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The DNA of Things with Dr. Jeremy Koenig
The DNA of Things," hosted by Dr. Jeremy Koenig, is an auditory journey into the evolving world of health science, performance, and longevity. This podcast brings together the sharpest minds in the field, including elite health strategists, pioneering scientists, and wellness mavericks, to share cutting-edge practices and revolutionary insights. Each episode is meticulously curated to enrich your understanding of well-being and to extend your vitality, propelling you toward a future filled with possibilities. Join Dr. Koenig as he unveils the secrets of human potential through the lens of genomics, and discover how to transform your health and life trajectory.
The DNA of Things with Dr. Jeremy Koenig
Episode 122: Joel Smith on Why Play Beats Protocol: Gamified Training, Flow States, and Jumping Higher at 41
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Speed and jumps coach Joel Smith (Just Fly Performance) joins Dr. Jeremy Koenig on The DNA of Things for a conversation that starts with a missed dunk and ends in Jungian psychology. Joel walks through the freshman-year college moment that convinced him rigid protocols weren't enough on their own — and how gamified training, from tennis-ball street games to a "speed gate golf" drill borrowed from UK coach Sam Portland, has helped him and his clients hit personal bests without chasing them. Jeremy matches him story for story, including the workout with his old coach Garnett that took him from ranked 700th in the country to 7th in three months. By the second half, the two are drawing mandalas before workouts, debating Carl Jung's warning about "consciousness you haven't earned," and mapping out Joel's new book and coaching cohort.
Key Takeaways
🏀 In his freshman year of college, Joel stepped away from basketball to focus purely on strength training — and his vertical jump got worse. He missed his first three or four attempts at a dunk he used to make cold, no warm-up needed
🎯 UK speed coach Sam Portland's "Speed Gate Golf" drill — chasing a target time like 2.1 seconds instead of a personal best — got athletes in their 30s matching their 20s-era PRs, simply by removing the pressure to beat a number
📬 Joel's own training now includes a game he plays on his street using his and his neighbor's mailbox as targets — at 41, he was jumping higher and sprinting faster than he was at 37
🏃 Jeremy's old coach Garnett — a 70-year-old Trinidadian sprint guru with a PhD in geology — took him from a walk-on ranked 700th nationally to 7th in the country in three months, using a no-warm-up 20x60m ladder from walk to sprint, with less total training
🧠 Joel breaks training down by brain network — default mode (rumination), task-positive (external focus), salience (what matters right now) — and argues pickup games light up all three at once
🌀 Before workouts, Joel draws a Jungian "mandala": a circle mapping the athlete he wants to embody, the actions and emotions he's chasing (and avoiding), and one keyword at the center. He says his training reliably "drifts" toward whatever he's written
📚 Joel is finishing a book, Strong in the Water, about his seven years coaching swimmers at Cal, and launches a new performance cohort, Athletic Fusion, this September
⚠️ Citing Carl Jung, the two discuss the risk of chasing "states of consciousness you haven't earned" — comparing unearned intensity or unprepared inner work to the injury risk of performance-enhancing drugs
LINKS:
https://www.drjeremykoenig.com/
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https://www.youtube.com/@drjeremykoenig
Here's the link for this week's episode: https://drjeremykoenig.substack.com/.