Joel Smith is the founder of Just Fly Sports and the JFS Podcast. He was previously the assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked with swimming, tennis, and water polo. He is the author of the books Vertical Foundations, Vertical Ignition, and most recently, Speed Strength. Before going to Cal-Berkeley, Smith coached track and strength and conditioning at Wilmington College of Ohio.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Cedarville University in 2006 and a master’s degree in the same area from Wisconsin LaCrosse in 2008. Joel is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA and is also a USATF certified coach.
In this episode, Joel answers questions from users on social media. These questions were organized into groups with a focus on similar topics. Joel gives his insight into many categories, including patellar tendonitis prevention, weightlifting and squatting in relation to sprinting, the training methods of Marv Marinovich and Jay Schroeder, and what he has done in his own programming using his knowledge of these particular topics. Joel shares his key takeaways from the guests on this show and the particulars of what he is doing with that information within his own training and programming.
Joel Smith discusses:
- Game-changing knowledge he has taken away from the guests.
- What he considers to be over-rated in the world of sports performance.
- Making sports and the weight room more connected.
- Lifting weights and its impact on sprinting performance.
- Neurological testing and training and his take on different programming aspects.
Podcast total run time is 56:58.
Keywords: speed development, squats, knee issues, Jay Schroeder