Since the evolution of eBook programs, I have probably had 50 interns ask me about "this" program or "that" method in the past year. And every time I look them in the eye and say, “Man, it doesn't matter what I think of the program. What matters is whether you have seen it work, or whether you are just regurgitating information to try to impress me? If the program does work, let me know because my principles are set in stone after ten years. So youngster, it's now your time to make soup…”
I have been an NCAA Division I strength coach for ten years now, and I have had the lucky opportunity to work with two of the best coaches of all time. First of all, there was Duane Carlisle, who was the understudy for the “THE LEGEND” Coach Johnny Parker and one of the only strength coaches who actually went to Canada and spent weeks training under Charlie Francis. My other mentor, Jim Peal, is the only strength coach in NCAA history to have coached a national title football team, a college World Series team, and a Final Four team. On top of that, I have had the opportunity to personally go to Westside and train under Louie since 2004. I also worked under Jeff Earls, one of Tommy Moffit and Coach Hatch’s top protégés.
What did I learn from it all? It simply doesn't matter. If you truly learned from these men, then you are going to know what is important and what isn't. You are also going to know what works and what doesn't because that's exactly why those men are considered some of the best. They don't major in the minor! Their principles are proven through years and are stone deep!
See, you go through a stage for about your first five years where all you do is take in information, read every article, try every system, usually go nuts, and for a year or two treat a system as a religion. Then, something finally clicks and you want to be your own man. Soon the crystal ball opens up and you see why Charlie was the best at getting guys faster, you see why Louie got guys so strong and fast, and you see why LSU and Coach Moffit protégées put out such beasts year-in and year-out. Then you say, "Damn all that stuff." I spent nights reading and researching, but that didn't matter because I realized that the best text book was right in front of my eyes! And guess what it is? Every one of those programs are built on principles that work, and you see it in real time. Now it's time to take those principles and build your principles!
I saw Duane Carlisle use his system that he developed with Coach Francis to get guys so fast that it was scary. I saw guys get strong extremely fast by using Louie's methods of training strength as time and speed (as opposed to weight) and weak point training. I also saw how Coach Moffit’s higher volume program of Olympic lifting hybrids built unreal work capacity and explosive power, and I saw how Coach Peal's Power Endurance and repeated effort program got guys huge!
Just think...fast forward 10 years, and now you're a soup of the best of the best. So, when a young coach asks you, “What's your program philosophy?” You say that it doesn't matter because it's right there in front of you—start making your soup, my man!
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