NSCA’s Coaching Podcast

Megan Young, Performance Coach at Auburn University, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about the data revolution and combining science and coaching to validate the “coaching eye.” They also discuss the importance of your professional network, building a strong performance team, and the need to unify the profession.Megan Young, PhD, CSCS, RSCC, is a Performance Coach at Auburn University and does all performance training for the women’s soccer team there. She has presented multiple times for national organizations on a variety of topics, is a reviewer for The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, and is on the Conference Committee for the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).Follow Megan on Twitter: @coachmega | Find Scott on Twitter: @scottcaulfieldShow Notes"If you have a good relationship going into trying to create something, it's a lot smoother when everyone is communicating in the same language and is on the same page." - 3:38"I wanted to know without a doubt that when I have numbers in front of me, is the dataset I'm working with valid, is it reliable? Am I collecting good data?" - 7:07"Everything always goes back to people and relationships, whether we are talking coaching or life." - 9:30"The more you can understand people, the more you understand a situation." - 10:06"I never had a bad day in terms of what my outlook was, and that was surely because of my support circle... When you have really strong people in your circle ... you can handle stuff." - 22:19"You talk about a saturated field and market ... there are plenty of people standing in line to take that $30,000 entry-level job. Why is it still $30,000? Our value with a Master's Degree, experience, certification, whatever that may be, it has to be a higher minimum." - 25:10"You have to find value outside of your job. And don't feel ashamed for it." - 29:58"You're not winning as a strength coach by having the most hours in the weight room. You're losing." - 30:04

J. Aggabao, former Assistant Strength Coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL), talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about coaching in the NFL. Topics under discussion include getting a foot in the door in the NFL, what happens when your head coach gets let go, and misconceptions about being an NFL strength coach.J. Aggabao spent four seasons as the Assistant Strength Coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He interned as a Strength Coach at Washington State University prior to attending graduate school at Illinois State University.Show Notes~Show Notes~"My path for getting to the NFL was to reach out to several different NFL coaches. I heard back from 1 ... I was able to get my foot in the door as an intern." 2:05"Being certified through the NSCA is definitely important. Having a certification of that caliber is necessary." 2:57"Communication skills and understanding the sport psyche of these millennial athletes is very important." 3:16"When they select the head coach, that coach will be able to determine who his head strength and conditioning coach will be. Whether they have someone in mind already that they've worked with ... or if they give me a chance to interview." 5:39"Everybody thinks it's a glorified job, that you don't work the long collegiate hours -- that's one of the myths." 7:00"My first year as an intern [in the NFL], I made less than I did as a GA in college." 7:30"Be the best wherever you are ... While you are in your lane, make sure you are doing everything to the best of your ability." 11:58"You have to be open to adaptability and change, but within your core philosophy." 17:05Find J. on Twitter: @jaggabao | Find Scott on Twitter: @scottcaulfield

Lance Walker, Global Director of Performance at Michael Johnson Performance (MJP), talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about being unselfish in your work, developing your people skills in order to be a better coach, and mapping out your professional path.Lance Walker, PT, CSCS, is the Global Director of Performance at MJP in McKinney, TX. He directs global operations for the company in the United States, China, and England, and is also responsible for ensuring product development and implementation for MJP licensed facilities. Walker served three seasons as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach with the Dallas Cowboys National Football League (NFL) team. He has an extensive background in strength and conditioning and sports medicine at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. Prior to joining the Dallas Cowboys, Walker held performance trainer positions at the University of Oklahoma, where he worked directly with athletes across many sports.Show Notes“It's selfishness, I think, that limits us. And also maybe ego.” 2:15“Make sure you dedicate a piece of your development the rest of your life to your emotional intelligence - your people skills, your ability to be empathetic, your ability to seek first to understand.” 13:00"Know humans. Know about human interaction. Know about how to respond to people and how they respond to you." 13:30“So many folks lack a system of arranging information ... I wish I could go back and set up that arrangement system first.” 14:03“It’s starting to be multi-disciplinary where everybody is coming together, getting on the same page. The youth stuff is exciting, the physio space, they're starting to see the CSCS as a real differentiator for them in their practices, and still being able to pull the applied people into those rooms.” 18:05“The people part of this business is so important, that’s why that becomes a thing of networks. It’s because they know that the people part of this business, if you don't have that right, none of the other stuff is going to matter.” 20:59“I set up a yearly sort of professional development program to get to what I want to be someday and those stepwise things, that strategic plan we talked about ... you have to do that. You have to have a strategic plan: objectives, strategies, KPIs, tactics to use, metrics of monitoring all along the way to get there, or you're just hoping.” 22:55“It was honesty from colleagues ... but it had to me be me pulling them aside and saying, ‘Look, will you be brutally honest with me and tell me what I'm missing. Where are my blind spots?’ ... The epiphany moment was to ask the question.” 25:44“I’m on a path. I have a good idea where I want that path to go, but knowing exactly where that path is ... I don’t know.” 32:42

Show NotesTim Pelot, CSCS, has spent time in the collegiate, professional, and private settings. He is currently a Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). Pelot has been involved with the USOC for nine years in the following sports: bobsled, skeleton, luge, alpine ski, aerial ski, freestyle ski, canoe, kayak, freestyle and Greco wrestling, indoor volleyball, track cycling, judo, speed skating short track, water polo, beach volleyball, swimming, and boxing. In his tenure with the USOC, he has helped support the attainment of 20 major international gold medals, two World Cup titles, two World Championship titles, three Olympic bronze medals, one Olympic silver medal, and three Olympic gold medals.

Matt Shaw, CSCS, RSCC is in his fifth year working at the University of Denver. He was promoted to Director of Sports Performance in August 2016, where he oversees the development of men’s ice hockey, men’s soccer, and men’s and women’s golf. Additionally, he works and consults with athletes from the National Hockey League (NHL), American Hockey League (AHL), and Major League Soccer (MLS). Prior to the University of Denver, Shaw was an Assistant Coach at Boston University and completed internships at the University of South Carolina, Harvard University, Boston University, and for Mike Boyle. Shaw is the recipient of the 2016 National Strength and Conditioning Association’s (NSCA) Assistant College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year Award.Show Notes

Brendon Huttmann, CSCS,*D, RSCC*D, the Sports Science Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about the role of the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®) in MLB.The 2017 season will be Brendon Huttmann’s second as the Sports Science Coordinator for Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) organization. Previously, he served as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Major League Strength and Conditioning Coach for four seasons and spent four years in the same capacity with the Los Angeles Dodgers team. He worked five seasons in the Cleveland Indians organization as a Minor League Strength and Conditioning Coordinator and also worked as a Minor League Strength Coach in the Colorado Rockies organization in 2002 and with the Kansas City Royals organization in 2001. Huttmann is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where he worked with the baseball team. Find Brendon on Twitter: @09_bhuttShow Notes