NSCA’s Coaching Podcast, Episode 7: Clayton Kuklick

Clayton Kuklick, coaching researcher at the University of Denver, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about what it truly means to be a master coach. Topics under discussion include motor learning, practice design, mentorship in coaching, and coaching standards.

Clayton Kuklick, PhD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Master of Arts in Sport Coaching program in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of Denver. His research interests revolve around coaching development and improving athletic performance. His focus and passion is on developing ways to help coaches enrich their current coaching approaches with the intent to enhance their athlete’s performance on and off the field.

Clayton can be reached at clayton.kuklick@du.edu. Find Scott on Twitter: @scottcaulfield

“The master coaches that I have great respect for, the diversity of their knowledge is absolutely amazing.” 6:35

“Getting good mentors and connecting with coaches that possess different forms of knowledge in a diverse range of areas is really important.” 8:50

“There are so many little ingredients that matter.” 12:55

Strength Training and Coordination: An Integrative Approach, by Frans Bosch (https://www.amazon.com/Strength-training-coordination-integrative-2015-10-01/dp/B01N2GIXEC to find it on Amazon) 13:46

“I constantly reflect on my previous experiences and where I fit in there. It’s not one person or one thing. It’s a multitude of people, a network.” 16:13

“I can have this informal network... I’m still constantly calling coaches to bounce coaching ideas and problem-solve together.” 16:25

“There should be a standard for where we are going.” 22:13

“If this is your value system, then how do you demonstrate it? What are the behaviors that go with that?” 22:53

“If you look at my teaching philosophy compared to my coaching philosophy... they are exactly the same.” 25:58

“Implement strategies to help people develop.” 27:39

“We’re trying to help coaches win more games and improve their athlete outcomes by connecting research to their professional practice.” 30:43

“Coaches look for the magic sauce... it might be coaching education.” 30:56

“We get stuck in our previous experiences sometimes, and we’re socialized to do certain things.” 31:40

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