
TED KROETEN | The best talent developer is not the coach
From FOSBURY FLOP by Martí Cañellas Trias
March 2, 2026 · 1h 15m
About this episode
Ted Kroeten discusses the importance of free play in developing sports talent and building healthier communities.
Ted Kroeten is the founder of Joy of the People, a non-profit organization that promotes free play as a way to build healthier kids and stronger communities. By simply watching children play, he began to notice what had been lost in the transition from street play to private academies. He discovered the value of free play, how to build sports talent and the secret not of “overload” but of its opposite, “underload”. Fortunately, Ted now shares these insights with the rest of us. Notes of the episode Joy of the People website Fitness landscape | Wikipedia Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture | Johan Huizinga The Folly of Fools: The Logic of Deceit and Self-Deception in Human Life | Robert Trivers NATÀLIA BALAGUÉ | Biological Intelligence Orgel’s rules | Wikipedia Just respect the essence | Martí Cañellas Philosophical Investigations | Ludwig Wittgenstein Universal Play Grammar | Ted Kroeten Juanma Lillo - El mejor libro de táctica y las probabilidades | Fútbol Práctico Stephen Krashen | Wikipedia The Link Between Evolution and Language | Richard Dawkins | TED Bernardo Silva don’t do gym | Out of Context Football Why Athletes Don’t “Acquire” Skill—They Adapt it w/…
People in this episode
Host: Martí Cañellas
Guest: Ted Kroeten
Topics covered
- talent development
- free play
- youth sports
- community building
- sports science
Keywords
- free play
- talent development
- youth sports
- community health
- sports coaching
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Joy of the People
Books & works: Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture, The Folly of Fools: The Logic of Deceit and Self-Deception in Human Life, Philosophical Investigations, Universal Play Grammar
More episodes of FOSBURY FLOP
- VÍCTOR LÓPEZ ROS | Movement beyond labels and disciplines · March 23, 2026 · 1h 46m
- ANDREU ENRICH | Philosophy to coach · February 2, 2026 · 1h 54m
- JAVIER CAÑADA | Training between Ulm and Cádiz · January 12, 2026 · 1h 12m
- ALBERT BATALLA | Advice to a younger coaching self · June 26, 2025 · 1h 59m
- JOSEP VICENÇ MESTRE | Communication of giants · June 12, 2025 · 49 min
- SERGI OLIVA | The role player · May 27, 2025 · 2h 26m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the FOSBURY FLOP podcast page.