RB34
August 4, 2010, 1:38am
20
I know several major D1 programs like this. Sad to say but I don’t trust none of my athletes, I want to see every single rep and verify every single pound on the bar.
Some D1 programs assign each SC 6-12 athletes each session and they are responsible for there training and progress through the offseason.
I am the only one on staff, with a few student interns. Training groups are broken down into sub-groups of 15-20 athletes per session. I am doing as many as 15 technical running session per week to accommodate everyone. It sucks, but it is the reality of my situation - and I do the best that I can with limited resources.
I spend an immense amount of time educating the athletes on proper training and learning how to get the best out of each training session. Nothing I do is done through blindly following my workouts. We build in an immense amount of discretion on the part of the athletes choosing their weight, cutting the workout short, no missed or forced reps, etc. I rely on the athletes to be self-sufficient in many ways. I do not have the staffing resources to monitor everything they do. But, I do believe it makes it a better program in the long run.
Last semester, one of my student interns worked a semester at a NCAA Division I program and told me they had strength coaches on the floor counting reps for the weight workouts – with athletes doing all their sets and reps at exactly the same time (i.e. in unison). Of course, I was laughing so hard when he told me this, I almost wet myself. Everyone has their own rhythm and swagger in our weight room. I do not tell them when to do their reps and sets. Just get it done, technically correct and constantly improving.