Performance Perspectives: Balancing the Emotional and Rational in Performance Support

Leaders Performance Podcast

As Lorena Torres Ronda explains, there is a big difference between say the NBA and international tournament play in basketball.

She has experienced both, including a spell as Performance Director at the Philadelphia 76ers and, most recently, as Performance Coordinator at the Spanish Basketball Federation, a role she has held for two years.

Lorena is also a Performance Advisor for the Leaders Performance Institute and, as such, we were delighted to welcome her to deliver an instalment in our Performance Perspectives series, where she reflected on her contribution to Spain’s success at the 2022 men’s FIBA EuroBasket Championships; their fourth triumph.

Hers was a dual role during those three weeks in September that combined S&C work with player load monitoring. It was vital that she prioritise, as she tells the podcast.

“Of course, you see things and my mind is like, ‘we could do this or that’ and ‘it would be good to improve speed or agility’ – that’s my emotional side,” she says. “My rational side knows that in three weeks you’re not going to improve tremendously in certain qualities because physiologically you don’t have time.”

Elsewhere in this episode, she discusses:

• The development of Spain’s feedback system;
• Harnessing the legacy of the nation’s basketball history;
• Preparing for the worst during a tournament;
• How the performance staff connected to the team’s vision.

Lorena Torres Ronda Twitter | LinkedIn

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