Steve Tashjian was a soccer hack who got injured and had a taste of what bad rehab looked like.
Nevertheless, the experience taught him to appreciate physical movement and kindled his interest in the medical and biomechanical fields.
Taking his growing passion with him over the years, Steve worked as the Head of Fitness Coach for the Columbus Crew in the MLS after completing his master’s degree in Physical Therapy at the Western University of Health Sciences.
From there, he accepted an opportunity to go overseas and worked for the Everton Football Club as the Head of Sports Science & Conditioning for 5 years, before coming back for a second stint with the Crew.
And today, Steve is back in the US, supporting the US Soccer Federation Men’s National Team as their Head Performance Specialist.
Steve joins me today to share his experience with working with the Everton Football Club and illustrates how it’s different from working with an MLS team.
He describes his career path and how working with the US Soccer Federation has changed over the years.
He emphasizes the importance of developing sales skills as a coach and how information transparency can cultivate relationships between sports clubs.
And finally, he underscores the dangers of groupthink in sports performance, how it can hinder the industry’s growth, and reiterates what it means to build a high-performance environment.
We don’t drive performance development in players – we support and promote it. – Steve Tashjian
This week on the Physical Preparation Podcast:
- Steve’s background, career progression, and how he got into professional sports
- How working at the MLS has changed over the years
- Why young coaches need to take career opportunities over money
- What prompted Steve to come back to the US after his stint in Europe
- How working for the MLS is different from working with the Everton FC
- The importance of developing sales skills in coaching and physical preparation
- The difference between working for a sports club and a national team
- The role of transparency & information dissemination in cultivating relationships with other clubs
- Determining player readiness & availability
- Developing a one-team approach and other trends in soccer that haven’t yet transferred to other sports
- How soccer is moving towards a collaborative, high-performance process
- What the high-performance model is meant to be and its biggest roadblocks
- Groupthink, what it is, and how it’s impacting the sports performance industry
- The relationship between insulin and performance and why an elite athlete has to be healthy
Resources Mentioned:
- Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don’t Have To by David Sinclair
Related Content:
- Darcy Norman on the Value of Working with Interesting People
- Darcy Norman Reflects on His First Two Years with AS Roma Soccer Club
- Physical Preparation with Darcy Norman
Connect with Steve Tashjian:
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