The Strength Game

Joe Kenn is the Vice President of Performance Education at Dynamic Fitness and Strength, where he leads the development and delivery of cutting-edge fitness and strength training programs and resources for athletes, coaches, and trainers. Coach Kenn has over 30 years of experience as a performance specialist and strength and conditioning coach. He has worked with athletes at all levels, from high school to professional, across various sports and disciplines. Coach Kenn has been a head coach at four major universities and an NFL team, a national, regional, and state level speaker, and the creator of the Tier System Strength Training and the Block Zero Concept. He began his career as an assistant athletic fitness director at Wake Forrest in 1991 before becoming a graduate assistant at Boise State University. He was later promoted to full-time assistant coach following his graduate assistantship and a year later became the head strength coach where he held that title from 1994-1999. Kenn spent two seasons as the as the director at the University of Utah before landing at Arizona State University as the head sports performance coach from 2001-2007. From there he spent two years leading the University of Louisville football program’s training before jumping to the NFL as the head strength and conditioning coach for the Carolina Panthers. He spent 2011-2020 with the Panthers before arriving at his current position working with Dynamic Fitness and Strength. In addition to working with high-level collegiate programs and professionals in the NFL, Coach Kenn has been the strength coach for Brian Shaw for two years on his quest for his 5th World’s Strongest Man title. Coach Kenn is a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach and boasts such awards as the, 2015 NFL Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year (Professional Football Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association, PFSCCA), 2013 National Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association (NCSA) Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, 2000 NSCA Mountain West Conference Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year and 1998 NSCA Big West Conference Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year.He is the author of multiple books including, “The Coach’s Strength Training Playbook” and “Push, Jump, Punch: A Developmental Process for Teaching the Athlete to Power Clean” He is the owner of Big House Power, which is a subscriber-based website designed for educational and professional development for all levels of strength coaches.  Coach Kenn has been training long before he began coaching and continues to develop himself in the weight room as a strength athlete. A former two-year letterman for the Demon Deacons football team at Wake Forest University, he has also competed multiple times in powerlifting both in the raw and single-ply divisions. Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

DJ Melgar is an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Hofstra University where he works with the Pride’s men’s soccer, wrestling, men’s lacrosse, and men’s and women’s tennis programs. While in undergraduate at Hofstra he was the President of the “Exercise is Medicine Club” for three years from 2018-2021 prior to him beginning his coaching career as a intern with the strength and conditioning department in the spring of 2021. He was later elevated to a graduate assistant in the fall of 2021 and a full-time assistant coach in spring of 2022. Additionally, Melgar also spent time as a physical therapist aid and assistant at NYPT and Wellness from 2019-2020 where he aided physical therapists with patient rehabilitation treatment. Melgar is an avid lifter. This past summer he competed in his first powerlifting meet earning a total of 1,086lb in the 90kg weight class going 7/9 with more to come in the future.  Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Zach Even-Esh is a Sports Performance Coach, Life Coach, Business Consultant, gym owner, Speaker, Author, and Family Man.Zach Even-Esh is the Strength Coach & Founder of THE Underground Strength Gym. He established the gym in 2002 in his parent’s garage and backyard, and has seen it grown over the more than two decades he opened the doors to his facility. There are currently 2 Underground Strength Gym locations in NJ and over 1,000 Certified Underground Strength Coaches from around the world. Even-Esh is the current New Jersey State Director for the National High School Strength Coaches Association (NHSSCA) since 2021. Prior to making the full-time switch to coaching, he worked as a public school teacher for four years. He was the strength & conditioning coach for the Rutgers University Wrestling team from 2017-2018 as well as the Leigh University Wrestling team from 2014-2015. He was the marketing coordinator for Spartan Team from 2013-2014 and has consulted with countless coaches, gym owners and special operations military units throughout his career. He has also served as a consultant for adults in Corporate Health, Wellness & Leadership as well as a consultant for Military (Naval Special Warfare), LEO & First Responders. Coach Even-Esh began sharing his content on YouTube when YouTube first came out. In addition, to his large presence on-line he is also the host of the STRONG Life Podcast, Iron Roots podcast, NJ High School Strength Coach Podcast, former co-host of the Spartan Up Podcast and has been featured on multiple others as an expert guest. He is the author of three bestselling books including The Encyclopedia of Underground Strength & Conditioning which has been translated into numerous other languages. He has written countless E-books, training manuals and blogs for zachevenesh.com and the undergroundstrengthcoach.com. Strong Life is a fitting mantra, because Zach Even-Esh truly lives up to it. He is the epitome of an athlete and strength advocate and enthusiast who has been an avid lifter with dedicated time under the bar. He has had his hand in everything from bodybuilding, wrestling, training unconventionally with no-equipment in various New Jersey parks for sessions, powerlifting, strongman, you name it! He continues to test himself daily, train and find new ways to challenge himself and battle the barbell.Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Nick O’Brien is a college strength and conditioning coach, national level Strongman competitor and Highland games athlete, as well as an Officer in the United States Army. In addition to his coaching and athletic experience, O’Brien is a committee member of the NSCA Strongman SIG, columnist for Samson Equipment, and the Host of “The Strength Game” Podcast. With more than 14 years of experience in coaching and competing, Nick has traveled the country as an athlete, consultant and coach.Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Connor Agnew is the Director of Basketball Performance at App State. Joining the App State staff in July 2022, Agnew works with the both the men’s and women’s basketball as well as women’s golf team. Most recently, he was a strength and conditioning coach at Texas Tech working primarily with the women’s basketball program for two years. Agnew began his career as a sports performance intern working with the University of Pennsylvania men’s and women’s basketball programs. He then spent time as an intern for the New York Jets during training camp for the 2018 season. Following his stint in the professional ranks, he spent time at the University of Tennessee first as an Olympic strength and conditioning intern before working as an intern with the football team and finally being elevated to a part-time assistant Olympic sports performance coach for the Volunteers. Additionally, Angew is the host of the Samson Strength Coach Collective Podcast. Agnew himself is a prime example of someone who practices what they preach. He was a member of the Powerlifting Team at Temple University while completing his undergraduate degree. He continues to train, nowadays focusing still on powerlifting but also blending jiu jitsu, and marathon running.  Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Matt Mitcheroney is the Associate Director of Olympic Sports Strength and Conditioning Coach as James Madison University working directly with the baseball and softball programs. Mitcheroney joined the staff in 2022 after serving as an assistant coach for three years at the United States Military Academy working with the hockey, men’s rugby, softball, and strength teams. Prior to joining West Point, he worked at American University for a year as well as had stops at UMass and Saint Francis in graduate positions. Mitcheroney also served as a soldier in the United States Army Reserves from 2011-2018 while also completing internships at Harvard, Army West Point, Boston University and Evolution Sports Performance. Mitcheroney stayed active as a Horizontal Construction soldier. Following his service, he has since shifted his athletic focus to competing in Olympic weightlifting.Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Andy Brown is a Sports Performance Coach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he oversees training for the men’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, and tennis programs. Prior to arriving at UMass, Andy was a strength and conditioning coach at American University from 2019-2022.  Andy also worked at Franklin Pierce University for 2 years. First arriving in 2017 he spent his first season as an assistant before being promoted to head coach going into his second year. He also had previous stops as an intern at the University of Maryland in 2016, at James Madison University in 2014, as well as experience working at the high school level. Andy is an avid strength athlete and has previous experience competing in both powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting over his career. Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Gio Grassi is an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Monmouth University where he is responsible for optimizing player readiness and performance through load management as well as implementing, analyzing, and interpreting all technology used with the Monmouth Football team, including Polar Heart Rate/GZPS system and Sparta Science Force Plates. He is also the head for programming strength speed/agility and conditioning programs for the baseball, men’s and women’s swim, and rowing teams. Before arriving at Monmouth, he was an assistant coach at Fordham University from 2018-2021 as well as assistant at Fairleigh Dickinson University from 2014-2017. Between those stops, he spent the 2017 season with the New York Giants as a strength and conditioning intern. Grassi got his start in the profession in 2010 as a strength coach and NFL combine preparatory coach at the Parisi’s Speed School, before working at Hackensack UMC Health and Wellness in NJ where he was the ACL return-to-sport coordinator spanning from 2015-2019. He’s also completed an internship working with the football program at Rutgers during the 2016-2017 seasons.In addition to his coaching, Grassi is the host of the “Toes on the Line” Podcast. He has presented at conferences, most recently the NSCA New Jersey State Clinic and has written multiple articles for his own website as well as Stack.com. Grassi is a former college football player at Delaware State University and continues to train during his downtime.Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Anthony Paradis is the Performance Dietitian for the US Army at Fort Jackson, SC. Paradis has spent time in multiple sectors of the sport nutrition space. Prior to taking his current role with the US Army’s H2F program in early 2023 he was the director of Olympic sports nutrition at the University of South Carolina from 2021-2023 and the director of sports nutrition at Tennessee Tech for 5 years from 2016-2021. Before entering the collegiate realm, he spent 8 years in the private space. He was a dietary technician at Lewisville Medical Center, a nutrition instructor in the school of human ecology at South Carolina, dietetic intern at Texas Woman’s University, and personal trainer. His time in the private sector culminated as the owner of “Food and Fitness LLC” where he built a six-figure and three-employee business from the ground up. Food & Fitness LLC, was Texas’s premier fitness training and nutrition studio where Paradis was both a private practice RD and personal trainer for over six years. In addition to his businesses, registered dietician work, and personal training, Paradis is himself an athlete in multiple different ventures. He’s tried his hand in many different strength sports, endurance-based sports and more. He is both a Tennessee state and Texas state record holder powerlifter, has completed a solo 500-mile consecutive hike on the Colorado trail in 2015, and has competed on American Ninja Warrior in 2012, in addition to continuing to be an avid strength lifter. Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Jimmy Stitz is the Head Olympic Strength and Conditioning Coach at Utah State University. Stitz joined Utah State in 2021 after spending the previous eight seasons as an athletic performance coach for USA Volleyball Women’s Senior National Team. He began his first season with the program as a seasonal assistant in 2014 through their mentorship program and took over the team the following year prior to their 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil where the team earned a bronze medal. In 2020 at the Summer Olympic Games, played in 2021 in Japan, the team won the gold medal. Stitz first started coaching as a volunteer assistant strength coach from 2009-2011 at his alma mater, Minnesota State University. From there he became the first-ever head strength and conditioning coach for Charter Oak High School in Covina, CA. He was then selected to serve as an assistant coach through the National Strength and Conditioning Association assistantship program in 2013 before interning at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA, prior to joining the national team. Stitz continues to train as a coach. He is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt and enjoys lifting and training on the mat in his free time.  Samson EquipmentSamson Equipment provides Professional Weight Room Solutions for all your S&C needs.Cerberus StrengthUse Code: STRENGTH_GAME at Cerberus-Strength.comDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show