Thank you Coach Charles Hartman for this great read! This is one that coaches of all levels and experiences need to read a few times and reference!
I feel really honored that Coach Court asked me to put some thoughts down on paper and write an article for his blog. This is actually my first stab at having something on the internet. I am a special education teacher and football coach in Minnesota. For the last 20+ years I have been either an assistant varsity coach, coordinator, or head coach at a few different sized schools. I have been around traditionally strong programs, programs that were on their way up, and programs that have been….well not so good for a long time. No matter where I have been I have either led the strength program (when I was a head coach) or when I have been at larger schools helped the strength coach in the summer. Here are some things I have learned along the way.
1. Most kids really don’t like lifting weights, or at least they don’t like squatting heavy. It is a means to an end. Once their playing careers are over they might join a gym and “workout” but they are done “training.” So we have to find ways to help them understand that training is important and try to find ways to make the “grind” fun. Now can they feel good about themselves and the work they accomplished? Heck yes. But if you gave them a choice between a pick up game of hoops and 5x5 front squats I think seven out of 10 would prefer to ball out.
2. We need to bring the juice every day. I have been in the weight room with coaches who are there to supervise and don’t get excited about it. That attitude is contagious.
3. You need to teach your athletes how to spot, and demand they do it right. I have seen too many kids bomb a squat, or conversely watched as their buddy upright rows their bench press for them. I also think the more you can get your athletes to coach each other the better they get. The easier your job gets too. When we have a packed weight room you can't coach every set for every athlete.
4. You don’t need to do an olympic lift, but they are great if you want to. I have been coaching football for a long time. When I ran my program most years we did power or hang cleans. But some years we did not and I found our guys made the same strength and speed gains doing more sprint work, plyos, med ball throws etc etc. The program where I assist now does not utilize olympic lifts at all and we have a 38-6 record over the last four seasons. (whereas I was .500 in 10 years) If you can coach them, and have the space they are great. I also know of plenty of really good collegiate programs who do not oly lift. In season we never did because of banged up joints. They are also a lift that some kids just can’t do well and get frustrated with. They are not strong enough, coordinated enough, or flexible enough yet. Remember what I said back in my first paragraph. Make it fun. If they are having success that is fun.
5. You don’t need to do a bunch of busy work in the weight room. I have seen coaches prescribe five sets of 25 exercises in a single training session. That is asinine. Does an athlete need to do preacher curls, and dumbbell curls, and cable curls in the same workout to be a good football player? No. Does he need to squat, leg press, hack squat and do lunges in the same workout? Not if you want him to walk later. Quality work over quantity.
6. Don’t confuse sprint training with conditioning. They are two totally different things. There is enough good information now to know if I want to train speed an athlete they need to be fresh. I could go on and on about this one.
7. You should record, rank, and publish everything. How else do the student athletes know how they are doing? By feel? Recording your lifts is motivating to most athletes. Knowing where they stand against other athletes is motivating too. We had record boards that not only showed all time bests, top 5s, etc but also where everyone on the current team was. If you made certain criteria in our speed and strength categories you got your picture up on the weight room wall of fame. I always used binders and with charts I made on Excel but now I would use an app on a smart phone or other device.
8. Understand the difference between what you can control and what you can’t.
9. Don’t specialize. These are high school athletes. They all need to do the same basic movements.
10. Never stop learning.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. It’s nothing groundbreaking and that was my intent. Thanks to Rick Court for offering me an opportunity to write for his blog.