Hayden Mitchell

In Mobile, you better be able to talk that…

Great to be back with the dudes at Mecca aka Amp Performance aka my saving grace in a city with no mountains.

Three straight days hard training meant hops were low, yet vibes were high.

So we call that a great day to be alive 😘

Strength training can make you faster. The research is clear on that.
Perform karate on your body 2-4x a week and you are on the fast track to kickin ace.
More force output from the hip extensors and flexors means more propulsive capacity per stride.
A stiffer Achilles means less energy lost at ground contact. More muscle cross-sectional area in the right tissues raises the ceiling for power production.
For most of us who aren’t natural freaks, this is how we close the gap on those who are.

But strength gains do not automatically transfer to speed.
The transfer depends on how well the nervous system can express that force at the velocities and contact times that high-speed movement actually requires.
That coordination only develops through the movement itself. And in most sports that means training at various vectors, distances, and reacting to stimuli because you can’t move fast if you don’t know WTF is going on.

What drives speed outcomes is a combination of things: ground reaction force, rate of force development, stride mechanics, the ability to coordinate all of it under high-velocity conditions.
Strength is one input. A significant one.

Practicing the actual movement is another. Neither replaces the other.

This session targets the tissues researchers find most directly responsible for explosive movement, trained at the lengths and loads that produce the most meaningful adaptation.

2 sets of 5-8 reps to drive max intent with low volume. Warmup sets if you need.

Piggy-backing on awesome post detailing this study yesterday with one of my own today.

In 2020, my “pleasure” reading was focused on great coaches. What was their background. How did they become who they became. What shaped and changed their philosophies. What did they regret. What did they take pride in.

Phil and Anson were the two that really helped me think the most. I admire them greatly and their “work” underpins a lot of mine.

Collectively, they won 33 championships between them. Neither one got out of the way. As I’ve said before, it’s not about making yourself obsolete but rather finding what makes you, the coach, most useful.

And reflecting enough to know when you stand in the way.

Both built environments where their athletes could lead, hold each other accountable (thou shalt not fear conflict), and grow into something more than their talent alone would allow.

A new meta-analysis of 50 studies found that captains influence team performance at nearly double the rate of coaches, and authentic leadership outperformed every other style (Clare et al., 2025).

The question underneath it matters more: what kind of coaching environment allows that to happen?

That question sits at the center of what I do.

Coaching Considered is a 3-week intensive where we examine the things that shaped you as a coach, how those things show up in your practices, and whether what you’re doing actually creates what you say you want to create.

We start with who you are.
We move through your values and how they influence every choice you make on the floor.
We end with practice design and the craft of knowing when to hold the room and when to let it breathe.

It’s what most coaching education skips entirely. Note that this won’t give you a certification or a degree, but it will provide clarity and confidence in your coaching craft.

Link in bio.

Clare, C., Hardy, J., Roberts, R., Tod, D., & Benson, A. J. (2025). Do leaders actually influence sports performance? An integrated systematic review and meta-analyses. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 47(4), 205-222.

I was inspired to write this today. A handsome young fella, -no beard, squared jaw, perfect hair, the kind of dude the other dudes in his community wish they could be-sat diagonally from me at the coffee shop today. He was with a couple buddies. Or maybe just "work friends".

Young yuppies in front of their laptops. I suppose they'd made an effort to get out of the office.
I watched his his toes tap and his knees shake up and down. Head in hands.

And I wondered, for his sake, what he wished he was doing instead. And I imagined he wished he could put that outdoorsman's uniform to the test. I imagined he wanted to be wild and free. He needs to be wild and free.

But, alas, like many young men he will "wonder what happened betwixt and between when" he "went to work in tall buildings"
-John Hartford

The program is designed to improve capacity and skills with introductory plyos, hypertrophy clusters, and gymnastics/calisthenics. I hope for you to heal, bounce, build, and move better.

If you’re interested, send me a DM with your email and I’ll send you a 2 week FREE PROGRAM: EXPLORATORY STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY to help you heal and prepare for more.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Eternally grateful for those I get to hug in person and the virtual hugs I get to give and receive because of this silly little platform 🎄❤️🎅

And I was left with this overwhelming sense of peace that this may be all there is. And if this is it, then it’s more than enough.