insights LIBRARY

Strength and conditioning can be a busy profession. Early mornings, coordinating with sports medicine, attending practice, staff meetings, programming for your teams, testing analysis, monitoring, emails to read and send, pre-game prep, post-game work, travel etc… the list can seem endless. Somewhere between all of that, you’re supposed to find the time to actually coach. Days will be long and that’s part of working in athletics. We all know this, but I’ve learned there is

Networking is a buzzword in strength and conditioning. You run through the checklist of networking: Go to conferences. Meet people. Shake hands. Exchange contact information. And yes, meeting people matters. But simply knowing someone doesn't make them part of your network. The more important question is: How do they know you? A CONTACT ISN'T ALWAYS A CONNECTION You can have someone's phone number. You could’ve met them at a conference. You might follow each other on social

The perception is that most strength and conditioning coaches only focus on the athletes in front of them. The lift. The session. The result. And rightly so, but over time, your role expands. Your impact isn’t just measured by the athletes you train. It’s measured by the people you develop. THE SHIFT At some point, coaching stops being only about the athletes. It starts to include: o Interns o Assistants o Mentees o Young coaches entering the field The environment yo

Many coaches invest heavily in their development early in their careers. Almost every coach has earned a master's degree, holds certifications, and has completed internships. After those initial educational boxes are checked, something shifts. Learning slows down. Continuing education turns into a requirement instead of a priority. Attend a clinic. Get the CEUs. Move on. But development doesn’t stop once you land a job. If anything, that’s when it should accelerate. THE REA

Most young strength and conditioning coaches move forward with momentum. Take the classes. Pass the certifications. Apply for internships. Hope it leads somewhere. There is nothing wrong with that path. But it’s reactive. Coaches who build intentional careers do something different: they reverse engineer. They start with the end goal and work backward. Here is how that looks in strength and conditioning. 1. DEFINE THE END FIRST Before worrying about certifications or int