Strength Coach Thoughts

 What is the purpose of strength and conditioning for athleticism? With this question, I am not suggesting a specific training modality (kind of am but indirectly), but rather the overall purpose of training athletes. What features are S&C coaches trying to train, and what are the best methods to train them? Having already submitted a research review on this topic for my EdD, here is where I stand.  Athletes need to have a certain set of abilities to perform in their sport without injury. These abilities are often cited as speed, agility, strength, power, and sometimes size. Looking at these features, one thing stands out to me; except for size and strength (to a degree), power is the underlying feature that needs to be developed the most for general athleticism. I will break down each one in detail in the following sections, however, speed requires power being expressed into the ground to accelerate the body in the desired manner, agility requires management of power abso...

What does it mean to be an athlete? According to dictionary.com, an athlete is " a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill." According to this definition, it is not enough to just participate in a sport to be considered an athlete. Yes, you can be a 'born' athlete however, even 'gifted' athletes need to train certain characteristics in order to reach the higher levels of their sport and performance. For this discussion, I will differentiate between the general 'athlete' (normal text) and the athlete  I am discussing on this topic. Additionally, this blog is called 'Strength Coach Thoughts' and are my thoughts on this topic from my background, education, and experience, using sources as needed. I understand this topic will have very different points of view, opinions, ideas, and  perspectives, and I am happy to discuss...

  Leadership is a topic commonly discussed and mentioned within the sporting world, and really the world in general. Be that a character trait or a position such as a coach or captain, every organized group of people requires some form of leadership, be that a good leader or bad. There is debate on leadership; where it comes from, what traits entail leadership, are you born a leader or can you learn it, etc. This article will seek to summarize a few schools of thought on leadership and provide some concluding thoughts on what I think leadership is at various levels and how to instill and nurture it.  According to Leadership: Theory & Practice Ninth Edition by Peter G. Northouse (2021), leadership is "a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal" (p. 6). Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney (2009) evaluates and explains the qualities of Jesuit leadership and describes leaders' duties as "establishing direction, align...