NSCA’s Coaching Podcast

Hear from the 2023 NSCA Assistant College Coach of the Year, Gary Calcagno, from Oklahoma State University. In this episode, Calcagno shares highlights from a more than 30-year strength and conditioning career and how being resourceful as a once aspiring coach prepared him for lasting professional success with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon. Calcagno also discusses his long history with the NSCA, recent areas of progress across the profession, and the role of quality leadership in managing a successful strength and conditioning program.     You can reach Gary by email at gary.calcagno@okstate.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscsShow Notes“And I said, well Coach, just judge me on what I do moving forward. I don't-- I'm not going to try to act like a wrestling aficionado, but I do know about the human body and how to make guys more explosive and more powerful. And that, to me, is what your sport's all about.” 8:30 “I really think that I would start with the professionalism piece. I mean, you've got to comport yourself in a manner to make people follow you and want to follow you, not because you've got a title, but because you carry yourself the way you should, and that you've got knowledge that can help them, or help their team, or help their organization.” 32:52 “I also think you better know how to reach all kinds of kids. Part of our job is just so much involved into you're kind of part sports psychologist. So get to know your student-athletes. And it can be a day where, if you know them, you know they're not ready for you to jump down their throat.” 36:08

Learn about a unique path into strength and conditioning from J. Aggabao, the Associate Athletic Director of Sports Performance at Santa Clara University (SCU). Aggabao shares insights on coaching pathways and hiring, with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, that includes service in the United States Navy, working in the National Football League (NFL), and progressing into a department leadership role at SCU. From networking in the strength and conditioning field to beyond the campus and athletic communities, this episode speaks to various career stages, from aspiring strength and conditioning coaches seeking their first jobs, to experienced professionals aiming to become effective leaders.       Reach out to Coach Aggabao on Instagram: @j.aggabao, or by email at jaggabao@scu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscsShow Notes“The big thing with that, for me, is that in the long run, when they start going to other positions, one, they have the title, and they have a salary benchmark that they are going to be able to use as they negotiate or try to progress in their career.” 5:25 “In talking to tactical strength coaches these days, I mean, just the vast knowledge that they bring to the table and are able to present to our service members is where the value lies.” 13:55 “Be the best version of yourself wherever you're at in your current situation. People will notice, people will remember, because once again, we're in the athletic world. Coaches will move on, but if you make an impression, they're going to remember that.” 19:20 “Now I've shifted my goals to perhaps becoming an executive member of an athletic department, or becoming an AD one day. And so those are the things that now, as I progress in my career, I'm trying to take those steps.” 25:05

Hear from iconic strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt as he debriefs on important lessons learned over a 34-year collegiate coaching career. Moffitt shares his perspective on the importance of training weightlifting movements, with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, and how these methods became an important element of “LSU Way” over an impressive two decades at the University. Topics include the development of young coaches, advice for landing an internship, and shared challenges we face in the strength and conditioning profession. In addition, Moffitt shares a new project he is currently working, the “Moffitt Method”, a new strength and conditioning and education service founded in 2022.     Reach out to Tommy on Instagram: @tommymoffitt, Twitter: @TommyMoffitt, or by email at tommymoffitt5@gmail.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscsShow Notes“That's probably the most important thing for anyone, whether you're a football coach or strength coach or baseball coach. You got to surround yourself with people that are better coaches than you, people that are smarter than you. And then put them in a position where they can do their job.” 2:50 “You’ve got to be a great communicator. You've got to be able to get down on the player's level and speak to him or her in a manner that they understand it. And then you've got to be able to motivate that young man or that young woman to do what it is that you want them to do.” 26:00 “It takes a huge commitment to be an intern. And so through that, you learn a lot of patience. And then you learn to overcome adversity, and you learn a lot about yourself and what your level of commitment is to this field.” 29:00 “The only way out of that position is to apply for every job. You're never going to get a job that you don't apply for.” 41:05

This episode features Corliss Fingers, the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Bethune-Cookman University. She talks with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about her journey in a predominantly male strength and conditioning profession. This episode speaks to the value of a strength and conditioning coach at the college level, as Fingers shares about preparing athletes in the extreme heat and humidity of Florida during pre-season football. She also recaps her presentation at the 2022 NSCA National Conference in New Orleans, LA, discussing representation around diversity, equity, and inclusion for athletes and coaches.      You can reach out to Corliss on Twitter: @CorlissFingers or by email at fingersc@cookman.edu| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscsShow Notes“We don't have the things that some of the bigger school has, but I'm fine with filling in the gap. And a lot of it is just education, just giving them things that they can remember that's not too overwhelming, knowing that they have camp in place and getting ready for classes and hitting them over the head with a bunch of ratios of how much it-- no, OK. Let's put some color on your plate.” 13:07 “This is the place where we build young men and young women, not just strength-wise, but letting them own who they are, walking to their own life, finding their strength, finding the things that make them who they're going to be. Getting to work on time, applying yourself, teamwork-- you learn all that in the weight room.” 18:24 “If you approach it with the right attitude and mentality and just go out there, that you're going to make as many positive connections as possible, you're going to get that recommendation or referral that you're looking for, that you're willing to offer when someone just shows up and puts the time in.” 33:10 “But just in general, as young coaches, aspiring coaches entering the field, knowing your blind spots, knowing what experience you have and what experience you don't have that they might be looking for. And not every job is for you in that moment, but if you can recognize that, or if someone tells you, hey, we're looking for someone a little more well-rounded, you can go seek that out.” 36:40

Marquis Johnson, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach with the Minnesota Vikings National Football League (NFL) team, and Bryan Doo, former Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Boston Celtics National Basketball Association (NBA) team and owner of Optimal Fitness, join as guests with the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon. Also returning for this Gatorade Performance Partner collaboration episode is guest co-host Jon Jost, a 27-year veteran college strength and conditioning coach and the Team Sports Manager for Gatorade. Join this fun group of strength and conditioning coaches from across the industry as they discuss what it means to be successful, as well as how they are reshaping the different career paths within the field.  Connect with Marquis on Instagram: @quis_fit| Reach Bryan on Instagram: @bdoostrength or Twitter: @bdoo22 | Email Jon at: jonathan.jost@pepsico.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs To learn more and join the Gatorade Performance Partner Community, visit GatoradePerformancePartner.com.Show Notes“Your teams have to win. But also being a good person, doing your job, being a good communicator, creating a good culture and creating a good environment where your athletes and the people people that work-- that your athletes want to thrive in and be successful in, and also being somebody that you're a person that the people you work with want to be around as well.” 3:01 “And I said, got be honest, I don't really believe in luck. I said I believe you create your own luck.” 16:22 “Any time I'm around people, I never know who I'm going to meet and when I'm going to meet them. So I try to be presentable, watch my language, stuff like that.” 24:05 “When you talk about progressive overload, and improving speed, and power, there are some principles that are embedded in science that haven't changed, which I think is really good.” 35:38 “But if you find the right network of people-- I think that's been successful for me, is just finding the right network of people. In that way, I can just get good information for everyone, because I don't know everything.” 42:30

Learn about advocacy topics for collegiate strength and conditioning coaches, and the commitment of the NSCA to provide professional development resources in support of the field. This episode features Mary Beth George, the Chair of the NSCA College Coaches Professional Development Group (PDG). She shares her story in the profession with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Manager, Eric McMahon, including key insights on the NSCA’s ongoing efforts to support athlete wellness and safety, and personal perspectives on being a strength and conditioning coach as a parent. Tune in for an early listen of areas that will be discussed at the College Coaches PDG Meeting next month as part of the 2023 Coaches Conference (Charlotte, NC, January 4-6). Connect with Mary Beth via email at megeorge01@ysu.edu or on Instagram at mbgeorge2569| | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs     You can join the College Coaches PDG Council before the December 15th annual NSCA Volunteer Application deadline.Show Notes“I think the biggest thing that I've learned since being a part of this group has been that there is a whole network of people behind you, rooting for you to do well, and will support you-- whether it is that you're an assistant, just coming up, and it's your first full time position, or if you're someone like me trying to build a program, whatever it might be-- there are other people that have experienced something similar before and they can be a sounding board to help you succeed.” 11:07 “As we get accredited education programs, as we advance our professional communities, as we improve our research and all of our scientific areas, the way you're going to see that is by the students, and young coaches, and young professionals of today showing up at our conferences, and speaking, and being on committees.” 19:47 “When I got in the field, I didn't even think about having a family at the time. I was so devoted to this is my career, and this is what I want to do, and this is what I have to do to make my career work. But then when the kids came along, I had to adjust some of my own beliefs about the job.” 28:22 “Being able to be there and push the student athlete on the physical side, but then also being there to support them mentally. And being there, having an open ear, whatever it may be, just building that relationship with the student athlete to know that, hey, they can come to us and know that we're going to listen to them. And if we're not the right resource, we'll point them in the right direction to have whatever support they need.” 33:20

Hear from two-time Olympian, Meg Stone, the first female strength and conditioning coach to head both men’s and women’s strength programs at a major American university. Stone shares her story from being an elite discus thrower towards an unexpected coaching career, with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Manager, Eric McMahon. She discusses what she believes needs to change to further the strength and conditioning field in support of athlete health and safety. Stone also tells us about what makes the Sport Science Program at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) so unique and beneficial for students.  The episode highlights the ongoing work of the NSCA for the prevention of catastrophic injury and sudden death in sport. You can read more about this topic in a recent NSCA press release: NSCA Reaffirms Position on Appropriate Qualifications for Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches.  Connect with Meg by email at stoneme@etsu.edu| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscsShow Notes“But when I talk to them, I talk to them about two things, real important things, communication and relationships, both of which are extremely important in anything that you're going to do. You've got to build a relationship with that head coach and you've got to communicate with him regularly. And only then can what you're doing be successful or can you have an impact.” 13:10 “And then the hook. You will be the only woman in the country doing it and the first woman to do it. And I thought, I like the sound of that. So, really, I just launched myself into it.” 24:45 “Have you got the background to do it? Do you understand exactly what you're doing when you walk into the weight room? And how you are impacting that young person's career by what you're doing? It's a tremendous responsibility to coach, tremendous. And not enough people take that responsibility seriously enough.” 33:01 “I tell them at the very beginning of our orientation meeting, don't come here if you want confirmation on what you already know. Come here with an open mind, willing to learn and see things from a different perspective, or something different. You may get confirmation from that but come in with an open mind, willing to learn.” 41:15

Learn the path towards working as a National Basketball Association (NBA) strength and conditioning coach, from coaching veteran Jesse Wright. Wright is a former President of the National Basketball Strength and Conditioning Association (NBSCA), and talks about how being a part of this group with fellow NBA coaches has improved advocacy and representation for strength and conditioning coaches in the NBA. Wright also shares his research relating to sociology and cultural topics to strength and conditioning. If you missed his presentation at the 2022 NSCA Coaches Conference in San Antonio, TX, Wright recaps this topic as it connects to the coaching experience. Tune in to learn steps towards becoming a more adaptable coach.  Connect with Jesse on Instagram at:@jessekwrightand on Twitter: @wrightstrength|Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscsand Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs   To learn more about strength and conditioning in the NBA, check out the National Basketball Strength and Conditioning Association (NBSCA).   The Intent Is To Grow: A Young Coach Is Guided Along The Path To Becoming A True Professional  Show Notes“And that represented the first kind of corporate partnerships, ever, for the association, which represented some real income, some real funds coming in, in addition to the vendor show that happens at the NBA combine this year. So I say all of that because there's a very real business element to an association like that. There's business operations.” 12:17 “So we're all a product of the people that we grew up around, the geography that we grew up in, and all of the culture that we were exposed to our whole life. And the model then describes what happens when we're presented with something different. How do we react to that?” 19:49 “So maybe it's not written into your role, when you were in that interview process and you applied for G-League strength coach role, you probably never thought that a line item or a bullet on that was to be kind of a regular rebounder for guys. Or to be in an assistant coaches pocket to set screens for a screen and roll drill or something like that.” 39:18

Hear an international perspective on the strength and conditioning field from Marcus Svensson, a Swedish National, who currently works in professional soccer with the Al Arabi Sports Club in the Qatar Stars League. This episode shares insights about access to NSCA resources from outside of North America, training strategies for soccer, and the importance of developing adaptability among strength and conditioning coaches. Tune in to expand your professional horizons as part of a global strength and conditioning community.     You can also email Marcus at johanmarcussvensson@gmail.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscsShow Notes“So I thought if I can't make it as a player, I want to maximize and learn as much as I can about the science of soccer and everything else. And there I stayed for seven years. And a great mentor to me and who sadly passed away was Professor Tom Riley. He was probably the pioneer of science and soccer in terms of match analysis, in terms of the physiology of soccer and everything.” 3:23 “I think there's no one size fits all. I think it all depends on the context you work in and again going back to the category you work with. And in some cases it's on context. You need to push a lot more. And in some context you need to hold players back to say, OK, enough is enough. So I think adaptability is the biggest word” 10:18 “So I think I'm not saying we should sprint as fast as the players or run. But if we have, I don't know, if we have a running session, I like to be involved with the players. I like to lead the way to say, OK, we we're doing this. And I think if you come to a new place, that's the one thing you can bond with the players. I'm in the trenches with you together. I would do this with you together. It's going to hurt, yes, but we do it together.” 16:44

Learn about the“Golden Age of Strength and Conditioning”from those who lived it. Former National Basketball Association (NBA) strength and conditioning coach, Chip Sigmon, joins retired longtime National Football League (NFL) strength and conditioning coach, Jerry Palmieri, on a journey back to the 1970s and 1980s. Sigmon and Palmieri share their experiences, mentors, and life influences that put them on a path towards meaningful strength and conditioning careers with the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon. Hear how the book, The Golden Age of Strength and Conditioning was written to feature powerful stories of professional growth from the many who were there. Follow the link to read The Golden Age of Strength and Conditioning. You can also email Chip at chipsigmon@europasports.com and Jerry at jerrypalmieri910@gmail.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscsShow Notes“There was a time 10 years ago after the Hornets where I went to work for OrthoCarolina and their strength and conditioning program, a sports performance program, but also assisted with physical therapy, which made me, in essence, a better strength and conditioning coach. It really helped me tremendously with rehab of athletes and so forth.” 16:27 “You have to let the athletes know you care about them. They're going to go to social media. Coach, why aren't we doing this? Why aren't we doing that? But if you really-- the social media doesn't care about them. And if you let the s know that you care about every little thing they do on the court, off the court, on the field, off the field, boy, you've got them.” 24:18 “I'm thinking about themes in the profession that really are timeless. And one thing we talk a lot about today is mentorship, and who we look up to, and who we learn from, and where we get our experience.” 26:35 “That’s what's great, and it’s life, overcoming adversity. And man, it just makes you stronger. It just makes you from a mental, physical, emotional standpoint spiritually.” 36:30