FOCUSING ON THE ATHLETE
The Volodalen Approach
A structured approach to understand the athlete before coaching the athlete.
Every athlete is different.
- They do not move the same way.
- They do not learn the same way.
- They do not respond to the same drills, cues, strength programs, or coaching environments in the same way.
Our Method helps coaches understand those differences and allow coaches to make better decisions by understanding how each athlete is naturally organized to move, learn, and perform.
This is not about putting athletes into categories.
It is about understanding the individual.
Built from Volodalen. Applied by MPE.
The MPE approach is built from the Volodalen framework, developed through decades of observation, research, and applied work in human movement, motor preferences, and athlete development.
MPE brings this framework into modern baseball, softball, golf, and performance environments.
Our role is to help coaches turn complex individual differences into clear, practical coaching decisions.
We connect movement science with real-world application.
Our Process
Before testing, we start with context. We want to understand the athlete’s story:
- Sport background
- Training history
- Injury history
- Current pain or limitations
- Recovery and fatigue
- Athlete self-perception
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Current goals
- Coach observations
Movement always has a reason. Before we interpret how an athlete moves, we first understand what may be shaping that movement.
The body influences movement.
We look at the athlete’s structure, posture, balance, feet, asymmetries, mobility, and physical constraints.
This helps us understand whether a movement is being shaped by natural organization, structural influence, compensation, fatigue, or limitation.
We do not assess the athlete in isolation from their body. We assess the whole athlete.
We evaluate how the athlete naturally moves, organizes, and adapts. This may include:
- Posture and balance
- Ground interaction
- Rhythm and timing
- Rotation and coordination
- Force-expression tendencies
- Sport-specific movement
- Response to cues and constraints
- Motor Preferences® identification
The goal is not to make the athlete copy a model. The goal is to understand how the athlete naturally solves movement problems.
Sometimes the visible movement does not tell the full story. When needed, MPE can look deeper into factors that may limit performance or adaptation. This may include:
- Neuromuscular fatigue
- Primitive reflexes
- Coordination barriers
- Reaction time
- Perception and decision-making
- Cognitive demands under movement constraints
Performance is not only mechanical. The nervous system, perception, fatigue, and decision-making all influence how an athlete moves and performs.
Sometimes the visible movement does not tell the full story. When needed, MPE can look deeper into factors that may limit performance or adaptation. This may include:
- Neuromuscular fatigue
- Primitive reflexes
- Coordination barriers
- Reaction time
- Perception and decision-making
- Cognitive demands under movement constraints
Performance is not only mechanical. The nervous system, perception, fatigue, and decision-making all influence how an athlete moves and performs.
Athletes change!
- Fatigue changes.
- Strength changes.
- Injuries change.
- Skill levels change.
- Training environments change.
That is why MPE does not treat an athlete profile as fixed forever. We use reassessment, monitoring, and coach feedback to adjust recommendations over time. A good development process should evolve with the athlete.
What Coaches Gain
More clarity. Better outcomes.
- See the athlete more clearly: Understand the individual organization behind the movement.
- Communicate better: Use cues that fit how the athlete naturally learns and moves.
- Train smarter: Choose drills, exercises, and strategies that fit the athlete.
- Develop more efficiently: Help athletes progress without forcing them into solutions that do not match their natural organization.
- Reduce unnecessary stress: Recognize when an athlete may be compensating, overloaded, or pushed into a movement solution that does not fit.
The MPE Difference
MPE is not a label system. MPE is not a one-size-fits-all technical model. MPE is not about making every athlete move the same way. MPE is a method that helps coaches understand the athlete before choosing the intervention.
We connect:
- Athlete history
- Body structure
- Movement assessment
- Motor Preferences®
- Sport demands
- Coach education
- Long-term monitoring
So coaches can see more, understand more, and make better decisions with the athletes in front of them.
Not the same. Both important.
Motor Preferences® and Motor Patterns
Motor Preferences® describe how an athlete is naturally organized to move, learn, and perform. Motor Patterns are specific movement solutions used in specific contexts.
A Motor Pattern may be shaped by:
- The sport
- The task
- The rules
- The environment
- Injury history
- Fatigue
- A temporary limitation
- A tactical demand
- A specific performance goal
Motor Patterns can be useful. Sometimes they are necessary. But they should not be imposed blindly. At MPE, we do not force athletes into a pattern because a coach believes there is only one right way. We guide movement when the athlete’s situation requires it. We individualize because the athlete matters more than the model.
Context changes the coaching decision.
Open and Closed Sport Environments
Some sport environments are more closed. They are stable, repetitive, controlled, and highly constrained : Rules dictate the needs.
Other environments are more open. They require adaptation, perception, timing, decision-making, and interaction with space, opponents, teammates, the ball, or the game situation : Athletes dictate the needs.
This matters :
- Some situations require more structure.
- Some require more freedom.
- Some require precision.
- Some require adaptability.
The MPE method helps coaches understand the athlete, the task, and the environment before choosing the intervention.
Great stories have a personality. Consider telling a great story that provides personality. Writing a story with personality for potential clients will assist with making a relationship connection. This shows up in small quirks like word choices or phrases. Write from your point of view, not from someone else's experience.
Great stories are for everyone even when only written for just one person. If you try to write with a wide, general audience in mind, your story will sound fake and lack emotion. No one will be interested. Write for one person. If it’s genuine for the one, it’s genuine for the rest.
Great stories have a personality. Consider telling a great story that provides personality. Writing a story with personality for potential clients will assist with making a relationship connection. This shows up in small quirks like word choices or phrases. Write from your point of view, not from someone else's experience.
Great stories are for everyone even when only written for just one person. If you try to write with a wide, general audience in mind, your story will sound fake and lack emotion. No one will be interested. Write for one person. If it’s genuine for the one, it’s genuine for the rest.