331: Lee Taft on The Flow of Sport Skill Development and Speed Training Integration

More show notes at https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-331/ Today’s episode features Lee Taft.  Lee is one of the most highly respected sport speed coaches in the world.  His methods come from wisdom accumulated not just in sports performance, but also in physical education, sport coaching, as well as observing changes in athletes between the 1990s, into the modern day.  Lee has been a three-time guest on the podcast, a mentor to many high-level coaches, and has incredible wisdom on the level of sport movement. In a world of specialists, athlete’s processes of mastery can start to become “atomized” (my new favorite word).  Many modern athletes have a sport coach, a skill coach, a strength coach and a speed coach.  At the end of the day, an athlete only has so much time, and all training is only as effective as it can be integrated.  Training effectiveness is also magnified by the level of which the athlete’s learning process can be leveraged.  Hand holding athletes through skill acquisition, or playing games on early levels to win, rather than to learn skills, create early ceilings of performance. What we need in the world of sport is an intuitive, interconnected model by which to better let flow the natural abilities of an athlete.  To do so, having coaches like Lee who have experience in so many facets of movement, across a wide age group, multiple sports, and multiple decades is crucial.  We need to understand movement and motor learning in sport if we are to truly understand speed in sport. On the podcast today, Lee details his process in terms of sport skills, constraints, and then when to step in and “connect the dots” on the level of external speed and strength development.  Lee talks about his use of sport itself as “the screen” for athletes, developmental principles of sport skills, and assessing “hardware” vs. “software” limitations in athletic movement.  He also detailed his own process of sport development with his own children, and finishes with an important discussion on how we can change the developmental sport system for the better through travel-ball alternatives.  Lee is a sage in the world of sport, and we all can become better through his teaching. Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster.com, Lost Empire Herbs, and the Elastic Essentials online course. For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to lostempireherbs.com/justfly. To try Pine Pollen for FREE (just pay for shipping), head to: https://justflypinepollen.com