On Episode 9 of the Jack Skille Show we are joined by Jack's former athletic development coach and mentor in all things physical Steve Myrland. After a long career with collegiate and NHL coaching experience, Steve Myrland always operates against the grain, and his approach provides a needed balance when discussing how to develop athletes. On this episode we talk about his background, training philosophy, and approach to developing athletes young and old.

Learn more from Jack and Steve in HMMR Video Lesson 21, where both break down one offseason of training. Steve also contributes articles to HMMR Media.

The Jack Skille Show is produced by HMMR Media, a leader in helping athletes and coaches learn how to get better. Become a member to get access to a wealth of articles, videos, podcasts and more training resources. The show focuses on exploring the process behind sport with professional hockey player Jack Skille and key people he has met throughout his career. Season 1 focuses on development and what is the difference maker from those that make it to the top, and those that don’t.

Highlights from this episode:

• 0:00 - Steve's background and path to coaching.
  
• 5:15 - What is strength? "Strength is not the end goal. While can't be a good athlete without being strong, you can be strong without being a good athlete."
  
• 11:45 - First impressions of Steve and Jack from working together.
  
• 16:00 - Conformity and training.
  
• 21:30 - Finding the need for something new.
  
• 27:45 - Thoughts on equipment, barbells, etc.
  
• 37:30 - Early specialization, learning to move the body, and the value of being a generalist.
  
• 47:45 - Training for the new NHL.
  
• 56:00 - Asking questions of your coach and understanding the why of training: "If your coach doesn't have a good reason why, they shouldn't have been doing it."
  
• 1:01:00 - How should young athletes train and how to create movement puzzles.
  
• 1:08:15 - Progressing the athlete and finding graceful movement: "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."
  
• 1:15:30 - How athleticism links to performance.