Strength Coach

Brian Carrol wrote an interesting piece called Five Reasons Your Not Getting Stronger. It was pretty good and to the point.

I thought I'd analyze this part though:

Qualify the person you're taking advice from using these 5 questions I learned from Dave Tate of Elite FTS:

1. What is his/her education and background?
2. How is/was this coach's performance in the particular sport they're coaching?
3. Who have they trained?
4. Have they been able to make athletes better than they were before training with them?
5. Do they practice what they preach?

If I score myself, I do pretty good on number 1- Education and background.

2. Performance in the particular sport they are coaching? I was not very good at anything. In fact, my best sport was swimming. I played and liked lots of other stuff ( powerlifting, basketball, football) but, performance? Not so much. Surprisingly, I have a baseball worlds series ring ( played from 8 years old to 12 and stunk) and two ice hockey national championship rings ( never played). By the way, my dad one a few state championships as a basketball coach and never played organized basketball. Also, in most team sports, great players don't make great coaches. In strength and conditioning most of the best coaches I know either weren't very good, had a career shortened by injury or both.

3. Who have they trained? I make a big comeback here. That part of my resume is better than average.

4. Have they been able to make people better athletes than before they trained them? Another positive. At MBSC we have professional athletes who started with us a middle schoolers. I think this one is huge. I hate the coaches who suck up to some All Star and then take credit for him. This is sadly very common and something we go through every day.

5. Do they practice what they preach? Oops, abject failure. I have not lifted a heavy weight since the 80's and probably do far too many 12 ounce curls ( I will occasionally go heavy at 16 and 22).

Bottom line, be careful with guru's, Dave and John are right, however I would recommend that you really focus on 1, 3, and 4.

Playing the sport and looking good doesn't make you a good coach.

Looking for information you can trust in a place you can connect with Strength Coaches and Trainers who, like you, just want to be the best that they can be?

You want to learn, grow and network to advance in a career you love?

This is the place to do it.

"StrengthCoach.com has helped me tremendously since its inception. The articles and videos continue to be really helpful in learning what's currently going on in the Strength and Conditioning profession. However, what I find most valuable is the ongoing forum discussions which feature dialogue between some of the best people in the business. You get an insight to what people are doing with their clients/athletes."

Sean Skahan, Strength & Conditioning Coach, Boston University Hockey

Imagine a place where you could go to get the latest info on everything Strength & Conditioning and training and interact with some of the best Strength Coaches in the World!

Welcome to StrengthCoach.com.

It really has become “The Best Source for Strength & Conditioning Information”

Come join us. Try it out for 3 days for just $1

Join the community and interact with so many like minded coaches.
As a member of StrengthCoach.com, you get:

	Unlimited Access to the private member-only forum- Coach Boyle is on everyday
	Beginner, Advanced, High School, Business, FMS and Nutrition Forums
	"Critique My Form" video forum
	Brand new articles, videos and programs every week
	Over 2,500 archived articles, videos, webinars, audio interviews, and programs
	10% Discount on all Training Equipment orders from Perform Better
	Updates to workshops and lectures
	A FREE Downloadable pdf of the "StrengthCoach.com Top 10 Articles- The Essentials"
	A FREE Downloadable pdf of the "StrengthCoach.com Top 10 Articles- Performance"

If you decide to stay on after your 3 day trial membership, you get 2 more incredible bonuses!

	Coach Boyle's book, "Advances in Functional Training" (in PDF format) In *Advances, you'll learn how to— Reduce and prevent common problems like low back pain, knee pain, neck and shoulder pain* by identifying compensations, improving mobility and flexibility and focusing on movement patterns Minimize the risk of common injuries like lifting-related back injuries, tendinitis, upper-body injuries, ACL injuries and sports hernias Unlock greater power and performance by learning how to properly train the hips and core Help your athletes stay in top shape all season long with the right conditioning methods in the preseason, off-season and in-season Develop explosiveness to improve forty-yard dash times and overall game speed Select the right equipment for your gym room—Mike gives his recommendations of the equipment you do and don't need to improve strength, conditioning and overall athleticism Select the right exercises for your athletes—Learn to pick the exercises that have the biggest payoff and minimum risk Build safer, more effective programs for your athletes—Mike provides insight into how to program for speed, power, strength, hypertrophy, and more. He even gives sample programs and templates so you can see how he puts programs together, so you can go from there to build your own. … and much more. Whether you train elite athletes looking for an extra edge in performance without compromising safety… or everyday men and women looking to maximize their time in the gym so they can enjoy their life outside of it… If you're a serious coach or trainer always looking for a better and safer way to train the people you work with, Advances in Functional Training is a “must have” resource to add to your library. This is one of the few fitness books you'll come back to again and again as you train your clients and seek to give them every advantage you can. FREE DOWNLOAD ONCE YOUR 3 DAY TRIAL IS UP!

Coach Boyle's Book "Designing Strength Training Programs and Facilities" (in PDF format) "Designing Strength Training Programs and Facilities" is a "how-to- book." The book moves from the task of equipping a weight room, through a discussion of programming concepts, and eventually into actual workouts with detailed explanation. I hope that this book will be what every aspiring, strength and conditioning coach is looking for. A basic primer on how to get things done and why. The concepts are meant to be simple and utilitarian. FREE DOWNLOAD ONCE YOUR 3 DAY TRIAL IS UP!

Who Should You Take Advice From?