Three Cycle Strength

Dr. Brian Gearity is the founding director of the Master of Arts in Sport Coaching program and the graduate certificate programs in strength and conditioning at the prestigious University of Denver. In this conversation, he discusses some of the sociological, pedagogical and psychological aspects of being a strength and conditioning coach.

In this episode, Dr. Eric Cash, the 2020 NHSSCA Coach of the Year and head strength and conditioning coach at Dorman High School in Roebuck, SC, discusses his philosophy regarding positive and negative reinforcement, building in small victories for athletes and teaching them how to work.

Kerry Harbor, head strength coach at Reagan High School in Pfafftown, NC, shares his heart for helping others and spreading positivity during a time when coaches seem more than ready to hit the reset button.

If you're looking for sage advice on how best to invest your athletic performance budget in 2021, look no further than this compilation of recommendations about products and services from some of the best strength coaches in the country.

In this special holiday bonus video, pull up a chair and reflect on the wisdom and perspective shared by Three Cycle Strength guests this year. The "Stories that Forged Who We Are" are the perfect way to tie a bow on the end of a great year of insight and shared experience.

MSCC David Abernethy, former Director of Strength and Conditioning at Furman and the Director of Education and Sales at Total Strength and Speed, discusses his philosophy of training on this week's episode. Abernethy has a wealth of knowledge and wisdom gained from over two decades of experience in athletics, and has a heart for serving others and making a difference in athletes' lives.

Among athletic performance coaches, it's common to hear the virtues of sports science shouted from the proverbial rooftops. But is there a lack of real science in the so-called sports science of our weight rooms? Dr. Jeremy Weeks, the Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning at the University of Pennsylvania, is a firm believer in applying the scientific method to answer important questions about improving athletic performance. In this episode, he discusses how and more importantly why coaches shouldn't be afraid to embark on a journey of scientific discovery for themselves.  

Coach Joe Kenn has been a well-known and respected name in the field of strength and conditioning for decades. Now, with a new chapter in his career as part of a leading equipment supplier, he's growing and adding to his skillset by learning about all the hard work that goes into manufacturing and delivering products and services in the athletic performance market.

Long-time strength and conditioning coach Joe Kenn shares lessons he has learned over a long career.

The COVID-19 pandemic has flipped the world of strength and conditioning upside down this year. As that battle continues, there's another adversary that faces athletes across the country - an epidemic of injuries brought on by unsafe approaches to training. Frank Wintrich, the football performance coordinator for the UCLA Bruins, became a strength and conditioning coach so he could help young athletes chase their dreams and unlock their potential. In this episode he calls on the strength and conditioning community to examine the elevated risk of injuries right now, and put athlete health above all else.

With all that strength and conditioning coaches have to worry about, it’s imperative to remember the most fundamental building blocks for any good program – relationships. Jon-Michael Davis, Associate Athletics Director for Sports and Human Performance at Eastern Kentucky University, talks all about how relationships have been critical in navigating the pandemic, designing their weight room and getting the most out of EKU athletes.

CSCCa President Ethan Reeve and Vice President Stacey Torman weigh in on a bevy of challenges facing strength and conditioning coaches today. As this challenging year draws to a close, they encourage coaches to lead by example and listen to their peers, sport coaches and athletes to secure a bright future for athletics and the profession.

It's hard to argue any other group of exercises could provide more benefits to athletes than Olympic lifts. An efficient, versatile and proven cornerstone of strength and conditioning, today's guest breaks down all of the reasons why he considers Olympic lifting a veritable multitool of the athletic performance coach.

Sometimes it can seem like an impossible task to untangle the programming mess caused by athletes playing multiple sports, at different stages of development, with overlapping seasons - especially at the high school level. That's exactly why the 2020 NHSSCA Southwest Region Coach of the Year, David Neill, takes a unified approach to his strength and conditioning program at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas.

When it comes to making business decisions within the school sports space, if it doesn't make dollars, it doesn't make sense. Coaches have to keep this in mind as they try and elevate themselves and the profession as a whole. In this episode, Micah Kurtz, the director of sports performance at Windermere Preparatory School (Fl.), discusses the ways strength and conditioning coaches can be an asset to their athletic program. Perhaps more importantly, Kurtz stresses the importance of demonstrating those benefits to the school administration and local community.

With the pandemic impacting nearly every aspect of coaching, many have been left to figure out how to make effective coaching adjustments in previously uncharted territory. In this episode, Stephanie Mock, director of strength and conditioning for Olympic sports at Mississippi State University, gives her thoughts on how her staff has handled this unprecedented year.

Many strength and conditioning coaches are doing an excellent job of making a lasting impact on their athletes' lives. In this episode, Garrett Keith, strength and conditioning coach at Westminster Christian Academy in Huntsville, AL, shares how his program has taken steps to be more intentional about every coach on staff looking first for improvement within. By coaching each other, and improving together, their athletes reap exponential rewards.

Understanding the fundamentals of performance nutrition is critical for any serious strength and conditioning program. In this conversation, Kayla Martin, the Assistant Athletic Director of Performance Nutrition Services at Penn State, shares the basic framework of how her nutrition team functions, some basic concepts to get started and some ideas for what to invest in with a limited budget.

NHSSCA co-founder Kevin Vanderbush has been a high school strength coach for almost four decades. On this episode, he shares some of the most critical advice he has to offer about working with high school athletes.

When Michael Silbernagel took over as the director of strength and conditioning at the University of Mary, he had little to use as a foundation for establishing a winning culture. In this conversation, he shares some of the misconceptions he had about starting from scratch, and how his approach had to evolve to arrive where Marauder Strength is now.

In this episode with the director of strength and conditioning for the reigning national champs, Tommy Moffitt details some of the reasons why he has been so successful for so long in the profession he loves, what made the 2019 LSU team so special and how he continues to push the envelope in everything the Tigers do.

There has never been a better time than right now to have an open and honest discussion about racism in athletics, and why diversity is critical to the future we all hope to build. Corliss Fingers, the director of strength and conditioning at Bethune-Cookman University, shares her experience as a female African-American coach in a profession where there just aren't a lot of coaches who look like her. More importantly, she explains why that's a problem, and how everyone can help in the fight to make athletics more inclusive.

Few people have done more to raise the profile of the high school strength and conditioning coach in recent years than Gary Schofield. In this wide-ranging conversation, he shares what it means to him to be a high school strength coach and what's in the works at the NHSCCA, as well as some perspective and wisdom gained over the course of his career.

In this episode, Zach Fears, the director of strength and conditioning at Southeastern Oklahoma State, shares why he is a firm believer in VBT, what it has done for the SEOSU athletic program and some of the basics you need to know to get started.

Keir Wenham-Flatt took a circuitous route to his current role as the strength coach for William & Mary football. His experience coaching pro rugby athletes all over the world reveals an important truth coaches can benefit from – failure isn't the terrifying outcome we believe it to be.

In this episode, Mike Tucker, strength and conditioning coach for Villanova football, explains how and why he tries to spend more time with his athletes on the field, working drills and exercises that will help them to improve at their in-game craft, for their specific sport and at their individual position.

In this conversation, Diltz shares how this unusual year allowed her the time to self evaluate with honesty and purpose. She shares what she learned and encourages other coaches to be a little selfish in their evaluation, so they can ensure they are giving their best.

Last Wednesday, Calvert High School in Prince Frederick, Maryland returned to strength and conditioning within COVID-19 protocols. Their director of strength and performance, Rick Sneade, speaks about his initial reactions, lessons learned and the preparation that made it possible. Sneade believes in the power of transformational coaching instead of the smaller-picture, transactional mindset, and it has been a guiding principle through this period of reset and uncertainty. His staff stays ready so they don't have to get ready, and strives to treasure each day as a chance to help their athletes become uncommonly great.

Don Day opens up about the mistakes he made earlier in his career, how he learned from those mistakes and why he feels arrogance presents a huge pitfall for young strength and conditioning coaches. The director of strength and conditioning for Olympic sports at Georgia Southern University seemed to be on the fast track to becoming a high-paid, Power-Five football strength coach. He soon came to realize that’s not as important to him as he once thought, and now places community, unity and being a mentor for young athletes above his own career goals.

Faster athletes will cover a multitude of other shortcomings in an athletic program. That's why Lee Weber, the head strength and conditioning and football coach at Rose Hill High School in Kansas, prioritizes training speed in his programming. Not only does Weber make speed a priority, he has invested some serious time into understanding how to train speed optimally. Heavily influenced by the philosophy of Tony Holler's "Feed the Cats," Weber has made huge strides in helping his athletes find another gear on the field, court and track.

The Korey Stringer Institute (KSI), with the help of several other experts in the field of sports medicine and athletic performance, has published a critical document with recommendations on how to return to sports and exercise safely during the current pandemic. In this episode, Dr. Douglas Casa, the CEO at KSI, shares his perspective on this document and the unique challenges of returning to training during the COVID-19 pandemic.   Casa is one of the foremost experts in exertional heat stroke, heat-related illnesses, preventing sudden death in sport and hydration. With hundreds of peer-reviewed publications under his belt, and having successfully treated over 300 cases of exertional heat stroke with zero fatalities, Casa has dedicated his life to research that keeps athletes safe.

Reb Brock, the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Del Valle High School, shares his process for developing the high school athlete from a completely novice lifter to athletes who demonstrate expert fundamental movement and technique. Brock espouses a patient approach to developing young athletes over several years, focusing on perfecting movement before looking to add weight or working on strength and power in earnest.

Justin Lima, the Director of Football Performance at Towson University, joins us to break down how coaches should utilize the concept of acute to chronic training workload to minimize the risk of injury and have confidence in how hard they are pushing their athletes. When it comes to athletic performance, coaches are far more likely to embrace uncomfortably hard training than training that is uncomfortably easy. Lima explains why that's the wrong approach, both for safety, and for truly unlocking athletic potential.

Tobias Jacobi fills a lot of roles at Strong Rock Christian School in Locust Grove, Georgia. He takes each of them seriously, including the title of educator, which he embraces in a way that brings both job security and a fresh perspective on his role as a strength coach. As an Associate A.D. and strength coach, he advocates for his athletes and his strength and conditioning program. As the chair of the the Physical Education Department, he speaks the language of an educator fluently, and leverages that knowledge to become a better relationship builder, student of his craft, leader and role model.

Chris Nichols, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS), opens up about the harsh adversity of being hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq, and how it ultimately made him a better leader and strength coach. Nichols has never been one to back down from a challenge, but when the former Army fullback was told he may lose his leg, or at best never run or lift again, even his warrior mindset, grit and tenacity were put to the test. Through it all, he learned a No Excuses Mentality that all future Army leaders he trains can benefit from.

Missy Mitchell-McBeth, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club, Texas, details how she works to build stronger relationships with the sport coaches she works side-by-side with year round.   Mitchell-McBeth speaks plainly about some of the frustrations that occur when sport and strength coaches aren't on the same page, how to achieve productive and safe compromise, and keeping what's best for the athlete in mind at all times.

Michael Doscher, Strength and Conditioning Coordinator for Tift County School District in Georgia, opens up about the challenges of going through a career transition as he leaves the college ranks to take his new position at the high school level. Doscher explains the challenges of being all in as a strength coach year-round, the toll it can take on a family, and how he evaluated his own situation in light of his big-picture priorities.

Dr. Coach Pat Ivey, Associate AD in charge of Student-Athlete Health & Performance at the University of Louisville, has made it his life's mission to give back to the athletic performance profession, his peers and his athletes. There is no better way of giving back than setting a great example, and in this episode, Ivey explores what that means to him, and how he has taken advantage of every platform and opportunity to take a leadership role.

Coach Hill didn't wait for opportunity to find him. He went out and found it on his own, and has worked his entire career to add value and be valuable both at Georgetown and in the strength and conditioning profession as a whole.

In the premiere episode of Three Cycle Strength, we take a walk down memory lane with a true pioneer in strength and conditioning, Coach Jeff "Maddog" Madden. With well over 30 years of experience in athletic performance, Madden shares his perspective on how the strength and conditioning coaching profession has evolved, and the principles that have withstood the test of time.