Jonathan Pope and Craig Weller (Building The Elite): Preparing for SOF selection.

Jonathan and Craig are the co-authors of Building the Elite, a book which details the system they’ve used for over a decade to train people for special operations selection in half a dozen countries with a success rate over 90%. They also co-own Ethos Colorado, a performance training facility based in Denver, Colorado.

Jonathan began his coaching career as a former collegiate athlete on the wrong side of six different surgeries. He learned how to develop athletes with an eye toward long-term resilience while he was in the process of rebuilding his own physical performance. He’s now a competitive BJJ grappler and a backcountry ski mountaineer.

Craig is a former US Navy SWCC and private military contractor who learned the value of skill acquisition in stressful environments when he joined the Navy without knowing how to swim and volunteered for special operations selection.

In this episode Craig and Jonathan talk about:

How they created building the elite.

The common pitfalls when preparing for SOF Selection.

The difference between training for selection and training post selection.

Resources discussed:

Thinking in systems by Donella Meadows

Science, Strategy and War by Frans Osinga

The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance by Ericsson and Hoffman

Surfing Uncertainty by Andy Clark

Omegawave education - Val Nasedkin

You can stay up to date and contact both Craig and Jonathan via their website www.buildingtheelite.com or via social media on Instagram and Facebook

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