Man I'm getting old.

I first started talking to my wife at Chuck's 40th birthday party. Walking up to the party my wife and I realized how that really seems like yesterday but was a decade ago.

It was a great time and we talked about a lot of good times that we had been through and some not so good. There was crazy stories from Westside days, great times at meets and a lot of other fun stuff that isn't fit to talk about in this setting. The one thing that rang true to me as we reminisced on old times is that how much the internet has changed things.

The true experts and legends of strength sport got there from doing great things and toiling in the trenches for years. Now all anyone has to do is get online and tell everyone how awesome they are with 50,000 tweets per day and eventually people just believe them.

I learned to train from some of the greatest coaches in the world, I trained with these people every day and yet someone who has a wifi connection and time on there hands can claim to be a great coach.

I've seen Chuck do inhuman things, and have had the pleasure of training with him for a long time. I would rather be coached by Chuck in powerlifting than any of these so called "experts" that people are paying hard earned money towards because they are good marketers.  Chuck maybe not a great marketer but he is a great coach and I am happy to call him my friend.

With this post I just want to point out that you don't become a great coach in 2 years or even in 5. It takes a long time and a lot of mistakes to truly become an expert. Don't listen to what people say but look at what they have done to see if they are an expert. And when you look at what Chuck has been through and done in this sport, then you will understand what  a true expert is.