Philosophy:

My philosophy as a speed, strength and conditioning coach is a reflection of the ideas and methods that I have taken from previous years experience under some of the best strength and conditioning experts in the country, six year of schooling and continuing education in the field. Although this is an ever-changing field, I believe there are staples of my program that have been proven in the past and have remained unchanged. I believe in Olympic lifts and variations to facilitate fast twitch muscles fibers. These movements, if taught correctly, can be enormously effective in building explosive power, range of motion, flexibility and balance.

To aid in the building of explosive power, the incorporation of plyometric and bounding techniques in various forms will be utilized, along with strength based powerlifting movements. The ground base strength is developed through squat variations such as low bar back squats, high bar dynamic squats, front squats, split squats and single leg squat. The lunge and Romanian dead lifts also play a roll. I want to target the glutes and hamstrings in the squat and other movements that put an emphasis on the posterior chain. This is because these are the muscles that apply force into the ground when performing a sprint or jump. The more force put into the ground in a sprint creates a longer stride length, which results in a greater sprint velocity. This in combination with other base strength movements, injury prevention techniques (prehab), core strength and flexibility encompass what we try to do in the weight room in general terms.

Intensity: The athlete must perform every workout with great intensity to ensure the proper development of a particular exercise. For this reason, every core exercise set will be called and monitored to ensure the athlete has the proper weight on the bar. Intensity also applies to speed training and conditioning. Athletes will have standards according to their particular position and training level, which will depict the level of intensity achieved on every drill or conditioning exercise performed in the program. The athlete will never go through a workout at his or her own pace. The level of intensity is prominent in the way a team plays from start to finish. If the athlete trains with great intensity, they will play with great intensity.

Organization: This is probably one of the more important aspects of being an effective strength coach, due to the time restraints on the coach and athlete. The strength coach must be able to organize a training environment to maximize an athlete's production in a given time. It is also very important to have speed and conditioning drills organized to ensure safety and effectiveness. The strength coach's ability to organize the training field and weight room is a key contributor to one's effectiveness over an athletic program. Jeff Connors at North Carolina is one of the best strength and conditioning organizers in college athletics. Organizing a training environment is definitely one of the more important things I have learned from my time at UNC Chapel Hill.

Technique: I believe my abilities to coach technique separate me from most other strength coaches in collegiate sports. I am a technician in the weight room. I see mistakes that athletes are making in their lifts and running instantly. I believe that correcting technique makes a huge difference in the outcome of an athletes training. The lift must be completed with near perfect form to achieve the desired outcome. Lifting with great form also decreased the chance for injury. Parallel squats and power cleans are some of the best lifts athletes can perform if they want to increase their linear speed. However, if performed incorrectly those two lifts can be detrimental in your quest for greater speed, and will also cause injury to the ankle, knee, hip, lower back, and wrist. To ensure that perfect technique is being used in every lift, I will monitor and coach every set of every rep that is performed in the lifting running area.

Sport-Specific Conditioning: When preparing a team's conditioning regimen, you must first analyze which energy systems are used during the sport. For example, the average college football play lasts from four to six seconds. Each play is completed with 100 percent effort with 30 to 40 seconds of recovery. The primary energy systems used when playing a game of football is the phosphogen and glycolytic system. It only makes logical sense that training the energy system would be the primary goal of a football strength coach. However, many strength coaches across collegiate athletics still condition their football teams with methods that do not match up to ATP conditions. If an athlete can run a mile in five minutes, it does not mean they can complete a series of 15 plays in a game of college football at maximal effort. This is simply true because the body uses a separate energy system for football as opposed to running a mile. Matching the appropriate conditioning exercise with the sports primary energy system is a vital need for a college program to be prepared to complete an entire game at maximal effort.

Mental Toughness and Discipline: Mental toughness and discipline can and will be taught in any of my programs. This is done by giving athletes the ability to realize their full potential while pushing them to heights previously unknown. I am a firm believer in the "push your mind, your body will follow" philosophy. This is why it is crucial to give athletes the proper motivation to realize their maximum potential. The athlete will be mentally strengthened through a detailed and disciplined regimen while participating in one of my workouts. Although mental toughness and discipline are often a conscious decision developed by the athlete, it has been my experience that it can be enhanced by the strength coach.

• Maroon Club Strength Center Photo Gallery 
• Gallagher Weight Room -- Bourger Varsity Football House 
• Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Bio