continuing advancement for the premier coaches of today Volume I, Issue I August 2009

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.- W. Fusselman

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Just want to say thank-you to all the coaches who have helped mold this idea and finally make it mainstream for fellow young (and older) strength and conditioning coaches. Your suggestions and continuous support are invaluable for this project. After various internships, classes and practical experiences (both good and bad), we made a realization that it is up to US to help each other out in the ever-growing field of performance enhancement. Science may still hold stronger after 20 years, but the art of making connections, learning from other coachs mistakes and becoming a more mature individual takes a little bit more than just reading a book or taking a class. It is the goal of the YSCCa to fine tune all aspects of our development as strength and conditioning coaches, through various means of discussions, e-mails, and personal contact. We must learn from the best around us. We must absorb, modify and apply various lessons of life so that one day, we can empower not just ourselves, but to those around us (as our mentors did with us).

Strength and conditioning is much like any business in the world. Its who you know not what you know that gets you most jobs.

And who you know isnt just a function of being in the right place at the right time. It is luck. It's when preparation meets opportunity. Networking is very important. It will increase your knowledge base as well as your base of people to place as a reference or who will recommend you for a job before you even know about it. But to get to those people, you have to meet them and get to know them. Simply meeting someone at a conference wont do you any good. In 2000 or so, at the NSCA conference in San Antonio, I met Bill Kazmeier, I was star struck, went up, shook his hand, and got his autograph. Does Bill Kazmeier know who I am today? Absolutely not, because he had no reason to remember me or any need to call me (but Mr. Kaz, if youre reading this and would like to talk, feel free to give me a call). Here are the keys to networking, and they are very simple: Pick up the phone and call, or go over and talk to the person. Before you decide to pick up the phone and call someone or make contact any other way, make sure that you do your homework. Research the person, read any interviews that you can on them or any articles that they have written. Know their philosophy, and as much as you can about their views on training. From this information, come up with specific, intelligent questions to ask. For instance, one wouldnt want to call and ask someone who is a known proponent of High Intensity Training their opinion on the Dynamic Effort Method. Find their passion and ask them about it. Ask them about it intelligently, and think about what they are saying. This will often lead to other questions. When youre doing this, make sure that you are not trying to dominate the conversation and demonstrate to them what you know. You are taking this opportunity to learn from them, if you try and dominate the conversation, you do not show to them what you know; you usually show them that youre a horses ass who tried to tell them how they should do things. Before every conference you attend, look at the list of speakers to see who will be there. If there is a list of other registered people, take a look at it too. Figure out who will be there that you want to get to know, and repeat the procedure of data collection to be able to ask the people intelligent questions. The next step at the conference is a simple one. Many people dont know how to go up and start conversations with those who they want to get to know. Theyre intimidated because this guys a big named coach and Im a nobody. Now, here is the secret to being able to meet these coaches. Wait around for them to not be talking to anyone (its rude to interrupt), go up to them and say these magic words Excuse me coach, my name is ____, and if you have a second, Id like to ask you a question about ____. One of two things will happen, either they will stop and talk to you then or theyll say Im sorry, actually Im going over here to meet with x, can I catch up with you later? You either get to talk to them then, or youll get to talk to them later. Whatever you do, approach them with humility. The I am big bad caveman-esque strength coach, see me strut and hear me roar will only lead you to a path of embarrassment. These guys have done it all and seen it all. Networking is not difficult, and it can be the difference in how your career goes. Be humble, do your research, and learn something. Remember, no matter how much you have learned in school, it cant compare to the knowledge one gains in the field.

Bryan Mann Assistant Director of S/C

University of Missouri

continuing advancement for the premier coaches of today Volume I, Issue I August 2009

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.- W. Fusselman

LEADERSHIP 101 Bryan Dermody

University of Louisville Football The toughest person to lead is always yourself. Often times, because we put leading others ahead of leading ourselves, the biggest obstacle to leading others is ourselves. Leadership is influence; nothing more, nothing less. It is impossible to influence other people to change in some way if we cannot first master influencing ourselves to change. Leading yourself is, in essence a prerequisite to leading others. Leading yourself means that you hold yourself to a higher standard of accountability than other do. Why? Because you are held responsible not only for your own actions, but also those of the people you lead. Leadership is a trust, not a right.

1) Can you briefly describe the road youve taken to arrive in the position you currently are in today? I knew I wanted to be a strength coach my first year of college. I lived in the weight room with the upperclassmen, learning everything I could. I also spent more time reading articles and trying to make templates on excel than I did studying for my classes! After graduating with a degree in Health Science, I spent a year applying for Graduate Assistantships, and wasn't having any luck. Then, a great friend of mine called me up to inform me that there was another GA opening at The Citadel where he had just landed his. At the time, I was the Director at CATZ sports performance in Auburn, MA. I knew I needed the Division I experience and a Master's Degree if I was ever going to move up, so I dropped everything and headed to Charleston, SC. The planets aligned themselves, and within a year's time I was interviewing for the head job. I put a lot of effort into preparing for that, and the blessings continued: I was named Head Strength Coach here in April 2008.

2) What are some major challenges you face as a S/C coach at your University and how do you work around them? At The Citadel, our athletes live a very regimented life. There isn't much free time if any, and that puts a squeeze on us from a time stand point. We rarely get more than 60 minutes at a time to train our teams, so planning has to be very thorough and precise. When you couple that with the need to share 1 weight room between 12 varsity sports and you could have a nightmare on your hands. Luckily, our sport coaches are a very supportive of our department and understand how important training is for their respective teams. The support from the sport coaches and the diligence/teamwork of our strength coaches make the process manageable. Microsoft Outlook is a big help as well, since you can upload Calendars and keep people up to speed on any changes that occur.

3) What was your most embarrassing moment on the job when you were just getting your foot in the door with college strength and conditioning? Most and ONLY embarrassing moment was the first time I had to lead our Football team's warm up for morning runs. I was a bit over zealous and sprinted up blowing the whistle to get them lined up and ready. I hadn't realized it, but it was 5 minutes ahead

Donnell Boucher Head S/C Coach

The Citadel

continuing advancement for the premier coaches of today Volume I, Issue I August 2009

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.- W. Fusselman

BOOK OF THE MONTH

The Fred Factor By Mark Sanborn

Need a little motivation to get your work done? Do you have a few interns that havent figured it out yet? I highly recommend this quick read for all young coaches and interns. Mark presents a story of your not-so-average postal carrier whose goes above and beyond the call of duty on a daily basis. His attitude reminds us of what we need to demonstrate while we are on the floor coaching or stocking our supplement coolers. Take notes on the little things we tend to forget while were training the next group of league/national champions! Focus on what you give, rather than what you get. Do your best because someone is always watching. People dont care how much you know until they know how much you care.

of start time, and there were still guys running up. I got "silenced" by my boss in front of the whole team. I overheard one of our O-linemen say, "Figures: you get called up to the big time and blow it!" Looking back on it, it was pretty funny.

4) Who are some of your biggest influences as a strength and conditioning coach and person in general? I have been influenced in one way or another by every person I have met in "our" world, and will continue to be as long as I live. Not a day goes by where I don't learn at least 1 thing from a conversation, observation, article, video, etc., etc.. You can see that in our programs here: they are the products of blending together different styles and methods that have been successful for others. We combine various tactics & philosophies, and put our own twist on them. If I had to mention the biggest ones, three come to mind: 1. Ted Perlak [Fordham University] - I played Football with him my 1st year at Worcester State. This was the older guy that took me under is wing and taught me how to push when it got difficult. He also showed me how important planning was. Before I met him in 2001, there wasn't much method to the madness that I called training. 2. Brooks Kubik - I read Dinosaur Training for the first time in 2003 and it changed the way I did things. Focus and concentration became the heart of everything for me. I started developing little routines to block out the environment, and get completely dialed in to whatever I was about to do. Now, I preach to our players that the only thing that can slow them down is distraction. We try to cultivate the highest level of focus with the different situations we put them in, so when it comes time to execute, it will be as close to perfect as possible. 3. Joe Kenn [Louisville] - I got my hands on some Arizona State Programs back in 2005 and was like a kid on Christmas. From his book, to DVDs of his presentations, to visiting with him, to reading his articles, there is a lot to be learned. Experience is one thing, but the thing I tend to always take away from him the most is his ability to develop systems. I think that we have to be able to rely on systems and not people if we are going to be successful in the long term. We may have a great staff of assistants under us at this point in time, but what happens when those people move on? If there is no real system in place, the continuity ceases and you have to start over from scratch. From his Tier System, to the way he progresses movements and program levels, I think he is the best out there at putting practical systems in place and applying them. One tenet of his work is to always be adapting, evolving, and getting better. I will always be advocate of this mentality. "Anything can work for now, but nothing works forever."

Donnell Boucher Head S/C Coach

The Citadel

continuing advancement for the premier coaches of today Volume I, Issue I August 2009

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.- W. Fusselman

TIP OF THE MONTH

Practical Time Management

Between groups, meetings and school, most of us think we have too much on our plate. But, try to look back on your day and count how many minutes you wasted looking at Facebook, YouTube, and e-mail. You dont have to bring work home if you dont need to. Here are a few tips Ive learned this past year to help manage my work more efficiently. Devise a monthly professional development calendar separated by categories and deadlines. This ensures you stay on top of the projects you need to stay on course. Tackle your biggest/most important project first. Dont tackle the smallest items because they are the easiest. Hit your biggest obstacle right off the bat. This will eliminate most of your stress. Make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you like it or not. This is the meaning of true self-discipline.

5) What are three tips or guidelines you would tell a young adult just breaking into the field? 1. Understand that the only thing you can control is the way you respond. Do your job to the best of your ability and do it that way all the time. 2. Never underestimate the effect or influence you can have on young people. If you're a coach, you're a teacher...and if you're a teacher, you're in a position to help a lot of people along their way. 3. Anything worth-while is going to take SACRIFICE and HARD WORK. Accept that reality and get after it. There's a great quote that ties in to this: "If you ever wanted something and didn't get it; you never REALLY wanted it in the first place."

If you have any suggestions for future topics, or would like to contribute to this newsletter, please contact me. The more coaches we can get to write and influence our holistic development, the better our athletes will train and compete.

Join the YSCCa Facebook group and join in on weekly discussions and news topics. More coaches equals more learning!

Donnell Boucher Head S/C Coach

The Citadel

Adam Feit Assistant Coach-Athlete Development

University of Louisville Football Adam.feit@louisville.edu