Matt Rhodes has been a staple of the elitefts™ training logs and Q&A for over a decade. Rhodes admittedly talked about the exposure of elitefts™ through powerlifting that helped land his first collegiate strength and conditioning job.

Interacting with Coach Rhodes and listening to this interview, you get a sense of his sense of duty toward his athletes, his staff, and anyone else that will take the time to listen to him. Rhodes brings a wealthy of knowledge and experience to coaching. That combined with a truthful, welcoming demeanor, it's easy to see why Rhodes has has such a positive influence on the coaching profession.

In this interview from last August, Rhodes gives straight-talk about training, programming, and everything else that all coaches need to hear. Rhodes has built a reputation on not being afraid to get under-the-bar and speak his mind. His brutal honesty is ignited by his passion for giving people the best, most simple information. Something that most of us need. Matt Rhodes

Topics in This Podcast

  1. How Matt Rhodes got to the position he is at now.  A little history.
  2. What are some of the steps Matt (and any coach) need to do when first taking over a program
  3. What are some of the biggest differences he has seen in terms of the various universities he's coached at.
  4. Basic program philosophy and how he sets up training program.
  5. The exercises Coach Rhodes could not do without, regardless of sport or season.
  6. The changes Matt has seen in the industry from when he started out.

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Matt Rhodes is a tremendous resource for our readers. He brings that hard to find mix of real-world playing and coaching experience. Rhodes started his collegiate career as a lacrosse player at The University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1994-1996. He later transferred to the University of Arizona where he played football from 1996-1998. After college he played arena football for the Richmond Speed before suffering a career-ending neck injury. After his playing career, Rhodes coached football at the University of Richmond and later interned for Buddy Morris at the University of Pittsburgh. After eight years as a personal trainer, he is back in the collegiate ranks as a strength and conditioning coach at the University at Albany. Rhodes has competed in powerlifting since 2001. His geared numbers include a 930 squat and a 605 bench. His raw numbers include a 650 squat, 485 bench and a 760 deadlift, all done in the 308-pound class.
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The Matt Rhodes File
Matt Rhodes, who possesses more than 10 years as a personal trainer, weight lifter and coach, has been named head strength and conditioning coach at Morehead State."Most of all, I look forward to working with our student-athletes," Rhodes said. "I'm very excited to be a part of the Morehead State family.  This is a great opportunity for me."Rhodes served as an assistant coach at Rhode Island in 2013-14, where he supervised the strength program for men's basketball, men's track, baseball and softball.

"It became obvious after initial conversations that Matt was the right choice," said Senior Associate Athletic Director Richard Fletcher, who headed the search committee. "His enthusiasm for the field, plus his desire to see student-athletes succeed, made it apparent he would be successful in overseeing and continuing our goals of improving the strength and conditioning program."

He was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Albany (N.Y.) in 2012-13. Rhodes directed activities for women's soccer and baseball.

Rhodes also held coaching positions at Pittsburgh, Yale and Choate Rosemary Hall High School (Wallingford, Ct.).

He served as outside linebackers coach at Richmond for three seasons (1999-2001).

Rhodes was a member of the Massachusetts lacrosse program in 1995 and 1996. He transferred to Arizona and was a member of the football program in 1997 and 1998.

"Being a Division I athlete, Matt knows the everyday rigors our student-athletes face, and he can guide them in improving their overall physical condition, which in turn helps them succeed individually and helps their team succeed as well," Fletcher added.

Rhodes earned his bachelor's degree from Arizona in 1999.

Courtesy of Moorehead State University

 Matt Rhodes Articles & Coaching Log

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