VETSELITE Blog: Weekly Podcast Review #1

VETSELITE Blog: Weekly Podcast Review #1

Hello to anyone who is taking the time out of your day and busy schedules to take a dive into the VETSELITE Blog! I want to begin by saying I greatly appreciate the support and if you have any comments, questions, programming or consultation needs, or just want to talk with me, please feel free to reach out. Today’s blog is the beginning of my Weekly Podcast Review series, dedicated to reviewing the best podcast that I listened to during the past week. I try to listen to 2 per week (3-4 if it is a slow week). My top podcasts are Just Fly Sports Performance Podcast by SimpliFaster, The Barbell Life from Travis Mash, the Central Virginia Sports Performance Podcast from Jay DeMayo, the Rugby Strength Coach Podcast from Keir Wenham – Flatt, The Perception and Action Podcast with Dr. Rob Gray, and any podcast that features Cal Dietz, Fergus Connolly, Cameron Josee, Brett Bartholomew, Shawn Myszka or Dr. Pat Davidson. I am constantly looking on these platforms and for these professionals as they consistently put out amazing content that keeps me informed of contemporary topics within strength and conditioning industry. More importantly, they challenge contemporary ideas from different perspectives and allow me to evaluate the processes and methodology I use session-to-session, cycle-to cycle, and year-to-year whether I am training athletes or lifters. These will be the people and podcasts that I will be reviewing on this blog coming up!

As far the first official blog… it will not feature ANY of these professionals or podcasts. Why you ask? Thanks to one of my athletes and greatest friends I will be reviewing a podcast that featured Head Coach of Alabama Football, Nick Saban’s, presentation from the American Football Coaches Association National Conference in 2014 (this was featured on the Podcast; Inside the Headset with the AFCA). Saban’s presentation was centered around the following concepts; Buy-In, 3 P’s, and Team Culture – It Starts and Ends with YOU.
Buy-In;
Here, Saban discusses how to build buy-in in any organization or group of people that will be fueled for success, and that route is through the INDIVIDUAL. The main train of thought regarding buy-in is the “we before me” mentality where members of a group will make sacrifices for the greater good of that organization or group, whether that be because of tradition or “the way it’s always been done.” While the members of any group must be able to sacrifice for that greater cause, Saban stresses that this route is changing in this day and age, and it is through the individual. Building a relationship with each member of a group that makes them feel their skills, talents, or efforts are valued is essential to get buy-in, especially in the 2010’s college football recruit. By developing this rapport and demonstrating one’s value, you can begin to direct their thoughts and behaviors to shape in a way that fits with the mindset needed to direct the culture towards progress and success.
3P’s:
The 3 P’s (not explicitly explained by Saban, just the notes I took) mentioned were positivity, perseverance, and pride. Saban explained how positive energy is the spark and drive when the group or organization must “take the road less traveled” in order to reach and accomplish the overarching goals. While traveling this road, you must be able to persevere the day-in and day-out grind. Waking up every single day and be able to resist giving into the notion to give up or not work hard. This driving perseverance, every day, will lead you to take pride in the product you have put together. Taking pride in your work can happen once you have understood that it is not just about the result (win’s, losses, money, etc.) that is about how you got to where you are. By having positive energy and persevering through the rough times you can take pride in the work you put in by understanding the love you have for the process.
Team Culture – It Starts and Ends with YOU;
The most important thing that Saban discussed was how to create a culture that foster the values you want, and it is all predicated on how you conduct yourself as a leader. The leader, and the way the conduct themselves all the time, is what will get people to buy into a culture, a standard, a set of values, a way of life. *”Be somebody that others want to emulate.”* By truly living the life you preach, showing that you are there to serve, to care, and appreciating all within the organization, you are truly preaching your culture. With a clear and defined vision that you not only create, but LIVE, you will be able to take a group of people and lead them in the direction towards your overarching vision and goals.

Now why did I review this information? Because it was exactly what i needed to hear as I make the transition from student and grad assistant to the face of VETS. I was struggling to map out where I wanted VETS to go, how to build it, and what messages to preach because I never looked myself in the mirror. I want all of you who read this to truly see that you will never be shortchanged by myself, or any VETS professional that becomes a part of this organization because we LIVE the life we preach to you everyday. Training, recovery, nutrition, education, care, relationships, consistency, hard work, positivity, passion, all for the training process and everything it entails. VETS is a company that is solely dedicated to providing athletes with the best opportunities for training that will yield improvements in performance on the field, pitch, court, track, platform or whatever it may be. “It starts and ends with YOU.”