The 2012 season and Damian's rocky road to his first Olympics from my perspective as an insider, outsider, coach, fundraiser and errand boy...
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Episode 6: Coaching Part II from 2020-07-12T02:00
Coaching Part II literally only gets to 2011, but come on, none of you thought this was only going to be 2 parts, did you?! The third part of "Coaching" will be up next week but I make...
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Episode 5: Coaching, Part 1 from 2020-07-05T16:00
I know, I know, this was supposed to be about coaches and coaching but I got carried away bragging about my own meager athletic achievements. I do talk about the coaches who I remember from my o...
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Episode 4: Travel from 2020-06-28T00:00
The only good travel stories are about disastrously bad experiences, and I have had plenty of them! Here are a few, and some insights into why I keep traveling, despite the fact that St. Christo...
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Episode 3: Communication from 2020-06-20T14:00
So how do coaches know what to say to their athletes during a competition, and when to say it? Great question, I'm so glad you asked! And as a matter of fact I happen to have a few stories ...
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Episode 2: Numbers from 2020-06-14T12:00
Okay is this the second episode or the first after the pilot? It's like trying to figure out whether you're on the ground floor or the first floor in Britain. Either way I talk way too...
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