It is always an honor to be interviewed in this field. With so many young coaches doing everything in their power for someone to listen to their opinions, I am humbled in the facts that I have been asked to present my thoughts.

I met the crew from Fast and Jacked during the RMU Speed and Strength Seminar. My presentation was titled Training Considerations for Large Team Settings. It was basically a combination between five different presentations I have done via webinar for the elitefts Sports Performance Education Series.

I met Major Mason and Mitch Narbe and it was evident from the moment I met these guys that they were passionate about the profession. Fast and Jacked is committed to bringing top notch information to the masses and it was great to be including among their guest list. Here is a recap of the interview from www.fastandjacked.com.

Check out the article spawned by this interview entitled The Evolution of a Strength Coach: The 4 Stages of Maturity.

Podcast #30 – RMU Seminar – Our Impressions and Mark Watts Interview

This is the second part of a two part episode recorded live at the second annual Robert Morris University Speed and Strength seminar on 12/13/15. In this episode we give our impressions of the presentations of the various coaches. Big thanks out to Todd Hamer for putting this awesome showcase of solid information together. We discuss Cal Dietz presentation and some of his new material for the forever forthcoming Tri-Phasic 2. We also touch briefly on the presentations of Zach Reed, Frank Velasquez, Dr. Daniel Fabricant and Nate Harvey. Left out Cam Davidson on the podcast but it was more out of forgetfulness than anything because he offered some good insights as well.

We then get in a quality interview with Mark Watts. Mark is not a big guy but his personality is charismatic and he knows how to engage an audience. He is another quality, local, produced in the Pittsburgh area guy with a bunch of ties to the surrounding communities having went to both Cal U and Clarion. Mark is also an Elitefts sponsored author 5th grade school teacher and NSCA Ohio State Director. We talk about maturity and Marks 4 step test for a good coach discussing each step in depth. We discuss how to make the most of opportunities and networking and being thankful for the support of a team.

None of this would have been possible without Todd Hamer and the gracious staff at Robert Morris University. We’d like to thank everyone involved for their contributions and generous donation of their time.

To Listen to this Podcast, please visit:

http://www.fastandjacked.com/podcast-30-rmu-seminar-our-impressions-and-mark-watts-interview/

BONUS:

The Strength Cave's RMU Strength & Speed Seminar Write-Up by Daniel Bove

For the entire seminar re-cap, go to:

http://thestrengthcave.com/rmu-strength-and-speed-seminar/

Mitigate fear by making the best of your situation. This was my main takeaway from Mark’s presentation. As a strength coach, you may become stressed or fearful for the decisions you make or don’t make and how that affects your athletes.

Example:

Fear of lacking prioritization

Fear of too little frequency

Fear of not enough duration

Fear o equipment dependence

Fear of splitting sessions

First, come to grips with the fact that there is no such thing as a perfect situation. The idea of perfect situation is nothing more than a fairy tail. The only thing you can do is make the best of your situation. Use the tools that are available to you, including physical tools (Olympic platforms, bands/chains, etc.) and coaching tools (cuing, positive reinforcement, etc.).

Mark then went on to talk about efficiency in the weight room. It is a strength coach’s responsibility to develop time efficient/effective pre-training circuits. Allow captains to lead these warm-ups upon entering the facility. Not only will this get the team started quickly, but also it will allow autonomy and breed leadership. A coach can also consolidate athlete heights and set racks prior to arrival. Assigning athletes to specific pieces of equipment can speed up the process of “getting ready to train.” It is up to the coach to decide where time can be saved.

There are many inexpensive adjustments that coaches can make that will give the athletes more time to train. It should not always be about throwing money at the problem to get the newest and most cutting edge equipment. Technology is great and can be effective, but you must first master the fundamentals of time management and program efficiency.

Also, probably my favorite quote of the seminar =

“HRV is great, but how about rack height?” –Mark Watts

Mark finished with the evolution of a coach. Every coach will fall somewhere on this continuum.