Recent Posts
Dave Schoch on Experience, Stories, and Stimulating the Change with the Gen Pop
Though 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 ReadingKen Vick on Sharing, Speed Development, and Being a Radical Centrist
Although 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 Reading10 Important Lessons I’ve Learned from Coaching Youth Sports
When 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 ReadingMike Kay on Training with Intent and Windows of Adaptation
Many 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 ReadingMax Schmarzo on Plyometrics, Jump Training and Elite Athleticism
Playing 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 on the Transition from Athlete to Coach
Danny 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 ReadingSam Pogue on Resilience in the Fitness Industry
Performance 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 ReadingLee Taft on Assessing and Coaching Speed Effectively
To 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 ReadingJimmy Stitz on Building a Durable, Adaptable and Robust Volleyball Player
Born 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 ReadingJoel Jamieson on Merging Fitness and Technology to Unlock Human Potential
When 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 ReadingKyle Pfaffenbach on Turning the Screws with Principle-Based Nutrition
From 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 ReadingJoe Kenn on 32 Years of Continued Success in Physical Preparation
What 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 ReadingChris Barnes on the Evolution of Sports Science in Professional Soccer
Sports 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 […]
Continue ReadingWhy Do YOU Coach?
The other day I was walking our dog, Finn, and asked myself this fairly simple question… Why do I coach? It made me think back to when I was a little kid and how much I loved sports. Growing up in the country – with literally ZERO kids my age within miles of me – […]
Continue ReadingMike Coval on Developing a Complete High School Athlete
It can be challenging to coach a high school athlete. Caught between training and studying, these young athletes have a lot of things going on in their lives and can be prone to fatigue and exhaustion. Especially during the COVID-era. Former IFAST intern Mike Coval knows this all too well. Mike is the owner of […]
Continue Reading