The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

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The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

Javier Miller-Estrada

116 episodes

1 week ago

Send us a text The Modern Coach's Planner — built for coaches who think differently — is now available for pre-order. This is a limited run, and once these copies are gone, they’re gone. Order yours today at: https://thecoachjav.com/products/modern-coach-planner In this episode, Coach Jav sits down with Greg Souders, founder of Standard Jiu-Jitsu, and DeAndre Corbe, one of the top grapplers in the world — the 2024 ADCC West Coast Trials champion and a recent competitor in the Craig Jones ...

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Health & Fitness,

All content for The Adaptable Athlete Podcast is the property of Javier Miller-Estrada and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Send us a text The Modern Coach's Planner — built for coaches who think differently — is now available for pre-order. This is a limited run, and once these copies are gone, they’re gone. Order yours today at: https://thecoachjav.com/products/modern-coach-planner In this episode, Coach Jav sits down with Greg Souders, founder of Standard Jiu-Jitsu, and DeAndre Corbe, one of the top grapplers in the world — the 2024 ADCC West Coast Trials champion and a recent competitor in the Craig Jones ...

Show more...

Health & Fitness,

Episodes (20/116)

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

The Mindset Behind Modern Jiu-Jitsu with Greg Souders & Deandre Corbe

Send us a text The Modern Coach's Planner — built for coaches who think differently — is now available for pre-order. This is a limited run, and once these copies are gone, they’re gone. Order yours today at: https://thecoachjav.com/products/modern-coach-planner In this episode, Coach Jav sits down with Greg Souders, founder of Standard Jiu-Jitsu, and DeAndre Corbe, one of the top grapplers in the world — the 2024 ADCC West Coast Trials champion and a recent competitor in the Craig Jones ...

1 week ago

1 hour 1 minute

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

Skill Adaptation > Skill Acquisition

Send us a text *Checkout the free practice guide at the end of the show notes! For decades, coaches and scientists have used the term skill acquisition — but what if that’s not what’s really happening? In this short episode, we dive into the idea that athletes don’t acquire skill — they adapt it. Inspired by our recent conversation with Duarte Araújo, this concept challenges the traditional view of skill as something stored or possessed, and instead reframes it as a continuous process shaped...

3 weeks ago

10 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

Why Athletes Don’t "Acquire" Skill—They Adapt it w/ Duarte Araújo

Send us a text *Checkout the free practice guide at the end of the show notes! What is skill, really? And what if it’s not something athletes acquire — but something they continuously adapt? In this episode, Duarte Araújo joins us on the pod to unpack one of the most fundamental questions in sport: what does it truly mean to be skillful? Duarte breaks down why “acquisition” is the wrong metaphor, and how coaches can design environments that bring intelligence and creativity to the surface. T...

1 month ago

56 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

What Is Metastability? Making Theory Practical w/ Alan Dunton

Send us a text *Checkout the free practice guide at the end of the show notes! Alan Dunton is a lecturer in Coaching Science and Skill Acquisition at Munster Technological University (MTU) in Cork, Ireland. A former Taekwondo athlete and coach, Alan has spent his career exploring how people learn, adapt, and perform skill under dynamic conditions. In this conversation, we unpack metastability — what it means, how to design for it, and why adaptability is the hallmark of expert performance. I...

1 month ago

58 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

Why Exploration Beats Perfection: 25 years of Coaching Fighters w/ Adam Singer

Send us a text Adam Singer is the head coach of SBG Athens, where he and his brother Rory have been developing fighters for over 25 years. A longtime practitioner of ecological dynamics in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA, Adam has coached multiple athletes to the highest levels of competition, including two world champions. He’s also a co-author of a landmark paper on ecological dynamics in combat sports with Shawn Myszka, Tyler Yearby, Scott Sievewright, and Andy Grahn. Known f...

1 month ago

1 hour 35 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

Practice That Transfers: From Problem Solving to Game Day w/ Shawn Myszka

Send us a text Shawn Myszka (the “Movement Miyagi” ) returns to the pod to discuss the theme he and his NFL athletes embraced this offseason: Wu Xin, or “no-mindedness.” It’s an idea that runs throughout skill acquisition — how athletes can free themselves from rigid intentions and better attune to the “what is” in front of them. From there, we dig into his new book, Enhancing Skill in American Football: Revolutionizing Practice Design for Transfer to Game Day, and the golde...

2 months ago

1 hour 3 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

Breaking Free from Perfect Mechanics w/ Garrett Baker

Send us a text Garrett Baker, Skill Acquisition Specialist and pitching coach with the New York Mets, returns to the Adaptable Athlete Podcast to dive deep into the realities of skill development in baseball. In this episode we discuss: Why breaking free from “perfect mechanics” often unlocks better performanceWhy pitching velocity isn't everythingHow reframing pitchers as “out-getters” changes the way we think about trainingThe pitcher-batter relationship and its central role in pitching suc...

3 months ago

55 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

6 Minutes of Skill: How Does the Weight Room Fit within an Ecological Approach?

Send us a text Welcome back to the Adaptable Athlete Podcast! In this episode, we dive into another edition of the 6 Minutes of Skill series — where Coach Jav breaks down a key skill acquisition concept in under 6 minutes (or close enough). This time, we’re tackling a big one: How does the weight room fit within an ecological approach? The weight room and ecological dynamics can often feel like they're pulling in different directions. But in this quick-hit episode, Coach Jav unpacks: &n...

4 months ago

11 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

Talent is Not Linear: Rethinking Player Development in Soccer w/ Justin Ferguson

Send us a text In this episode of the Adaptable Athlete Podcast, I'm joined by Justin Ferguson — Director of Player Development at Minnesota United FC and a coach who’s deeply committed to modern coaching principles. We dig into what it really means to rethink player development, why talent is not a linear process, and how coaches can better support athletes through complex, messy learning environments. Justin shares insights from his work in professional soccer, including how Minnesota...

4 months ago

1 hour 4 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

Speed, Skill, and Solving Problems: A Preview of My Altis Speed Summit Session w/ Stu McMillan

Send us a text This episode is a special repost of my conversation with Stu McMillan on the ALTIS Podcast, originally recorded as a lead-up to the ALTIS Speed Summit where I will be presenting. If you’re attending the Summit this weekend, this will give you a preview of what I’ll be covering in my talk on Saturday, June 7th. The session will be titled "This is Not a Drill: Developing Speed Through Problem Solving." We cover a wide range of topics—everything from designing adaptab...

5 months ago

58 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

SMSC 25' Speaker Spotlight: Michael Zweifel

Send us a text This episode of the Adaptable Athlete Podcast is part of our special SMSC 25’ Speaker Spotlight Series, highlighting some of the world-class minds presenting at the 2025 Sport Movement Skill Conference, June 26–27 in St. Paul, Minnesota. We're bringing back a classic: Episode 8 with Michael Zwiefel, an impactful voice in our field and a longtime influence on how we approach athlete development. Formerly the founder of Building Better Athletes, Michael now serves as Assistant He...

6 months ago

47 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

SMSC 25' Speaker Spotlight: Scott Sievewright

Send us a text In this repost episode of the podcast, we revisit one of our most favorite conversations — a deep dive into combat sport skill acquisition with Scott Sievewright, founder of Primal MMA and host of the Primal MMA Coaching Podcast. Scott brings an athlete-centered and constraints-led approach to his work with MMA athletes. In this conversation, we discuss how to design representative practice without traditional drills, how to keep intensity high while still respecting athlete sa...

6 months ago

1 hour 4 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

SMSC 25' Speaker Spotlight : Garrett Baker

Send us a text SMSC Speaker Spotlight: Garrett Baker In this episode, we’re highlighting one of our featured presenters for the 2025 Sport Movement Skill Conference — Garrett Baker, Skill Acquisition Specialist and Pitching Coach for the New York Mets. Garrett joins us to talk about the current state of skill development in baseball and why he believes coaches must move beyond traditional notions of “perfect mechanics.” We dig into how Garrett blends theory and practice in the bullpen, ...

6 months ago

48 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

SMSC 25' Speaker Spotlight: Dr. Rob Gray

Send us a text In this Speaker Spotlight episode, Coach Jav sits down with Dr. Rob Gray—renowned researcher, author, and podcast host—for a timely re-release of their impactful conversation on ecological dynamics, information, and movement learning. Rob is one of the featured speakers at the upcoming 2025 Sport Movement Skill Conference, taking place June 26–27 in St. Paul, MN. As the SMSC returns to its in-person roots, Rob shares a preview of the thinking that’s shaped his writing, re...

6 months ago

56 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

Why This Year’s SMSC Is Going to Change the Game

Send us a text In this special episode of the Adaptable Athlete Podcast powered by Emergence, Javi welcomes back movement specialist and Emergence co-founder Shawn Myszka for the official preview of the 2025 Sport Movement Skill Conference (SMSC). They break down what to expect at this year’s in-person event -including immersive learning sessions, athlete-led demos, roundtable discussions, and a new certification opportunity -all designed to help coaches better understand and apply ecological...

7 months ago

41 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

From IndyCar to the NCAA: Coaching High Performance Across Sports w/ Sean Smith

Send us a text In this episode of the Adaptable Athlete Podcast, Javi sits down with performance coach Sean Smith, who shares lessons from a unique career that’s spanned elite collegiate volleyball and the high-octane world of IndyCar racing. They dive into what it takes to support athletes across vastly different sports, why curiosity and communication are non-negotiables for great coaching, and how to create high-performance environments without losing the human element. From letting athlet...

7 months ago

59 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

6 Minutes of Skill: Finding Your Challenge Point

Send us a text In this Six Minutes of Skill episode, Coach Jav explores the concept of the Challenge Point—both for athletes and coaches. He breaks down how finding the right level of difficulty in training can accelerate skill acquisition, improve decision-making, and better prepare athletes for real-game situations. Key Topics Discussed: ✅ Understanding the Challenge Point and its role in learning ✅ Why failing too much or too little in practice can hinder development ✅ How to adjust pra...

8 months ago

9 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

Coaching Hockey IQ w/ Jim Haverstrom

Send us a text In this episode, Javi sits down with Jim Haverstrom to explore a fresh approach to youth hockey coaching. Jim explains how his game-based, small-area practices transform the way young players develop skills and decision-making. Rather than isolating techniques, his methods use purposeful, in-game scenarios to build hockey IQ and foster creativity on the ice. He also shares strategies for communicating these innovative methods to parents, emphasizing long-term growth over immedi...

8 months ago

56 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

The Power of Unstructured Learning in Coaching and Sport w/ Marianne Davies

Send us a text In this episode, Javi sits down with Marianne Davies to explore a fascinating blend of topics, from adventure sports and ecological coaching to the power of language and learning. They dive into how language shapes perception, the unique relationship between teaching and learning, and the role of affordance perception in high-risk environments. Marianne shares her experiences in equestrian sports, adventure coaching, and expedition leadership, emphasizing how outdoor challenges...

9 months ago

1 hour 2 minutes

The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

Analyzing the Transcendent Movement Skill of Lamar Jackson w/ Shawn Myszka

Send us a textIn this episode, we dive deep into the transcendent movement skill of Lamar Jackson with special guest Shawn Myszka!In addition to having partnered with 139 NFL athletes and many pro bowlers, Shawn also has been deeply investigating and writing about movement on his website Football Beyond The Stats for over a decade. Every year Shawn names "Mover of the Year", and this year it was none other than Lamar Jackson! As a two-time Mover of the Year, Jackson’s ability to adapt, ...

9 months ago

1 hour 12 minutes