---
title: Exercising Power Pt. 2- Take Aways from Dr. Gearity's Work
description: In our eighth episode, we caught up with the man behind the mind of sport coaching, Dr. Brian Gearity. Tune in or download to learn how Dr. Gearity is helping coaches adapt their methods to build stronger relationships on and off the field.
---

[Strength and Conditioning Blog | BridgeAthletic](https://blog.bridgeathletic.com)

# [Exercising Power Pt. 2- Take Aways from Dr. Gearity's Work](https://blog.bridgeathletic.com/exercising-power-0)

 Written by [Maia Monell](https://blog.bridgeathletic.com/author/maia-monell) | Feb 19, 2019 3:13:13 PM

 

In our eighth episode of Powering Performance, we sat down with Dr. Brian Gearity, coach, professor, 3x author to hear how we can improve our coach/athlete relationship by examining the interactions and relationships that impact our athletes and their progress. 

 

**Structuring Your Environment**

"The athlete’s body was a site of disciplinary power to produce an efficient gesture. Everything had a purpose. The strategy dominated my coaching practices and restricted consideration of alternatives. Athletes were rarely asked how they felt; they had no input into program design or session planning." - Gearity & Mills, 2013

The time and natural survellance of your training environment may be impacting your athlete's overall development. Dr. Gearity and his colleagues consider the rigid structure of a traditional training session in order to consider how this may be adapted to combat the 'unintended effects' of the environment. 

***Tune into minute 22:00*** of the podcast to learn Dr. Gearity's tips to enhance your training environment.

 

**Choosing your Words**

Dr. Gearity and his colleagues focus on how the coach/ athlete relationship are impacting mental and physical health as well as social identify. In his second publication, he considers the role of [microaggressions](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/microaggressions-in-everyday-life/201011/microaggressions-more-just-race) and their affects on both a coach and athlete development. Dr. Gearity's best advice to combat these often subtle insults? Consider the use of [microaffirmations](https://www.brown.edu/sheridan/microaggressions-and-micro-affirmations-0) like in this example from his 2017 research...

(Gearity & Metzger 2017)

 

For more on microaggressions and microaffirmations, tune into **minute 38:00** to see an all-too-real example...

  

**Follow Dr. Gearity & his research**

*Gearity & Metzger (2017 ): Intersectionality, microaggressions, and microaffirmations-Toward a cultural praxis of sport coaching, Sociology of Sport Journal, 34, 160-175*

*Brian T. Gearity & Joseph P. Mills (2013): Discipline and punish in the weight room, Sports Coaching Review, DOI 10.*

[**DU Masters in Sports Coaching** ](https://www.du.edu/gspp/programs/sportcoaching/index.html)

** Twitter **| [@DrGearity](https://twitter.com/drgearity?lang=en)

Thanks again to Dr. Gearity for joining us for another episode of Powering Performance!

[View full post](https://blog.bridgeathletic.com/exercising-power-0)

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