One thing I miss about not working full-time at elitefts is hosting the Sports Performance Podcast. Dave Tate allowed me the opportunity to connect with some of the most knowledgeable and passionate coaches in the industry. I was literally given a platform to interact and learn from legends in our field.

As the NFL season is creeping up, here are four interviews from four of the most outstanding strength coaches in the league. Enjoy.

Joe Kenn

Carolina Panthers

Joe Kenn is one of the most influential strength and conditioning coaches in the industry. The number of coaches that "House" has had an impact on stretches throughout the professional, collegiate, high school, and private sectors. Coach Kenn has been a mentor to me since I started reading his articles on elitefts™ and read The Coach’s Strength Training Playbook which outlines the Tier System; a system that I have used with my athletes with great success.

Joe has become a friend and I am able to speak to him regularly. I was honored to introduce him when he presented at the NSCA National Conference this past summer and privileged to be one of the first to review his new eBook: The Coach's Strength Training Playbook for Football, before it was released.  Here is my review of his manual:

In today’s saturated sports performance market, there are eBooks that surface left and right on various topics with an underlying motivation to make a profit. Most of these manuals turn out to be promotional platforms written by individuals who have never actually coached athletes in a team setting. Real coaches want to cut through the creative formatting and flashy marketing without reading through another theoretical guide based not on anecdotal evidence but on personal beliefs. This is not that kind of eBook.

Make no mistake, Joe Kenn’s “The Coach’s Strength Training Playbook for Football: A Championship Program” is anything but watered down and solely theoretical. Coach Kenn opens the door to an entire off-season of training in a detailed format. This data was collected during the off-season training of a highly successful team in a BCS conference with a number of NFL drafted players. No component of preparation was left undocumented including sets, reps, percentages, target times, and performance testing data.

There is a reason Joe “House” Kenn is arguably the most decorated and influential strength and conditioning coach in the industry. His attention to detail, straightforward guidance, and unwavering integrity is evident in every one of the 280+ pages. Coaches that truly want to help their athletes succeed on the football field and in the weight room will appreciate the effort and honesty of coach Kenn’s writing. This is the type of information that strength coaches covet and will flourish with.  This is a must-read for any coach beyond the over-simplification of athletic performance. “The Coach’s Strength Training Playbook for Football: A Championship Program” is written from the sack. Words Win.

It was an honor to do this interview, although it didn't feel much like one. It was more of a conversation that we've had many times before.

Part 1

Topics Covered in Part 1

1. Coaching in the grid of the NFL season
2. The transition from the collegiate setting to the professional level
3. In-season training and exercise density
4. The evolution of the Tier System
5. Limitations on coaching at the college level

Topics Covered in Part 2

1. Maximum Effort Training for the Front Seven
2. Mental toughness
3. Young coaches platform and the"new methods"
4. Embracing the process
5. Surviving the profession
6. Advice for young coaches
7. The Coach's Strength Training Playbook for Football: A Championship Program

Buddy Morris

Arizona Cardinals

Growing up in the South Hills of the Steel City, my heroes were the figures of Pittsburgh sports. The Steelers were almost surreal to me as a fan and other than attending Jack Lambert's Football Camp and training camps in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, they seemed as if they inhabited another planet. The University of Pittsburgh football players were, in fact, more than just giants of the game; they were part of our culture. Guys like Jim Sweeney, Bill Fralic, and Mark Stepnoski were friends of my older cousins and in some way, almost like big brothers to all of us playing pick-up football in the cobblestone streets of Pennsylvania. Dan Mario played baseball for my grandfather up until his junior year at Pitt. And, all of us "yinzers" were heartbroken when Tony Dorsett started wearing a star on his helmet and played for America's team.

The icon who prepared most of those men is the reason that (in a round-about way) I became a strength and conditioning coach. Buddy "Coach X" Morris has always been someone who most of us looked up to, even when he told you things you didn't want to hear about training and physical preparation. Coach X became a staple of www.elitefts.com. Videos of when Dave and Jim visited Buddy and Mylo when they were coaching the Cleveland Browns still rank as some of the top learning experiences.

If there is one thing that is evident, it's that Buddy Morris was meant to be a strength coach. Buddy makes no apologies for being who he is. He has the knowledge and the experience to validate what he believes, while always questioning whether there is a better way to do things. Buddy knows that coaching never was and never will be about him.

"Buddy's one of the all-timers. He helped start this profession," said Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Carolina Panthers, Joe Kenn. "Nobody talks enough about Buddy being one of the pioneers."

With over three decades of experience, no one can deny Buddy Morris' impact on the strength and conditioning profession and the athletes he has coached.

Every coach has to pay his dues. There are coaches in this industry that have paid their dues well above and beyond what most of their colleagues have—and Buddy Morris is one of them. To say that he has paid his dues to get back into the National Football league is an understatement. With thirty-four years of coaching experience under his belt this March, Coach X started his second stint in the NFL as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

Topics Covered in this Podcast

1. How the Arizona Cardinals job came about
2. What is first on the agenda in Arizona?
3. High/Low Sequencing and the weekly plan
4. Adjusting volume of training based on position
5. Acclimation and assessment
6. Having a background in rehabilitation
7. Paying dues and being comfortable with your level
8. How have things changed in the NFL?
9. Modifications based on age and position
10. Bringing in a world record holder as a coach
11. Expectations this year

Mark Uyeyama

San Francisco 49ers

I first met Mark Uyeyama in an elevator of the Marriott World Center in Orlando, Florida, in January 2004. He and Joe Kenn, who was speaking at the NSCA Sports-Specific Training Conference there, were both interrupted by a short, fat, football/ strength coach who introduced himself as Mark Watts. I told them that it was an honor to meet them and how much I benefited from Joe’s book, The Coach’s Strength Training Playbook. My wife was with me in the elevator and still makes fun of me for being such a dork. Oh well, back then you couldn’t quite “friend” coaches on Facebook yet.

At the time, I didn’t know that Mark Uyeyama would become one of the most respected strength and conditioning coaches in the profession.

I also wouldn’t have guessed that I would have the opportunity to interview him for the company that brought all of us together. Uyeyama preaches about the value of networking and how the interactions outside of the weight room with people like Dave Tate and Jim Wendler are as valuable as any conference or clinic. He eludes to the fact that many of his closest friends in coaching all have one underlying connection— elitefts™. His relationships with Buddy Morris, Tom Myslinski, Martin Rooney, and James Smith were all in some way connected to the company, a company that not only provided unbiased resources for coaches but one they all added to as well. Uyeyama admits that this was as much due to the conglomeration of like-minded individuals who shared the same values as the company that served as a literal and figurative hub.

If there was ever a coach who has been solely focused on the development and well-being of his athletes, it’s Uyeyama. You won’t find any ebooks, YouTube videos, or articles by him. “In this field, you have people who write about how awesome they are but have never done shit,” proclaims J.L. Holdsworth, who has known Uyeyama for almost fifteen years. “And there are people who are too busy being awesome to write about it.” Holdsworth got his start in the strength and conditioning field around the same time as Uyeyama and shares many of the same influences.

Uyeyama would rather let his end result speak for itself. That end result has led him to roam the sidelines of a Super Bowl and three NFC Championship games in his three years as the head strength and conditioning coach.

At one of those championship games, he was across the field from his mentor, Joe Kenn. Kenn, who hired Uyeyama as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach while at Arizona State University, explains, “Mark Uyeyama is the ultimate professional. His passion and commitment to his players are contagious.” Kenn witnessed young Uyeyama“blossom into one of the best in the business.” That success may be attributed to Uyeyama’s desire to improve as a coach. “Mark is a great listener and is always striving to improve his knowledge so he can apply greatness into his programs,” concludes Kenn.

A coach that Uyeyama still listens to often is James “The Thinker” Smith. James still is a huge influence on Uyeyama, who is dedicated to the continual growth and constant learning from anyone who can help his program. Uyeyama expands his learning spectrum to disciplines outside of the sports performance field. If there is anything out there who will help his athletes succeed, you can bet Mark Uyeyama will find it.

Topics covered in this podcast:

1. What the typical training is before OTAs start
2. How players are assessed before they start training
3. Why movement is the most important factor of training in the NFL
4. How music is synonymous with coaching
5. What the principles are from martial arts that transcend to coaching
6. Why the bottom line is the end result
7. Why it starts with bringing the right guys in the building
8. What the biggest misconception of training NFL players are
9. What the biggest lessons learned are

Evan Marcus

Minnesota Vikings

One of the most anticipated presentations I have attended was at the 2003 NSCA Sports-Specific Training Conference in New Orleans. At the time , Rock Gullickson was the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Saints and he and his long-time assistant, Evan Marcus showcased their training philosophy along with videos of some truly innovative methodologies.

Coach Marcus is humble and passionate about training. He gives a lot of credit to his mentors like Gullickson and appreciates the never-ending learning process that comes with the role of coach. Most coaches share those characteristics.

Marcus will be the first to admit he took advantage of his opportunities, opportunities that Evan Marcus had through hard-work, positive relationships, and the always-present drive to improve as a coach.

After listening to this interview you will soon realize that the characteristics and positive attributes of a successful NFL strength coach are the same for all coaches. Evan Marcus gives credit and honors those he worked for and works with by giving everything to his players. Buy-in is key when working with professional athletes and it would be hard not to buy-in to Coach Marcus.

In this Podcast:

How Coach Marcus got started

1. Getting an edge in athletics
2. D3 to DI
3. Meeting Rock Gullickson
4. Not just Xs and Os but communicating with Athletes

Challenges at coaching at the professional level

1. No matter what level, coaches are there to help athletes
2. Character Development is different than at the college level

Your assessments, the biggest issues you face with athletes

1. Don't assume anything
2. Breaking everything down to its simplest terms

Communication with private sector coaches

1. Players  would preferably train with former college coaches
2. Expectations with more buy-in

Communication with the Medical Staff

1. Point A to point B
2. Overall goals for the players

Training before and during OTAs

1. Working with 'professionals'
2. Knowing what to expect
3. "Go-to" exercises with progressions and regressions
4. Giving freedom to choose exercises
5. Focusing on movement speed for older athletes

In-season training

1. Maintain = good enough
2. Being the strongest during the season
3. Technology in terms of readiness

Staff development

1. No mixed messages for athletes
2. The trust factor with staff
3. Everyone believing in the same things

Advice for young strength coaches

1. Just because you are in the NFL doesn't make you a good strength coach
2. Taking advantage of opportunities
3. Young coaches don't want to pay their dues
4. Trying out what you read