This week we welcome back the OG of The Podcast, Dr. Christian Carter who was on the first “interview show” I did back in the day on YouTube was with Willie Danzer (check it out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwBjea_f5e0&t=217s). This was a long overdue catch up, and a fantastic 30 plus minute discussion including:

• Driving factors to why his mindset on our positions has changed over his career.
• What could be leading to this shift in focus from just programming to improving the relationships with our athletes.
• The “Do More” or the “Good but” responses lead to athletes looking for some sort of praise.
• A two-way street of getting to actually know your athlete’s but be vulnerable enough to let your athletes truly know you as well.
• How being a happier and nicer person can really help improve your relationships with your athletes, their improvements, and enjoyment for being at work daily.
• Where he feels “coaching” happens, and how setting the “standard” and teaching can lead to better opportunities to learn and connect with your athletes in the long run.

It’s always awesome to catch up with Dr. Carter and this conversation was no exception. For someone who’s gone through the educational steps to change his first name to Doctor, and has been doing this at such a high level as a practitioner, to share his evolution and the driving factors to these changes in perspective was really awesome. I can’t thank Christian enough for being so candid in sharing his story and thought process and growth as a coach and person. This is a talk that I took so much from, and hope you did as well. As with all of our content, if you found value in the show and think a colleague could as well, please feel free to share the show with anyone you think would find it valuable. Also, if you could please subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app, I’d truly appreciate it if you could.

Who is Dr. Christian Carter?

Christian Carter joined JMU Strength and Conditioning for Olympic sports in 2013. He is in charge of designing and implementing programs for women’s track and field, volleyball and men’s soccer. Christian is also the Head Weightlifting Coach for Renaissance Periodization as well as a nutrition consultant for RP. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Wisconsin, his Master’s in Health Promotion from Virginia Tech, and his Doctorate in Sport Performance from East Tennessee State University.