Operation Exercise: Recent Episodes
Anton Mukhin
Conor Cable joins me on the show this week. Conor has recently become the new assistant coach for the Louisiana State University (LSU) Womens Soccer team.
Conor has seen success everywhere he has gone and in this podcast we breakdown how success is earned not given, both in the work setting and in the playing setting as an athlete. Listen in to learn more!
Up to this point Conor has had a very packed athletic background, from going through academies in England, to succesfully completing four years at the NAIA level where he repeatedly broke team and individual records. Following the collegiate success, Conor looked into making it pro in USA and we talk about the difficulties that lay in trying to make it as an international and especially a goalkeeper.
Conor then went on to become a graduate assistant as a goalkeeper coach at Lake Erie College soccer team. Success followed him there as he helped the team to conference championships and national tournament apperances, along with coaching multiple all conference and all american players through out each of his years there. We talk about the drive needed to succeed in these situations.
We also look at Conors time spent playing in the MPSL for Cleveland SC where again he saw glory on both the team stage and individual stage. We talk about what should drive a person to be succesfull in any activity they take on.
For this episode I sit down with the current assistant coach of Lake Erie Mens Soccer Team and also the captain of the USL 2 team Lionsbridge FC. Sam Hall takes us on his journey of coming to USA and playing at a junior college where he won the national title, followed by a succesful campaign at a DII university Chowan. Sam has also seen success at the USL 2 stage making it all the way to the national finals in 2023. In his first year as assistant coach at Lake Erie, Sam helped take the team to the conference finals and the second round of the National Tournament.
Me and Sam talk about the decision to come to America and the benefits that come with it. We also talk about how hard it is to make it as a pro in USA if you are an international. We break down what it takes to be succesful at your sport. Finally we talk about being in the shoes of someone who doesnt really know what they want to do apart from play in college. So join in on the episode to find out about it all!
This week Connor Bedell joins me on the show. Connor is currently an owner of his own corrective posture business in Chicago. Me and Connor talk about his baseball playing high school days. How elbow surgeries ruined his chances at playing very high level baseball. How doctors are not always right and you need to ask questions when it comes to surgeries. We then go into what Connor actually does now and how he got here. With the over arching message of "I suffered through poor posture and movement, I dont want others to do the same". Tune in to find out what posture therapy is and if you need it your self!
In this Episode I sit down with Holly Bonde to talk about her experience at Kansas State as a volleyball player. We talk about her time getting recruited there in her sophmore year at high school. Tearing her ACL right before getting there and tough schedule of a D1 school.
We then dive into Holly finding a passion in exercises and how to help athletes over come injuries and get better at their sport. We talk about the important aspects of getting into the sport world when it comes to applying for jobs and interviews.
Tune in to learn about all of that and more!
This week Leighton Keller joins me on the show. Leighton is an old friend who currently works at one of the biggest Mid West baseball training facilities in Chicago.
Leighton breaks down his journey to collegiate baseball and how he went from a sport management degree, to working with athletes. We break down the importance of keeping your options open and how important it is to have people in your life who are willing to help you now matter how.
On this weeks episode Raquel (Rocky) joins me to talk about her experience in playing volleyball at Division 1 Tennessee. Along with that we dive into how important time management was for her and also how her undergraduate degree helped in her professional career.
Rocky was lucky enough to have a top of the line internship secured before even starting her last semester. This was due to hard work through networking and connections with advisors at the school.
Tune in to get the details on how to get through the rigorous sporting schedule, come out with a great degree and land a great job after college in one of the most famous companies in the world.
This week Olivia Klank joins me. She is currently in her 2nd year at G2 in Chicago. She is already a Senior- Business Development Representative, we break down her path into being a volleyball student- athlete and how this path gave her the base to be successful in the professional world.
Tune to find out about the importance of a schedule and about asking questions from your network to get ahead of everyone else.
On the 7th episode I catch up with Pedro, a Brazilian football player who I met in St. Louis. When I first met Pedro, he could not speak a word of English, since then he has established him self as a great player, great coach and someone with a entrepreneurial mind. Pedro now resides in Miami.
On this episode we break down some of the challenges that come with coming to a new place without knowing the language, the struggle of a balanced life and then how setting goals can help elevate your life.
Pedro is now graduating from St. Thomas University and he will be doing masters while trying to start a clothing brand, as well as a coaching academy.
This week I catch with Oscar Gordillo. Oscar played for one of the top academies in Colombia before taking some time out and then coming to play soccer in America. Already in his Junior year Oscar started to think about what he needed to do to be successful in the work life after he graduated. He found out that it is not that easy to find a job in just one year of OPT. After this year he did a STEM Program which gave him 3 years of OPT once he graduated. Tune in to hear more about some common cues that will help you with applying for job after graduating as a student- athlete.
In this episode I sit down with an old team mate. Magnus Andersen is now working full time in Copenhagen, Denmark. We dive into how complicated it was to graduate in 2020 when Covid was first an issue. Magnus talks about his thinking during that time and the factors that played in the decision making process. We then go into how important mind set is in training and games. How a good mindset and a good relationship with the athletic department can help create connections and networks that will help with any process.
Its Episode 4 and were back on the international hype! This week my good friend Masse joins me to talk about his collegiate journey and what he has been up to once he hung up his collegiate soccer boots. Tune in to find out what its like being from 34 different countries and how that can help the family business. We talk about different routes that are available to take in your senior year and that its truly not important to rush such decisions.
The age old question, do we really need college? My close friend Joey Owens joins me this week. We met playing college soccer, his career was short lived as he knew college was not for him. This started his journey through many people orientated professions to becoming a successful trader. Joey has his own trading business while having a full time job in customer service working for a tech company.
We dive in to how tough it could be finding your true calling. The importance of trial and error when it comes to jobs. Turning hobbies into professions and finally how to stay on top of your ADHD. Jump in and listen!
Tune in to learn about growing your own business while playing pro and how to excel in it with the help of those around you!Episode 2 brings to a USA native who helps us navigate his journey from being tearing his ACL twice in college, to then becoming All- American, playing pro soccer and then opening up a very successful coaching business which I had the pleasure of being a part of. Justin McMillan walks us through his journey from doing Spanish in Freshman year of college, to successfully opening up his own coaching business which has been thriving ever since. We hit on the importance of relationships and hard work when it comes to being successful. The key to being successful is not always knowing what you are going to do, but making sure you build strong relationships with those around and, no matter what you do, making sure you are putting effort into it. Justin also weighs on the importance of having a back up plan when it comes to college, yes we all want to play but if that does not happen we need something to fall back on. Or it will be something that we carry on after we are done playing.
In the first episode of Passing Power, I chat with a former team mate, Leo Sowa who comes from Berlin, Germany. We discuss what expectations international students have when coming to America to play collegiate sports. We also tackle the tough question of what happens after you graduate and the difficulties that come with trying to make a career in either sport or in a profession.
In Episode 22, I sit down with Providence Tucker, an Ex- Collegiate Football/ Soccer player, a current fitness manager and an athletic performance coach. We talk about the game of football (soccer) how it has evolved in recent years with the physical demands placed on players. How these demands lead to certain injuries and how we, as strength coaches can help players be less at risk of an injury and even improve sporting performance.
Rugby has a rich culture when it comes to personality and playing style. With the sport being so physically demanding, sometimes coaches can make or break themselves by trying to change it or just go with it. Lindenwood Rugby prides it self for having one of the best rugby teams for both 15s and 7s. This week I am joined by Matt Mata'u, their strength and conditioning coach, to talk about, exactly what its like to get the best out of those guys or girls, without trying to fight wars against them.
On Episode 20, I sit down with Dr. Grogan, a chiropractor and owner of Back Pain Centre and Trainology Fitness Systems. We dive into what the Joint by Joint approach is, where each area of the body qualifies as a stable joint or as a mobile joint. Whenever these joints get injured or we just do not move properly, a stable joint becomes mobile and a mobile joint becomes stable. As these joints are not suited for these functions, more often than not, these compensations lead to injuries.
Chiropractors see this very often from an athletic population and general population too, for different reasons. On this episode we break down the reasons for these compensations, injuries and also ways in which to help solve them.
On this weeks show I sit down with JD Mehlhorn, The Head of Olympic Sports @Georgia State. We discuss the common misconceptions players and coaches have about how pre season should be run. Many of us as athletes dread pre season because we come into it and on the first day were tired and our hamstrings are tight. It shouldnt really be like this surely? No. Coach JD takes us through how a good pre season should be planned with ascending volumes in order to prepare the body, not hurt it.
Tune in to learn about the truths of pre season and listen about different ways this can be applied to multiple sports.
In Episode 18 I sit down with one of my old coaches Trenton Crain, who is currently the Olympic Lifting coach at Lindenwood University. On the show we talk about what the lifting is as a sport, how this helps in certain explosive sports and also what can be its drawbacks in terms of coaching it and exploiting its benefits. We then talk about how best to get the same results without using olympic lifts in a strength program.
On episode 17, I break down why it is so important for a player to be coachable. Too many athletes think they know everything and do not listen to their coaches or team mates. This is a huge stumbling for many athletes trying to jump from average to good and from good to pro. You should always be looking to improve and that comes from listening to good coaches.
If a coach cannot explain his 'Why' that could be a good reason to seek help else where, but until you see that red flag, come into every session wanting to get better.
In this podcast I dive deeper into how mentality can influence how far we go in our chosen sport.
This week I am joined by Jeff Davidson, a strength coach from Elon University. We go through his journey in getting to Elon and his development into an American football strength coach. Jeff talks about how good communication has helped him adapt to all the different teams he has worked with. Good communication has allowed him to get good buy in from all athletes and teams he has worked with, he talks about how establishing motive and respect from the start always helps with this.
We go on to his journey through the football world and how at first it was all he wanted to work with but now has been opened up to whole new world of all the other teams. Jeff talks about how the football is set up at Elon, with 3 different groups involving, Foundation, Foundation + and Advanced. All these have different goals and athletes, Jeff talks through these goals, especially the Foundation + with whom he works.
Lastly, Jeff talks about imposter syndrome. A common thing that strength coaches and athletes can suffer when coming into a huge set up like Elon. We cover how anyone can suffer from this and certain ways in which everyone can help those suffering.
In this episode I catch up with an old roommate and team mate, Sam who graduated from Mckendree in December talks about getting a job as an S&C Coach for Cricket during Covid. He also talks about the challenges that it comes with, as well as adapting to a sport never played or worked with before.
This week Mark Jamison joins me as we uncover what speed truly is. A concept misidentified by many. We go into depth on how training acceleration and speed may differ between different sports. Why biomechanics and body alignment is key for achieving max velocity and finally the philosophies used in both the weightroom and on the field.
As many sports have already finished or are in their final stages, in this episode I focus on how to treat off- season. Many people feel like their body is so broken after season and they have worked so hard that they need to take a lot of time off before coming back in for pre- season. This is where many athletes get it wrong, the body recovers after 1 week and then, the approach to the next season should start. Being prepared early, allows for most success on and off the field. Listen in on how to establish your self in such a mental state, that you are always ready to perform.
In this episode, I am joined by Zach Rockford, the Director of Athletic Performance at Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville. We go through his short and fast journey out of a Bachelors Degree to becoming the director of athletic performance at a D1 university. We then cover the importance of having experience in coaching every sport and knowing what every sport needs, rather than specialising in one. Followed by how technology has evolved recently and the good and the bad, when it comes to using it in training. We finish up by talking about one of Coach Rockfords specialties and that's Women's Volleyball. We go through the needs analysis for it and also how to tackle that analysis once it is made.
In this episode, I sit down with Jessie Chandler, the Associate Director of Athletics at the University of Missouri- St. Louis. As part of her role, Jessie handles any mental health issues that occur with the student- athletes at the university. In the episode we cover the importance of speaking out if something is going wrong, the strategies that universities use in order to help students deal with everyday pressures and how social media can be great for getting help but also very traumatizing and almost the first level of abuse and therefor impacting mental health.
Listen in as I talk with Spenser Scopel, the S&C coach for Womens Basketball at University of North Alabama. We cover his route from undergrad in Exercise Science to having his own team at a D1 College in a space of 3 years. Diving into sport specific injury prevention, periodization and weight room mentality when it comes to basketball. Most importantly, covering how to create positive relationships with your athletes from day one and making sure their transition from high school to college is as smooth as possible.
Talking with an old team mate about the different ways in which strength and conditioning can help in sports. Breaking down the 'Why' behind physical and mental impact of S&C. Ending with how important it is to stay mentally strong during injuries and how to come out stronger post rehab.
Josh McMillian, the Head of Sports Performance at UMSL joins me on this weeks podcast. He covers his journey to this role, why S&C coaches are important, factors behind his programs and the challenges that come with the role, as well as COVID. Great listen for anyone trying to get into the field or for any athletes that want to know what happens on the other side of the weight room.
Episode uncovering some of the myths about the core, actually defining what core stability is and analysing how it can be used to rehab back pelvic injuries and improve sporting performance.
A talk with George about his time being a scholar and a pro with QPR FC. The commitments made and also how to deal with the responsibilities of being a student athlete.
Talking about the common muscular imbalances occurring in our body. Focusing on left side vs right. Hips vs Abs. Quads vs Posterior Chain. Pectorals vs Trapezius
On this episode I break down the difference between fast food and cooked food. Digging deeper into why fast food may have a different impact on your body compared to cooked food.
A debate and fact checks on why weightless circuit training may be more beneficial for you than weight training in the gym