The Adaptable Athlete Podcast

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You can't talk a fighter into confidence. And if you've been trying, Andy Grahn has been quietly building it the right way for 30 years.
Andy Grahn is a martial arts coach at The Academy MN in Minneapolis, a co-author of the 2024 ecological dynamics MMA paper in Sports Coaching Review, and one of a small group of combat sports coaches actively applying motor learning science to what happens on the mat. This conversation covers how he got there and what it actually looks like in practice.
Competence before confidence: Why telling athletes to "just be more confident" doesn't work, and what the ecological approach says about how confidence actually develops
Alive training in combat sports: What representative practice looks like in an MMA gym, how Andy navigates the line between safety and specificity, and why sparring is still the anchor
The partner probability paradox: How to design practice when you don't have the right training partner, and what constraints-led coaching looks like when the pairing isn't ideal
JKD to ecological dynamics: The philosophical thread connecting Bruce Lee's framework to Gibson's ecological psychology, and how Andy's background primed him for the shift
Writing the paper: What it was like to co-author peer-reviewed research as a practitioner alongside Keith Davids and the rest of the team
For coaches in any sport trying to build real skill, not just clean-looking technique.
🎟 Listeners of the podcast receive 10% off the Sport Movement Skill Conference (June 5–6 in St. Paul, Minnesota) using code JAVI26 at registration.
Andy Grahn | The Academy MN
The Academy MN
Instagram
Facebook
Applying an Ecological Dynamics Approach to Mixed Martial Arts
Resources
The Adaptable Athlete
Coach Jav on Instagram
Emergence
Free Modern Coach's Checklist
Credits: Song- "Starstruck" by Freebeats.io

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IG: @thecoachjav

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The best pass rusher in NFL history didn't break the sack record because he's fast. He broke it while being double or triple-teamed on more than half his snaps.
Shawn Myszka returns for the annual Mover of the Year episode. This year's pick: Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns. But this conversation isn't about stats. It's about what Garrett's movement actually tells us about dexterity, practice design, and how athletes solve problems under pressure.
Dexterity vs. athleticism: Why raw physical tools don't explain Garrett's dominance, and what Bernstein's framework reveals about how he actually moves
Abundance precedes adaptability: How having a wide range of movement strategies, not one elite technique, is what separates Garrett from every other pass rusher
Perceiving to and through: How elite performers take in multiple information sources simultaneously, with examples from football, basketball, and combat sports
Adversity as a teacher: What Barry Sanders and Adrian Peterson tell us about how constraint-rich environments shape movement skill over time
What Movement Miyagi would do: Three specific practice design ideas for developing Garrett's perceptual and movement capabilities even further
For coaches working at any level, in any sport.
Listeners of the podcast can receive 10% off the upcoming Sport Movement Skill Conference (June 5–6 in St. Paul, Minnesota) using the code Javi26 when registering.
Shawn Myszka | Movement Miyagi
Football Beyond the Stats Blog
2025 Mover of the Year: Myles Garrett
Enhancing Skill in American Football
X | Instagram
Resources
The Adaptable Athlete
Emergence
Free Modern Coach's Checklist 

Credits: Song- "Starstruck" by Freebeats.io

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Twitter: @thecoachjav
IG: @thecoachjav

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NBA shooting coach Dave Love has spent over 15 years working at the highest level of basketball, with the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks, and currently an Eastern Conference team. He's also one of the few practitioners at that level actively contributing to peer-reviewed research.
In this episode, Dave and Coach Jav dig into why the pursuit of a repeatable, perfect shot is the wrong goal entirely and what coaches should be focused on instead. They break down the sandbox analogy, the PoST framework, how to design practice that actually reflects the game, and how to meet athletes where they are when introducing evidence-based methods.
If you coach shooting at any level, this one is worth your time.
Topics covered:
No two shots are the same — and why chasing a repeatable shot is the wrong goal
The sandbox analogy — how Dave thinks about functional movement solutions and what it means to be in or out of the sandbox
Positive and negative power — his framework for identifying what's actually causing a player to miss
The PoST framework — how to periodize skill training the way you would strength or conditioning
Practice design and the challenge point — using defenders with intention and building variability into every session
Meeting athletes where they are — how to introduce ecological principles to players attached to traditional methods
Listeners of the podcast can receive 10% off the upcoming Sport Movement Skill Conference (June 5–6 in St. Paul, Minnesota) using the code Javi26 when registering.
Links:
Dave's platform and newsletter
Research paper: "Skill Adaptation in Basketball Coaching" International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 2025
Sport Movement Skill Conference (use code JAVI26 for 10% off)
Dave on X
Dave on instagram
Podcast website
Emergence
Credits: Song- "Starstruck" by Freebeats.io

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Twitter: @thecoachjav
IG: @thecoachjav

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Use Code: Javi26 for 10% off of your SMSC registration 🎟️

In this "Ask Emergence" episode, Coach Jav answers three questions from coaches about skill acquisition, constraints, and practice design.
The conversation starts with a foundational question: What is skill?
 Too often skill is viewed as repetition or the ability to reproduce the same movement over and over. But in sport, athletes must adapt to constantly changing problems. Coach Jav shares his current definition of skill and why adaptability is central to performance.
The episode then explores how coaches can use constraints to shape movement and guide athletes toward effective solutions without prescribing every action.
Finally, Coach Jav discusses how to think about complexity in training environments, why he prefers that term over “chaos,” and how coaches can scale the level of complexity to better prepare athletes for competition.
Listeners of the podcast can receive 10% off the upcoming Sport Movement Skill Conference (June 5–6 in St. Paul, Minnesota) using the code Javi26 when registering.
In This Episode
A modern definition of skill and why repetition alone is not enough
How constraints guide movement and decision making in sport
How to scale complexity in training environments to better prepare athletes for competition
Episode Resources
Sport Movement Skill Conference
Emergence Website
Check out The Modern Coach’s Planner
SMSC preview episode with Sean Myszka
The Adaptable Athlete Podcast
Check out the pod on YouTube
Credits: Song- "Starstruck" by Freebeats.io

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Twitter: @thecoachjav
IG: @thecoachjav

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In this episode, Coach Jav sits down with Steve Whalen to explore his journey into coaching, his shift toward ecological dynamics, and what it means to truly design learning environments that transfer to competition.
Steve shares how he entered tennis coaching from a non-traditional background, the tensions he experienced within traditional coach education, and the turning points that led him toward a constraints-led approach. The conversation unpacks why players who look sharp in practice often struggle in matches, how coaches can better understand learning and performance, and what it takes to bridge the gap between research and real-world coaching.
They also discuss Steve’s work mentoring coaches globally, his upcoming research in ecological dynamics, and the broader direction of modern coach education.
The upcoming Sport Movement Skill Conference (June 5–6) is also discussed  you can learn more and register here
If you’re looking for a practical starting point for designing more effective sessions, download the Modern Coach’s Practice Checklist and check out thecoachjav.com for more resources!


Episode Resources
Steve's website
Steve on Instagram 
2026 Sport Movement Skill Conference (SMSC)
 Modern Coach’s Practice Checklist - Free coaching guide 
The Adaptable Athlete Podcast
Emergence
Support & Contact
If you enjoyed today’s episode, leave a review and share it with another coach or athlete who’d appreciate it.
 You can reach Coach Jav on social media at @thecoachjav
or by email at [email protected]

Credits: Song- "Starstruck" by Freebeats.io

Let's Chat!
Twitter: @thecoachjav
IG: @thecoachjav