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Alex Calder is an Australian Sports Scientist and S&C coach who has spent the last 6 years with one of the leading MLS franchises in the US. In addition to his work with Houston Dynamo FC he has worked in the college system across various sports as well as worked at Orlando SC (MLS) where he was responsible for the strength and conditioning of the playing squad that included Brazilian World Cup winner, Champions League winner and 2007 worlds best player (Ballon d'or) winner Kaka. In this conversation we chat about how a boy from Melbourne with no prior experience in professional sport, no contacts and the courage to buy a one way ticket to Boston was then able to build career most would envy in the top tier of football (Soccer) in the US.

Highlights from the episode…

• Alex pursued S&C initially wanting to improve his own strength and conditioning as a footballer.
• After retiring, Alex went all in and bought a one-way ticket to Boston with no job and no connections at the chance of establishing a career in high performance sport.
• He describes the first year in the US as “not for the feint hearted” and the lessons he learnt trying to get his foot into the door of sport.
• We discuss how the leaps in one’s development often are a product of being a little naive/ignorant and the value of engineering some naivety into ones decision making.
• Alex provides a step by step process of how he acquired a role as S&C coach in the US college system.
• Alex shares common pathways in the US for practitioners working in professional sporting roles and what sporting clubs look for in potential hires.
• Being an S&C Coach in the college system, day-to-day, facilities, remuneration, personnel, departments etc.
• Aside from the highlights, we discuss the costs of working in high performance sport and why he still does it?
• What it was like to work in his first MLS role with Orlando City SC, including highlights, challenges, lessons etc.
• We chat about being tested by athletes and how Alex navigated challenging situations with players and coaches and how being a chameleon in one’s approach is crucial.
• Ashley Jones “degrees of freedom” when it comes to programming athletes.
• How do you navigate a culture that may not resonate with S&C and get athletes to buy into doing gym work.
• Athletes currently are more intuitive and want to know “why” more than ever.
• When it comes to "Return To Play" what metrics Alex uses, who is involved and how the decision are made when it comes to progressing players at Houston Dynamo FC.
• When is it ok to push through pain and when we shouldn’t push through pain when it comes to progressing RTP.
• Alex speaks of the move to a new club and the past 6 years at Houston Dynamo FC.

People mentioned:

• Darren Burgess: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6RtvVQHvNNU4eRjJNQ7Mrz
• Adam Centofanti: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-centofanti-04224790/
• Ashley Jones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K58qwDLia2A
• Paul Caffery: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ireland11/

Alex Calder contact details:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-calder-aa432480/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calder_05/
• Website: http://www.aussiecoachabroad.com/about
• Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Peak-Performance-Soccer-Coaching-Training/dp/103206031X

Host: Luis Resa

Contact me on:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-resa-a975196b/
• Email: luis.resa@outlook.com

Thanks for listening and please leave a review. If you would like more information on anything mentioned in this episode simply send me an email.