THE GP NEWSLETTER

Happy Monday Athletes!

Back after an incredible weekend and excited to share another edition of the GP Newsletter. Some quick weekend highlights:

• Perfect date night with my lovely wife 😍

• Coached the Pink Cheetahs who are learning to defend! Incredible to watch the 5U girls learn the basics of the game.

• Got to catch a bit of MLS action (which I’ll talk about later in the newsletter)

Quick word about my new Soccer Strength Program, have been receiving a ton of positive feedback and testimonials, some of which I shared on Instagram. I would love to hear from more of you, so let me know what you think so far! Send me a quick DM or feel free to reply to this email.

Another loaded edition of the GP Newsletter, so let’s get into it…and again, trust me, you are going to want the Protein Waffle recipe at the bottom 😉  

In Today’s Newsletter:

• My Latest Medium Article: My Journey as MLS’ Youngest Strength Coach

• “The Perfect Warmup”

• MLS Goal Breakdown

• Chef DG: Protein Waffles 🧑‍🍳

 Before I get into the GP Newsletter, a quick reminder:

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  Thank you for joining the process and supporting my vision: to bring everyone access to the training strategies pro soccer players use everyday, that actually get results.

Against the Odds: My Journey as MLS’ Youngest Strength Coach

Sharing first with all of my GP Newsletter family, the latest piece I’ve posted on Medium.

My story starts in February of 2014. I was working with Athletes Performance (now TeamEXOS), which was a world class athlete training center in Los Angeles.

I had recently transitioned from being an intern to a part-time coach making $15/hour. I was getting married in April, had less than $97 in my bank account, and badly needed a full-time job by June otherwise I would have to find another solution.

So how did I go from $15/hour to having an interview with Bruce Arena for a full-time position as an MLS strength coach?

A lot of perseverance & a key piece of advice from my dad.

Read the full story here.

The “Perfect” Warmup

I’ve received a number of messages asking about the keys to warming up and while there is no exact science, I use these four dynamic stretches in every field session I run.

The key here, think about your warmups like an airplane flight…

What do I mean by that?

1. Loading the passengers and doing a systems check before taking off

2. Taking off the runway: increasing the intensity of your warmup

3. Climbing altitude: finally you are moving at a high intensity

I apologize to any flight experts if I butchered any part of the analogy

Check out the full warmup here!

MLS GOAL BREAKDOWN

Had the opportunity to catch some of the exciting MLS action this weekend and need to give a shoutout to FC Cincinnati for winning the 2023 MLS Supporters’ Shield 🏆

The DG Lens: I have been fortunate to have won a Supporters’ Shield with LAFC back in 2019. I can tell you that the amount of work that goes into winning that trophy is incredible. This video from FCC is such a cool clip to sum up their SS trophy journey. Hats off to my friends Kenny Arena and Patnoon and the rest of the coaching staff for achieving this feat and excited to see how far they go in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Congrats 👏!

DG FIT RECIPE: PROTEIN WAFFLES

Was thrilled (and maybe a bit shocked) to see the great response to last week’s granola recipe, so back with another go-to in the GP Kitchen.

This week’s recipe = Protein Waffles 💪

Not only do they taste great, but they are loaded with protein and will keep you fueled and filled up throughout the day.

GP Protein Oat Waffle Recipe

• 4 large eggs

• 3 cups old fashioned oats

• 3 tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 5/8 cup liquid coconut oil

• 1 ½ cups almond milk

• ½ cup collagen protein (40g if using Vital Proteins)

Mix/blend all of the ingredients together and then pour onto your favorite waffle press. This should make about 8 waffles on a 9” round waffle maker

Total Protein Breakdown = 82 GRAMS OF PROTEIN

• Oats = 18g

• Eggs = 24g

• Collagen = 40g

DG special tip: add blueberries on top for a little extra sweetness 🧇 🫐

Another simple, easy, and tasty recipe. Try it out and let me know what you think🧑‍🍳!

That’s it for this week’s packed edition of the GP Newsletter.

Always striving to make this the best possible newsletter so looking for your feedback about this edition:

Thank you again for subscribing and spending a few minutes with me.

See you next week.

-Daniel Guzman