Lessons Borrowed, Lessons Earned

Introduction: It Takes a Village

Warning: this isn’t about training philosophy, programming, physiology, or hard skills of being a better performance coach. It’s about the people who shaped me, the environments that challenged me, and the lessons I didn’t fully understand until years later. Sam Contorno, who I had the absolute pleasure of working with at Stanford, reached out and asked what sets my soul on fire and wakes me up in the morning: I desire to be a well-versed performance coach, and I have an affinity to work with others. These two aspirations take constant and consistent work that make me challenge my own ways, shortcomings, questions, and abilities. So, I can be better for my colleagues and athletes and have more constructive strategies, conversations, insights, and solutions to problems and processes. You have to be good at your craft, but building a career in performance takes far more than technical skill. I’ve been fortunate to work in a variety of roles, environments, and institutions, each teaching me something different about coaching, leadership, and myself. This piece is a reflection of those lessons all learned through experience, mistakes, and the people who believed in me along the way.

Chapter 0: University of Lynchburg Shadow

• Manage Your Time Wisely

  • You may work with 17 teams, 6 teams, or 2 teams. Your time is finite and valuable no matter how many teams, responsibilities, or assignments you have or how many directions you’re being pulled in to. Find ways to create a system or workflow that allows you to maximize your efficiency and effectiveness. Optimal is not realistic, but knowing your bandwidth for each day and season is crucial.

• Be Creative with What You Have

  • You may have opportunities to work at country club looking facilities or good ole blue collar, no AC, rusty facilities. It’s up to you to use your resources, be creative and enhance your environment as a practitioner.

• It’s Not About the Logo

  • In this landscape, NIL, revenue-share, logos, where the big time is, it’s all smoke and mirrors. Strip everything down and go back to the basics. Hard work, teamwork, developing and improving your craft, and being a good person will take you far no matter where you start. You can be really good no matter where you are or what you have, people will gravitate toward those who love what they do and want to be the best at what they do.

    
    

Special thank you to Ed Smith. You let me observe and shadow you for class credits, but your impact was greatly felt during my time learning from you before I even knew I wanted to be a strength and conditioning coach. Those days I got to observe was my first impression of seeing how a weightroom and department is managed, and your athletes and university are so lucky to have someone so invested in providing a high-level environment and experience at Lynchburg.

Chapter 1: Liberty Internship

• Face It Til You Make It

  • You’re going to be bad at something when you first start – uncoordinated, unsure, slow, or not as proficient. That’s okay, that’s part of the process. It takes reps, but you have to do it. Face the problem head on and tackle it. Your decision-making will get sharper, your motor skills will improve, and you’ll get more confident the more you do it.

• Do the Simple Things Savagely Well

  • Coach. Connect. Educate. Coach up movements with precision, get to know your student-athletes so they know you care, and educate and prepare your student-athletes so they buy-in to the process and make it their own.

• Culture is Everything

  • Culture is built every day, and when it’s done right, it becomes a foundation that everything else stands on through its mission, vision, and values. It’s intentional, demanding, and felt deeply. People will take notice, good or bad. When culture is strong: buy-in is earned, accountability is shared, high standards become the norm, and outsiders see it without being told.

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Special thank you to Karyl Wiese, Katie Guillory, Shelton Stevens, Mike Kelley, Solomon Tat, and Laura Delosier Pitcher. Karyl was my strength coach when I was a student-athlete, and she’s one of the biggest reasons why I got into this profession. Her impact through my four years as an athlete, aspiring strength coach, and person is immeasurable. To my first intern coordinator, Katie, you really showed me the ropes as an intern.

Chapter 2: Stanford Internship

• Compete Daily

  • Find a way to be better than your peers – not in a cocky way, but by how you handle your business. Even if you’re not competing with others, it will always be you versus you. Show up a better version of yourself each day. Competitive tension allows you to get out of your comfort zone and accelerate your growth.

• Be Meticulous

  • In everything you do. Cleaning plates and racks, recording weights, coaching on the floor, listening and taking notes on a whiteboard talk, presenting a project, etc. Your attention to detail in the smallest of details will make you stand out.

• It’s About Productivity, Not Potential

  • Potential is stored energy, and often times an excuse. At the end of the day, you have to produce. Do your job. Do it well. Or else, someone else will. It may happen today, tomorrow, or ten years from now, so stack days of quality work and leave no doubt of your consistent outputs.

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Special thank you to Sam Contorno, Logan Frandsen, Darius Reese, Raymond Tam, Tyler Friedrich, Shannon Turley, Cullen Carroll, Abe Munayer, Ross Jirgl, James Perez, Allison Bradshaw, Anthony Tran, Ryan Tibbets, and Cory Schlesinger. Kyle Judson and Ryan Nguyen, grateful for you both during our internship.

Chapter 3: Clemson Internship

• Own the Floor

  • To be a good coach, you have to find your coaching voice and command the room. Coach like your ass is on fire. Your athletes and coaches will know really quick if you’re about it or not. Don’t go through the motions, don’t be casual – every minute you get matters to teach, motivate, and lead athletes to train with purpose and intent.

• Ask Questions

  • If someone knows something you don’t or has more expertise than you on a certain subject, learn from them. Be brave and ask for guidance or assistance. More often times than not, people want to help you if you’re curious about what they do.

• Treat Every Day as an Interview

  • Make each day count. Especially as an intern or GA, you have a short shelf-life during your time at that given establishment, so find ways to create a positive lasting impact that makes coaches want to keep you on and rehire you in an elevated position.

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Special thank you to Stephanie Mock Grubbs, Jess Prencipe Hollingworth, Tommy Evans, Andy Earp, and Justin Houng. To my intern class, Trey North, Cory Blane, and Juliette Arciuolo, I couldn’t imagine a better crew to be with every day in the back office. Steph, thanks for taking me under your wing.

Chapter 4: Kentucky Internship

• Character First

  • Your reputation is your character and your integrity. Who you are and how you conduct yourself carries more weight than anything else you know or do. You are above no one, and below no one. Treat everyone with respect and kindness.

• Practice What You Preach

  • Do the work. Lead by example. Show others that what you say matters. Train, take care of yourself, have healthy lifestyle routines, and regulate and process emotions clearly and effectively if you want others to take you seriously.

• Be the Most Valuable Teammate

  • Be a great teammate with your staff and colleagues, people want to know you like working with them. Otherwise, you’re either a distraction or an emotional vampire. Learning to work with others is part of the equation and if you can challenge and uplift your peers, then you’ll be part of the solution for better intra and inter department collaboration and development.

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Special thank you to Ryan DeVriendt, John Spurlock, Brenna MacDonald, Jeanne Rankin, Steven Wood, and Alycia Carrillo. I finished my internship with a hell of a squad, Ken Knox, Rachel Blevins, Tommy McMahon, Aaron Smith, Rob Bonse, and Marcus Pearson. And to Katy Poole, thank you for letting me crash at your place all summer as a broke intern – best roommate.

Chapter 5: Clemson Graduate Assistant

• Be a Swiss Army Knife

  • Be a generalist. Be good at a lot of different things, learn from a lot of different sources, and work with a lot of different teams if possible. Don’t box yourself into something too soon. Expand your toolbox, training philosophy and methodologies, coaching philosophy, and data points by surrounding yourself with an array of case studies.

• Be Relentless in Professional Development

  • Read a lot. Listen to educational, informative, and performance-type podcasts. Go to conferences, seminars, and shadow other institutions. Call other professionals you look up to. Information is more accessible than ever, but you have to take action in being relentless in your pursuit and conviction for learning and growing. Be intentional with it, don’t do it for attention.

• Make an Impact Outside of the Weightroom

  • Don’t just be a weights coach. Or siloed into one role. Create value, show your worth by the work you do, and get those involved in your process to drive interaction, conversation, and progress.

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Special thank you to Cody Miller, Tommy Evans, Ryan Metzger, and Billy Cedar. To Tyler Wibbenmeyer, Sam Aswegan, and Mike Bruno, you kept me sane and inspired me to show up every day to be at my best – you three were pivotal during my time as a GA and I can’t thank you enough.

Chapter 6: UNC Part-Time Assistant

• Make the Big Time Where You Are

  • Be present. Be where your feet are and be so fucking good at whatever role(s) you are given. Embrace every role with pride and attack each task to the best of your ability. Earn everything.

• Prepare Yourself For a Promotion

  • Don’t sell yourself short. Be ready for opportunities when they come by being prepared and experienced. With great preparation comes great confidence.

• Be Agile and Adapt

  • Always have a plan but be ready to go with the flow when things change last minute. Control what you can control and stay calm in the chaos when you need to pivot. It will happen more frequently than you want. Being agile and versatile is a skill.

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Special thank you to Greg Gatz, Erik Hernandez, Nick Vetell, Jordan Conner Nilson, James Asycue, and Zane Whobrey. My fellow interns, Meghan Collins, Chris Zodda, Danika Ashness, and John Richardson, you made COVID times bearable and even enjoyable as we navigated those challenges. To my squad, Jordan, Zane, Nick, and Meghan, your friendship was and is appreciated. Nick, thank you for the memories. Your legacy lives on.

Chapter 7: Oregon State Assistant

• Consistent Collaboration is Key

  • To create a high-performance team and environment, it takes collaboration and integration with an interdisciplinary team to achieve a shared goal and purpose. Athlete education, wellness, and performance need to be aligned with all those that take part in the process. Make it clear, actionable, and repeatable. Build an ecosystem that’s transparent, caring, and process-oriented, and people and ideas will begin to evolve and flourish. Aligned teams outperform talented silos.

• Take a Leap of Faith

  • When you’re given the chance, make a big leap of faith. Be bold and be courageous. You will be out of your comfort zone and your perspective and lens in which you see the world will be broadened. Whether that’s moving away from your family and friends, making a new career decision, creating a family, or taking part in a new culture, it will stretch you in new ways.

• Take Care of Yourself

  • Your health (mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual state) is top priority. We’re in the business of serving others all the time. To be at our best, you have to take ownership in your process to do something that fills your cup, recharges you, and allows you to recover and repeat the next day, week, month, year, and so on. Be patient with the process but find pockets of time and space to invest in yourself so you can be in an optimal position to show up for others.

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Special thank you to Jeff Macy, Izzy Batayola, Mike Johnson, Lindsey Winter, Mike Henriques, Sean Conaty, Mike McDonald, Marco Candido, Dustyn Baethke, Bryan Klobucar, Ben McCarthy, and Peter Finley. Jeff and Izzy, thank you for giving me a chance, being patient with me, and challenging me in a lot of ways personally and professionally.

Chapter 8: Clemson Assistant – Assistant Director – Director

• Act Like the Level Above You

  • Know your role and responsibilities. But conduct yourself in a matter in which others perceive you in a more elevated position. Your process, professional demeanor, approachability, and articulation are key factors.

• Structure Dictates Function

  • This is true in performance, movement, business, and life. Structure creates biases and strategies to perform a task, and function is the ability to work within those constraints. Build enduring systems that guide decisions when you’re not in the room.

• Create a Stimulating Environment for Growth and Innovation

  • The goal is to move the needle forward within our teams, our department, and our industry. It will always start with how you lead, direct, and guide your own staff to KPIs and objectives that shows improvements, quality performance, and development consistently. Create an environment that fosters growth, creativity, and competitive cohesion.

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Special thank you to Rick Franzblau. A lot of these heuristics and thoughts have been influenced from his mentorship over the years. He has continued to believe in me and guide me from the time I started as an intern. He has challenged me in ways that have tested me, molded me, and transformed me in my technical abilities, leadership abilities, and intrinsic capabilities to grow, learn, adjust, and show up better for others and myself. Thank you as well as to Kelly Cosgrove, Bryce Gist, Jason Avedesian, and Mike Bruno.

To the staff – Shane Bernhardson, Sam Aswegan, Stacie Morris, Andrew Long, Luis Fuentes, Justin Carlton, and JP Guerrero – it’s a blast to come to work every day. You make me want to do better, be better, and get better. Most importantly, I truly enjoy being around you all.

Conclusion: The Biggest Difference Makers That Apply to Any Role

• Be Willing to Accept Feedback

  • Don’t have an ego, especially if people are willing to give you some advice and feedback. Have tough skin, you’ll get mother-fucked (it’s a rite of passage), you’ll be wrong, and sometimes you won’t “deserve” to be yelled at, but even then, take it, embrace it, and learn from it all.

• You Can Learn Something from Everyone and Your Environment

  • Ask questions. Your perspective is biased and limited but can be broadened by other’s and their experiences. You have two ears and two eyes for a reason. Be a great listener and be a great observer. Sometimes you learn what you want, what you don’t want, and things that challenge and expose your strengths and weaknesses. It’s necessary for your future endeavors.

• Show You Care and Add Value

  • Be proactive and find ways to make an impact through your actions and behavior. Impact starts with connecting and building relationships – care about others. Add value by consistently showing up and working hard.

• Put Yourself in a Position to Succeed

  • No matter the task, do it to the best of your ability and look like you want to be there. These two things will carry you forward, and people will take notice. It may not be at the timeline you want but it will be worth it down the road.

• Seek Opportunities and Growth Will Follow

  • It is up to YOU. No one will believe in your dreams more than you, so be brave enough to take a leap of faith. When you get an opportunity – big or small, own it.

• Be a Great Historian

  • Learn, experiment, fail, reflect. Failure is feedback and reflection is a winning strategy to growth. Jot down everything you’ve done and learned at any place you’ve been, any challenge or experience, or any advice you deem valuable. Your filtering process, iterations, and volume of mental notes will be refined over time. Master your own process.

• Have a Niche/Calling Card that Makes You Standout

  • Find what you’re good at, grow it, highlight it, and evolve it. Possibilities are endless: educator, motivator, innovator, problem-solver, and so much more.

  • Do it by yourself or do it with others but just start.

    • Dream > vision > decision > iteration > execution > collaboration

      
      

Don’t be fooled. All these points have been lived, learned, and refined over the years. I’ve seen some of these lessons done well and some poorly. Looking back, I’d do some things differently, there were some things I didn’t understand at the time, and there are some things that made sense years later. Transparently, I’ve made a lot of mistakes, had a lot of growing pains, and have had to do a lot of self-reflection to get to where I am. I’ve had my fair share of hiccups. Unfortunately, I’ve overslept my alarm clock, recorded the wrong weights for an athlete, messed up a set up on a testing day, fumbled over my words, misunderstood a conversation, gotten worked up over a bad day, and had seasons of life where I just struggled personally. These are all things I’m obviously not proud of, but no matter what, I kept showing up and giving my best effort. Setbacks will happen, don’t switch off. Take it at face value, grow from it, show up, and do your best the next chance you get. You owe that to yourself, your support system, and the people that trust you to be ready for whatever the day brings. If you can find ways to be better than what you were yesterday, you’re well on your way. In every role, you’ll be challenged, view the struggle as a test of resolve and a way to identify strengths.

I’m genuinely grateful and humbled to all those who have poured into me whether that was your knowledge, laughter, kindness, encouragement, constructive criticism, leading by example, or given me any time of day. It means more than you know, and one of my biggest driving forces is to make you proud of the journey I continue to take. You’ve made me more inquisitive as a practitioner, more intentional as a coach, more thought-provoking as a leader, and more empathetic as a person. My goal is to give back to others in this field the way you were able to with your guidance, belief, tough love, and support. I’ve got a hell of a lot of things to learn, to get better at, and to work towards so the journey continues.

Lastly, I’d be doing a major disservice if I didn’t mention this. To all the athletes I’ve had the privilege to be around through the years and roles, they are why I love what I do.

• So Many Cultures, Languages, Personalities, and Walks of Life

  • Probably one of my favorite parts. How cool to learn from so many different backgrounds and be inspired by their daily commitment, sacrifice, and passions to accomplish their dreams and goals.

  • Their trust, curiosity, and ambitions to be the best athlete and teammate make me want to work tirelessly to help them develop physically and mentally, capable and resilient for anything in sport and in life.

  • There will never be one size fits all – what we do will constantly be trying to connect dots in the performance, wellness, and science world and that fascinates me. Every athlete, every team, every sport, and every environment are different, unique, and individually wired. It takes curious minds, collaborative teams, and selfless dedication to achieve uncommon heights and leave our mark better than we found it. So, let’s carry on and keep making what we do better and showing others the importance and value of what we do and how we do it.

Find what works for you, take what fits, question what doesn’t, and allow your perspective to evolve as you move through different roles, environments, and seasons. If you opened this link and skimmed, read, or scrolled through any part of it – thank you for your time.