Great Strength Coaches Help Make Great Teams and Athletes

Next to the head coach, who do you think is the most important person on a college football team?

If you answered the strength coach, go to the head of the class.

So how much money do you think a good strength coach can make?

If you said fifty thousand dollars a year, it would be too low.

Seventy-five thousand dollars a year? Nope, still too low.

Okay, you might be thinking one hundred thousand dollars a year.

Nice try, but you're way off.

The best strength coaches are paid very well.

How does over three hundred thousand dollars a year sound to you?

Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich has said, "After the head coach, the top three people in your program are the strength coach, the strength coach, and the strength coach."

Due to NCAA rules, college strength coaches spend more time in contact with players than virtually anyone on the staff.

Year round, not just before and during season, strength coaches become the athletes' or teams' mentors, motivators, and the single key reason that athletes and teams become faster, stronger, and tougher.

The results of great strength coaches are seen around the world by millions of viewers.

Take a look at a poorly conditioned boxer or mixed martial artist who gasses out early.

Watch what happens when college or professional football teams' offense or defense tires out.

Have you ever seen an 800-meter sprinter or swimmer gas out?

They lose...and the best-conditioned athlete and team wins.

A huge factor is because of superior conditioning.

In sports, speed, strength, flexibility, toughness, and endurance are the key elements to athletic success.

I'm not just talking about winning and losing.

Well-conditioned athletes are less prone to injuries that can be a life- and game-changer for a pro earning millions or for high school athletes praying for a scholarship.

When a kid gets hurt, repeatedly pulls muscles, overuses a shoulder or throwing arm at a young age, his future becomes questionable.

When a pro gets hurt, he's taken out of the game, sits on the bench, is put on the injured reserve list and often moved to the minor league.

For everyone, fans included, there's nothing more frustrating than to have a world-class athlete sitting on a bench with a season-ending injury.

The good news is that strength coaches help prevent injuries and athletes from gassing out too quickly, and unlike the head coach, they get to work with the athletes year round.

Great strength coaches can help turn an average athlete into a superstar.

Today, professional and amateur athletes in all sports and at all levels, from club and pro teams to Olympic athletes, need the help of what I like to call the "Ultimate Personal Trainer."

And if you're that trainer, you can write your ticket to success.

Each athlete is different and the events they participate in vary so much, great strength coaches are taught how to expand the capacity of their athletes to perform the most difficult feats, while remaining strong and free from injuries.

Every athletic endeavor places the human body and mind under maximum stress.

Proper training and preparation gives athletes the physical and mental confidence to push themselves to their limits and beyond, knowing inside, they're in the best shape possible.

So next time you see a great athlete or team perform, give a shout out to the great strength coach behind them!

Better yet, why not become one of the elite strength trainers with an ISSA certification as a Sports Conditioning Specialist.