Joe Kenn's Tier System for Training Presentation (from the SPTS)

 The Foundation of the Tier System for Training

This presentation will detail the organization and implementation of the Tier System of Training. Coach Kenn will illustrate his five bullet points of athletic-based training include training movements rather than bodyparts, whole body training vs. split training, incorporating explosive movements, variety and tempo. House will also lay the groundwork for developing the Tier system to fit any coach’s situation and provide valuable strategies for coaches to implement this system.

Joe Kenn, CSCS*D, MSCC, RSCC, IYCA, PN-1

Head Strength & Conditioning Coach - Carolina Panthers

Owner - Big House Power: Competitive Athletic Training

“We live in the age of regurgitation of quotes from books. Put that knowledge into practice, then tell me what you think.”

Known simply as "House" to players, Joe Kenn's goal as the Panthers' strength and conditioning coach is to protect and produce: protect the athletes' body armor and produce athletic based results. He employs a holistic and integrated philosophy in his comprehensive training plan that utilizes strength training, explosive development, high intensity interval training and performance-based nutrition. It is a structured approach that enhances the players' physical attributes.

In 2013, Kenn earned the first-ever Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year award from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He previously won the collegiate version of the NSCA award at Arizona State in 2002.

An accomplished strength and conditioning coach with nearly two decades of experience on the college level, Kenn came to the Panthers in 2011 from Big House Power Competitive Athletic Training, where he coached professional, college and high school athletes and teams from several sports.

Prior to that, he was the director of athlete development at Louisville for two seasons from 2008-09, working specifically with the football program. In 2009, he was recognized as a master strength and conditioning coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association. That same year, Cardinals center Eric Wood became Kenn's fourth first-round draft choice when the Buffalo Bills selected him 28th overall.

Kenn started his college coaching career at his alma mater, Wake Forest, in January 1991 as the assistant strength coach. Later that year, he went to Boise State as a graduate assistant and remained there for eight years. Elevated to the Broncos' strength and conditioning coach in 1994, Kenn was named the NSCA Big West Conference Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in 1998.

He then moved to Utah as the director of strength and conditioning for two years from 1999-2000. While with the Utes, Kenn supervised future Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith and tackle Jordan Gross and former NFL standout running back Mike Anderson. He also received accolades as the NSCA Mountain West Conference Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in 2000.

Next, Kenn spent seven years at Arizona State from 2001-07, serving as the head strength and conditioning coach for football for two seasons before being promoted to head coach of sports performance in 2003 and overseeing all sports. During his tenure with the Sun Devils, he worked with future Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs.

Kenn entered coaching at Pinecrest Preparatory School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from 1989-90 as strength coach in addition to tutoring the offensive and defensive lines.

A two-year starter at guard for Wake Forest from 1987-88, Kenn earned the Bill George Award as the Demon Deacons' standout lineman as a junior and then garnered recognition as the school's weightlifter of the year and an All-American strength and conditioning athlete by the NSCA as a senior.

He graduated with a bachelor's degree in health and sports science from Wake Forest in 1988, added his strength and conditioning specialist certification in 1990 and obtained his master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Boise State in 1993.

- Courtesy Carolina Panthers

“I know that I’m preaching to the choir, but Kenn’s seminar, which seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, was remarkable. They say that if you want to get the best information about how to train speed, talk to a track coach. If you want to know how to get strong, talk to an Olympic lifting coach or a powerlifting coach and then apply it back to your sport. If you want to be the best strength and conditioning coach you can be, go listen to Joe Kenn speak. He just makes so much sense in his approach that I’ve applied his ideas to an audit of my own programming and have started to make some changes based on his information.”- Ashley Jones