7 Myths of Collegiate Strength and Conditioning
“We are a family.” This is the first collegiate strength and conditioning myth I’d like to debunk. Hear me out.
Finding the Right Online Coach
As with any purchase you make, your dollar is your vote. Before you hire an online coach, I ask you to do your research and discover what it is you’re searching for.
What Have I Done to Help?
I’ve said for years that my job (both current and previous careers) is very easy. What I do is not life or death. What I do is empower those around me to improve. So daily I ask myself, what have I done to help?
Seven Rules of Customer Engagement for Personal Training
I wanted to know the similarities between college coaching and private sector training, so I asked our director of customer engagement to write out his rules of personal training. Here they are.
Hire the Right People
I promise that these seven thoughts won’t be perfect, but they may help you along your path of becoming a better “boss.”
Know When to Hold 'Em and Know When to Fold 'Em
Reading enriches our lives and teaches us invaluable lessons. One of these lessons is taking control of our own lives and doing what’s necessary for our happiness and our career.
Programming the Overly Complex Needs Assessment
Stepping away from collegiate strength and conditioning, I’ve had time to reflect. In this article, I’ll delve into programming — the good and the ugly. Program-wise, exactly what are your goals?
The End of My Era as a Strength and Conditioning Coach
I have left collegiate strength and conditioning because I’m concerned with where we’re going as a profession. I still want to be a positive force for the profession, but I’m not sure how to help. I’ll try to keep being a voice of change for positivity.
We Pick Things Up and We Put Them Down
A coach once asked me, “Why do you lift?” My reply: “If aliens landed here and saw a basketball game going on, they wouldn’t have any clue what was happening. But if they saw lifting, they could at least wrap their heads around what they were seeing.”
The elitefts Internship Guide
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about internships, all in one place.
My Biggest Mistakes as a Strength and Conditioning Coach
These are just a few of my mistakes, and I’ve made many more than the ones listed here. Remember, mistakes are just lessons, so if you haven’t made any mistakes, you haven’t learned any lessons.
Stirring the Pot, Volume 1
I’ve been told I do a good job of being a heretic of the strength and conditioning coach profession, so I might as well keep it up and stir the pot with some of my hot takes on sumo deadlifts, box squatting, and more.
It's On Us to Become Better Strength Coaches
I’m here to remind everyone that we all have a part to play in making our field better and safer for our athletes. It’s on us to ensure our athletes, schools, and overall profession are all the best they can be. Start by implementing these 5 simple steps in your program.
Live and Coach Your Why
My why is to improve athletes through and of the human body and mind by giving them all a well-thought-out program to make them faster, stronger, and more resilient. What’s your why? And why?
Union Fitness: Pittsburgh's Community Gym
“We only have our word.” For Union Fitness owner Casey Williams, his history with elitefts, staff, integrity, and the imagery of Pittsburgh unions and steel are the things that hold his gym and community together.
The Two Variables That Change It All: Load and Speed
Your athletes’ load and acceleration will vary greatly depending on the skillset and experience of your athletes. Your athletes’ levels of experience will impact the ability of what they can and cannot do, as well as how you can assess and train these athletes at each level.
Goodbye 2018, Hello 2019
My life went through a lot of changes and adjustments during 2018, which meant I had to learn and re-learn things. Lesson 1: the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, but sometimes it is, so watch your lawn and don’t forget that some grass is better than yours.
The Coach's Order of Operation
Exactly where does coaching begin? With the sport, athlete, or person?
Programming Chaos
Learning and thinking about the many issues that we – as coaches – face, have reminded me to look back at my own programming and question the good, the bad, and the ugly with regard to what I’ve seen and done over the years.
Starting Over as a Full-Time Coach
Too often in our industry, before we’ve even seen the athletes, we talk about what programs we’re going to use and how these programs need to be implemented.
Rules for Interviewing
For this month’s article, I want to write about something that I’ve been doing a lot of recently with some success: interviewing. Consider these eleven rules for your next job opportunity.
6 Lessons of a Fired Strength Coach
Last week I went into a meeting with my direct supervisor and came out jobless. Here are the things I’ve learned and the mistakes I’ve made that led me to this point.
New Rules for Being a Strength Coach
If you aren’t willing to change and grow, you won’t survive. Here are the ways my perspective on strength coaching rules has changed since my previous article on the topic.
Learning from Those Around You: 10 S&C Lessons from Friends, Mentors...
If you aren’t open to the knowledge and expertise of those around you, you’re only holding yourself back. These are some of the most influential things I’ve learned from others in this industry.
Get Your Exercises Right: Four Movements You Aren't Using Enough
These exercises are not commonly used but they deserve a place in your strength and conditioning program. We’ve tested them on our athletes and on ourselves and we believe in them.
Weight Room Lessons from Former Athletes
After writing about the importance of getting to know your athletes, I decided to take a real look at whether or not I’ve had an impact. I contacted two of my former athletes and asked them to tell me what they learned in the weight room.
Know Your Audience: Learning More About Your Athletes
In the time since I wrote the initial “Know Your Audience” article several years ago, I’ve refined my coaching methods and changed many things, but the enduring message remains the same: get to know your athletes better.
How to Set up a Conference at Your University
One question I often get asked is, should I set up a conference at my college/university? Then I’m asked how to go about doing that. I hope to answer those questions here.
Georgia Southern Adds Donald Day as Assistant Football S&C Coach
No stranger to the collegiate weight room, Donald Day has earned himself a spot at Georgia Southern University as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Eagles football team.
Football Conditioning Season Program Design
While there are some great things that can go on during this time period, there are also many times that football coaches run their guys into the ground with months to go before the players even see the competitive field.
A Letter to the Next Me
I’ve often heard people ask the question, what would you tell a younger you? This is a great question all strength coaches should answer.
The Do's and Don'ts of Leadership
Since college, I’ve worked at seven different universities and a few Globo gyms. I’ve run clinics, I’ve trained privately, and I’ve even worked construction. From all this, I’ve learned from some great leaders and some less than great leaders.
Grading Professionalism in Collegiate Strength and Conditioning
This is a difficult issue to balance because people expect us to be over the top and screaming all the time. I’m asking that we raise the level of professionalism.
Bring Your Passion
As a profession, we must look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we’re doing what we’re asking others to do.
What Are Your Biggest Mistakes as a Strength Coach?
For me, five big mistakes come to mind. I want to tell you how I learned from them and the steps I took to never make them again.
5 Coaching Rants to Reframe and Apply
Layering thousands of coaching hours on the floor with successes and failures, I think I know what works and what doesn’t work.
2017 Hawaii Strength Clinic — Spread the Aloha
We had a blast in Oahu, Hawaii, although I think my son may have had even more fun than my wife and I did! With all that said, I was there for a business trip and I had to get to work.
Time to Pass the Mic
I decided to interview a coach who I respect immensely for this month’s article. Meet Coach Buckley.
Play for the Song and Coach for the Athlete
Drummer sensation Brandon Khoo gives insight into what makes a great drummer. Strength and conditioning coaches, listen up. His answer is genius.
What Do I Have to Work With?
This is the first question you should ask yourself when training a team. To get this point across, I’ve attached my entire fall football training program.
Programming 201: The Realistic Strength Program
You can have the holy grail of training programs, but if it doesn’t fit your job, it isn’t any good.
Which Way Should S&C Go?
As I see it, there are three directions that this profession can go. I know I favor one and I’ll explain why.
Communicating Your Vision
How can you sell your vision when it’s difficult to score your vision? Start with goals!
My Weekend of Strength
With a clinic and meet scheduled on back to back days, I was surrounded by influential members of the strength community and made a few discoveries.
Football Testing Season — Five Weeks to Gain Strength
Entering the time period away from pre-season or in-season training, our head coach made his expectations clear: “I want to see bench presses go up by 20 pounds and squats by 40 pounds in the next five to six weeks.” Easy, right?
Practice What You Preach — A Behavior Guide for Young Strength Coaches
Your relationship with your athletes is fundamental to helping them improve. It’s also fragile. Don’t risk compromising your role as a leader and your job as a coach.
A Call to Young Coaches
After a four-year degree and multiple internships, I thought I knew it all. I was wrong. You are too.
From The Quote Guy
In an endless flow of meaningless words, latch onto the lessons that challenge your mind and dictate your actions.
Certification Craze: Profession Flaws and Our Responsibility
If we want to get better, if we want to improve the future of our profession, we need to be honest with ourselves. We need to understand and address the real issues.
Keep It Simple, Stupid: Programming Collegiate Athletes
When it comes to training athletes in the weight room, remember that just because you love science doesn’t mean your athletes do. Learn to speak their language.
Crazy Mistakes Strength Coaches Make
These 10 coaching mistakes can hurt you, your team, and your entire program. Are you making any of them?
Fast and Jacked: Todd Hamer and Casey Williams
Listen to podcast No. 18 as Todd and Casey share air time. Todd and Casey are fast and jacked too.
Greasing the Groove by Training the Coach
The emphasis is always on the athletes, but keep in mind, in order to be a productive leader, you must go through what you’re asking others to do.
Newtonian Laws in Motion: Physics in the Weight Room
The three laws of motion are the roots of athlete programming. Find out how to apply these rules and improve your athletes.
How the Best Strength Coaches Deal with Scheduling Conflicts and the Coa...
Ever wonder how collegiate athletes manage time between scholastics, sports practices, and lifting? Here’s how S&C coaches can help and develop a better relationship with sport coaches.
