Looking forward to presenting at the NSCA Nevada State Clinic on Saturday, November 14th at D1 Training in Centennial Hills! Join us for a full day! Register here: nsca.com/events/state-and-re… #NevadaStateClinic #StrengthAndConditioning"

NSCA Oklahoma State Clinic was a success! Fortunate to represent Serco's Team H2Fit, and also speak to a topic that we should all aspire to, and further our profession: High performance Director- Performance & Welfare: Where The Future of Strength and Conditioning Should Be!

Dec 4th and 5th, the Louisianna State Clinic jumps off. I'm hittin' this topic hard: High Performance Director- Performance and Welfare: Where the Future of Strength and Conditioning Should Be! Want to change the profession and its standards? Elevate to a Senior Staff position!

ESPN’s “Saban” documentary brought back memories of my early years at Michigan State—and of Dr. Lonny Rosen, a pioneer in “sport psychiatry” (yes, psychiatry) and one of the most influential resources in my coaching career. Dr. Rosen helped Coach Saban shape “The Process”: focus on your responsibility, execute the play in front of you, and reset for the next one. Those lessons extend far beyond football. The photo shows our 1996 MSU football staff with Coach Saban, when I served on the strength and conditioning staff. Thirty years later, I’m grateful to see Dr. Rosen recognized for his lasting impact on student-athletes, coaches, and my own career. He quietly went about his work on our East Lansing campus, while his influence reached far beyond Michigan State—often without people realizing it. Thank you, Dr. Rosen!

It’s about STANDARDS Tony. Having coached at West Point, we didn’t institute battlefield discipline to FB players, we enforced second by second STANDARDS. Please understand context and quit the knee-jerk response. Read my article, I know it will help you.

I will repost the clip that I did @SportsmithHQ posted n which that addressed this. In short, FVP has the link between step-by-step forces and muscle force-velocity activity dead wrong, and fully backward.

The part of the FVP that can reasonably contribute is the indirect assessment of the stance avg horizontal force during acceleration. However, context is essential and FVP misrepresents the context, and does so badly.

It isn't about bear crawls. It's about standards & expectations! Bear crawls aren't a standard, nor is any punishment/drill. Standards are behaviors and characteristics, like accountability/discipline. A shameful lack of due diligence re: Coach Whitt's character and intent.

PSA: Weightlifting & powerlifting coaches have adjusted loads based on bar speed for decades. VBT didn’t create a new training method. It improved the measurement. Watch reps. Judge bar speed. Adjust the training. Now we can quantify what we’re seeing with a # on a device

Clown show. You also know they did a TON more junk before this video. In extreme heat. Want your players to bond better and be better in sport? 1) Hang out with each other. 2) Only do things that actually have a ROI in sport or performance. This stuff does absolutely nothing but harm athletes and make them resent training.

I’ve been following the Arizona State hockey situation closely. The more I’ve read, the more I keep coming back to two questions: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲? 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗼? I am not commenting on the medical care Matthew Mayich did or did not receive after he collapsed. My questions are about the structure and decisions that preceded the workout. Athlete readiness matters too: sleep, hydration, nutrition, alcohol, supplements, recovery, acclimatization and honest communication should all factor into workload decisions. ASU’s preliminary review says the hockey staff received permission for an outside consultant to participate, but the training plan was not submitted to ASU’s Strength & Conditioning staff for review beforehand. That distinction is critical. The issue is not simply whether an outside consultant was approved. It is whether the actual physical training being prescribed was reviewed by the qualified professionals responsible for physical preparation and athlete readiness. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻. The NSCA and CSCCa have transition-period guidelines addressing volume, intensity, work-to-rest ratios, environmental conditions, emergency planning and credentialed S&C professionals. But: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. Those guidelines cannot prevent a sport coach from bypassing or overruling a performance professional unless the institution gives that professional meaningful authority. I spent nearly three decades in collegiate Strength & Conditioning, Athletic Performance and Sport Science. Sometimes the job requires telling a sport coach: No. We are not doing that today. That athlete is not participating. That workload needs to change. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. Matt Tenan & Bob Alejo argue for transdisciplinary collaboration. That philosophy should extend to leadership and hiring. Searches should consider qualified leaders from Sports Medicine, S&C/Athletic Performance, Sport Science, Nutrition, Psychology, rehabilitation and other performance disciplines. Whoever is selected should be treated as a senior-level administrator — with real authority, direct access to senior athletic leadership and institutional support when professional standards conflict with a coach’s wishes. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. Who had authority over physical preparation? Who could modify or stop the workout? Would administration have supported that professional over the Head Coach? 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. NSCA/CSCCa: nsca.com/media-room/press-re… Joint Consensus: ovid.com/10.1519/SSC.0000000… Tenan & Alejo: DOI 10.4085/1062-6050-0580.23 @FriedgeHNIC @MikeMcMahonCHN @KatieJStrang @CSCCa @NSCA @NACDA

One more thought following my post on the Arizona State hockey situation: outside consultants and military-style team-building. I have no problem bringing in outside expertise when it is vetted and integrated properly. We worked with Erik Kapitulek and his staff at The Program. They were outstanding because we collaborated beforehand, understood the plan and agreed on expectations. 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 — 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝘆𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘁. I’ve also heard firsthand from athletes about questionable practices involving outside instructors. One athlete told me that during a butterfly stretch, a martial arts instructor actually jumped into the air and landed on the athlete’s knees. I wasn’t there, and I have no idea what the instructor was trying to demonstrate. Flexibility? Toughness? Whatever the intention, the account raised serious questions for me about supervision and oversight. In another situation, multiple teams were using different yoga instructors. An athletic trainer and I pushed to consolidate that work under one instructor so we knew who was working with our athletes, understood their methods and maintained consistent communication. This isn’t about excluding outside practitioners. It’s about knowing who they are, reviewing what they plan to do and ensuring someone has the authority to intervene. I’m equally skeptical of extreme workouts sold as a way to identify toughness or locker-room leadership. Want to know who really influences your team? Ask your strength coach. Ask your athletic trainer. Ask your academic advisor. Ask your equipment manager. Ask your assistant coaches. And ask the players themselves. Your staff, in particular, may see a side of athletes that the head coach rarely sees. Their daily interactions can provide a more candid picture of who athletes really are and how they behave when the head coach isn’t watching. Collectively, these people see who is dependable, who supports teammates, who cuts corners and who others trust when things get difficult. Ask those groups independently, and I’d expect considerable overlap in their answers. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄? Well-designed team-building can add value. But purpose, workload, oversight and decision-making authority must be clear before anyone steps onto the field. Strong programs collaborate with outside experts. They don’t surrender responsibility for their athletes. @FriedgeHNIC @MikeMcMahonCHN @KatieJStrang @CSCCa @NSCA @NACDA

The conclusion is an easy one— poor leadership! Think what you might about the effectiveness of the current strength & conditioning coach, but that many reoccurrences takes the decision out of the Strength coaches hand and into the hand of those with oversight in that area.

I can’t think of anything more unmistakable! Thanks @Coach_C_White!

The degree to which you can grow is directly proportional to the amount of truth you can actually accept about yourself. #Dailyquote #fitfam #performance

In my experience, it’s been THEE biggest competitive advantage!!

S&C may be one of the biggest competitive advantages available to HS female athletes. Many compete year-round but never consistently develop strength, speed, power, or ability to absorb force. Commit to training to build qualities many of your competitors never will.

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