Career Development

Breaking in, growing up, and thriving in the coaching profession.

Career Development

A New Chapter: Headed to Indiana

What drew me here is the chance to build. A performance department is a system of people, standards, and decisions, and I get to shape all three from the ground up: how we train, how we measure, how we communicate, and how the pieces fit together on a daily basis.

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Closing a Chapter at Colorado

Nearly a decade at Colorado shaped a journey built on relationships, resilience, and unseen work. From early mornings to hard seasons, the impact of athletes and staff made it more than a job

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Hiring the Right Leader for Sport Performance? Don’t Miss the Forest for the Trees.

This article challenges NCAA programs to rethink hiring for sport performance leadership. Drawing on years at Colorado building a sport science model, it argues true leaders aren’t found in résumés or social media—they’re seasoned practitioners who inspire, align, and elevate entire departments.

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So You Want to Be a Collegiate Strength Coach? Some Hard Truths From the Trenches

This no-fluff guide breaks down many hard-earned lessons from coaching D1 athletes in collegiate strength & conditioning. Based on years at Colorado with WBB and Volleyball, it covers trust, results, integrity, and the human side of coaching that actually builds lasting impact.

#069 - The Turbulent Times in Collegiate Athletics

‌In this episode of the Decoding Excellence Show, I'm discussing the rapidly changing landscape of collegiate athletics.

#068 - Advice I’d Love to Give Myself 15 Years Ago

In this episode of The Decoding Excellence Show, I delve into my recent article, Advice I'd Love to Give Myself 15 Years Ago, inspired by conversations with young strength and conditioning interns.

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Advice I’d Love to Give Myself 15 Years Ago

I've reached a point where I feel confident in my role as a strength and conditioning coach, so I thought it would be fun to share some advice with the idea of “what would have gotten me to this point faster?”

Career Development

10 Hard Truths About Coaching in the World of Athletics

As I recently had the opportunity to interact with several aspiring intern strength and conditioning coaches, it became evident that many of them harbored idealistic perceptions of the collegiate coaching profession. They envisioned a world filled with victory celebrations, accolades, and an undying passion for the coaching industry. However, the

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An Instagram Live Conversation with Adam Ringler

Jay and I get the great opportunity to catch-up about how we can maximize some of the time and opportunities in our COVID down time.

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Financial Lessons within the Coaching Industry

Decoding Excellence

#055 - Vehicle Version: Personal Improvement During this Challenging Era

In this episode of the Decoding Excellence Show, discussing some of my thoughts surrounding continuing education, the many online Zoom & Google Hangout conferences and clinics, and things you can do to continue along your own personal development initiatives.

Decoding Excellence

#050 - Performance Titles: Do We Even Have a Clue?

I'm discussing Martin Buchheit's article "The Noble Ranks of Performance Roles - Who's a king - who's a duke?". In addition, I discuss what titles, roles, and responsibilities really mean within High Performance Athletics. Later in the show, I expand on the direction of our industry.

Decoding Excellence

#047 - Paid vs. Unpaid Internships Within the Strength and Conditioning Industry

In this episode of the Decoding Excellence Show, I'm discussing the polarizing topic of strength and conditioning programs, across the country, offering paid vs. unpaid internships in the field and industry.

Decoding Excellence

#027 Lessons of a Public Speaker

In this episode of the Decoding Excellence Show, I'm sharing some of the lessons I have learned with public speaking and presenting. My hope is some of these lessons help you better prepare for your next presentation, board meeting, or sales pitch.

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Advice I Wish I Knew in the Beginning

Whether you are a seasoned veteran in this field or just beginning your journey into coaching, this is the advice I wish I knew when I was first beginning my journey. My hope is these words can help guide you towards doing your best work.

Decoding Excellence

#020 Tyler Friedrich

In this episode of the Decoding Excellence Show, I am joined with Stanford Sports Performance Coach, Tyler Friedrich. Tyler Friedrich is a sports performance coach at Stanford. He is responsible for designing and implementing the sports performance programs for women's volleyball, beach volleyball, women’s rowing and men’

Decoding Excellence

#018 Questions & Answers

In this episode (or Mini-Episode) of the Decoding Excellence Show, I am sharing a few of the many lessons I've learned from a variety of the great experts and guests who joined me on the Decoding Excellence show. This was a lot of fun and a great

Decoding Excellence

#012 Ryan Horn

In this episode of the Decoding Excellence Show, I am speaking with Coach Ryan Horn, Wake Forest's Director of Performance for Men's Basketball. Ryan and I discuss: * His journey into coaching * The lessons his mentors taught him * The role of technology in coaching * The management of

Decoding Excellence

#011 Jorge Carvajal

In this episode of the Decoding Excellence Show, I am speaking with Jorge Carvajal, a performance coach and consultant who works with elite athletes. Jorge has trained athletes at places like the University of Florida, the University of Nebraska, and the U.S. Olympic Training Center. He currently works with

Decoding Excellence

#003 Vernon Griffith

In this episode of the Decoding Excellence show, I am speaking with Vernon Griffith, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach and Co-Founder of Virginia High Performance. Vernon and I discuss: * How to build confidence in your female athletes. The greatest impact you have as a coach. * Balancing the demands of

Decoding Excellence

#001 Matt Shadeed

In this episode of the Decoding Excellence show I am speaking with Coach Matt Shadeed, the Director of Strength & Conditioning for Arkansas State University. Matt and I discuss leadership strategies, staff development, and the many lessons learned from navigating his career to his current position. We discuss: * His path

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The 4:1 Principle

In a conversation with Mike Boyle, I was advised that I had two eyes, two ears but only one mouth; as a rule for interning, use a 4-1 ratio. This doesn't mean to always be a shy introvert who never speaks their mind, but rather learn to

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Growing Future Leaders

It’s our responsibility to grow future coaches as well as developing your own coaching abilities. You cannot do one without doing the other.  It is vitally important to bring out the best in the people you work with. In our internship program, my mission is to develop the interns,

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Stop Learning...Start Dying?

What a fantastic quote by Lillian Smith.  Too often coaches get set in a routine that becomes 'comfortable'.  When you ignore current research, advice, science breakthroughs, in relation to your training programs, then it is time to die. Don't neglect research at the expense of comfort.

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ATC, CSCS, PT, PhD: Alphabet Soup, Oh My!

We're all working towards the same goal; to make healthier and stronger athletes that move better. I was having a conversation the other day regarding scope of practice with a physical therapist friend of mine and we starting talking about limits of our respective practice. This got me