Rest Digest Progress Podcast

In this episode of Rest, Digest, and Progress, I’m joined by Coach Nathaniel Melendez, Director of Men’s Basketball Performance at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. We dive into basketball performance training, sports science, athlete monitoring, and how to build durable, game-ready athletes at the collegiate level. Nathaniel also shares insights on individualized programming, recovery strategies, and creating a high-performance culture that translates directly to on-court success.

In this episode of Rest, Digest, and Progress, I’m joined by Coach Lilly Bernardi—Assistant Director of Sports Performance at UNC and former Division I lacrosse athlete. We dive into her journey through the collegiate coaching ranks, her programming approach for softball, gymnastics, and tennis, and how she blends academic knowledge with on-the-floor experience. From mentorship to mindset, Lily shares valuable insights for coaches and athletes alike.

In this episode of Rest, Digest, and Progress, I’m joined by Coach Donald Day—aka “The Warthog”—to talk all things high-performance training, data-driven coaching, and building better athletes. Don shares his unique take on the conjugate method for baseball players, insights into force plate metrics like RSI and peak power, and how he’s used those tools to develop MLB draft picks and Olympic-level athletes. From Georgia Southern to Arizona, and everywhere in between, Coach Day brings the energy, experience, and knowledge every coach can learn from.

In this episode of Rest, Digest, and Progress, we dive deep into the world of speed and power development with one of the sharpest minds in the field—Mike Sullivan. As a performance coach for the Anaheim Ducks and San Diego Gulls, Mike brings a wealth of experience from both the private sector and the collegiate level, having worked with athletes at UC Davis, Illinois State, Notre Dame, and Texas.Mike shares his insights on refining human movement, developing explosive athleticism, and the key principles behind elite speed training. Whether you're a coach, athlete, or just fascinated by the science of performance, this episode is packed with practical takeaways to help you maximize potential.Tune in for a high-energy conversation on cutting-edge training methods, mentorship, and what it really takes to build world-class speed and power!

Rest, Digest, and Progress is your go-to podcast for high-level performance training and cutting-edge coaching insights. Join us as we sit down with top experts in strength and conditioning to explore the science of human performance, athlete development, and the future of coaching. In this episode, we welcome Tim Caron—renowned coach, educator, and author—to discuss his experience training elite athletes, building better strength programs, and mentoring the next generation of coaches. Tune in and take your knowledge to the next level!

today I have none other than the man behind the “Force System” and one half of the performance podcast “Move The Needle” Mr Hunter Eisenhower. Coach Hunter brings to the table today an incredibly stacked resume, having worked at several high performance universities as a strength coach such as University of Minnesota, University of Washington, UC Davis and currently Arizona State University where he is the Associate head performance coach for the men's basketball team. Not only does Hunter's collegiate history display significant prestige, Hunter has also spent time as a Sports Performance Coach and sports scientist for the NBA Team, the Sacramento kings. Hunter has also written several articles and has been working diligently to develop an innovative approach to strength and conditioning called The Force System. This unique style of programming aims to redefine how athletes train by focusing on maximizing efficiency, optimizing force production, and tailoring methods to individual needs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are back with yet another episode of the Rest, Digest, and Progress Podcast, and today's guest is none other than strength and conditioning coach Asa Britt. Coach Asa is currently serving as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Long Island Nets, the G-League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets. Before stepping into the professional basketball scene, he made a significant impact as the Strength and Conditioning Coach at Seton Hall University, where he worked closely with the men’s and women’s basketball programs to elevate athlete performance. Coach Asa’s journey began with a degree in Exercise Science from Manhattan College, where he developed his foundational knowledge in athlete performance and biomechanics. He furthered his expertise through a graduate assistantship at Sacred Heart University, where he refined his skills in training collegiate athletes. Along the way, Coach Asa gained invaluable experience through internships at prestigious programs such as Iowa State, Kansas, and in the private sector at Advanced Physical and Technical Training (APEX). These diverse experiences allowed him to work with athletes across a wide spectrum, from aspiring collegiate players to elite professionals. In today’s podcast, we’ll be diving deep into Coach Asa’s approach to training basketball athletes at the highest levels, discussing topics such as bridging the gap between collegiate and professional strength training, managing in-season workloads, fostering long-term athletic development, and adapting training methodologies for individual athlete needs. So, without further ado, let’s get right into it!

Ladies and Gentlemen we are back with yet another episode on the Rest, Digest and Progress Podcast, and today's guest is college basketball strength and conditioning coach Danny Strohm. Currently residing in Georgia Coach Danny works as the director of basketball performance for Georgia Southern University. Prior to GSU Coach Danny has had a multitude of experiences ranging from private sectors such as ProForce Sports Performance, and numerous internships from Universities like Kansas State, Saint Louis and Southern Illinoi Edwardsville. Most recently, Danny was working as a strength coach from Southern Missouri state, primarily working with basketball, baseball and volleyball programs. In today's podcast we will be covering Coach Danny's most recent book “High-Performance Hoops”, discussing topics such as athlete performance categorization, the intricacies of in season play and load management within the weightroom, as well as combating athlete strength and weaknesses all year round. So without further adieu, let's get right into it 

Gday everybody, you are tuning into another rest, digest and progress podcast. I am your host Travis Fay and I have yet another podcast for you in case you couldn't get enough of last week. Today I am joined by Strength  and conditioning coach Nick Cidado, who currently works out of Boston college. Throughout Nick's career he has worked at a variety of different institutions, including several private sectors such as Velocity Sport performance, MJP strength and conditioning and evolution sport performance. Nick has also worked in the IVY league, coaching multiple teams at Harvard University. For the past 5 years Nick has achieved tremendous success at Boston college where his division 1 women's lacrosse team has won the NCAA championship not just once but twice during his time there. He has also had the privilege of coaching multiple Player of the Year recipients, League MVP’s and All-Conference selections alongside some of the best coaches in collegiate sports. In today's podcast we also discussed the intricacies of his latest book, sweat more during peace, bleed less during more. A book that encompasses the diligent procedures of planning and preparation, for not just success in collegiate athletics, but also the guidelines of acquiring disciplined habits that build character and grit in the real world. So without further hesitation, let's jump right into it.

Gday everybody, the podcast is back up and running and what a guest I have for you today. Coach Angello Gingerelli joins me to discuss his latest upcoming book titled “The next four years - Compete, Win and Thrive in college sports”. Coach Angelo currently resides at Seton Hall University where he has been working as a Strength and Conditioning coach for almost 20 years. Apart from his extensive work at Seton Hall and being in charge of more than eight varsity sports, Coach Angelo has held similar positions working at Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and even the Pittsburgh Pirates. And to top things off Coach Angelo holds the title of New Jersey State Director of the National Strength & Conditioning Association, and is also an adjunct professor. On today's podcast we take a deep dive into Coach Angelos latest book, and bring notice to the strength and conditioning world from a different perspective, this time from the eyes of our athletes and what it means to be successful in not only the collegiate setting, but how to set ourselves up for any of life's obstacles.