From the first time I met Dan Stevens, one thing was evident: he cares about the athletes he trains as much as he loves training. His professional life revolves around it. Stevens, who is the head strength and conditioning coach at Thomas Worthington High School and Worthington Kilbourne High School, has mastered the art of being two places at once…literally. His distinction and job title he earned via coin flip, of all things, after budget cuts in the Worthington, Ohio school district.
Stevens utilizes decades of under-the-bar experience and training athletes to consistently build his knowledge base. He is the epitome of a life-long learner, which is evident by his involvement with the elitefts™ Learn to Train seminars and the amount of correspondence he has with the best coaches in the profession.
I sat down with Dan in the weight room at Worthington Kilbourne High School. Like every other time I have interacted with Dan, I gained perspective about coaching on so many levels.
Dan Stevens is a rock in a sea of new methods and under-qualified coaches. Stevens has survived the storm of change and has stood by his principles and his unwavering integrity. Coach Stevens has one of the most important and influential jobs in the country.
Topics Covered in this Podcast
- Balancing training between two high schools
- Training 5/3/1 in two days per week
- Training high school softball players
- What high school strength and conditioning programs really need
- Why more volume is important at the high school level
- Programming in 3-week waves
- Differences between training freshman and seniors
- Coach Steven's manifesto
- Specialization in high school sports
- Strength is the most important factor
- Five exercises Coach Stevens couldn't do without
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