The full-time strength coach as a profession is still in its infancy. In 1988 when I graduated from college, there were only a handful of collegiate and professional strength and conditioning coaches. Little did I know that 25 years later, I would be working in this amazing, challenging field, shaping the lives of young athletes.

One of my major concerns when I made the move to the high school ranks after almost 15 years as a collegiate strength and conditioning coach was interacting with the parents.

I am in a unique situation: a K-12 private school. I deal with questions from parents of children at many different ages. These questions range from the routine to the very off-the-wall.

Early on in my transition, I came to realization that dealing with a parent was very similar to dealing with sport coaches. Sometimes it can be a difficult situation, and other times it can be smooth. The one thing the strength and conditioning coach must have is support from their administration. A supportive athletic director, principal, and administrative staff will be the strength and conditioning coach's best friends.

Ah it’s finally here! The college guys are home, all of the high school guys are finishing up school, and our summer strength and conditioning program is underway!

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears and reconstruction are very common in the world of athletics. Either you know of someone who has had their ACL reconstructed or you have yourself. (Prior to being a physical therapist, I had mine reconstructed TWICE!)

The governing rule for all strength and conditioning or general performance training programs is the S.A.I.D. principle. 

The S.A.I.D. principle stands for Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands.  

Essentially, what this tells us is that the body will adapt and respond based on the specific physical demands we place upon it. Simply put, tell the body what outcome you want, and it will make the physical adaptations.

Developing strong, powerful, fast, and athletic female athletes can open many doors when it comes to recruiting and collegiate athletics.

Here are some of the things I have learned from coaching hundreds of female athletes on a weekly basis. I have made many mistakes, but the following tips can help you create a culture that allows female athletes to thrive.

Getting all those involved with your program to believe in you as a strength & conditioning coach is something that gets tougher each day. And it's something good coaches must constantly work on to develop. 

Slow. Small. Weak. Three words you never want to utter when talking about your team. 

If speed is king, then strength is queen and size is the spoiled prince. This trifecta is like the royal flush of on-field performance.

Summer conditioning for football and other fall sports (especially down south where the weather forecast is usually the same day in and day out—hazy, humid, and 90+ degrees) can be a strength and conditioning coach’s worst nightmare.

The snatch and the clean and jerk are the two lifts used in Olympic lifting competition. They are a test of skill, power, strength, balance, flexibility, and coordination.

These movements, when incorporated appropriately, can have a high degree of impact on an athlete’s strength and power capabilities. They are preferred exercises to include in many programs for the field athlete.  

In this article, I want to review the fundamental variables and related issues when it comes to programming the Olympic lifts for the field athlete.