193: Nick Winkelman on The Language of Coaching and Skill Acquisition | Sponsored by SimpliFaster

Today’s episode features Nick Winkelman, head of athletic performance and science for the Irish Rugby Football Union.   Nick was formerly the director of education for EXOS, and oversaw the speed and assessment component of their combine development program.  Nick is an internationally recognized speaker, and has his Ph.D with a focus on motor learning and sprinting.  Nick also has an anticipated upcoming book called “The Language of Coaching” where he goes in detail on his learnings and methods on the impact that communication has on an athlete’s ability to learn and perform movements. Just like we’ve mentioned on episodes talking about mental training for sport, the art of communicating with athletes, and how we talk to their conscious and subconscious mind is heralded, but not given much actual attention in our daily processes.  Perhaps its because coaching, and specifically strength & conditioning often seems to draw more numbers and qualitative driven individuals than those concerned with the inherent artistry involved in the coaching profession, and in being a human being in general.  This being said, I’m really excited to have Nick on the show this week, because he is a master of the “conversation” we coaches have with athletes to help lead them to their highest potential on a physical, mental and emotional level. On today’s show, Nick goes into how he became interested in coaching cues and communication, ideas on coaching cue differences, the importance and effects of using analogies, and much more.  This episode is a must listen, because this is the type of material that isn’t emphasized in modern coaching curriculums, but at the same time, might be the biggest thing holding coaches and athletes back from reaching their highest level of performance and enjoyment in sport and human movement. Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster, supplier of high-end athletic development tools, such as the Freelap timing system, kBox, Sprint 1080, and more.