training

E61 | Episode with Mark Henry Part 2 (The World’s Strongest Man)

The Team Behind the Team

E61 | Episode with Mark Henry Part 2 (The World's Strongest Man)

00:00 / 49:55

This month we finish up our interview with Mark Henry, the World’s Strongest Man, Olympian, Athlete, Wrestler, Showman, Humanitarian, Husband, and father to talk all things life, WWE days, as well as next steps for his career. From competing in the world games in Olympic Weightlifting, working out with the governor of Texas, to electrifying crowds for WWE Mark Henry is truly a living legend. Tune into part two of this dynamic interview with Mark as we discuss parenting present day, who his favorite person was to wrestle with in the WWE, the power of psychology, living with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and what it takes to be a showman. This episode is sure to leave you motivated, entertained, and encouraged!

Mark Henry was born and raised in the small town of Silsbee, Texas. Growing up, he loved watching strength competitions, and started lifting weights at 11 years old. By 18, he was the three-time Texas State Champion in powerlifting. But that’s just the beginning. Mark’s legendary career now spans the worlds of powerlifting, weightlifting, strongman, and wrestling. Mark is a two-time Olympian, national and world champion, record holder, and widely regarded as the world’s strongest man. He’s best known for his 25-year tenure in the WWE, which culminated in his 2018 WWE Hall of Fame induction. Currently, Mark is the co- host of SiriusXM’s “Busted Open” show and was a coach and talent scout for AEW.

E60 | Special Olympics Episode with Mark Henry (The World’s Strongest Man)

The Team Behind the Team

E60 | Special Olympics Episode with Mark Henry (The World’s Strongest Man)

00:00 / 48:47

This month we sit down with Mark Henry, the World’s Strongest Man, Olympian, Athlete, Wrestler, Showman, Humanitarian, Husband, and father to talk all things life, performance, and what it takes to be the best. From competing in the world games in Olympic Weightlifting, working out with the governor of Texas, to electrifying crowds for WWE Mark Henry is truly a living legend. Tune into this special interview with Mark as we discuss the power of hating to lose, buying into the process, and how growing up in East Texas set him up for success from a young age. This episode is sure to leave you filled with inspiration, and motivation to get to the next level!

Mark Henry was born and raised in the small town of Silsbee, Texas. Growing up, he loved watching strength competitions, and started lifting weights at 11 years old. By 18, he was the three-time Texas State Champion in powerlifting. But that’s just the beginning. Mark’s legendary career now spans the worlds of powerlifting, weightlifting, strongman, and wrestling. Mark is a two-time Olympian, national and world champion, record holder, and widely regarded as the world’s strongest man. He’s best known for his 25-year tenure in the WWE, which culminated in his 2018 WWE Hall of Fame induction. Currently, Mark is the co-host of SiriusXM’s “Busted Open” show and was a coach and talent scout for AEW.

E59 | Championship Cultures, Coaches, and Career Considerations

The Team Behind the Team

E59 | Championship Cultures, Coaches, and Career Considerations

00:00 / 1:01:49

This month we welcome special guest Deann Koehler to the show. She is no stranger to working
with Championship caliber coaches, teams, and staff over her decorated career as an athletic
trainer. Deann and Donnie cover a wide array of topics from career path advancement, best
practices as a professional, recovery methods for injury prevention, how to manage toxic team
cultures, principles for training talented female athletes, managing head coaches’ expectations,
avoiding job burnout, and mental health red flags to spot in your athletes. This is an episode
packed with years of experience and sage advice. This is a must listen episode!

DeAnn currently works with the volleyball team at the University of Texas at Austin. Over her
tenure at Texas, she has also worked with a variety of teams from Women’s Basketball,
Women’s Golf and Softball. She came to Texas in August of 1998 from the University of Georgia
where she had served as head women’s athletic trainer since 1996. Koehler is a graduate of
Fort Hays State University where she received her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in health
and physical education with an emphasis in athletic training. Koehler then received her
master’s degree in physical education/training from Old Dominion. To contact DeAnn reach out
to her via email: Deann.koehler@athletics.utexas.edu

E58 | 2024 Spring Internship Class: The Internship Experience – You Get Out What You Put In

The Team Behind the Team

E58 | 2024 Spring Internship Class: The Internship Experience – You Get Out What You Put In

00:00 / 56:28

This month we step into the studio for a special episode with our 2024 Spring Internship Class. Avery Rodgers, Dawson Dinh, Justin Shelby, and Brenda Savariego just finished up their internship in the Texas Athletic Performance department and they knocked it out of the park. You will not want to miss this session as they share lessons learned, nuggets of wisdom, funny moments, how to work with a multi-generational diverse staff, and many other perspectives shared. At the end of the day, an internship in an opportunity you can lose or use to launch your career. These four bright, young coaches share how they had such a positive impact in a short time. If you are someone wanting to intern, in the middle of an internship, or someone overseeing an internship program tune in today!

2024 Internship Class:

Justin Shelby
Graduating with a Masters in Kinesiology from Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Email: shelbyjustin99@gmail.com
Instagram: tobufitness

Brenda Savariego
4th year undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin majoring in Applied Movement Science and minoring in Entrepreneurship.
Email: Brendasavariego03@utexas.edu
Instagram: brendasavariego

Dawson Dinh
Pursuing a Masters in Kinesiology. Graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Movement Science from the University of Texas at Austin.
Email: dawsondinh@gmail.com
Instagram: dawsondinh

Avery Rodgers
Attending the University of West Florida in Pensacola pursuing a Master’s in Human Performance and Sports Coaching. Graduated in May with a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science.
Email: aer38@students.uwf.edu
Instagram: averyy.rodgerss

E57 | Stephanie Mock: Building a Rockstar Staff

The Team Behind the Team

E57 | Stephanie Mock: Building a Rockstar Staff

00:00 / 47:20

Coach Stephanie Mock joined us this month to talk about her career and how she built a staff by advocating for new and current roles. Coach Mock talks about how young professionals need to be strategic about their career path. Advocating for yourself is very important when applying for a role, but once you have the role, you then have to advocate for your plan and your staff. One notable position Coach Mock talks about fighting for is a new Sport Science position at the University of Pittsburgh. The topic of advocacy continues to grow and carry weight in the athletic performance world. Coach Mock provides us great information through the lens of a Director on an episode that you will not want to miss out on.

Stephanie Mock joined the University of Pittsburgh athletic department in June of 2021 as the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance. Most recently, Mock spent three years at Mississippi State University as Director of Olympic Sports Strength and Conditioning. Prior to MSU, Mock worked for five years at Clemson University as the Tigers’ Assistant Director of Olympic Sports Strength. Mock graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical activity and sport sciences. If you would like to reach out to Coach Mock feel free to email her at smock@athletics.pitt.edu and on Twitter and Instagram @coachstephmock. You can also follow her program on Instagram @pittsportsperformance

E56 | Jon Daly: Self-Advocacy in Athletic Performance

The Team Behind the Team

E56 | Jon Daly: Self-Advocacy in Athletic Performance

00:00 / 1:07:51

Dr. Jon Daly joins us in the studio to discuss an incredibly important issue of self-advocacy in the Athletic Performance community. As professionals in athletic performance, how do we advocate or ourselves in a job where our value is always in question? Dr. Daly speaks to how crucial communication is to getting what you want. Often times we are too afraid to ask or we lack the skills to present a problem with a solution. Dr. Daly speaks to how professionals often fall short when presenting an idea and how to defend it using communication techniques. This episode is packed with strategies and ideas to equip business and athletic performance professionals alike with the ability to advocate for themselves.

Dr. John Daly (Ph.D., Purdue University, 1977) is the Liddell Centennial Professor of Communication, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, TCB Professor of Management, and an Adjunct Professor of Pharmacy. He has published more than one hundred articles and chapters in scholarly publications, and completed six books. Dr. Daly’s interests focus on practical ways of improving the communication skills of individuals. If you would like to reach out to Dr. Jon Daly, feel free to email him at daly@austin.utexas.edu

E55 | Erica Suter: High Performance for the Female Athlete

The Team Behind the Team

E55 | Erica Suter: High Performance for the Female Athlete

00:00 / 46:10

As we continue to roll through the Spring Season, we brought in Coach Erica Suter from Tampa, Florida. Coach Suter joined us to discuss the challenges facing female athletes in the High-Performance environment. Some of the biggest issues today come from poor information distributed over social media. Two examples include poor nutrition advice and a misunderstanding of how the menstrual cycle affects the female athlete. Coaches and performance professionals alike also tend to coddle athletes. Lastly, we discuss Erica’s new book, Female Athlete High Performance, and her motivation behind writing it.

Erica Suter is currently the owner of ES Performance where for the last 12 years she has been training female athletes of all levels. She is a former college All-American from Johns Hopkins and semi-professional soccer player who is now a Speed, Agility and Strength Coach who is dedicating her life to training female athletes. In addition to her business, Erica is the author of The Strong Female Athlete and Female Athlete High Performance. If you would like to reach out to Erica Suter feel free to email her at Fitsoccerqueen@gmail.co

E54 | Charles Stephenson: Changing the Performance Model

The Team Behind the Team

E54 | Charles Stephenson: Changing the Performance Model

00:00 / 51:49

Joining us this month, all the way from Central Florida, is Coach Charles Stephenson. In this episode we discuss some of the biggest changes happening in Collegiate Athletics and how they affect our communication with our athletes. Key concerns such as Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal are two of the biggest entities transforming the college landscape. These changes present a challenge to holding athletes accountable. Coach Stephenson dives into how he holds his athletes accountable and how training today’s collegiate athlete is becoming more similar to a professional performance model. Lastly, we discuss a great event that Charles has been putting on since 2008, the High Performance Basketball Symposium. Tune in for this month’s episode as we continue to kick off the year.

Charles Stephenson is currently the Director of Basketball Performance at the University of Central Florida. Coach Stephenson has over 35 years of experience as a strength coach at the collegiate level. Stephenson is also the founder and director of High-Performance Basketball Symposium, an annual symposium for strength and conditioning coaches from college to high school and the NBA. Stephenson earned his master’s degree in exercise physiology from UVA in 1989 and did his undergraduate work at the College of William & Mary, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. If you would like to reach out to Charles Stephenson or find more information on the High Performance Basketball Symposium, visit the website highperformancebasketball.com.

E53 | Ashley Kuchar: Compassion over Criticism

The Team Behind the Team

E53 | Ashley Kuchar: Compassion over Criticism

00:00 / 46:57

How in the world can I turn one of my failures into a positive? Ashley Kuchar joins us in the studio to discuss how athletes can approach their game with confidence using resilience and self-compassion. We discussed how athletes deal with a lot of internal and external criticisms and ways they can block that out. Unfortunately, some of these criticisms come from us as coaches, and it’s up to us to consider how we speak to our athletes. Additionally, Ashley talks about how a lot of internal criticisms can begin at a young age. There are many factors in our life that can negatively impact us before or after competition, and it’s up to coaches to help athletes find the solutions. This month’s episode is a great resource to kick off 2024 and help our athletes overcome failure with compassion instead of criticism.

Dr. Ashley Kuchar is the founder of Fail Better Training. Ashley completed her PhD at The University of Texas at Austin, working alongside Dr. Kristin Neff. In 2019, Ashley was one of five graduate students to receive an NCAA research grant to aid in the development of her resilience program RESET (formerly “Fail Better”). In college, Ashley was a starting guard for the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team and at the conclusion of her athletic career, she was awarded the Dr. Troy Bledsoe Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. You can reach Ashley Kuchar on the website failbettertraining.com, Instagram @failbettertraining, and Ashley Kuchar, PhD on LinkedIn.

E52 | Jesse Wright: Communicate with Hard and Soft Skills

The Team Behind the Team

E52 | Jesse Wright: Communicate with Hard and Soft Skills

00:00 / 47:27

This week Coach Jesse Wright joins us before the holidays to discuss his work through his book “The Intent is to Grow”, his consulting company TruPro Systems and his extensive experience in strength and conditioning. We jump right in discussing communication within the workplace and the dangers of developing silos versus collaboration. We discuss how self-improvement begins with communication and how we need to spend time around people who are where we want to be. Lastly, we discuss managing our time learning to master the hard and soft skills of being a strength coach. Our final podcast of 2023 is a great one, tune in to finish the year strong!

Jesse is the founder and president of TruPro Systems LLC, a consulting company that focuses on comprehensive solutions in three key areas of human performance: emerging technologies, athlete testing and assessment, and sports performance services. He also founded and developed the Balance the Bar initiative, providing continuing education resources, public speaking, workshops, and private coaching in interpersonal skill development for both teammates and organizational leaders. You can reach Jesse Wright on Instagram @jessekwright, balancethebar.com and Jesse K. Wright on LinkedIn.