Episode 2

Dr. Scott Goldman: Athletic Intelligence Quotient (AIQ)

Listen to the full podcast episode below, or listen on your favorite player.

Dr. Scott Goldman: Athletic Intelligence Quotient (AIQ)
  58 min
Dr. Scott Goldman: Athletic Intelligence Quotient (AIQ)
Keiser Human Performance Podcast
Play

Listen on your favorite platforms

Youtube Podcast Button-1 Apple Podcasts Spotify-1 RSS Feed-1 Overcast-1 Pocket Casts-1 Goodpods

In this episode of the Keiser Human Performance Podcast, Dr. Scott Goldman, performance psychologist for the Golden State Warriors, explores the concept of athlete intelligence and how it impacts performance. He introduces the Athletic Intelligence Quotient (AIQ), a cognitive assessment that measures key abilities such as spatial awareness, reaction time, decision-making, and learning efficiency. The conversation highlights how traditional evaluations often overemphasize physical traits while overlooking the cognitive skills that influence real-world success on the field. Dr. Goldman shares insights from his work across professional sports, demonstrating how AIQ can be used for talent identification, player development, and optimizing team performance. Ultimately, the episode emphasizes that elite performance is not just about physical ability, but about how effectively athletes process information, adapt, and make decisions in dynamic environments.

00:00:05.890 --> 00:00:08.200
Welcome to the Keiser Human Performance Podcast.

00:00:09.340 --> 00:00:12.960
The goal of this podcast. is to educate and inspire you to make the most of your

00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:14.470
journey in health and performance.

00:00:15.860 --> 00:00:21.130
Each episode will provide an in-depth discussion on a specific topic related to human performance.

00:00:22.060 --> 00:00:25.250
If you're a growth-minded individual seeking knowledge and better solutions,

00:00:25.970 --> 00:00:30.980
this podcast is for you. We're glad you're listening in, and we're excited to learn alongside

00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:44.880
you. My name is Gabe Durman, and I'm alongside my co-host,

00:00:45.080 --> 00:00:47.840
Todd Tooken. On this episode, we're joined by Dr.

00:00:48.100 --> 00:00:54.040
Scott Goldman. Scott currently serves as a performance. psychologist for the defending champion Golden State

00:00:54.100 --> 00:00:56.160
Warriors. For over 20 years

00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:58.000
professionally, he's provided mental

00:00:58.020 --> 00:00:59.070
health, wellness,

00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:03.120
and performance. optimization for professional athletes from all major sports,

00:01:03.760 --> 00:01:04.060
Olympic

00:01:04.099 --> 00:01:05.090
gold medalists, and

00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:13.040
world record holders. He's the creator of the Athletic Intelligence Quotient, known as AIQ, a mental analytics assessment used by

00:01:13.100 --> 00:01:17.300
sport organizations to identify performance-specific intellectual abilities

00:01:17.980 --> 00:01:19.460
and optimize player development.

00:01:20.360 --> 00:01:21.260
In this conversation,

00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:24.020
which includes some one-liners from Scott and maybe a couple

00:01:24.100 --> 00:01:27.330
movie quotes, we' discuss the inception and implementation

00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:29.110
of AIQ. Towards

00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:33.140
the end of the episode, Dr. Goldman. shares some exciting research related to AIQ

00:01:33.620 --> 00:01:35.420
and the correlation to on-field performance.

00:01:36.300 --> 00:01:38.000
To learn more about Scott and the AIQ,

00:01:38.580 --> 00:01:40.820
you can follow @athleticintelq

00:01:41.420 --> 00:01:41.560
on

00:01:41.600 --> 00:01:44.300
Twitter or visit athleticintel.com.

00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:47.200
We enjoyed our conversation and hope you will too.

00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:51.140
Scott,

00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:53.000
thank you for being with us here today.

00:01:53.940 --> 00:01:57.440
Uh, before we get into some of the things related to the AIQ,

00:01:58.660 --> 00:01:59.320
we heard

00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:06.340
through the grapevine that you spent some time last week in Albuquerque at a balloon festival.

00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:11.008
We got a lot to talk about today. We got a lot to talk about today,

00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:13.260
but before we start, we gotta know, how was the balloon

00:02:13.320 --> 00:02:16.239
festival? It, it... Honestly, it's an amazing

00:02:16.300 --> 00:02:20.000
thing. Um, being born and raised in, uh, Albuquerque,

00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:24.040
New Mexico, uh, the Balloon Fiesta, which is the world's largest

00:02:24.420 --> 00:02:26.400
balloon festival, hot air balloon festival,

00:02:26.860 --> 00:02:28.120
it's just part of my DNA.

00:02:28.260 --> 00:02:33.010
So, you know, when people talk about comfort food or what, what it's like going home and all that,

00:02:33.100 --> 00:02:33.240
well,

00:02:33.340 --> 00:02:36.959
for me, going home is having a breakfast burrito with green chili

00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:37.700
from Hatch,

00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:42.890
uh, and watching some hot air balloons lift off. It was an amazing experience. The only other person that I

00:02:42.920 --> 00:02:49.240
really know well that comes from the Albuquerque Sport Hall of Fame would be Tommy Shepherd, the, the president

00:02:49.260 --> 00:02:52.140
for the Washington Wizards. So he and I will often exchange,

00:02:52.420 --> 00:02:55.980
you know, Hatch green chili stories and Balloon Fiesta

00:02:56.040 --> 00:02:58.020
experiences. Did you go up in a

00:02:58.040 --> 00:02:58.560
hot air balloon?

00:02:59.420 --> 00:03:00.040
Did I go

00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:01.000
up in one? Yeah.

00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:05.940
Uh, yeah, I have gone up in hot air balloons on several occasions. I've got some buddies that pilot them

00:03:05.980 --> 00:03:11.220
and, you know, one of them, humble brag, one of my friends who's supremely talented, his name's Brad

00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:12.060
Rice, he

00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:17.980
can navigate and he'll have the gondola, the bottom part of the balloon, hit the Rio Grande

00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:21.960
River, and, and which is a really hard thing to do, because the Rio Grande River

00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:28.200
will kind of drag the balloon. So he touches down, splashes, and then goes up. It's, it's an amazing experience.

00:03:30.020 --> 00:03:31.080
Uh, Todd and I may have to join

00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:35.560
you next time. You know what? You're welcome. I would, I would be honored to share the experience with you

00:03:35.580 --> 00:03:40.080
and anyone else who's listening. Yeah, that sounds epic. We definitely need to make it down

00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:40.260
there.

00:03:41.040 --> 00:03:43.000
For sure. All right.

00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:47.920
Well, I'm excited to get into this today and, you know, your path to where you are now with the

00:03:47.940 --> 00:03:48.100
Golden

00:03:48.160 --> 00:03:54.070
State Warriors. is impressive and includes a number of stops among several collegiate and professional organizations.

00:03:54.820 --> 00:03:56.060
As you reflect on your journey,

00:03:56.740 --> 00:04:00.049
what are some of the significant moments or pivot points that stand out to you and

00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:07.780
helped you get to where you are today? Oof. That is a heavy question. Uh, we're, we're coming out of

00:04:07.820 --> 00:04:09.280
the gates running. Um,

00:04:10.980 --> 00:04:16.040
you know, I get contacted at least once or twice a week from folks saying like, "Hey, how do you

00:04:16.060 --> 00:04:20.060
get a job like yours?" kind of thing, and, and I'm very grateful and lucky and fortunate to

00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:21.019
have that kind

00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:24.040
of job. But one of the things that I say to a lot of

00:04:24.340 --> 00:04:27.960
people is, like, I, I don't know if I could replicate it. Like, I

00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:32.000
don't know... It, it's really weird. I'm not even sure I know what I did to get

00:04:32.060 --> 00:04:33.000
to the spots that I got

00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:35.990
to. So for example, um, the last five jobs

00:04:36.020 --> 00:04:36.800
that I've held,

00:04:37.180 --> 00:04:37.380
um...

00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:41.060
Let's see. Currently, Golden State Warriors, Chicago

00:04:41.200 --> 00:04:43.060
Cubs, Washington Wizards,

00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:45.140
um, Miami Dolphins, and Detroit Lions.

00:04:46.340 --> 00:04:49.060
All five of those teams created a position

00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:55.130
for me, and it was not like I applied for the job or it was a job that I was

00:04:55.200 --> 00:05:03.880
looking for. Um, and, and so it's interesting because in all of those situations, it was someone of influence like

00:05:04.140 --> 00:05:06.380
a general manager or a head coach or a president

00:05:06.520 --> 00:05:06.800
saying,

00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:08.950
um, "I really like what

00:05:09.020 --> 00:05:12.090
you're telling me, and I wanna bring you on board because I think

00:05:12.100 --> 00:05:14.840
you'll make us better." And I'll be honest with you,

00:05:15.100 --> 00:05:19.240
I can't even recall what it was that I said to each and every single one of those different

00:05:19.300 --> 00:05:22.020
teams, um, that had that kind of impact.

00:05:22.260 --> 00:05:23.960
So I, I, I

00:05:24.020 --> 00:05:28.600
wish I could re- I, I wish I could figure it out, and then I'd probably try to recreate it

00:05:28.640 --> 00:05:33.110
more often. But if you're asking for, like, what were some career highlights

00:05:33.140 --> 00:05:38.460
or touch points, um, I was one of the first embedded psychologists in an athletic department at the collegiate level

00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:39.040
at the University

00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:39.600
of Arizona.

00:05:40.440 --> 00:05:43.120
Um, and so that was kind of a rare space.

00:05:43.440 --> 00:05:44.240
And then

00:05:44.320 --> 00:05:44.620
Dr.,

00:05:45.020 --> 00:05:49.120
uh, Brian Hainline and, and Mary Wolford of the NCAA asked

00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:55.340
me to help contribute to the mental health, task force and really help start this movement on mental health and

00:05:55.400 --> 00:05:57.020
well-being at that level. So I

00:05:57.060 --> 00:06:00.260
helped co-author the best practices and,

00:06:00.320 --> 00:06:02.300
and guidelines for the NCAA,

00:06:02.960 --> 00:06:07.212
which, um, drew a lot of attentionAnd then the University of Michigan,

00:06:07.732 --> 00:06:10.112
uh, brought me out and asked me to be their director

00:06:10.152 --> 00:06:13.032
of their, uh, embedded program, and that

00:06:13.052 --> 00:06:15.112
was a real honor. And then like I mentioned,

00:06:15.512 --> 00:06:20.042
it started to go and I migrated about seven, eight years ago into the pro space across those

00:06:20.052 --> 00:06:23.092
different teams, oftentimes working for multiple teams at the

00:06:23.132 --> 00:06:23.572
same time.

00:06:27.052 --> 00:06:27.592
Yeah, so,

00:06:28.092 --> 00:06:29.992
uh, you're on

00:06:30.052 --> 00:06:31.932
your journey, you're making

00:06:32.012 --> 00:06:32.472
stops

00:06:33.052 --> 00:06:35.032
at different, uh, organizations as you

00:06:35.052 --> 00:06:41.642
had mentioned, and we're definitely excited to learn about the Athlete Intelligence Quotient, which we'll call AIQ for short today.

00:06:41.712 --> 00:06:44.002
Uh, before we dive into the specifics of it,

00:06:44.672 --> 00:06:47.032
tell us a story of the genesis behind

00:06:47.112 --> 00:06:49.172
that. Uh, what stop were you at?

00:06:49.632 --> 00:06:52.052
What was your inspiration for developing this assessment

00:06:52.112 --> 00:06:58.992
tool? Yeah. Oh, man. Cool question. Thank you. Um, and it's interesting 'cause it almost bleeds into the previous

00:06:59.032 --> 00:06:59.952
question, which

00:07:00.012 --> 00:07:02.772
is like the AIQ

00:07:03.232 --> 00:07:03.512
helped

00:07:03.832 --> 00:07:03.992
give

00:07:04.032 --> 00:07:04.932
me an audience

00:07:05.432 --> 00:07:08.152
with, with, uh, teams and organizations

00:07:08.452 --> 00:07:11.131
that then led to me becoming onboarded.

00:07:11.552 --> 00:07:16.352
But then there's also been other times where my relationship with an organization

00:07:16.392 --> 00:07:20.012
or a team was an opportunity to introduce the AIQ to them.

00:07:20.792 --> 00:07:24.172
Um, so the AIQ and its origin story really

00:07:24.252 --> 00:07:24.572
starts

00:07:24.572 --> 00:07:29.152
... So, um, I have two PhDs, one's in clinical psychology, one's in school psychology,

00:07:29.712 --> 00:07:32.032
and then in addition to that, I did some advanced training in

00:07:32.112 --> 00:07:35.252
performance psychology and exercise science kinesiology,

00:07:36.032 --> 00:07:41.102
which might make me the stupidest smart guy you've ever met, or the smartest dumb guy you've ever met,

00:07:41.172 --> 00:07:43.132
'cause that's just a lot- ... of training.

00:07:44.032 --> 00:07:44.252
Um,

00:07:44.932 --> 00:07:45.032
but

00:07:45.112 --> 00:07:47.712
while I was earning the two PhDs,

00:07:48.272 --> 00:07:53.012
when I was in school psychology, it was a lot of intelligence theory. So think like learning disabilities,

00:07:53.092 --> 00:08:01.312
think about, you know, best practices for teachers and teaching mechanisms and helping the scholastic setting, right? Like teachers and

00:08:01.372 --> 00:08:03.102
learners, teachers and students, that kind

00:08:03.132 --> 00:08:06.632
of thing, and that relationship.

00:08:06.712 --> 00:08:09.032
And so while I was studying some of that

00:08:09.172 --> 00:08:14.132
theory, it was, and this is gonna tell you how old I am, the big debate was between Peyton Manning

00:08:14.151 --> 00:08:14.252
and

00:08:14.292 --> 00:08:19.232
Ryan Leaf, and it was like, who's the better quarterback? And what was interesting was,

00:08:19.792 --> 00:08:24.002
genetically speaking, like, Ryan Leaf had this rocket of

00:08:24.032 --> 00:08:28.612
an arm. He' was big, he was strong, he was fast. He was like everything that you look for in

00:08:28.632 --> 00:08:30.252
a prototype quarterback,

00:08:31.112 --> 00:08:32.032
but he really only had like

00:08:32.111 --> 00:08:37.011
one year of data. You know, like, he, he did, he had a very short sort of

00:08:37.111 --> 00:08:39.011
collegiate career. By

00:08:39.072 --> 00:08:41.251
contrast, you had Peyton Manning,

00:08:41.812 --> 00:08:44.172
who some questioned his arm strength and other,

00:08:44.532 --> 00:08:48.381
these other kinds of physical attributes, but they went, "Man, this guy just keeps winning,

00:08:48.912 --> 00:08:52.941
and he comes from a, you know, a Hall of Fame family," like his dad was a, a

00:08:53.032 --> 00:08:58.232
legend in, you know, New Orleans, et cetera. And so I just started to go, gosh, this is a really

00:08:58.272 --> 00:09:02.292
interesting question. I wonder how people are evaluating,

00:09:02.972 --> 00:09:03.232
um,

00:09:03.972 --> 00:09:06.932
talent and, and developing talent. And

00:09:07.052 --> 00:09:13.572
so this is gonna be such an oversimplified way of describing it, but I kinda concluded I think there's four

00:09:13.592 --> 00:09:18.972
buckets, right? So the first bucket is the physical. Are you strong? Are you fast? Are you

00:09:19.092 --> 00:09:21.172
agile? The second

00:09:21.212 --> 00:09:21.652
bucket

00:09:22.352 --> 00:09:24.072
is, um, experience.

00:09:24.512 --> 00:09:28.932
Like for example, you know what kind of point guard you're getting from Arizona. You know what kind of

00:09:29.032 --> 00:09:35.472
linebacker you're getting from Alabama. You know, what kind of systems do they run? The third bucket was intelligence,

00:09:36.192 --> 00:09:37.102
and that's really like,

00:09:37.912 --> 00:09:40.272
if you define sports as an unsolvable

00:09:40.412 --> 00:09:45.411
puzzle, which is kind of how I see it, right? It's this ever-evolving chaos.

00:09:46.332 --> 00:09:50.971
If sports is an unsolvable puzzle, what are the cognitive abilities you need to, to,

00:09:51.012 --> 00:09:52.192
to navigate that?

00:09:52.492 --> 00:09:55.072
So, you know, just to kind of go down that rabbit hole

00:09:55.152 --> 00:09:57.272
for a sec, it's kind of like,

00:09:57.592 --> 00:09:57.791
um,

00:09:58.152 --> 00:09:59.532
imagine you're a firefighter

00:09:59.932 --> 00:10:05.072
who has to kick open a door and then quickly scan points of emphasis of where to put

00:10:05.092 --> 00:10:05.152
the

00:10:05.212 --> 00:10:10.672
fire out, who to save and all that. Like, that's really complicated, especially if you're in live time. It also

00:10:10.732 --> 00:10:17.032
happens to be a very similar cognitive skill to a quarterback who drops back and is now reading the

00:10:17.072 --> 00:10:19.092
defense and the defensive

00:10:19.172 --> 00:10:19.652
coverage.

00:10:20.672 --> 00:10:20.912
So,

00:10:21.352 --> 00:10:24.052
um, I'm going, oh, and then the final bucket

00:10:24.092 --> 00:10:24.941
is personality,

00:10:25.252 --> 00:10:26.992
right? Like, you know, is this person

00:10:27.011 --> 00:10:33.122
gonna be a, a locker room poison? Is he gonna be somebody who makes our, our culture better? And that

00:10:33.152 --> 00:10:37.252
kind of stuff. Like, what does he bring from a human interaction standpoint?

00:10:39.192 --> 00:10:39.372
So,

00:10:39.892 --> 00:10:40.272
um,

00:10:41.952 --> 00:10:42.212
so

00:10:42.772 --> 00:10:47.252
while I was kind of germinating on these four buckets, I'm like, well, I'm not gonna measure physical,

00:10:47.312 --> 00:10:49.272
like that's someone else's domain.

00:10:49.342 --> 00:10:51.212
Experience, I'm not a coach,

00:10:51.552 --> 00:10:53.132
so that's also not my

00:10:53.152 --> 00:10:58.142
domain. But these two buckets, the personality and intelligence, that's the area that I, I think I can

00:10:58.192 --> 00:10:59.832
play in. Um,

00:11:00.012 --> 00:11:02.992
so at the time, I was getting trained at a place called the Albert

00:11:03.002 --> 00:11:06.162
Ellis Institute, which is a, a world-renowned,

00:11:06.752 --> 00:11:06.932
um,

00:11:07.332 --> 00:11:11.172
training facility, and Albert Ellis is considered like the Bill Belichick,

00:11:11.632 --> 00:11:12.132
if you will,

00:11:12.492 --> 00:11:12.972
of, uh,

00:11:13.112 --> 00:11:15.132
psychology. Um,

00:11:15.212 --> 00:11:18.132
one of the definite pillars of the industry.

00:11:18.552 --> 00:11:19.012
It's funny

00:11:19.112 --> 00:11:25.552
'cause having been trained by someone as legendary as him, and then going to a field like sports psychology where

00:11:25.612 --> 00:11:30.172
not very many people know him has been really an interesting experience. 'Cause I'm like, "Hey, this guy's really

00:11:30.192 --> 00:11:32.072
sharp, and I'm really honored to have sat

00:11:32.092 --> 00:11:36.932
at his feet." But it was while I was at the Albert Ellis Institute that I met my partner,

00:11:37.072 --> 00:11:38.992
Jim Bowman, and

00:11:39.112 --> 00:11:43.072
Jim and I, I kind of talked to him about this Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning

00:11:43.132 --> 00:11:45.012
dilemma, and I go, "I, I,

00:11:45.022 --> 00:11:48.092
I don't know how intelligence is really being measured." And

00:11:48.392 --> 00:11:49.012
he goes, "You know, it's

00:11:49.032 --> 00:11:52.112
funny, 'cause this is something I've been working on a lot,

00:11:52.692 --> 00:11:55.052
and I think we could collaborate on this." So we spent 15

00:11:55.112 --> 00:11:58.212
years, and the first question that we solved

00:11:58.532 --> 00:11:59.052
or attempted

00:11:59.092 --> 00:12:00.852
to solve was: How do we define

00:12:01.012 --> 00:12:02.952
sport? And we defined

00:12:03.092 --> 00:12:04.232
sport as,

00:12:04.312 --> 00:12:06.292
um, that ever-evolving,

00:12:06.672 --> 00:12:07.212
constantly

00:12:07.352 --> 00:12:13.677
changing mechanism.And so we said, "Okay, where are the domains that we can study in addition to sport where that

00:12:13.748 --> 00:12:15.408
exists?" So we looked at military,

00:12:15.728 --> 00:12:18.628
firefighters, first responders, police officers,

00:12:19.448 --> 00:12:19.458
um,

00:12:19.988 --> 00:12:20.738
astronauts,

00:12:21.388 --> 00:12:24.028
and then not just one sport like football, but all

00:12:24.088 --> 00:12:29.568
sports. And after spending about 15 years doing that kind of research and analysis,

00:12:30.328 --> 00:12:31.028
we came up

00:12:31.108 --> 00:12:36.168
with four broad abilities and 10 narrow cognitive abilities

00:12:36.568 --> 00:12:36.988
that we think

00:12:37.028 --> 00:12:39.148
are most necessary to navigate

00:12:39.228 --> 00:12:41.028
that space. And

00:12:41.128 --> 00:12:45.608
that, we brought that to, uh... We brought that to the NFL back in 2012,

00:12:46.808 --> 00:12:50.268
and, um, it was really an interesting experience because,

00:12:50.788 --> 00:12:51.068
um,

00:12:51.448 --> 00:12:54.248
at the time, no one was really doing anything like this.

00:12:55.048 --> 00:12:58.108
And so it was really kinda neat to be the first. It was also

00:12:58.508 --> 00:13:02.168
a fun challenge to try to educate, 'cause people are going like, "I don't

00:13:02.208 --> 00:13:02.548
get it."

00:13:03.308 --> 00:13:05.098
And I said, "Well, you know that

00:13:05.308 --> 00:13:05.688
kid

00:13:06.148 --> 00:13:11.148
that, um, it doesn't make sense why he's successful? Like, he just doesn't

00:13:11.508 --> 00:13:14.148
look like a player, but then he gets out there and

00:13:14.468 --> 00:13:15.048
somehow gets

00:13:15.088 --> 00:13:16.988
the job done?" And they go, "Yeah."

00:13:17.148 --> 00:13:21.168
I go, "Well, I think he's doing it in a way that you're not measuring."

00:13:22.168 --> 00:13:25.208
And they're like, "Really? Like what?" And- and so, you know, just to give you a concrete

00:13:25.248 --> 00:13:28.068
example, in that 2012 draft,

00:13:29.208 --> 00:13:31.008
it was the first year that we, we, um,

00:13:31.288 --> 00:13:34.168
tested people. We noticed

00:13:34.248 --> 00:13:34.848
a direct,

00:13:35.728 --> 00:13:35.868
uh,

00:13:36.188 --> 00:13:41.348
inverse correlation between when players were selected and their AIQ,

00:13:41.408 --> 00:13:46.028
scores. Which if I were to kinda say it in, in a more digestible

00:13:46.108 --> 00:13:48.048
way, the higher the AIQ

00:13:48.108 --> 00:13:50.088
score, the later these guys are getting

00:13:50.108 --> 00:13:55.208
drafted. And Jim and I looked at each other and we were like, "Shoot, did we miss it? Like,

00:13:55.268 --> 00:13:58.898
maybe..." 'Cause if you think about it, the best players are the ones that get drafted early,

00:13:59.008 --> 00:14:02.228
not drafted late. So we're like, "Shoot, I think we're missing

00:14:02.288 --> 00:14:06.268
this." Well, five years later, we revisited the data,

00:14:06.708 --> 00:14:07.048
and we

00:14:07.108 --> 00:14:10.148
found though there was an inverse correlation to when

00:14:10.188 --> 00:14:15.008
they were drafted, there was a direct correlation to when they got on

00:14:15.028 --> 00:14:18.288
the field. So they got on the field earlier in their career,

00:14:18.608 --> 00:14:20.128
they stayed on the field longer,

00:14:20.708 --> 00:14:24.078
and they also, um, were more productive. We started to find things like

00:14:24.708 --> 00:14:27.348
a statistically significant correlation with rushing yards

00:14:27.708 --> 00:14:33.288
and interceptions and quarterback performance. You know, things like big plays and quarterback rating,

00:14:33.808 --> 00:14:35.028
and I mean, like, really meaningful

00:14:35.128 --> 00:14:39.008
statistics. So I think what we discovered was

00:14:39.368 --> 00:14:42.108
that the league was over-attenuating

00:14:42.428 --> 00:14:43.468
to the physical

00:14:44.208 --> 00:14:46.308
and missing out on this sort of cognitive

00:14:46.408 --> 00:14:51.058
piece. A- a- and, you know, one- thing that I, I kind of point out, and I appreciate you

00:14:51.058 --> 00:14:52.008
letting me kinda ramble

00:14:52.048 --> 00:14:52.618
here for a while,

00:14:53.368 --> 00:14:56.248
is you have to be...

00:14:56.288 --> 00:14:59.998
Like, it's kinda like an amusement park, right? Like, you have to be tall enough to ride

00:15:00.028 --> 00:15:00.528
the ride,

00:15:01.328 --> 00:15:06.948
right? So you can't take somebody with a strong AIQ. profile

00:15:07.028 --> 00:15:11.028
if they're 5'6" with a surgically reconstructed knee, which is what I am,

00:15:11.968 --> 00:15:12.968
um, and have

00:15:13.008 --> 00:15:18.058
me be, you know, have me play center for the Golden State Warriors. Like, that just doesn't

00:15:18.128 --> 00:15:21.448
work. Like, you have to be sp- you have to be tall, you have to be strong, you have to

00:15:21.508 --> 00:15:24.028
be athletic. In, in other words, you have to have all

00:15:24.088 --> 00:15:24.888
four buckets.

00:15:25.648 --> 00:15:27.188
Um, it's just a matter of,

00:15:28.048 --> 00:15:29.208
uh, what we discovered

00:15:29.288 --> 00:15:31.108
was people were kinda

00:15:31.168 --> 00:15:33.988
measuring, you know, maybe three of the four or two of

00:15:34.028 --> 00:15:38.428
the four, and then they couldn't figure out why they were missing the mark.

00:15:39.568 --> 00:15:43.428
Um, like, one specific story I remember with one of the teams we were contracted

00:15:43.488 --> 00:15:49.008
with, they absolutely loved this wide receiver in college, and he was

00:15:49.868 --> 00:15:50.448
physically,

00:15:51.048 --> 00:15:51.228
like,

00:15:51.528 --> 00:15:54.218
fast, and he could jump, and I mean, he was amazing.

00:15:55.448 --> 00:15:56.988
But the game film showed he only ran

00:15:57.028 --> 00:16:01.957
three routes, and a lot of the coaches were just in love. They were like, "Wait till we get him

00:16:02.008 --> 00:16:03.068
in our system."

00:16:03.508 --> 00:16:05.208
We're... 'Cause they ran a multiple route

00:16:05.508 --> 00:16:06.618
option design,

00:16:07.288 --> 00:16:10.068
which really has a lot to do with, you know, the wide receiver and the quarterback having

00:16:10.088 --> 00:16:12.048
to be on the same page. You know, it's like, "Hey, we

00:16:12.168 --> 00:16:17.088
scan. We do a pre-snap read of the defense, what the defense is, is trying to show

00:16:17.188 --> 00:16:21.008
us, and then we make a decision of which route to run based off that." So they

00:16:21.028 --> 00:16:26.457
were like, "Wait till we get him in our offense, which is a lot more sophisticated and confusing, and his

00:16:26.468 --> 00:16:28.028
physical attributes, he'll be even more

00:16:28.108 --> 00:16:31.308
open." And so I,

00:16:31.948 --> 00:16:31.988
you

00:16:32.028 --> 00:16:34.048
know, said, "Look, so you got this

00:16:34.108 --> 00:16:39.208
bucket, but you don't have this experience bucket. You got the physical bucket, but you don't have the experience

00:16:39.268 --> 00:16:40.008
bucket 'cause you only have,

00:16:40.488 --> 00:16:40.728
um,

00:16:41.208 --> 00:16:41.988
three routes

00:16:42.228 --> 00:16:44.048
of film." You know, he ran basically

00:16:44.088 --> 00:16:46.188
a post, a skinny, and a go.

00:16:46.268 --> 00:16:46.888
That was it.

00:16:47.428 --> 00:16:50.508
And I said, "If we look at his intelligence score, his AIQ

00:16:50.568 --> 00:16:52.898
score, it shows that it's kinda

00:16:53.088 --> 00:16:55.048
low." And

00:16:56.188 --> 00:17:00.968
we said his personality was something that was kind of a push. Like, he wasn't a hard

00:17:01.048 --> 00:17:03.108
worker, but he also wasn't locker room

00:17:03.148 --> 00:17:05.088
poison. So we said this is

00:17:05.127 --> 00:17:08.468
a non-factor. This is an absolute bonus.

00:17:09.348 --> 00:17:11.108
This is also a mystery,

00:17:11.548 --> 00:17:12.147
the, the,

00:17:12.528 --> 00:17:13.048
you know, the

00:17:13.108 --> 00:17:15.268
experience bu- And the intelligence part

00:17:15.328 --> 00:17:16.867
is saying, yeah, he might

00:17:17.008 --> 00:17:22.048
struggle. So now this was a huge debate in the building. Do we take this guy

00:17:23.248 --> 00:17:24.917
hoping that he can understand this

00:17:25.008 --> 00:17:27.048
offense, or do we let him

00:17:27.167 --> 00:17:27.647
go

00:17:28.248 --> 00:17:36.108
because maybe he's only a three-route guy, and once he goes up against competition that's as big, strong, and fast

00:17:36.148 --> 00:17:36.268
as

00:17:36.368 --> 00:17:39.508
him, his biggest asset will now all of a sudden be negated?

00:17:40.488 --> 00:17:43.028
And that was our dilemma that we had to decide.

00:17:45.088 --> 00:17:46.018
What did they decide to

00:17:46.108 --> 00:17:47.948
do? Uh, they

00:17:48.008 --> 00:17:54.928
passed on him, and, uh, and there was a couple of coaches that were really disappointed and

00:17:55.048 --> 00:18:00.008
frustrated until he went to a team with a similar kinda scheme.

00:18:01.128 --> 00:18:01.388
And

00:18:01.468 --> 00:18:07.228
he was, unfortunately for him and the team that drafted him, he was pretty unsuccessful. So it was like, again,

00:18:07.728 --> 00:18:10.668
this missing bucket that not a lot of teams are measuring

00:18:11.508 --> 00:18:19.362
was where the answer lied.And he ended up not getting a second contract in the league and not really producing

00:18:19.472 --> 00:18:19.712
very

00:18:19.732 --> 00:18:25.852
well. Yeah, I like where you started at first when you just started with the overall zoom out and say,

00:18:25.882 --> 00:18:26.942
"Okay, what's the definition of

00:18:27.012 --> 00:18:31.912
sport?" Right? Like, okay, it's ... We, we agree that it's this ever-evolving unsolvable

00:18:32.012 --> 00:18:34.322
puzzle, and then from there, your four buckets.

00:18:34.972 --> 00:18:38.072
And I think when you would ask a lot of people, "Hey, what's important for a receiver, important

00:18:38.092 --> 00:18:43.432
for a football player?" You hear, like, power, speed, like, quickness, like... But you've identified these four buckets

00:18:44.032 --> 00:18:44.312
then

00:18:44.852 --> 00:18:46.252
after you've, uh, defined

00:18:46.912 --> 00:18:48.032
what sport is, and then

00:18:48.092 --> 00:18:50.052
from there, you get

00:18:50.112 --> 00:18:56.132
into the AIQ and some of the things that the AIQ is assessing. You had mentioned that you have these

00:18:56.212 --> 00:18:59.472
four broad abilities, uh, within AIQ,

00:18:59.632 --> 00:19:04.012
so as much as you're willing to share in terms of the broad abilities, and if you even

00:19:04.072 --> 00:19:06.052
wanted to dive into the narrow abilities, which I believe you

00:19:06.092 --> 00:19:11.282
said there's 10 of those, break it down for us. What is AIQ measuring, and how did you decide on

00:19:11.332 --> 00:19:16.912
those specific abilities? Yeah. Well, first and foremost, I give my, my partner, Jim Bowman, a

00:19:17.012 --> 00:19:17.692
ton of credit.

00:19:18.072 --> 00:19:24.372
You know, I mean, h-e-he-he if, if I'm the heart of the organization, he's the brains of the organization.

00:19:24.432 --> 00:19:28.092
I mean, what an incredible per-person to team up with with

00:19:28.192 --> 00:19:29.132
this. And,

00:19:29.532 --> 00:19:34.072
you know, another addition to, to our team that happened later on was a, a young

00:19:34.512 --> 00:19:37.272
profe- an early career professional named Alex Auerbach,

00:19:37.772 --> 00:19:44.092
who I met when he was a, a grad student. Um, no, sorry, an undergrad student. He was a GA

00:19:44.892 --> 00:19:48.692
football coach at Arizona who wanted to be a sports psychologist,

00:19:48.812 --> 00:19:52.152
and he helped contribute to the evolution of our test,

00:19:52.252 --> 00:19:57.212
of the AIQ, and he's now currently with the Toronto Raptors. He's their director of mental health and wellness.

00:19:57.292 --> 00:19:57.432
So,

00:19:58.172 --> 00:19:59.672
um, uh,

00:19:59.672 --> 00:20:04.192
you know, I'm happy to go into the details of the test, but I would be remiss to say

00:20:04.312 --> 00:20:11.292
I think one of the secrets of what makes the AIQ so successful is the people that have contributed

00:20:11.372 --> 00:20:11.712
to it

00:20:12.092 --> 00:20:16.042
are really talented people. Like, Jim Bowman and Alex Auerbach are

00:20:16.072 --> 00:20:19.412
just amazing, uh, people to, to, to collaborate

00:20:19.492 --> 00:20:23.212
with. Um, the four broad abilities are broken down like this,

00:20:23.472 --> 00:20:26.972
um, and sometimes the way I like to describe it or explain it to

00:20:27.052 --> 00:20:30.992
people is if you think about the 10 narrow abilities

00:20:31.012 --> 00:20:31.672
as being,

00:20:32.052 --> 00:20:34.552
um, houses in a community,

00:20:35.392 --> 00:20:39.292
and then you've got the four broad abilities as being neighborhoods,

00:20:39.892 --> 00:20:45.092
and then you have, um, the full scale score, which is the overarching community,

00:20:45.832 --> 00:20:46.012
um,

00:20:46.732 --> 00:20:49.092
that's kind of like a neat way to do it. Or sometimes I'll say it's

00:20:49.112 --> 00:20:52.312
kind of like the full scale score is like the United States of America.

00:20:53.021 --> 00:21:01.012
The four broad abilities are states, Alabama, California, Texas, Florida, and then the narrow abilities are cities.

00:21:01.652 --> 00:21:01.852
So

00:21:02.892 --> 00:21:03.932
i-in America, we

00:21:04.012 --> 00:21:07.412
all have, say, like, the same concept of pizza,

00:21:07.732 --> 00:21:08.992
and I might just be using this example

00:21:09.072 --> 00:21:12.432
because I'm hungry, but we all have the same example of pizza,

00:21:13.492 --> 00:21:19.532
but a slice of pizza in New York City is very, very different than a slice of pizza in California,

00:21:20.512 --> 00:21:25.202
but then there's also this unique variance. Like, for example, a slice of pizza in New York City,

00:21:25.812 --> 00:21:29.062
even though it's still New York, is very, very different than

00:21:29.092 --> 00:21:35.372
Buffalo. So the four broad abilities are visual-spatial processing,

00:21:35.872 --> 00:21:40.992
the ability to kind of like scan and know where you are and kind of process what's

00:21:41.032 --> 00:21:41.712
going on.

00:21:42.072 --> 00:21:48.932
Um, you know, that includes things like being able to see the flow of the game evolve as it does

00:21:48.992 --> 00:21:54.092
in live time, knowing where things are happening next, that kind of stuff, knowing where you are in relation

00:21:54.132 --> 00:21:57.112
to other people, and then finding an efficient route to get there.

00:21:58.092 --> 00:22:00.252
Uh, the second broad ability is reaction

00:22:00.332 --> 00:22:05.052
time, and reaction time is a stimulus response kind of thing. So think

00:22:05.392 --> 00:22:05.992
starter pistol

00:22:06.052 --> 00:22:08.332
goes off, and runner goes,

00:22:08.692 --> 00:22:08.972
or,

00:22:09.072 --> 00:22:11.152
um, you know, in football,

00:22:11.632 --> 00:22:11.772
it's

00:22:12.532 --> 00:22:12.752
the,

00:22:13.532 --> 00:22:15.072
the quarterback gives a hard count,

00:22:15.552 --> 00:22:17.032
and the defensive or

00:22:17.092 --> 00:22:22.252
the edge rusher, uh, goes after the quarterback. So our reaction time is broken

00:22:22.292 --> 00:22:27.912
down simple, bang, bang, but we also have a separate one where false information is

00:22:28.012 --> 00:22:31.092
present. So going back to the hard count

00:22:31.132 --> 00:22:33.172
example, um, if,

00:22:33.252 --> 00:22:36.342
if someone's more susceptible to jumping offsides,

00:22:36.912 --> 00:22:43.152
that can be an issue because when false information is present, their reaction time is significantly altered.

00:22:43.952 --> 00:22:47.032
We don't just measure speed of reaction time. The other thing that we do is we measure

00:22:47.152 --> 00:22:52.512
accuracy. Uh, I'm not aware of any other measure right now that's doing that, and I think that's an important

00:22:52.532 --> 00:22:59.852
distinction. So one of the things we discovered was a signifi- a statistically significant correlation with pre-snap penalties in offensive

00:22:59.892 --> 00:23:03.132
linemen regarding their reaction time accuracy,

00:23:04.192 --> 00:23:06.052
so false starts, for example, which makes

00:23:06.092 --> 00:23:08.012
sense. Uh, the third one

00:23:08.052 --> 00:23:11.032
is decision-making, the ability to make quick and accurate decisions,

00:23:11.832 --> 00:23:16.342
and then the fourth one is learning efficiency, the ability to download and recall information.

00:23:17.272 --> 00:23:18.032
So,

00:23:18.092 --> 00:23:19.992
you know, I wish that

00:23:20.052 --> 00:23:24.532
it was simple because then it would be easier to sort of explain,

00:23:25.612 --> 00:23:31.092
but cognitive functioning is really complicated. How people go about solving that puzzle

00:23:31.812 --> 00:23:33.012
is really difficult,

00:23:33.392 --> 00:23:33.512
and

00:23:33.652 --> 00:23:33.852
so,

00:23:34.212 --> 00:23:39.252
um, to really do it right and to provide the kind of depth and breadth

00:23:39.352 --> 00:23:39.772
of it,

00:23:40.812 --> 00:23:45.032
um, requires some deep dive explanation. But what's kind

00:23:45.072 --> 00:23:45.822
of nice is, um,

00:23:46.152 --> 00:23:51.332
with the AIQ, we talk about not just, um, sport-specific

00:23:52.092 --> 00:23:55.232
examples and terminology but also position-specific.

00:23:55.792 --> 00:23:58.072
So when we provide the analysis and recommendations on our

00:23:58.132 --> 00:24:04.172
report, we're saying like, "This is what spatial awareness means for a running back. This is what spatial awareness means

00:24:04.192 --> 00:24:07.032
for a linebacker, and this is what spatial awareness means for

00:24:07.112 --> 00:24:09.001
a quarterback." And

00:24:09.032 --> 00:24:10.072
those, those,

00:24:10.132 --> 00:24:11.672
um, definitions

00:24:12.092 --> 00:24:12.432
and,

00:24:12.532 --> 00:24:15.392
uh, and analysis and recommendations,

00:24:15.832 --> 00:24:22.132
they came from me working in the industry for 25 years-Alex working in the industry, you know, for

00:24:22.492 --> 00:24:26.052
how long he's been in, and also the, the coaches that I've worked with. So,

00:24:26.652 --> 00:24:31.092
uh, football coaches, basketball coaches, hockey coaches, soccer coaches, baseball

00:24:31.192 --> 00:24:31.672
coaches,

00:24:32.412 --> 00:24:37.042
uh, from the different places that I've worked, Arizona, Michigan, the NFL, Major

00:24:37.072 --> 00:24:37.752
League Baseball,

00:24:38.092 --> 00:24:40.092
NBA, have all helped contribute.

00:24:40.192 --> 00:24:40.372
So,

00:24:41.012 --> 00:24:41.992
um, something

00:24:42.012 --> 00:24:44.172
that I'm really proud of that we've

00:24:44.232 --> 00:24:52.051
done is we've been able to translate these complicated concepts into really easy and digestible

00:24:52.152 --> 00:24:57.292
ways. Because in addition to it being a talent identification tool,

00:24:58.272 --> 00:25:00.472
it's really meant to be a development

00:25:00.592 --> 00:25:04.112
tool. So it's like, okay, what do we do with this guy now that we

00:25:04.172 --> 00:25:08.302
have him? The same way we might not ask someone who's 5'6", myself,

00:25:08.812 --> 00:25:09.172
to play

00:25:09.232 --> 00:25:13.152
center, is the same way we might ask somebody with bad spatial

00:25:13.192 --> 00:25:14.952
awareness to be

00:25:15.032 --> 00:25:19.152
a winger. Yeah. I like

00:25:19.212 --> 00:25:22.192
the, uh, analogy of the US

00:25:22.632 --> 00:25:26.112
states and then cities within that. And then as you were talking, I was thinking about like, man,

00:25:26.152 --> 00:25:30.092
does Scott just, like, watch sports in a totally different way? Like, when there's a false start, he's like, "Yep,

00:25:30.252 --> 00:25:30.332
oh,

00:25:30.432 --> 00:25:34.112
I... You know." Yeah, saw that coming. We've test- yeah, we've tested that guy,

00:25:34.172 --> 00:25:36.992
like You know what's funny is it's actually

00:25:37.052 --> 00:25:39.972
the opposite. Uh, I actually will have coaches

00:25:40.072 --> 00:25:42.032
sometimes contact

00:25:42.072 --> 00:25:47.092
me describing AIQ moments within the game. So there was a Super

00:25:47.172 --> 00:25:51.072
Bowl where one of the defenses, um, their linebacking

00:25:51.152 --> 00:25:53.102
corps, as a collective,

00:25:53.452 --> 00:25:59.372
the AIQ data suggested for each of them, a- and again, as a collective, that they might be susceptible

00:25:59.392 --> 00:26:00.352
to misdirection.

00:26:01.072 --> 00:26:02.112
And the offense

00:26:02.432 --> 00:26:05.452
that was going against them in the Super Bowl did a misdirection

00:26:05.572 --> 00:26:11.072
play, a pretty well-known one. Again, I'm gonna keep it kind of vague just to honor, um,

00:26:11.472 --> 00:26:14.992
the integrity of, of the individuals who are participating, but it was a pretty well-known

00:26:15.032 --> 00:26:16.192
and significant one in the Super

00:26:16.272 --> 00:26:22.352
Bowl. And all of a sudden I got, like, two or three texts from coaches that were not in the

00:26:22.392 --> 00:26:23.112
game

00:26:23.172 --> 00:26:30.012
going, "That's the AIQ. They're making this- they're using misdirection on those line... That's exactly, like, you know, what the

00:26:30.032 --> 00:26:32.032
data said." And that was kind of a cool moment,

00:26:32.492 --> 00:26:36.072
you know? There's been a couple of cool AIQ moments, uh, throughout,

00:26:36.572 --> 00:26:36.712
uh,

00:26:37.152 --> 00:26:38.972
its inception that have been really

00:26:39.012 --> 00:26:42.392
neat, and that was one of them. You hit on the four,

00:26:43.852 --> 00:26:50.312
uh, broad abilities. Can you give us an example of one narrow ability? One or two. Sure. Um, so,

00:26:50.392 --> 00:26:51.192
uh, spatial awareness.

00:26:52.812 --> 00:26:54.942
Uh, spatial awareness is knowing where you are in

00:26:55.012 --> 00:26:57.032
relation to key

00:26:57.072 --> 00:27:00.392
landmarks, other people, teammates, opponents.

00:27:00.952 --> 00:27:01.132
So,

00:27:01.572 --> 00:27:05.072
you know, imagine... Sometimes I call it kind of like the piñata test.

00:27:05.452 --> 00:27:06.612
So it's kind of like imagine

00:27:06.992 --> 00:27:08.112
you're spun around,

00:27:08.532 --> 00:27:12.172
and then you gotta recalibrate where you are in relation to things and then,

00:27:12.212 --> 00:27:13.532
you know, kind of whack the piñata.

00:27:14.192 --> 00:27:20.192
That's what spatial awareness is, and I, I have found that to be incredibly valuable across all sports

00:27:20.252 --> 00:27:22.061
that we're involved and engaged in,

00:27:22.112 --> 00:27:25.052
whether it's, you know, y- y, you know, the English Premier League,

00:27:25.472 --> 00:27:27.452
or rugby in New Zealand,

00:27:27.812 --> 00:27:28.112
or,

00:27:28.272 --> 00:27:29.192
um, you know,

00:27:29.552 --> 00:27:31.112
uh, football in America,

00:27:31.212 --> 00:27:31.752
NFL,

00:27:32.152 --> 00:27:32.952
or NBA.

00:27:33.412 --> 00:27:34.992
Because, like, like, let's just use the

00:27:35.032 --> 00:27:38.052
NBA as an example. Spatial awareness is really about

00:27:38.092 --> 00:27:47.132
floor spacing. So let's just say hypothetically there's a team that has a really dominant player who's constantly in motion,

00:27:47.532 --> 00:27:49.032
creates a lot of chaos

00:27:49.512 --> 00:27:49.972
because of

00:27:50.032 --> 00:27:52.222
how, how he can shoot from anywhere

00:27:52.612 --> 00:27:56.212
and is really good at just running all over the place and getting open.

00:27:57.292 --> 00:27:59.512
That kind of chaos is hard to defend,

00:27:59.932 --> 00:28:01.032
but as a teammate,

00:28:01.512 --> 00:28:04.092
you've gotta make sure that you're not getting in his way,

00:28:05.112 --> 00:28:08.372
and you also have to be sure that you're available for a kick-out pass

00:28:08.912 --> 00:28:09.372
because

00:28:09.912 --> 00:28:12.992
y- it's important for you to find kind of like the holes and the gaps out there.

00:28:13.052 --> 00:28:14.552
So that floor spacing

00:28:15.152 --> 00:28:16.552
and that spatial awareness

00:28:16.912 --> 00:28:18.372
can be a really valuable

00:28:18.852 --> 00:28:25.092
component that complements a player who... 'Cause again, if you get lost as to where you are as he's

00:28:25.132 --> 00:28:26.032
running around, you could get

00:28:26.052 --> 00:28:30.652
in his way, or you could be in, in a, in a spot where you think you're open but you're

00:28:30.672 --> 00:28:31.292
really not.

00:28:33.152 --> 00:28:38.512
Yeah, totally. I, I love the appreciation, like, as you talk about this, the appreciation for, like, all of the

00:28:38.572 --> 00:28:44.032
small things that are involved in sport and all, and how all those things are affecting each other, and how

00:28:44.092 --> 00:28:46.192
all those are intertwined. It's really nice to hear and listen

00:28:46.232 --> 00:28:50.132
to. Um, our understanding is that the AIQ can be implemented

00:28:50.172 --> 00:28:55.102
any time. This can be something that's during the pre-draft process, which you've talked about a little bit, then

00:28:55.132 --> 00:29:00.202
you also just mentioned that it's really used for development, and then even beyond that, analytics.

00:29:01.212 --> 00:29:03.012
So two parts to this question. My first

00:29:03.112 --> 00:29:09.172
is how broad is AIQ in terms of the people that you're testing? Is this only athletics?

00:29:09.232 --> 00:29:15.412
Is this across all sports? Is there another, um, area and population that you're seeing with AIQ?

00:29:16.052 --> 00:29:16.132
And

00:29:16.172 --> 00:29:22.252
then how are you seeing it best implemented, like pre-draft process, development, analytics?

00:29:22.572 --> 00:29:25.892
Is any one of those, would you say, more important, or are they just kind of all

00:29:26.032 --> 00:29:28.032
used together? Whoo.

00:29:28.372 --> 00:29:28.872
Uh, all right.

00:29:29.092 --> 00:29:31.942
Good questions. Um, so we are in

00:29:32.032 --> 00:29:35.172
all five professional leagues in the United States.

00:29:36.492 --> 00:29:36.692
Um,

00:29:37.252 --> 00:29:41.272
we're with some teams in Europe. We're with some teams in New Zealand. We're with some teams in Australia.

00:29:42.272 --> 00:29:42.472
Um,

00:29:42.972 --> 00:29:48.092
but to your point, outside of sport, we've now migrated, like, there's a fire department in Colorado

00:29:48.132 --> 00:29:51.992
that's using us. There's a special forces unit in the military that's using us.

00:29:52.092 --> 00:29:54.152
There's, um, s- there's some

00:29:54.172 --> 00:29:54.672
pilots

00:29:55.072 --> 00:29:56.072
that are, that are,

00:29:56.312 --> 00:29:56.912
uh... There's a,

00:29:57.492 --> 00:29:59.092
a unit of

00:29:59.132 --> 00:30:00.872
air f- um, air,

00:30:01.092 --> 00:30:05.032
air... I gotta think how to say this, um, and still maintain some of their,

00:30:05.632 --> 00:30:06.212
uh, privacy.

00:30:06.232 --> 00:30:06.692
The, some,

00:30:07.172 --> 00:30:12.172
uh, pilot... I'll just use the word pilots. There's some, uh, fighter

00:30:12.252 --> 00:30:13.892
pilots that, uh,

00:30:14.112 --> 00:30:18.312
are using it. And, um, we've actually also been contacted by some medical schools,

00:30:18.712 --> 00:30:20.972
um, and so we're in discussions with, with some of them.

00:30:21.072 --> 00:30:27.084
So I think what's really kind of cool is-Once you say, "Hey, what are the cognitive abilities

00:30:27.744 --> 00:30:29.884
for tackling

00:30:30.024 --> 00:30:39.064
a unsolvable puzzle, mutating puzzle?" It can be used in a lot of different forums and formats. Um, the

00:30:39.124 --> 00:30:42.004
second part of your question is, you know, where is the best space

00:30:42.044 --> 00:30:43.964
for it? You know, we've

00:30:44.064 --> 00:30:53.034
always, um, focused on providing a high fidelity of information. You know, you can't really visually see intelligence the way

00:30:53.044 --> 00:30:55.414
you can visually see someone run a forty-yard

00:30:55.544 --> 00:31:00.074
dash. So we said, "Look, we just gotta make sure that what we're measuring is

00:31:00.184 --> 00:31:04.064
accurate, and then what teams wanna use it for can be up to

00:31:04.104 --> 00:31:13.024
them." What has been a pleasant surprise is talent identification, right? Like, does this person fit? Development, okay, now

00:31:13.044 --> 00:31:15.184
that we know who he is, how do we get the best

00:31:15.284 --> 00:31:17.364
out of him? Analytics,

00:31:17.584 --> 00:31:20.884
hey, you know, because intelligence is a genetically stable

00:31:21.004 --> 00:31:24.464
trait, it becomes a nice thing to factor into.

00:31:24.944 --> 00:31:29.343
In fact, um, you know, we've published a few academic white papers,

00:31:29.944 --> 00:31:33.094
which again, humble brag, I don't know any other measure that's done

00:31:33.184 --> 00:31:33.334
that,

00:31:34.284 --> 00:31:41.674
um, and shown statistically significant correlation with on-field performance. in not just one, but two major leagues, baseball, MLB, and

00:31:41.744 --> 00:31:51.824
NFL. But, uh, I've had several teams report to me that their analytics department has found more statistically significant

00:31:51.904 --> 00:31:54.104
correlation to performance

00:31:54.564 --> 00:32:00.254
than we found. 'Cause we just did the AIQ. What they did was is they combined the AIQ, with

00:32:00.364 --> 00:32:06.024
other measureables and came up with a more complicated formula, which I was like, "Oh, that's super cool that they'd

00:32:06.104 --> 00:32:06.304
found

00:32:06.364 --> 00:32:10.104
that." So I think all three of those domains are

00:32:10.204 --> 00:32:15.384
noteworthy. Going to the coaching domain for a second, the development domain,

00:32:16.084 --> 00:32:18.924
'cause I think that one's really exciting for me,

00:32:19.044 --> 00:32:23.944
um, it's twofold. One is, like, how do you teach them more efficiently? So

00:32:24.004 --> 00:32:27.084
just use a football, you know, in install

00:32:27.164 --> 00:32:30.224
meetings. Not everybody learns the same way,

00:32:30.844 --> 00:32:35.113
so one person might do much better at watching game film,

00:32:35.664 --> 00:32:38.224
and another person might do much better with walkthroughs.

00:32:39.124 --> 00:32:40.824
And so the AIQ can help us be

00:32:41.004 --> 00:32:44.134
more well-educated in designing

00:32:44.184 --> 00:32:47.044
how to teach each individual player most

00:32:47.084 --> 00:32:54.264
efficiently. And then the second development tool is making a decision about, you know, positional

00:32:54.304 --> 00:32:58.184
placement. So, uh, concrete example, when I was at the University

00:32:58.204 --> 00:32:58.924
of Michigan,

00:33:00.044 --> 00:33:03.324
Coach Fish, uh, Jed Fish, who's now the head coach at Arizona,

00:33:04.184 --> 00:33:07.004
super brilliant mind, great person to really... I really enjoyed

00:33:07.044 --> 00:33:07.774
working with him.

00:33:08.744 --> 00:33:15.884
Uh, he asked me about a wide receiver. He said, "We have this wide receiver who is amazingly fast,

00:33:16.164 --> 00:33:16.984
unbelievably physically

00:33:17.064 --> 00:33:23.044
gifted, but just can't quite do what I'm asking him to do in our passing game."

00:33:24.164 --> 00:33:26.124
So what... So we looked at the AIQ data,

00:33:26.504 --> 00:33:26.544
and

00:33:26.584 --> 00:33:31.264
I said, "Okay, here's what I think it would take to get him to comprehend the playbook."

00:33:32.824 --> 00:33:33.004
But it

00:33:33.064 --> 00:33:37.824
was effortful, and there was a debate where Coach Fish was like, "I don't know if I can put that

00:33:37.904 --> 00:33:41.884
kind of time in the individual. What else you got? 'Cause we don't wanna cut this guy. He's just too.

00:33:41.924 --> 00:33:42.064
much

00:33:42.084 --> 00:33:43.944
of an athlete." And I said,

00:33:44.024 --> 00:33:47.044
"Well, I think if you made him a defensive

00:33:47.144 --> 00:33:50.824
back and just had him be a cover cat,

00:33:51.084 --> 00:33:55.084
you know, just basically, you know, you're on eighty-nine, wherever eighty-nine goes,

00:33:55.124 --> 00:33:59.284
you go with him, then a lot of this cognitive stuff,

00:33:59.984 --> 00:34:00.944
um, won't slow

00:34:01.004 --> 00:34:05.024
him down." And so that's what they ended up doing. He ended up getting drafted in I think it

00:34:05.034 --> 00:34:07.464
was, like, the third or fourth round and had a pretty sustainable

00:34:07.524 --> 00:34:10.384
career. So the thing that I love

00:34:11.724 --> 00:34:14.083
about the application of the AIQ, when it's used

00:34:14.143 --> 00:34:14.664
that way is

00:34:15.524 --> 00:34:20.063
it, it eliminated the frustration that can happen. I've never met a coach that wants

00:34:20.103 --> 00:34:21.204
to mother F

00:34:21.264 --> 00:34:23.043
a player or enjoys it. I've

00:34:23.083 --> 00:34:26.004
never met a player who wants to be mother F'd

00:34:26.063 --> 00:34:26.704
and enjoys it.

00:34:27.184 --> 00:34:29.534
So with this kind of information,

00:34:30.004 --> 00:34:32.043
we eliminated that fight,

00:34:32.744 --> 00:34:37.984
because sometimes people will make the assumption that the guy is lazy or the guy doesn't work,

00:34:38.004 --> 00:34:38.994
when it's like, he's not

00:34:39.024 --> 00:34:43.143
lazy, he's just not able to process what you're telling him.

00:34:44.103 --> 00:34:44.204
So

00:34:44.224 --> 00:34:48.123
we eliminated that. The second thing that we did was is we found a better fit,

00:34:48.984 --> 00:34:49.964
which led to the

00:34:50.004 --> 00:34:51.984
head c- which led to the position coach,

00:34:52.143 --> 00:34:57.063
Coach Fish, being more successful, 'cause he can now focus more of his time and attention on those that could

00:34:57.143 --> 00:35:00.164
execute. And it also led to the player

00:35:00.684 --> 00:35:07.554
being in a situation where he could naturally grow and blossom. And ultimately, like, both of them have had successful

00:35:07.744 --> 00:35:08.504
careers.

00:35:08.954 --> 00:35:14.184
And I'm not saying that this moment was the catalyst of their individual successful careers. Like, there's way

00:35:14.264 --> 00:35:19.764
more that goes into all of that, and I wanna be respectful of all the different influences, like the strength

00:35:19.864 --> 00:35:22.134
coach and the nutritionist and everybody

00:35:22.184 --> 00:35:22.504
else.

00:35:23.024 --> 00:35:23.804
But I think,

00:35:24.224 --> 00:35:24.444
um,

00:35:25.084 --> 00:35:27.544
someone told me this, like, in the world of business,

00:35:28.384 --> 00:35:33.034
every business transaction is kind of a minor miracle, 'cause there's a thousand things that can go wrong,

00:35:33.164 --> 00:35:36.984
and you only need one to cause the deal to be broken. I think it's the same thing

00:35:37.024 --> 00:35:42.044
in sports, right? Like, there's just a thousand things that can go wrong, and it just takes one,

00:35:42.344 --> 00:35:43.104
an injury

00:35:43.404 --> 00:35:43.684
or

00:35:44.124 --> 00:35:45.044
a disagreement

00:35:45.164 --> 00:35:47.244
or, you know, a misalignment

00:35:47.304 --> 00:35:49.064
in attitude, like, all sorts of

00:35:49.104 --> 00:35:49.344
things.

00:35:50.164 --> 00:35:54.804
A- and you need to have everything be right in order to have that success. And so I think the

00:35:54.864 --> 00:35:58.284
AIQ really helps provide,

00:35:58.504 --> 00:36:03.324
um, an additional piece of information that helps ensure the success

00:36:03.824 --> 00:36:05.124
or a successful outcome.

00:36:06.984 --> 00:36:08.084
Absolutely. Appreciate

00:36:08.144 --> 00:36:09.004
that. And,

00:36:09.084 --> 00:36:13.984
um, a little bit interested about what it's like taking the assessment now. So let's give you a

00:36:14.004 --> 00:36:15.404
little bit of a hypothetical scenario.

00:36:16.044 --> 00:36:19.004
Uh, Todd and I are athletes going through the pre-draft process,

00:36:19.804 --> 00:36:22.164
and due to our unbelievably incredible physical

00:36:22.244 --> 00:36:25.014
gifts, uh, more so on Todd's end

00:36:25.044 --> 00:36:25.484
than mine

00:36:25.484 --> 00:36:28.004
- That sounds about right. Someone,

00:36:28.684 --> 00:36:33.464
someone in a front office has decided we might be a worthy investment. Uh, we're asked to take the AIQ,

00:36:33.624 --> 00:36:36.344
so we're ready to take it. What are we seeing?

00:36:36.704 --> 00:36:39.044
What are we doing? Help us understand what it's like

00:36:39.104 --> 00:36:41.008
taking the assessment. Well,

00:36:41.488 --> 00:36:42.028
again, so

00:36:42.088 --> 00:36:44.037
having been, you know, for

00:36:44.488 --> 00:36:45.188
well over 10

00:36:45.208 --> 00:36:48.068
years now helping teams identify

00:36:48.148 --> 00:36:54.728
talent in the draft, let me start, by saying the two of you clearly look like first-round picks regardless of

00:36:54.768 --> 00:36:57.468
what league we're talking about. I mean, it's a no-brainer-

00:36:57.468 --> 00:36:59.188
... why there's a debate.

00:37:00.048 --> 00:37:04.188
But let's kind of play this exercise out a little bit further and have a little bit of fun,

00:37:04.828 --> 00:37:10.128
'cause the Peyton Manning, Ryan Leaf example is not an outlier. You know? There is stats,

00:37:10.188 --> 00:37:16.098
I think it's only 47% or 51% of first-round quarterbacks end up not having successful

00:37:16.168 --> 00:37:21.968
careers, and so there's always this question mark of, like, okay, well, why did this one go and this one

00:37:22.028 --> 00:37:24.048
didn't? So let's say the

00:37:24.108 --> 00:37:25.988
two of you are now, in

00:37:26.028 --> 00:37:30.048
consideration, and we are... And we'll just make up a team,

00:37:30.088 --> 00:37:32.028
like the Albuquerque, Hot

00:37:32.068 --> 00:37:36.368
Air Balloonists- ... to bring it' full circle. The Albuquerque Hot Air Balloonists- Perfect

00:37:36.368 --> 00:37:40.008
... are an expansion program in the NFL, and they've been awarded the number one draft

00:37:40.048 --> 00:37:42.028
pick, and it's between Gabe and Todd.

00:37:43.248 --> 00:37:43.468
And

00:37:43.648 --> 00:37:43.948
so,

00:37:44.388 --> 00:37:44.548
uh,

00:37:45.167 --> 00:37:45.788
the dilemma

00:37:46.128 --> 00:37:52.048
is Gabe comes from a school that, has a long list of well-regarded

00:37:52.408 --> 00:37:55.128
quarterback and development of quarterbacks, and, I mean, it's

00:37:55.188 --> 00:37:58.088
just, that's a, just dominant quarterback school,

00:37:58.868 --> 00:38:00.028
and he looks great,

00:38:00.708 --> 00:38:03.068
and Todd actually comes from a place

00:38:03.428 --> 00:38:06.008
where no one's ever been really drafted very high

00:38:06.068 --> 00:38:08.998
before. But I mean, it's like he's just one

00:38:09.028 --> 00:38:09.788
of these guys, like,

00:38:10.748 --> 00:38:14.968
and see if you can figure out which quarterback I'm talking about right now. Maybe he comes from a

00:38:15.048 --> 00:38:18.108
small little town in California, a farm town.

00:38:18.568 --> 00:38:22.998
Ends up going to a university when no one else was interested in him, and now all

00:38:23.068 --> 00:38:25.978
of a sudden, you know, is one of the best quarterbacks in

00:38:26.008 --> 00:38:29.988
the league kinda thing. Um, so that's Todd's journey. So that's the

00:38:30.008 --> 00:38:30.568
comparable,

00:38:31.148 --> 00:38:31.348
right?

00:38:32.208 --> 00:38:34.008
Um, so to

00:38:34.068 --> 00:38:36.088
walk you through it, both of you would

00:38:36.168 --> 00:38:38.128
come in, and,

00:38:38.228 --> 00:38:39.988
uh, you'd each be given an

00:38:40.088 --> 00:38:46.048
iPad. You'd spend about 30 to 35 minutes taking the test. The AIQ is comprised of 10

00:38:46.088 --> 00:38:48.068
sub-tests. They take about two to three minutes in length

00:38:48.228 --> 00:38:48.508
each.

00:38:49.388 --> 00:38:53.168
And what I think both the players and the teams really

00:38:53.228 --> 00:38:53.928
appreciate

00:38:55.148 --> 00:38:55.688
is that

00:38:56.368 --> 00:39:01.948
the, that it's a series of games. It's a series of cognitive tasks. They look like Candy

00:39:02.028 --> 00:39:03.028
Crush, to

00:39:03.068 --> 00:39:07.908
be honest with you. Um, and I think the reason why both players and teams like that

00:39:08.028 --> 00:39:10.088
is it's not language-dependent,

00:39:10.468 --> 00:39:15.248
'cause if you think about sports, it isn't really language-dependent. It's not culturally dependent. So,

00:39:15.288 --> 00:39:19.048
you know, going back to those four buckets, the personality measures that exist

00:39:19.148 --> 00:39:22.288
out there, they are language-dependent, and they are culturally

00:39:22.308 --> 00:39:25.168
dependent, um, which, you know,

00:39:25.228 --> 00:39:31.188
is to say, like, how do you measure someone who might come from a small farm town in Iowa

00:39:32.028 --> 00:39:36.148
and also a, an inner city area of Miami

00:39:36.158 --> 00:39:40.448
in Florida? Like, those are two very different worlds, and so trying to capture

00:39:40.488 --> 00:39:42.048
that in a universal

00:39:42.068 --> 00:39:42.538
way. Mm-hmm.

00:39:43.128 --> 00:39:44.988
So, you know, when Jim and I were

00:39:45.048 --> 00:39:48.008
creating this thing, we made sure that we were

00:39:48.648 --> 00:39:52.028
robust or immune to socioeconomic status,

00:39:52.688 --> 00:39:53.068
race,

00:39:53.428 --> 00:39:54.128
religion,

00:39:54.488 --> 00:39:54.988
country of

00:39:55.168 --> 00:39:57.328
origin, ethnicity,

00:39:57.628 --> 00:40:01.268
I mean, all sorts of things that could be influential,

00:40:02.168 --> 00:40:05.108
uh, and contribute to miscaptures of data.

00:40:06.028 --> 00:40:06.228
Um,

00:40:06.448 --> 00:40:06.888
in fact,

00:40:07.368 --> 00:40:11.208
uh, I think it was either last year's draft or the 2021

00:40:11.268 --> 00:40:15.088
draft, 10 of the top 11 scorers were minorities,

00:40:15.928 --> 00:40:23.008
um, which is interesting because one of the criticisms in, in some forms of testing, not just

00:40:23.068 --> 00:40:29.908
in sports but others, is that they can be culturally biased, and they are. Um, like for example, uh, in

00:40:29.968 --> 00:40:36.768
a traditional intelligence test, one of the questions that's can be asked is what is a schooner? And that, I

00:40:36.808 --> 00:40:41.128
remember learning that and getting really frustrated because, again, coming from New Mexico,

00:40:42.238 --> 00:40:45.018
I've never come across a schooner. I don't know what a schooner is. And

00:40:45.068 --> 00:40:45.908
for those that don't know, a

00:40:46.008 --> 00:40:47.208
schooner is a, a boat.

00:40:48.348 --> 00:40:51.908
So you have a, you have a competitive advantage if you come from the coast,

00:40:52.168 --> 00:40:54.268
right? Because y- you've been exposed

00:40:54.308 --> 00:40:54.868
to schooners.

00:40:55.328 --> 00:40:59.288
I hadn't. So we took things like that, and we threw them out, and we said, "We're just gonna focus

00:40:59.408 --> 00:41:02.027
more on the cognitive abilities that

00:41:02.068 --> 00:41:04.328
we know we can measure without

00:41:04.368 --> 00:41:08.048
bias." Yeah, me, and Todd look

00:41:08.168 --> 00:41:11.138
HR like. We're both Midwesterners. Todd is from a farm

00:41:11.148 --> 00:41:14.008
in Iowa, so he's- Yeah, you described me perfectly ... from the middle

00:41:14.048 --> 00:41:17.008
of nowhere. Yeah, it sounds like, it sounds like he's Josh

00:41:17.048 --> 00:41:20.968
Allen, and I'm Tom Brady. It's possible, right? And, and that becomes an interesting

00:41:21.008 --> 00:41:26.028
question- Yep ... of these are two incredibly successful individuals at the top of their game, but they might

00:41:26.088 --> 00:41:26.928
be doing it in very

00:41:27.068 --> 00:41:29.248
different ways. And,

00:41:29.268 --> 00:41:33.178
and so, you know, it's funny because I, I've actually had GMs

00:41:33.268 --> 00:41:33.648
say,

00:41:34.168 --> 00:41:37.018
"Scott, who should I pick, this guy or that

00:41:37.048 --> 00:41:38.048
guy?" And I'll

00:41:38.128 --> 00:41:40.068
always say, like, I, I, I

00:41:40.248 --> 00:41:42.068
love the,

00:41:42.308 --> 00:41:45.348
um, the pressure and the intensity of the question,

00:41:45.988 --> 00:41:46.068
but

00:41:46.128 --> 00:41:46.848
I also say, like,

00:41:47.688 --> 00:41:51.988
um, "If I can answer that or if I can predict that for you, I would ask for a lot

00:41:52.008 --> 00:41:52.188
more

00:41:52.228 --> 00:41:55.988
money, and I would also probably- Yeah ... go to the owner and tell him that we can fire

00:41:56.128 --> 00:41:56.988
you and just put me

00:41:57.028 --> 00:42:00.008
in spot." Like, this is all just us trying

00:42:00.088 --> 00:42:05.118
to make, um, you know, like well-educated guess- I mean, it's the same thing, like,

00:42:05.888 --> 00:42:10.048
if my financial advisor's so brilliant at investing in the stock market, what does he need

00:42:10.108 --> 00:42:14.198
my money for? He should be a billionaire. Like, human behavior

00:42:14.708 --> 00:42:20.008
and human interaction is so complicated that all we can do is make well-educated guesses.

00:42:20.588 --> 00:42:22.108
What I think's interesting is

00:42:22.488 --> 00:42:23.968
the same way, if you ever watch,

00:42:24.008 --> 00:42:25.128
like, Poker,

00:42:25.448 --> 00:42:27.068
Poker Night on ESPN, which

00:42:27.108 --> 00:42:29.107
is a game of luck, but how

00:42:29.188 --> 00:42:33.118
come the five guys at the final table all seem to be the same dudes,

00:42:33.228 --> 00:42:33.448
right?

00:42:34.168 --> 00:42:39.388
So, uh, Louis Pasteur has that great line about how chance favors the prepared mind,

00:42:39.948 --> 00:42:43.328
and I think when you have really good information,

00:42:43.928 --> 00:42:46.428
you can make well-educated decisions.

00:42:46.818 --> 00:42:52.032
And so one of the things that happens is-Trying to figure out what

00:42:52.112 --> 00:43:00.312
is noise and false information versus what's a signal to what would make a Josh Allen or a Tom Brady

00:43:00.392 --> 00:43:07.972
is hard, but there are some teams and some individuals that are unbelievably good at finding that

00:43:08.052 --> 00:43:11.512
talent, and I think part of it is they're well-informed.

00:43:11.872 --> 00:43:16.002
Um, that's one of the things that I think's been really cool with the AIQ. Going back

00:43:16.052 --> 00:43:18.142
to the, "Hey, should I take this guy or that

00:43:18.152 --> 00:43:21.932
guy?" I said, "I can't answer that for you, but what I can tell

00:43:22.032 --> 00:43:29.082
you is this guy's AIQ profile suggests he's more of like a C ball, hit ball kinda guy,

00:43:29.632 --> 00:43:30.022
and this

00:43:30.052 --> 00:43:32.972
guy's AIQ is more of like a, hey, I

00:43:33.052 --> 00:43:35.152
can be clever and do

00:43:35.212 --> 00:43:36.892
things like, you know, delayed

00:43:37.012 --> 00:43:42.032
stunts and zone blitzes and a lot more complicated things. So you tell me, which do

00:43:42.072 --> 00:43:44.572
you think would be a better fit in your organization?"

00:43:45.252 --> 00:43:47.032
And that's, I think, part of how

00:43:47.052 --> 00:43:49.082
they, they led to their decision-making of

00:43:49.112 --> 00:43:56.812
which one they took. Yeah, that's a good distinction because I imagine you'd get a lot of general managers or

00:43:56.852 --> 00:44:00.032
head coaches coming to you and saying like, "Hey, Scott, we wanna make the best

00:44:00.092 --> 00:44:03.272
roster possible. We know technical skills are important,

00:44:04.592 --> 00:44:08.072
uh, but we want a roster that is intelligent and cohesive and fits together,

00:44:08.152 --> 00:44:10.012
right? Like, how do we do that?" So I imagine that comes up

00:44:10.022 --> 00:44:11.892
a lot for you, right? All the

00:44:12.012 --> 00:44:14.212
time. And, and it goes back to, like,

00:44:14.852 --> 00:44:16.372
you know, it's interesting because

00:44:18.032 --> 00:44:21.002
y- you have seen this, the quote unquote dream teams that just

00:44:21.002 --> 00:44:25.902
don't work. You know, whether it's like, oh, we're gonna put a bunch of star players together, but we've only

00:44:25.952 --> 00:44:30.992
got one ball in basketball, or, you know, again, you'll see this sometimes in the NFL

00:44:31.072 --> 00:44:34.972
where, oh, we've got everything in place, but we're just gonna add a quarterback at the, at the,

00:44:35.092 --> 00:44:36.152
as the final piece.

00:44:36.892 --> 00:44:36.992
And

00:44:37.032 --> 00:44:37.742
sort of it's like,

00:44:38.652 --> 00:44:38.832
so

00:44:39.252 --> 00:44:41.112
what, what comprises

00:44:41.792 --> 00:44:43.032
a winning team

00:44:43.612 --> 00:44:48.132
is not just, oh, we're gonna get the best individuals. It's really about, like, we need to get

00:44:48.172 --> 00:44:49.572
the best interaction.

00:44:50.272 --> 00:44:52.952
Um, one of the statements that I'll give to teams when I'm

00:44:53.012 --> 00:44:57.072
working with them is I'll say, "It's funny because we fall in love

00:44:57.112 --> 00:45:01.091
with players, but what we really desire is

00:45:01.132 --> 00:45:05.512
their production." It's production over person.

00:45:06.432 --> 00:45:09.212
And so what happens is you think when you grab

00:45:09.252 --> 00:45:13.412
player X, you're getting their production, but in reality,

00:45:13.512 --> 00:45:13.852
player

00:45:14.292 --> 00:45:19.192
X is a combination... Or sorry, in reality, the production

00:45:19.692 --> 00:45:21.072
is a combination of

00:45:21.092 --> 00:45:26.002
player X and some of the environment that that is currently happening, and

00:45:26.052 --> 00:45:32.062
that environment can be, you know, some of the other players. So for example, a wide receiver's only as good

00:45:32.112 --> 00:45:33.012
as the left tackle

00:45:33.052 --> 00:45:33.612
can block,

00:45:34.052 --> 00:45:37.052
right? 'Cause if a left tackle can't block, the wide receiver

00:45:37.092 --> 00:45:40.212
can't, you know, make long routes or deep routes.

00:45:40.952 --> 00:45:41.172
Um,

00:45:41.492 --> 00:45:45.092
that's one environment thing is just, you know, teammate capability. Another one

00:45:45.152 --> 00:45:49.752
is, like, you know, don't underestimate the value of, say, a nutritionist

00:45:50.472 --> 00:45:50.812
who

00:45:51.452 --> 00:45:51.692
is

00:45:52.212 --> 00:45:57.112
forged a meaningful relationship with a player in a way where the player goes, "I just don't wanna let

00:45:57.212 --> 00:45:58.052
that nutritionist

00:45:58.152 --> 00:45:58.472
down."

00:45:59.112 --> 00:46:05.842
Like, that kind of stuff happens, and so when we're looking for that production, I think we gotta measure these

00:46:05.872 --> 00:46:12.892
four buckets that we talked about and really kind of go, "Okay, if we grab this person, do we understand

00:46:12.972 --> 00:46:20.732
his or her success so that we can replicate it easily in our system? And if we can't replicate it

00:46:20.812 --> 00:46:22.172
easily, can we replicate

00:46:22.212 --> 00:46:22.292
it

00:46:22.672 --> 00:46:22.932
in a,

00:46:23.232 --> 00:46:26.952
in... Do we have the kind of resources and effort to replicate it in a more

00:46:27.012 --> 00:46:27.842
complicated way?"

00:46:29.472 --> 00:46:33.172
Absolutely. And when you're looking at athlete

00:46:33.192 --> 00:46:39.052
intelligence, you'd mentioned it in passing before a little bit, is this something that's fixed, or have you found

00:46:39.112 --> 00:46:42.022
that athletes can actually change on any of those buckets or any of

00:46:42.032 --> 00:46:44.212
the things that you're measuring? So

00:46:44.272 --> 00:46:48.252
that's that's one of the more complicated questions

00:46:48.332 --> 00:46:51.072
to answer, uh, but I'll do the best I can.

00:46:52.052 --> 00:46:55.012
I think that there's two paths to this answer. Path one is

00:46:55.052 --> 00:47:00.372
you just say yes. Neuroplasticity, which is kind of a new theory, and when I say new I mean the

00:47:00.412 --> 00:47:03.292
last 30, 40 years, neuroplasticity exists,

00:47:03.752 --> 00:47:08.011
and so what we can do is we can do all kinds of brain training mechanisms and

00:47:08.032 --> 00:47:12.352
things like that that can, that can change one's intelligence.

00:47:12.952 --> 00:47:16.992
So that's, one answer is yes. The other answer is

00:47:17.072 --> 00:47:21.052
no, that the idea is, and this is more consistent with the

00:47:21.132 --> 00:47:23.372
literature in intelligence theory,

00:47:23.872 --> 00:47:27.072
that intelligence is one of the most genetically stable traits that we

00:47:27.152 --> 00:47:31.012
have. The interesting thing is with the no, if you go the no

00:47:31.072 --> 00:47:33.312
route and you say intelligence is genetically

00:47:33.452 --> 00:47:33.912
stable,

00:47:34.372 --> 00:47:36.952
that doesn't mean a person is

00:47:37.032 --> 00:47:38.932
unable to execute a

00:47:39.012 --> 00:47:43.032
task. It just means you have to come up with compensatory

00:47:43.192 --> 00:47:47.212
strategies. So what do I mean by that? Going back to my height, being

00:47:47.272 --> 00:47:50.942
short, if the nature of the task is to grab something from the

00:47:51.052 --> 00:47:54.152
top shelf, I just need a ladder

00:47:54.192 --> 00:47:57.012
or a footstool. That's not about me

00:47:57.332 --> 00:47:58.212
making myself

00:47:58.272 --> 00:48:02.052
taller. It's about me coming up with a strategy to get to the top shelf.

00:48:02.592 --> 00:48:07.012
So similarly with the no route of no intelligence is stable, you can't change

00:48:07.092 --> 00:48:09.232
it, it's not you just go, "Okay,

00:48:09.652 --> 00:48:10.452
this person,"

00:48:11.552 --> 00:48:17.062
let's say this person struggles to, um, identify minute details in

00:48:17.072 --> 00:48:19.062
a crowded field, kind of like a Where's

00:48:19.092 --> 00:48:21.952
Waldo task. If someone struggles

00:48:22.012 --> 00:48:22.992
with that, what

00:48:23.032 --> 00:48:24.092
you might do,

00:48:24.512 --> 00:48:30.092
like in the NFL, for example, is you might have him go through progressive reads.

00:48:30.972 --> 00:48:35.072
Rather than identifying and trying to identify the mike or trying to do some pre-snap reads

00:48:35.092 --> 00:48:35.152
of

00:48:35.172 --> 00:48:35.772
what's going on, you go,

00:48:36.102 --> 00:48:39.092
"You know what? We're gonna simplify it. We're just gonna have you go to the first read.

00:48:39.592 --> 00:48:42.012
If it's open, make the throw. If it's not, tuck

00:48:42.052 --> 00:48:47.812
the ball and go." And that's the kind of thing that's an easy fix solution. Doesn't require any additional money

00:48:47.832 --> 00:48:52.972
or anything else. It just requires a game plan.But in the ever-evolving game

00:48:53.012 --> 00:48:57.602
of sports, uh, you know, it's all about like cops and robbers, once people start to figure out that that's

00:48:57.612 --> 00:48:59.891
what's happening, you're a one progressive read

00:49:00.072 --> 00:49:05.712
quarterback, they'll start to defend you in that manner. We know that if we cover the first one, he's gonna

00:49:05.752 --> 00:49:09.162
go. And so then you gotta come up with a different solution to that

00:49:09.192 --> 00:49:12.212
puzzle. If you go the yes route with the brain training

00:49:12.332 --> 00:49:16.152
stuff, well, there's a lot of products out there that, um,

00:49:16.732 --> 00:49:17.032
claim

00:49:17.072 --> 00:49:21.812
to do that, you know, claim to do just that. Like, "Oh, we can get those mirror neurons," or, "We

00:49:21.832 --> 00:49:25.132
get the neurons going, and we change the way people can process

00:49:25.172 --> 00:49:27.032
information." Um,

00:49:27.772 --> 00:49:29.052
what I would share with you

00:49:30.052 --> 00:49:30.432
is

00:49:31.412 --> 00:49:34.752
there have been several teams that have used the AiQ,

00:49:35.432 --> 00:49:40.002
then ran them through a gauntlet of brain training devices that were sold to them, and

00:49:40.032 --> 00:49:41.332
then they did an AiQ,

00:49:42.132 --> 00:49:42.142
uh,

00:49:42.412 --> 00:49:44.202
post- uh, treatment,

00:49:44.932 --> 00:49:48.412
and the AiQ scores didn't change.

00:49:48.712 --> 00:49:49.592
And, and so

00:49:50.012 --> 00:49:54.112
I, I think that's more consistent with the literature that's out there that says, "Hey, this is a genetically stable

00:49:54.192 --> 00:49:54.472
trait."

00:49:57.292 --> 00:50:02.252
And you mentioned that previously there had been some, uh, research and some white papers published related

00:50:02.292 --> 00:50:03.252
to AiQ and on-field

00:50:03.312 --> 00:50:08.932
performance. Is there anything new in terms of the research that you're looking at, or any layers that you're trying

00:50:08.952 --> 00:50:11.052
to peel back currently with AiQ that

00:50:11.092 --> 00:50:11.812
we can look forward to?

00:50:12.392 --> 00:50:13.992
Yeah. Um, we just

00:50:14.172 --> 00:50:17.212
finished writing one... So the first one was with the NFL,

00:50:18.072 --> 00:50:19.092
second one was with Major

00:50:19.132 --> 00:50:25.112
League Baseball. So with the NFL, we looked at things like I mentioned earlier, rushing yards, interceptions, sacks,

00:50:25.212 --> 00:50:26.032
tackles for loss. So like

00:50:26.092 --> 00:50:29.912
meaningful stuff. Um, the one with Major League Baseball was hitting and

00:50:30.012 --> 00:50:32.672
pitching. We found statistically significant,

00:50:33.272 --> 00:50:38.012
uh, correlation with things like batting averages and, you know, strike outs, ERAs,

00:50:38.112 --> 00:50:45.582
stuff like that. And then, um, what's coming next is we've got a, an NBA study that's gonna show some

00:50:45.632 --> 00:50:51.012
of that data, and then we also have, uh, the quarterback specific one, where we're gonna start to

00:50:51.332 --> 00:50:55.022
highlight and identify some of the things that we found with quarterbacks specifically. Those

00:50:55.052 --> 00:50:59.012
are coming next. Yeah, very cool. So

00:50:59.412 --> 00:51:00.192
for our listeners,

00:51:01.252 --> 00:51:07.092
where can people go to learn more about AiQ, and what resources would you recommend to our listeners

00:51:07.112 --> 00:51:08.952
related to anything in the scope of

00:51:09.012 --> 00:51:11.212
athlete intelligence? Sure. Um,

00:51:11.632 --> 00:51:17.152
so where I'd recommend is, uh, like our website is athleticintel.com.

00:51:18.612 --> 00:51:18.932
And,

00:51:19.012 --> 00:51:26.852
uh, and as far as resources about athletic intelligence, like it's interesting, there's not really a whole lot out there,

00:51:26.952 --> 00:51:29.112
um, doing it. So

00:51:29.332 --> 00:51:34.532
I, I think i- if someone wanted to explore it more, I would strongly encourage them to just, you know,

00:51:34.632 --> 00:51:35.052
reach out

00:51:35.092 --> 00:51:38.552
to us, you know, via that website. There's a contact,

00:51:39.012 --> 00:51:39.052
you

00:51:39.092 --> 00:51:46.362
know, page, and you can just email us. You can email us at info@athleticintel.com, or you can, you know,

00:51:46.392 --> 00:51:46.992
reach out to me

00:51:47.072 --> 00:51:52.192
specifically. M- my email address is goldman@athleticintel.com, or Twitter.

00:51:52.572 --> 00:51:52.732
Um,

00:51:53.072 --> 00:51:53.192
you're

00:51:53.232 --> 00:51:57.512
welcome to tweet at me. I, I'll be honest with you, I'm not much on social media, but I do

00:51:57.532 --> 00:52:00.632
get tweeted at a lot. I don't know if that's the right terminology.

00:52:01.232 --> 00:52:05.212
But I'm always happy to be a resource for people who are interested in this,

00:52:05.552 --> 00:52:06.212
in this area.

00:52:07.312 --> 00:52:11.422
Yeah. I think I follow maybe like 800 people on Twitter. You're definitely in my top 750,

00:52:11.552 --> 00:52:11.712
so.

00:52:12.332 --> 00:52:14.972
Yes. Made

00:52:15.152 --> 00:52:15.192
it.

00:52:15.202 --> 00:52:17.012
We did it. Top 750, here we

00:52:17.072 --> 00:52:20.061
go. Um- You're on the up. Yeah. He's

00:52:20.112 --> 00:52:21.132
climbing the ladder right now.

00:52:21.792 --> 00:52:23.192
So you're saying- Yeah ... there's a chance.

00:52:23.512 --> 00:52:25.032
Yeah, that's right. I knew you were good for one

00:52:25.072 --> 00:52:27.992
movie quote at least. There it is. Uh, um,

00:52:28.072 --> 00:52:31.121
so okay. We'll make sure that we share,

00:52:31.712 --> 00:52:37.192
uh, the things that you mentioned, the resources you mentioned in the published episodes. We appreciate that. Something

00:52:37.232 --> 00:52:39.472
we ask all of our guests on the podcast,

00:52:40.152 --> 00:52:42.192
and it's our fun little, uh, question to finish

00:52:42.232 --> 00:52:45.452
things off. is, what is your current training regimen

00:52:45.492 --> 00:52:52.112
like? So, um, I have always enjoyed the kindness

00:52:52.192 --> 00:52:52.892
of friends,

00:52:53.512 --> 00:52:57.212
and, uh, one of the strength and conditioning coaches

00:52:57.292 --> 00:52:57.912
that...

00:52:58.492 --> 00:53:00.032
Well, let me go back.

00:53:00.372 --> 00:53:05.072
I feel like every question I've got like a super long answer for, so I appreciate you letting us kind

00:53:05.112 --> 00:53:09.572
of expand. I hope people are, are enjoying the storytelling and the elaboration.

00:53:09.612 --> 00:53:14.132
I think sometimes this type of format allows us to go deep versus just a quick

00:53:14.252 --> 00:53:15.952
soundbite. But,

00:53:16.052 --> 00:53:20.302
um, I, I, I've always enjoyed working

00:53:20.302 --> 00:53:28.162
with others. So the nutritionist, the strength coach, the athletic trainer, like all, like the whole ecosystem around sports.

00:53:29.072 --> 00:53:30.072
And that brings us back

00:53:30.112 --> 00:53:37.172
to, so I am very fortunate to have befriended some strength and conditioning coaches that have agreed to help

00:53:37.212 --> 00:53:38.332
give me a workout.

00:53:38.652 --> 00:53:38.892
Um,

00:53:39.792 --> 00:53:44.012
and so I follow the workout. I, I, you know, I work out every day, and they give me,

00:53:44.072 --> 00:53:47.112
you know, every like, every month they give me a new, a new workout

00:53:47.172 --> 00:53:53.032
sheet. And, and I would love to give credit to the person who's helping me, the coach, uh, the,

00:53:53.172 --> 00:53:54.112
the strength and conditioning coach

00:53:54.152 --> 00:53:58.152
that's helping me, but I will politely not reveal his name

00:53:58.692 --> 00:54:01.992
because I don't know if he wants to take credit for the way this thing

00:54:02.092 --> 00:54:05.062
looks right now, so. Uh, I'm grateful for

00:54:05.092 --> 00:54:08.152
his help. That's

00:54:08.232 --> 00:54:11.072
awesome. So what are you doing? Just

00:54:11.112 --> 00:54:15.072
getting... What, what kind of, what kind of workouts are you doing? Yeah. So I, uh, I lift weights

00:54:15.152 --> 00:54:20.232
three times a week, and then I do cardio, uh, the other days, the other f- uh, the other four.

00:54:21.732 --> 00:54:25.052
And, and so, um, it's funny, like we go through cycles where

00:54:25.132 --> 00:54:25.752
we'll do like,

00:54:26.432 --> 00:54:29.172
uh, low, low weight, high volume

00:54:29.572 --> 00:54:29.892
kind of

00:54:30.092 --> 00:54:32.062
stuff and then the other

00:54:32.112 --> 00:54:32.792
one is we'll go

00:54:33.232 --> 00:54:35.012
high weight, l- uh, low

00:54:35.092 --> 00:54:37.262
reps. Uh, what's nice is,

00:54:38.252 --> 00:54:43.672
you know, as a guy who's getting older and having his injuries, being a former athlete himself, like

00:54:44.452 --> 00:54:50.002
I, I, I'm grateful because he's, he's folded in some things that just... He's, like he always asks me, "What

00:54:50.012 --> 00:54:51.992
do you wanna accomplish?" I'm like, "I just wanna be able to run

00:54:52.032 --> 00:54:57.032
around with my kids while they're still willing to let me run around with them." And so a lot of

00:54:57.072 --> 00:55:03.026
it is like, you know, core. You know, like-It's definitely not designed for the beach. You know, it's, I'm not

00:55:03.056 --> 00:55:04.976
there to, to, "Which way to

00:55:05.016 --> 00:55:10.116
the beach?" You know, kind of thing. But it, it is one of these things where, uh, I can go

00:55:10.156 --> 00:55:11.036
and play baseball with

00:55:11.116 --> 00:55:13.986
my son at one of his practices, and some of

00:55:14.036 --> 00:55:16.076
the parents are 10 or 15 years

00:55:16.136 --> 00:55:18.536
younger than me, and I can hold my own.

00:55:18.616 --> 00:55:23.056
Uh, that, so I, I give the strength coach who set me up a lot of credit for

00:55:23.576 --> 00:55:24.096
being able to do

00:55:24.136 --> 00:55:24.356
that.

00:55:25.136 --> 00:55:27.216
Yeah, that's awesome. Making more out of the years

00:55:27.276 --> 00:55:31.955
you have. Well- That's good you have all those relationships and, you know, being consistent in your training. It sounds

00:55:31.976 --> 00:55:33.376
like, yeah, you're, you're a beast.

00:55:34.166 --> 00:55:34.816
I don't know about a

00:55:35.036 --> 00:55:38.056
beast, but- Hey, if you're doing it every day, that's legit,

00:55:38.596 --> 00:55:38.856
so.

00:55:39.276 --> 00:55:39.465
Well,

00:55:39.816 --> 00:55:40.316
we try.

00:55:42.316 --> 00:55:45.006
Yeah. I mean, just basically set up the training so you can continue to eat

00:55:45.016 --> 00:55:46.296
green chili burritos. That'd be great.

00:55:49.396 --> 00:55:50.016
Well, um,

00:55:50.396 --> 00:55:52.936
that's awesome, Scott. We really, really appreciate, uh, you

00:55:53.016 --> 00:55:58.096
coming on with us today and talking about AIQ, and like I said, we'll make sure to share all those

00:55:58.136 --> 00:55:59.096
resources that you had

00:55:59.156 --> 00:56:04.046
mentioned, and it was a fantastic talk. We're definitely looking forward to learning more about it and seeing how

00:56:04.076 --> 00:56:08.036
it continues to evolve and kinda monitoring. And I know at least this Sunday when I watch the

00:56:08.076 --> 00:56:09.956
NFL, I'm gonna be watching it through a little bit of

00:56:10.016 --> 00:56:13.056
a different lens. Uh, so we're excited about that. So thank you

00:56:13.076 --> 00:56:19.296
for your time. You know, one of the things is, uh, we have a, an early career professional who has

00:56:19.356 --> 00:56:20.996
been... who has access

00:56:21.036 --> 00:56:25.176
to our database and has taken over our, our

00:56:25.216 --> 00:56:30.476
Twitter account, and one of the things that she's doing is every Sunday she's watching

00:56:31.056 --> 00:56:31.196
and

00:56:31.856 --> 00:56:34.516
matching AIQ events.

00:56:35.056 --> 00:56:35.256
So,

00:56:35.516 --> 00:56:35.736
you know,

00:56:37.456 --> 00:56:40.156
s- player X just made this amazing catch,

00:56:40.536 --> 00:56:41.416
and it's consistent

00:56:41.476 --> 00:56:42.876
with his ability

00:56:43.096 --> 00:56:43.716
regarding this,

00:56:44.176 --> 00:56:47.056
and, and there's been a lot of people who've been having

00:56:47.256 --> 00:56:47.576
fun,

00:56:48.116 --> 00:56:54.056
um, following that. 'Cause I think, uh, like you said, it's, it is, it's just a different way to watch

00:56:54.096 --> 00:56:54.166
the

00:56:54.236 --> 00:56:59.436
sport. Yeah, I saw, like, uh, Garrett Wilson will make a catch, right? And then his, like, spatial awareness.

00:56:59.816 --> 00:57:03.216
I've been following the account, and I've been watching that too, so I'm kinda scrolling through as I'm watching

00:57:03.256 --> 00:57:05.146
all the games, and I saw that, so that was very

00:57:05.176 --> 00:57:06.186
cool. I like

00:57:06.186 --> 00:57:06.776
that. Is that one of the top

00:57:07.276 --> 00:57:10.135
750? Yeah. S. Uh,

00:57:10.176 --> 00:57:10.716
it just made,

00:57:11.136 --> 00:57:14.016
just made it. But now I know two of

00:57:14.076 --> 00:57:15.166
your 750.

00:57:15.526 --> 00:57:16.016
That's fantastic.

00:57:16.616 --> 00:57:20.016
Keep, keep up the great content, and, uh, you might, you might make it into the 600s.

00:57:20.496 --> 00:57:20.776
Woof.

00:57:22.076 --> 00:57:23.316
You know, a young company

00:57:23.416 --> 00:57:27.016
can dream. So anyway,

00:57:27.256 --> 00:57:30.096
really appreciate it. It was, it was great to, to be on here with you today, so

00:57:30.136 --> 00:57:32.096
thank you. Oh, thanks for the opportunity.

00:57:33.056 --> 00:57:34.716
Yeah, thanks for your time.

00:57:39.116 --> 00:57:43.406
We appreciate you tuning in to this episode of the Keiser Human Performance Podcast.

00:57:44.036 --> 00:57:44.996
To stay up to date on

00:57:45.036 --> 00:57:48.016
all things Keiser, follow us @Keiserfitness

00:57:48.056 --> 00:57:50.116
on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

00:57:50.956 --> 00:57:53.166
For more content, you can visit our Keiser Fitness

00:57:53.236 --> 00:57:57.616
YouTube page and at our website, www.keiser.com.

00:57:58.256 --> 00:57:58.416
Thank

00:57:58.476 --> 00:57:59.026
you, and

00:57:59.056 --> 00:57:59.816
have a great day.

acl-rehab-guide-image

A Guide to Power Training for All Levels: Benefits, Techniques, and Tips

Power is a critical component in many athletic and daily activities, serving as the bridge between strength and speed. Whether you're an elite athlete, a weekend warrior, or an older adult aiming to maintain independence, developing power can significantly enhance your performance and quality of life. In this article, we delve into the science of power and explore its importance across different demographics, outlining how Keiser equipment can be used to effectively train for maximal power.

acl-rehab-guide-image

Turning Force into Speed: Master the Transfer of Rotational Power

Rotational power is the primary driver of performance in nearly every dynamic sport, from the golf course to the pitcher's mound. It is the ability to generate and control force through the transverse plane. Modern athletic research emphasizes that training the body to transfer rotational power effectively requires an integrated, movement-based approach rather than isolated exercises.

 
Return to top