Keith Swift | College Coaching: Breaking It Down to Build It Back Up

For Keith Swift, coaching is completely effort based, but it starts with camaraderie and education. As Director of Strength and Conditioning at Wofford College, his philosophy is clear: educate, heal, and enhance. While playing collegiate football and studying exercise science, Swift learned early to question the “why” behind training and encourages his student-athletes to do the same. At an academically rigorous institution, his educational focus fits right in, fostering curiosity, technical precision, and peer coaching. Swift shares how his experiences across professional baseball, the private sector, and collegiate programs each shaped his foundation while making it his own. Amid collegiate challenges — from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer portal to the growing authority of student-athletes — Swift holds firm that “there is no substitute for hard work.” His goal is simple: help student-athletes leave with both a degree and a championship ring, setting them up for success in sport and life.

Reach out to Coach Swift on Instagram: @worqueowt and @wofford_strength, Twitter/X: @CoachSwift93, LinkedIn: @keithswift, or by email: swiftkd@wofford.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs  

Discover how salaries have evolved across collegiate athletics and other work settings in strength and conditioning in the 2025 NSCA Salary Survey at NSCA.com/Salary.

Show Notes

“Building it [Stillman College] from the ground up was a challenge. I was the only one. I think I had 14 sports by myself. And that was a time. I definitely cut my teeth as a strength coach there. And a lot of people shy away from situations like that.” 8:40

“When they start to coach each other and they have a lot of peer coaching and they're using proper terms and they're doing things the right way, that's like the biggest pat on the back and the biggest reward…” 10:50

“The expectations in the weight room, having my own expectations. They know that Coach Swift is going to come with it and you can't come with anything less. All I want is all you got. And some guys, I let them know ahead of time, like, this is-- think about this being a renovation. There's no renovation without demolition. And in the weight room, this is the demo zone. We're literally breaking your body down, and we're going to teach you how to recoup and recover and build yourself back up.” 16:25