EP 70 – Matt Hunter – Director of Youth Sports Performance at Athletic Lab

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“If you not keeping them around because your training sux, or you’re not a good guy to hang out with, then you don’t get the opportunity to have everything that you know happen.”

On the show today, I chat with Matt Hunter, Director of Youth Sports Performance at Athletic Lab in North Carolina, US. Matt has a BA degree in Health and Human Kinetics from Ohio Wesleyan University and is a recognised as a certified strength and conditioning specialist with the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA). He has also completed numerous coaching internships including Athletic Lab, Cressey Performance, and Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning.

In this wide ranging conversation, Matt and I discuss the importance of being curious in coaching, how to build rapport with your athletes, the approach he takes for the long-term development of his athletes, and much more. I hope you enjoy it.

We also  discuss:

  • The business of strength and conditioning;
  • Matt’s journey into strength and conditioning and why he love working with kids;
  • Growing up making bow and arrows in the yard;
  • The struggles Matt had at schools;
  • The significant influence Matt’s father played in helping him get to college;
  • Parents, and how Matt and the rest of the Athletic Lab team interact with them;
  • The benefit of games for developing athletic competency;
  • Why time and consistency are the two most important pieces of a youth athlete’s development puzzle;
  • The tests Matt uses to monitor his athlete’s progress;
  • The key movements Matt bases his programme around and how he progresses them with his athletes;
  • Why being a good person is the most important thing when coaching kids;
  • The importance of teaching work ethic;
  • The power of cooperation;
  • The joy Matt finds in facing new challenges every day in his work;
  • Way every young athlete should play chess; and
  • More.

If you enjoy the show, please subscribe with your favourite podcast App by clicking one of the links on this page. I’d also encourage you to head over to iTunes and give the show a rating as it helps us to share the show with more people.

Thanks so much for listening!

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Craig’s passion is helping athletes become the best that they can be. In February 2014, Craig completed his PhD, with a focus on athlete development, at AUT University and lead Athlete Development from 2010 to 2019.

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