Derek Hansen is an international sports performance consultant specializing in speed development, strategic performance planning, return-to-competition protocols, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation programming. As a life-long athlete with a passion for speed and sprint training, Derek’s career initially began in Track and Field, where he provided coaching and training programs to sprint athletes of all ages. […]
Continue ReadingZach Dechant grew up in a farming community in Kansas, where the population is 300 people (or less, depending on the day). Their high school didn’t have a weight room, nor a coach who knew anything about strength and conditioning. But Zach knew that if he was going to become a college athlete, he’d need […]
Continue ReadingThough athletes and general population clients may seem different, they have the same reason they go to the gym: to change. Whether it’s to change their athletic performance or their capacity to do their daily chores, IFAST morning coach Dave Schoch suggests that the job of coaches and trainers is to facilitate the changes clients […]
Continue ReadingAlthough Ken Vick – President and High-Performance Director at Velocity Sports Performance – loved sports in high school, he didn’t begin his career in coaching right away. Ken completed his undergraduate studies at Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Sound Engineering & Acoustic Design. It wasn’t until later, when his wife worked in the […]
Continue ReadingWhen you have kids, you start seeing the world through their eyes – and you definitely learn a lot from them. I played a lot of sports growing up. And by a lot, I mean if you can think of it, I’ve probably played it at some level. For me, personally, I enjoyed sports because […]
Continue ReadingMany young, aspiring coaches think that the path to becoming trainers is as smooth as just graduating from school then landing their dream job. Sometimes, there are lots of stops and hiccups along the way. Sometimes, there’s a lot of detours involved. Take Michael Kay, a Doctor of Physical Therapy based in Phoenix, Arizona. He […]
Continue ReadingPlaying sports initiates all things performance, whether it’s about trying to be a better jump shooter or a better athlete. And that’s exactly the catalyst that sparked the passion of applied sports scientist and educator Max Schmarzo. After playing Division III Basketball for Coe College, where he also completed his degrees in athletic training and […]
Continue ReadingDanny O’Rourke has seen soccer from the vantage point of both athlete and coach. After playing collegiate soccer at Indiana University – where he played 83 games, who back-to-back National Championships and the MAC Hermann Trophy – Danny had an 11-year MLS career. In the early years of his career as a professional soccer player, […]
Continue ReadingPerformance Coach and Brand Strategy Consultant Sam Pogue knows what it takes to be resilient in a time of uncertainty. After his stint as Director of Strategic Partnerships and Senior Coach for Onnit, Sam moved to Colorado to work for TrueCoach as Vice President of Brand. Amidst the global pandemic, Sam was laid off following […]
Continue ReadingTo me, Lee Taft is more than a highly-respected and world-renowned athletic movement specialist: He has been a constant mentor and role model who helped shape my thoughts on speed training. A former physical education teacher, Lee began his career in the world of physical preparation in 1989 and has since been helping people take […]
Continue ReadingBorn and raised in Minnesota, Athletic Performance Coach for Women’s Senior National Volleyball team Jimmy Stitz has always known he wanted to become a coach. Growing up with a passion for many sports, Jimmy stumbled into the world of strength and conditioning at an early age. Realizing his athletic career may not have been strong […]
Continue ReadingWhen 8 Weeks Out founder and best-selling author Joel Jamieson began his career in the fitness industry, he immediately learned the importance of data in gauging the factors that affect fitness and recovery. But what’s interesting is that those factors are often found outside the gym. Without an objective technology that can monitor these factors, […]
Continue ReadingFrom his experience working with elite athletes, Nutrition Consultant Kyle Pfaffenbach knows all too well a pitfall athletes tend to have: While they are driven for success, they can be too strict with everything from training to nutrition. Kyle is an Associate Professor of Health and Human Performance at Eastern Oregon University, where he teaches […]
Continue ReadingWhat does it take to have a long, stable career in the world of sports and physical preparation? And how do you make yourself stand out in a competitive industry where everyone is welcome to enter? Veteran Strength & Conditioning Coach Joe Kenn, whose career spans more than 30 years, is a well of wisdom […]
Continue ReadingSports science is a common thing in elite and professional sports today – but it hasn’t always been that way. Over the past 25 years in his career at high-level sports, sports scientist and consultant Chris Barnes has seen how sports science has evolved and gained prominence. When he began his career as a sports […]
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