Today’s podcast features NBA performance coach Andrew Paul. Andrew is the Director of Performance and Rehabilitation for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He is both a sports performance coach, as well as a physical therapist, and utilizes his wide-ranging expertise in his position. Andrew has previous experience in the NCAA, as well as with military special operations, and was named the NBSCA strength coach of the year in 2022-2023.
As the sports performance profession moves forward, we are understanding that training is not a one-size fits all experience, while finding new ways to classify athlete archetypes, exercise classifications, and how to piece it together to meet the needs of an athlete. Part of what makes training and coaching enjoyable is seeing the diverse range of athletic movers, and the optimal exercises and concepts by which to create their programming.
On today’s podcast, Andrew discusses key differences between muscular and elastic movers in basketball and related training implications. He goes into propulsive and absorption-based exercises, range of motion concepts based on athlete types, and how to assign individualized training based on strengths, weaknesses, and the needs of an NBA season. He also speaks on slow-tempo work, connective tissue health, foot training, and much more on this information-dense podcast. Andrew is pushing the envelope in high-performance training, and I really enjoyed this conversation.
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Main Points
6:18– Momentum Generation and Force Absorption Techniques
8:48– Tailoring Training Programs for Athlete Movement Styles
12:12– Movement Styles: Muscular vs. Fascial Preferences
15:58– Optimizing Workouts for Fascial and Muscular Movers
22:10– Chains for Novice Lifters in NBA Training
26:36– Explosive Strength Training for Elastic Athletes
37:51– Enhancing Connective Tissue Quality Through Training
39:21– Holistic Approach to Athletic Development
45:18– Viscous Range Training for Tendinopathy Recovery
49:46– Optimizing Stiffness for Athletic Performance Safely
52:55– Injury Risk Profiles in Different Movers
1:06:23– Foot and Ankle Characteristics in Athletic Movement
1:18:41– Training Dynamics: Matching Momentum for Athletes
Andrew Paul Quotes
(00:10:14) “I think the hard part, so being able to observe athletes in an unbiased manner and is a very difficult thing for strength coaches to do. And the reason why I think that is, is that I grew up as an Olympic lifter. I gained a lot of confidence in the weight room, and I became a strength coach because of that, because that’s kind of where I grew up” – Andrew Paul
(24:00) “There’s nothing more explosive and elastic than what’s going on in the court” – Andrew Paul
(25:00) “A heavy step up for someone who has an asymmetry is a very propulsive, dominant movement, particularly a higher step up. When you start getting into lower, lower step ups, you’re starting to deal with more like a elastic range” – Andrew Paul
(00:39:59) “The more you train for high outputs in a course, in an 82-game season, the more you’re going to have issues related to output, which is like strains.” – Andrew Paul
(00:44:00) “I just think there’s so much to be said about just finding things that feel good, that help the tissues” – Joel Smith
(00:47:58) “It’s so easy to start blasting kids early. You know, we’re in middle school, Let’s start getting after the heavy lifts or the heavy versions.” – Joel Smith
(01:04:10) “A lot of times those athletes are great at using their heel and their forefoot. And so they’re able to get under their heel and then launch themselves, basically bypass their midfoot and then launch their forefoot. And we see that in our elastic guys a lot. They’re usually more rigid in their foot”
(01:07:50) “Muscular people like to get into that midfoot. And so they probably don’t have that quality of being able to get behind themselves and go. It’s like, have you ever watched a power lifter try to run and just jump from a running start? Yeah, they almost have to a complete stop and like find their midfoot and go”
(01:22:42) “You’re dealing with impulse impulses and how they view how they want to do things.” – Andrew Paul
About Andrew Paul
Andrew Paul is the Director of Performance and Rehabilitation for the Oklahoma City Thunder. In this position Andrew oversees all aspects of the Strength and Conditioning and Nutrition programs. Being a physical therapist as well, Andrew also assists the Oklahoma City Medical Staff. Prior to coming to Oklahoma City, Andrew worked as a Physical Therapist and Performance Specialist at EXOS in Gulf Breeze, FL where his primary clientele was members of the Special Operations Units in the Military. Andrew also spent over 6 years at the University of Missouri where he worked as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the football program as well as several Olympic Sports programs. Andrew received his undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from Missouri State University, is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Missouri.
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