I just wrapped up a conference with a good friend of mine, Robert Jacobs. The goal of the conference was to review seasonal approaches to eating, supplementing, and training. The conference was amazing, had a blast, but what I want to talk about here is my training mentality at conferences.

I am a business owner, but I still classify myself as a strength coach. This distinction is based on the time, the effort, the sacrifice, and most importantly, the values and character represented by a strength coach. If you are reading this blog, chances are you know me, but in case you don’t, here’s my resume:

• 2004-2005: Volunteer S&C Coach Enfield High Football (Connecticut)
• 2005-2006: Intern at Velocity Sports Performance
• 2006: Intern at Harvard University
• 2006: Intern at Georgia Tech
• 2006-2007: Graduate Assistant at Springfield College
• 2007: Intern at Ole Miss
• 2007-2010: Assistant at Georgia Tech
• 2010-2014: Associate at the University of Southern California
• 2014-2017: Hea,d Army West Point
• 2017-Present: Co-Founder/Head Coach Allegiate

When I say I am a strength coach, it is because of the time I served as a strength coach. Going to conferences has, and will always will be, as a strength coach. No matter what the focus of the conference is: business, programming, nutrition, technique, etc – I am there acting as, and for the betterment of myself, towards being a strength coach.

This is where it becomes interesting. I cannot help to feel like a black sheep at conferences. I have been the only team sector strength coach in attendance at a conference/seminar multiple times. I never feel uncomfortable, but I do feel like I am being judged in some way. The typecast as a simpleton from the team sector is looming at a conference that is very technical. The comments made about my counterparts are incredibly ignorant and off base. That being said, I am not there for them and their approval, but it does impact your psyche. It is the being a new kid at school phenomenon where you have to decide if I am going to assimilate into or reject the social hierarchy.

My response is to lean in hard on the typecast. You want to classify me as a short, stocky, meathead strength coach – who am I to deny that? I will be the most exaggerated version of that you have ever seen. To be honest, I think it is a defense mechanism I employ to prevent myself from being associated with judgmental people. If someone takes on the approach of being the gatekeeper to a group based on the associations I have, and chooses not to at least get to know me, they probably are not a good person to get to know in the first place. The other aspect of this is the feeling of someone wanting something from you, such as a job, an internship, or access to the athletes you coach. When you are in a desirable position with access to an organization or influential people, you realize that there are a lot of transactional relationships.

If anyone has seen me train at a conference, you have an idea of what I mean here. I do not hold back. I go for broke and push to the limit every session. The negative associations with being a team sector football S&C coach are there for a reason, but there is a valuable lesson to learn from seeing it firsthand. Being one of the coaches who is willing to break from the herd and enter foreign territory, I feel it is my obligation to present my sector of our industry to the fullest. You want to know why I am where I am, and you are not? I cannot explain it; I have to show it. You will see take down more coffee and supplements than is realistically safe. You will see me blast through work sets and conditioning harder than is normally acceptable. You will see me demand more from those training with me than anyone else.

To me, there is only one way to train: as hard as possible. This is especially true when you decide to invest your time, money, and energy into an educational experience. The truth is that training at a conference is the most amplified version of your effort and training level you will have, and if it is subpar, that is who you are. Our field is saturated and regresses to a mean of mediocracy (true for all professions, not just S&C). How you train is how you distinguish yourself. I can employ flattery and repeat what you just said as a facade of understanding. I can gas you up and talk about how great you are in order for you to like me. But all that will fade into oblivion if you go through the motions when you train. The only lasting memory for people will be when it was hard, they saw you rise to the occasion.

When I make the decision to leave my family, my staff, and my clients to go to a conference, I want them to know I am making the most of that time. What I learned is a reflection of the effort I put into that experience. A good conference should leave you with a tension headache, a lost voice, and DOMS for 2 weeks. You are not throwing a pebble into the still pond; you are dropping Mount Everest into the Pacific. There should be shockwaves that penetrate the psyche of everyone who attends and feels your presence.

Here is to the real ones, who sacrifice their spirit, mind, and body for the sake of education.