Hayden Mitchell

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Hayden Mitchell

We are Wayfinder Performance - online programming that supports all aspects of human health.

05/03/2026

Since my best bud passed away in January I have had a hard time sitting down to write anything of substance or at least anything I find original enough to share.

I know we all crave depth. Depth of knowledge. Depth of experience. Deep conversations with someone whose soul makes yours dance. And in this space and the spaces beyond our devices, I reckon more than a few of us are struggling to scratch below the surface.

Some “petrified of silence” (shout out Alanis) and some scared to say what they mean and mean what they say.

So if you take anything from this fairly vulnerable share (who am I kidding, I’m terrified), I hope it’s to cultivate your own space to let your soul sing.

05/02/2026

I suppose someday I’ll wrap my mind around this long journey to graduate with my PhD in Human Performance.

For now, I’ll just say thanks to every single person who stood by my side. I never gave up because I don’t know how as my dad said when I asked him why he didn’t tell me to quit.

And this note from a friend that means the world:
“So so proud of you my friend!
You have shown tremendous character, resilience, determination and resolve to finally get to this point! I hope you really find time to stand still and appreciate this space you currently are in! Forever proud of your achievement!”

04/29/2026

In Mobile, you better be able to talk that…

Great to be back with the dudes at Mecca aka Amp Performance aka my saving grace in a city with no mountains.

Three straight days hard training meant hops were low, yet vibes were high.

So we call that a great day to be alive 😘

04/21/2026

Strength training can make you faster. The research is clear on that.
Perform karate on your body 2-4x a week and you are on the fast track to kickin ace.
More force output from the hip extensors and flexors means more propulsive capacity per stride.
A stiffer Achilles means less energy lost at ground contact. More muscle cross-sectional area in the right tissues raises the ceiling for power production.
For most of us who aren’t natural freaks, this is how we close the gap on those who are.

But strength gains do not automatically transfer to speed.
The transfer depends on how well the nervous system can express that force at the velocities and contact times that high-speed movement actually requires.
That coordination only develops through the movement itself. And in most sports that means training at various vectors, distances, and reacting to stimuli because you can’t move fast if you don’t know WTF is going on.

What drives speed outcomes is a combination of things: ground reaction force, rate of force development, stride mechanics, the ability to coordinate all of it under high-velocity conditions.
Strength is one input. A significant one.

Practicing the actual movement is another. Neither replaces the other.

This session targets the tissues researchers find most directly responsible for explosive movement, trained at the lengths and loads that produce the most meaningful adaptation.

2 sets of 5-8 reps to drive max intent with low volume. Warmup sets if you need.

03/31/2026

Thank y’all for loving me through the years. Go be beautiful.

03/27/2026

I’ve been entangled in many discussions around power for a number of years as a coach and instructor at university.

I find tremendous variance and value in these discussions. This is one lens I like to consider when thinking about solving the problem of power development to improve our athletes.

I like this lens because it affords space for nuance and is anti-reductionist. Those that reduce “power” to power=work x time built on an idea that they just “need more strength” are near-sighted at best. I’m looking at you data science kings. What will you do when your metrics fail to produce the expression you want to see in the match, game, event? Change your programming? More squats at 0.5-.75m/s because “strength-speed? Nah they need more strength so it’s 0.4m/s. Nah that’s not it and on it goes and we continue to play this strange game of blaming the athlete for their lack of “power expression” instead of finding another lens to look through.

I think anyone who wants to be great as a sports performance coach must also develop the skills to teach high quality physical education through traditional and non-traditional means. Great athletes will adapt regardless. Too many slip through the cracks because a lot of coaches look to level up in one direction. Consider The Athletic Skills Model as a base layer to help you understand how this can fit into a more traditional S&C setting.

PS Of course, there is an entire ecology and a life history to consider on the road to coaching mastery. An unexamined life as a coach damages athletes. If you can’t see that yet, check yourself real hard my friend ❤️

03/22/2026

Piggy-backing on awesome post detailing this study yesterday with one of my own today.

In 2020, my “pleasure” reading was focused on great coaches. What was their background. How did they become who they became. What shaped and changed their philosophies. What did they regret. What did they take pride in.

Phil and Anson were the two that really helped me think the most. I admire them greatly and their “work” underpins a lot of mine.

Collectively, they won 33 championships between them. Neither one got out of the way. As I’ve said before, it’s not about making yourself obsolete but rather finding what makes you, the coach, most useful.

And reflecting enough to know when you stand in the way.

Both built environments where their athletes could lead, hold each other accountable (thou shalt not fear conflict), and grow into something more than their talent alone would allow.

A new meta-analysis of 50 studies found that captains influence team performance at nearly double the rate of coaches, and authentic leadership outperformed every other style (Clare et al., 2025).

The question underneath it matters more: what kind of coaching environment allows that to happen?

That question sits at the center of what I do.

Coaching Considered is a 3-week intensive where we examine the things that shaped you as a coach, how those things show up in your practices, and whether what you’re doing actually creates what you say you want to create.

We start with who you are.
We move through your values and how they influence every choice you make on the floor.
We end with practice design and the craft of knowing when to hold the room and when to let it breathe.

It’s what most coaching education skips entirely. Note that this won’t give you a certification or a degree, but it will provide clarity and confidence in your coaching craft.

Link in bio.

Clare, C., Hardy, J., Roberts, R., Tod, D., & Benson, A. J. (2025). Do leaders actually influence sports performance? An integrated systematic review and meta-analyses. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 47(4), 205-222.

01/24/2025

I was inspired to write this today. A handsome young fella, -no beard, squared jaw, perfect hair, the kind of dude the other dudes in his community wish they could be-sat diagonally from me at the coffee shop today. He was with a couple buddies. Or maybe just "work friends".

Young yuppies in front of their laptops. I suppose they'd made an effort to get out of the office.
I watched his his toes tap and his knees shake up and down. Head in hands.

And I wondered, for his sake, what he wished he was doing instead. And I imagined he wished he could put that outdoorsman's uniform to the test. I imagined he wanted to be wild and free. He needs to be wild and free.

But, alas, like many young men he will "wonder what happened betwixt and between when" he "went to work in tall buildings"
-John Hartford

01/16/2025

The program is designed to improve capacity and skills with introductory plyos, hypertrophy clusters, and gymnastics/calisthenics. I hope for you to heal, bounce, build, and move better.

If you’re interested, send me a DM with your email and I’ll send you a 2 week FREE PROGRAM: EXPLORATORY STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY to help you heal and prepare for more.

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Eternally grateful for those I get to hug in person and the virtual hugs I get to give and receive because of this silly little platform 🎄❤️🎅

11/18/2024

And I was left with this overwhelming sense of peace that this may be all there is. And if this is it, then it’s more than enough.

Address

Mobile, AL

Telephone

+12512178420

Website

http://www.wayfinderperformance.co/

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