Transcript
Speaker: high school, best kid, best talent. Sometimes they have don't have to work very hard. Not in the weight room, not running, not with their skill development, leadership, everyone's already kind of fallen them anyway because they're the best.
Speaker: When you come into our environment, you're not the best anymore. You just kind of showing up ain't gonna get it done here. You have to run, you have to lift this way. You have to be accountable this way. You have to put in effort and time to your craft this way.
Speaker: And so sometimes it's it can be a hard switch for some guys. And, or some guys like, crave it. It's like, wow, I've been missing this. I need this. And so it's um it'ss it' it's all about the small details that stack up over time. Welcome to the Captains and Coaches podcast. We explore the art and science of leadership through the lens of athletics and beyond.
Speaker: I'm your host, Tex McQuilkin, and today I welcome in studio Coach Corey Castro. Coach Castro is a strength conditioning coach for University of Texas football, working directly with the quarterback room and the specialist. Very important role that he's managing.
Speaker: Corey's path started as a walk-on running back into a strength intern, then a graduate apprenticeship, and a full-time strength coach role at the age of 24 years old From there, he became a Cal Bear, earning the trust of Coach Corey Beckton and on to the University of Texas.
Speaker: We get into how he builds trust with elite athletes, why velocity-based training gets misunderstood, his approach to rotational work for quarterbacks and packing on muscle, plus how he reads leadership before he ever reads a lift.
Speaker: This is what coaching competency looks like. With that, let's hand it off to Coach Castro, who helps us raise game. Ready, ready, and break. Action, live, Dripping Springs.
Speaker: Coach Castro, welcome to the show. I'm very fortunate to have you and catch you in this window. And a big shout out to Andy Holmes for connecting us, man. So thank you and welcome to town. nah I appreciate it, man. This is cool.
Speaker: I want to start, as always, and I'm i'm biased, but I'm a D3 All-Star. as are you that's right which effectively sparked this connection to performance because you went back to play you went to school and then made a very rare decision to go back to sport and that's where i want to begin like what drew you to get back into sport and performance after stepping away from it after high school yeah that's actually really cool um that you even knew that all right so um Leaving high school, like in high school, I never thought that playing at the next level in college was even an opportunity for me.
Speaker: We're on to high school, like it's not a lot of people did that. The best athletes in our school, they were maybe going D2. We had one kid go D1 for wrestling, one of my friends, but it was just, it was very small niche of people who did that. And everyone else just didn't play sports afterwards.
Speaker: So in my head, that's kind of just, okay, we're done and that's that's it. But I always had a passion for strength conditioning, for sport, for coaching. I knew it's what I wanted to do.
Speaker: Didn't know that there was a thing as like a strength conditioning coach for a team. or Didn't know that. Didn't have any guidance. I didn't have a strength coach in high school. I didn't have performance coaches. I didn't have any of that i just that. was my passion. i said That's what i did.
Speaker: So my initial thought was, okay, I'm going go and i'm be a PE teacher and going to coach wrestling. I'm going to coach football. I'm to be the weight room coach. like I'm going to build this whole community around that. That's what I knew at the time.
Speaker: So post post post high school, I went to the University of Akron to be a normal student. And I went there, first semester, I was full-on college student.
Speaker: Party, eat whatever, like, change ah lifestyle. We call those NARPs. Non-athletic regular people. That's exactly what it was. And it took me about a couple months to realize. I came home around that Christmas time, and I'm like,
Speaker: Yeah, this isn't like what I want to do. um So I want to get back to playing football. Because at at this point in time, I realized that there was such thing as a strength conditioning coach for football who worked with just these kind of people. i'm like, that's all I want to do.
Speaker: So if I'm going to do that, I got to live that. And I miss sport, it was the first time my entire life that I went without doing actual sport. And even during those few months, um started a whole really close group at Akron where we were actually starting to build a ah club team for wrestling at Akron.
Speaker: Went through all the hoop steps and hoops and hurdles and late the last piece we had to do was just like hire coach. yeah But at that point in time, i already knew I was leaving. So by the time got to that stage, I've already gotten it. so I was like, yeah, I needed that. I needed that outlet of sport.
Speaker: So once I kind of made that switch transition, I want to be a strength coach. I wanna to work with football. I want to do it in this area. I have to live that. i I'm a big person of, I have to,
Speaker: I practice what I preach. I very much believe in what I'm doing and how it translates. So at that that moment, I was, okay, I'm going to transfer. going to go ahead and play football. So I had a couple opportunities. I looked at like going over to Kent state. I had someone playing there. I had a opportunity to go couple other D three schools and then landing on John Carroll.
Speaker: I had like one of my best friends was playing there. I went and met with the coaching staff there. it was closer to home. I just, everything felt really, really good about it. Yeah. And so I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and I'm gonna transfer there and I'm gonna i'm gonna play day one.
Speaker: I didn't wanna wait to play. i I already felt like I sat out a year. I didn't wanna miss another year of playing. I wanna come in, I'm gonna play day one. transferred in the spring? i transferred to this I transferred going into year two. So I did a whole year at Akron.
Speaker: I spent the whole spring semester figuring out where I was gonna transfer, where I was gonna go, um how to how to make that happen, like where I needed to go next. And so I went from basically having like semester one, a two, three GPA to like having a three, five GPA to second semester to then transferring and then being a great student after that. Yeah. But i needed that time to kind of explore that and understand it about myself.
Speaker: So that was really cool. So then once I made a decision to make that transfer, then it became all full speed ahead. And so even guys on the team were like, yeah, dude, like you're not going to come in like, no, I'm playing. day one, week one, like let's go. We're we're training. What position were you?
Speaker: I was a running back. Okay. And so I came in and i remember like we were in, we're in fall camp and like we had a special teams coordinator who's like getting on people for the not doing what they're supposed to do. And I went to that meeting. him like go I'm like, I'm like,
Speaker: put me on kickoff, I'll go get somebody for you." He's like, all right. So next time, the next practice came around, I went on kickoff and I'm just starting running down there full speed, I'm doing whatever. And so I had making the travel roster that first year.
Speaker: And then after like the second, third game, we had like two, three running backs go down. it's so now I'm starting game four. wow So it was just, it became, i played every I played in every single game throughout my four years there.
Speaker: And it just, uh, it was, it was a fun, it was was really fun experience me to do. And y'all had a strength coach or was it football coaches that were leading that? We had a football coach who led that. Now it was unfortunate because I had a great strength and conditioning coach coming in the door and it was at them for like two weeks before he left to go to Iowa state at Jesse Ackerman. He's been with a ton of different from places. texas Yeah. Yeah. So he's in ton different places. He's really, really cool, but I kind of just missed him. So we kind of just had a nice little high five on the way out.
Speaker: And, uh, But like there's a ton of really real cool coaches that came out of that that program. There's so many like great coaches that are at really high levels, whether be strength conditioning or football or other other areas or BGMs or whatever it is.
Speaker: lot of cool people came out of that environment. yeah So it turned out to be the right choice. And then playing four years, was there a sports performance degree at that time? Or was this just an interest? So that's also another reason why i kind of went to John Carroll was because they actually had an exercise science program. This is like earlier on, there wasn't a lot of those out there. no It was a newer program. It was totally solely exercise science was actually like degree.
Speaker: And so that actually was really important for me. And so I went and did that. And it was really cool because I'm an offensive coordinator. he Like D3 level, yeah, a lot of like administrative type too, but he was offensive coordinator. He also, he was the head of that entire department.
Speaker: So like it was, it was really a good relationship that we established throughout that course of course in time. And then, then you started the internship trail. Then I started internship trail. Yes. Mountain climb.
Speaker: Yes. And where did that jump to? Yeah. So, um, I was, just I was playing was like in my junior year and I was kind of asked people like yo, what do I do? Like, how do I get, where where does this go? What do I do next? And I had a buddy on my team, so one of my best friends today, Brett Huth, and he was went through the same process. He was wants to do the exact same thing, he the same thing now.
Speaker: And I was asking him like, hey, what like what should I do next? He's just did an internship at Kent State this past this past summer. He's like, you need get some experience doing some stuff. And so i was like, okay, well, they decided coaching change turned over.
Speaker: And so I kind of set that up. I kind of reached out to that coach like every week. and eventually got on board with that. And it worked out great because in going into my last season, that was one class you had to take as far as degree was an internship class. yeah I was able to do that internship class over the summer and kind of build it perfectly into- Did you get to train with the boys?
Speaker: I didn't necessarily train with the guys, but I did the exact training program, right? Like our intern intern class was really strong and we did the training program and I lived in Iran and you know my best friend was on that team. So like I lived with him and- It was a really, really good environment for me.
Speaker: So like it's a D3 level, we didn't have that. There was no mandatory lifts in the summer other than what I mandated. And was like, hey, I'm going be here at this time. Who's coming? um Yeah, so that was really cool for me to kind of start there. so That's where I started. I started doing an internship at Kent State the summer going into my senior season.
Speaker: And then like where' where's the the the trail breadcrumbs lead to you? Yeah. taxes Yeah. So initially right after that, I went to my head coach. I'm like hey, this is what I want to do. Do you know anybody can help me kind of either get a GA or find another next opportunity for me somewhere? i say oh we need to call it Jesse.
Speaker: So we call Jesse Ackerman and he was at Texas at the time. And so Jesse then got me connected to come to Texas in 2012 to be an intern. I'm like, awesome. Like, this is great. I'm going to Texas. Like, I skipped graduation. I'm like, I'm going to Texas. They're starting earlier. I'm like, we're going. I'm there.
Speaker: Done. And so I come to Texas. And right as I came to Texas, Jesse got a job at Florida. So we gave little high five again on the way out. He got me in. He went to Florida. And I was at Texas and that that whole that whole spring semester. So from January to basically June. to like june Who was the head strength coach?
Speaker: that That's when you still had you had Mad Dog there and you had ben Benny Wiley there. So, yeah. Yeah. that I did an internship 2013 when they were the co-head. Yeah. And that was a very dynamic, interesting experience because you had two philosophies.
Speaker: And then ah it was almost like I was caught in the middle. Yeah. I love the experience because I was with the offensive line and responsible for them and logging weights and all that. And then so that was Mad Dog's program.
Speaker: But then helping Benny where he need to with the speed and skill. So I was getting exposed to like close to the ball and far away and all all in between. But yeah, so I was ships passing in the night again. I was I was 2013 there.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, no, that's cool. Yeah. All I did was at the time they usually have a bigger intern class. ah For whatever reason, it was like I was the only intern and there was like two to GAs. two I set up everything. All I did was work. I just worked constantly all day long and if anyone knows Benny, they always worked out with the team. ye And so I had to earn that right to kind of work out with the team. But once I did, it was like, I worked out with the team. I worked out with the coaches. I worked out with pro day guys. I worked out with some other kid who wanted to come and train. I was with him like five times a day.
Speaker: yeah Didn't matter. I would just, i would just train it. Then I'd go ahead and get off, go to Jimmy John's, go to work until 10 PM and then repeat the whole thing again. I loved it. i I loved it. So it was really cool experience for me to kind of, go ahead and work through that.
Speaker: Yeah, that that is awesome. And that I mean, the connections that set you up, where where was the next stop? Because usually it's a pit stop at Texas.
Speaker: They're not the program to type to hire that intern. You got to earn your way into into the door. So expecting internships out there, if you go to a big time school, don't expect to be hired off the bat. That's a rare occurrence.
Speaker: So what was the next next stop there? Yeah, so then from there, come back, revisit the Brett Huth. He was an assistant at Louisiana Monroe. And so I kind of reached out to people again and I'm like, yeah, I'm looking for, you know, graduate assistant position. He said, hey, we got a spot coming open. Like, you want to come down? I'm like, yes, let's go.
Speaker: Never knew where Monroe, Louisiana was. Didn't know what it was. didn't know what Louisiana Monroe was. I just i knew Brett and I, I knew that this is what I wanted to do. yeah So said, okay, let's go. And so I joined them in that summer after that. So it would be 2012, summer 2012, sometime around like wherever that timeframe was, getting into their start of their summer.
Speaker: Drove down there, had no idea where Louisiana Monroe was. I kind of just pulled up. I'm like, oh my goodness, this is where I'm at now, coming from Austin to Monroe, Louisiana. So it was it was fun. But that was an awesome experience because it was a small staff.
Speaker: And just between basically we had two full time assistants and we had three GAs. And between all five of us, we ran every single sport. Yeah. So I had a ton of experience of like real life coaching, real life programming, making mistakes, figuring things out, like organizing a huge schedule, huge workload, learning how to track like and just doing so much stuff on your own and failing and then re reevaluating. And then being be able to make those mistakes when i was younger, like that's kind of a huge growth moment for me.
Speaker: Yeah. And feeling more confident coming out as a being on the program or being a coach on the floor and do do a lot of that work. yeah And I mean, learn athletic development versus football training, football strength conditioning. Absolutely. Right. So i because there I worked with I had women's soccer. I had throwers. I had, you know, sprinters. I had tennis. I had.
Speaker: um softball, I had golf, I had, helped out with any other, like we helped out with baseball, obviously did football. So like there was tons of teams I worked with. And so like, just figuring out like how that works and with their season, how, how all that works out together. Yeah.
Speaker: That's awesome. And so this led to so football only. It's always, it was always the goal and the vision. Yeah. Right. That's always a goal and the vision. So the football is always your primary, but i love working with other sports and that was always a part of it. Yeah.
Speaker: So once I graduated there, um I met my my wife in in in Louisiana Monroe. All right. So we weren't married at the time. We were just dating. And so after i graduated, i didn't really have a plan yet. And I and yet had to find a full-time job.
Speaker: um My wife got a new job in Baton Rouge. at the time, which not wife yet. But my wife got a new job in Baton Rouge. And so I hit up Gail Hatch, who was a big time Olympic weightlifting coach. okay And he's based out of Baton Rouge.
Speaker: And at the time, I'm like, I need to get better at coaching these Olympic lifts. I wasn't great at it. So I just kind of started getting getting into it. So I started lifting and figuring that out because I want to get better at coaching it. So I hit him up and asked if I can come intern for him while was still looking for a job.
Speaker: And so I was like, all right, great. He said, yeah, come on down. So I started doing competitive Olympic weightlifting on his team while also coaching younger kids. And I was doing all that for free. Actually, i was paying the due, because pay the monthly membership at the gym. So I was paying 150 bucks a month to actually be an intern there.
Speaker: while working at GNC while trying to find a full-time job. Wife's paying all the bills, she's taking care of me, and I'm just chasing that that dream. yeah So it actually was really cool because I got really into competitive weightlifting.
Speaker: I really, really enjoyed it. um also really got much better at coaching those lifts. I'm coaching like younger kids. yeah And just being able talk through things, not so much the details, but like being able to talk holistically, simply, how to simplify things. yeah and make things clear, focus on one thing at a time, instead of like everything that's going on at a time. And just learning how to fine tune those skills and create a network of people that are kind of in his tree, were kind of a, was a positive for me. yeah And did that tree lead you to full-time job opportunity? It did. um now i mean I applied to everyone out there looking for jobs. I applied for probably like somewhere between 70 and 100 jobs, you know, and like not getting really anything.
Speaker: And it's not necessarily just always because of you. It's because of just... Blindly applying doesn't always work. It's a of times who you know, what the door, what your entrance is, getting and into it. So they don't be discouraged by that. Just keep on trying.
Speaker: and But I eventually got a connection through somebody who was attached to Gail Hatch. Brandon Howard was a head strength coach um in the area, and he would come live with Gail Hatch once in a while.
Speaker: And so Lamar University had an opening, and he made a phone call over that head strength coach and kind of recommended me for that. So I able to interview for that job. Mm-hmm. And so I became an assistant at Lamar University.
Speaker: So i was I was my first full-time gig over there. I got to work with football, and I did softball, and I did track and field. yeah So it was it was a lot of fun.
Speaker: A lot of fun. Yeah, like six hours from Baton Rouge? Yeah, six hours. mom yeah About the three hours. About three, four. Yeah, about three. little they're out three Maybe four. Something around there. yeah But my wife ended up moving out there with me like like three months later. she kind figured it out.
Speaker: She ended up working in Houston. yep I was working down in Beaumont. So we lived together in Baytown. i drove an hour. She drove an hour. We figured it out. Yeah. We've always done a good job of figuring it out. That's good. Yeah. I'm from Katy. So, yeah. Yeah. Very familiar with the area. But then after a year there, our head strength coach left to go be an assistant at South Alabama.
Speaker: And so I took over as head strength coach at Lamar. So two years in, like I'm now at this point, 24 years old, I'm head strength coach of the Division one program. Yeah. And I had to rebuild a staff.
Speaker: And basically it was just me and all 14 sports. And so then I had a young GA who I had to had to bring up and coach him up on how to program, do all those things. I turned the staff of just me and one GA into a staff of me, an assistant, um two GAs, five interns. like I've created a whole programming structure and it got to a point where was able to start delegating more, and it was a really good place.
Speaker: Yeah. I mean, but it doesn't stop there. Like, you made it to a top dog. That's everyone's dream. What pursued, like, what was out there that was that was more for you? Yeah, I mean, my my my then my goal is to be, like, i want to be, like, a director of performance at, like, a Texas at a big Power Four and school. So, like, next step was Brett Huth again gives me a call. Hey, he's now at Cal.
Speaker: um Hey, I got i got we got an assistant spot open at Cal. And I was like, yeah, let's let's go ahead and interview for that. So I went out to Cal. That interview went well. So i ended up going to Cal in 2016. That's when I went out to Cal. And I became an assistant at Cal.
Speaker: That's awesome. Football only. Nope, no, no. Still not football only. No, no, no. not So like at this is even better. So at at Cal, I was ah was just football and softball. OK. And so I'm still working with softball. Softball is still one of my favorite sports to have worked with, um which later on, they like me working with softball for so long, I think it's one of the things is what transitioned me to working with quarterbacks in football what i was just writing down to lead to but yeah it's a a lot of that time and research about a lot of those things is tied so seamlessly into the quarterback stuff and that's what got me started with that um so from there i was there for a year with that staff and it was great but then that football staff gets fired and so we lose our head strength coach you know we lose brett
Speaker: I'm hanging out by a thread, but my contract doesn't expire till a certain date. And because I'm working with other, other sports, the new staff has to hang on to me. So, uh, coach Beckton comes in, new staff comes in.
Speaker: He wants to get rid of me cause he wants his own people in there, but he can't yet. So it was my job then to prove that I can stick around. Yeah. And so he tried it. He tried his best to get rid of me. He tried his best to get me out the door, make me quit, get me leave. Cause he wanted to bring his people in understandably.
Speaker: Um, but um'm I'm pretty tough and i just't made a decision. This is what I wanted to do and stay here and stick it out and make it work. So found how i found out how to work with instead of opposed to do what I've always done.
Speaker: How do I adjust? How do to meet somebody where they're at? How do I adjust? How do I get better? And we ended up developing a really good relationship over the next four seasons at Cal. We were built something pretty special there with him.
Speaker: and then then that translated right into us coming to texas because when coach peckton got that call to come to texas then he brought it me and a couple other guys with him and we kind of rebuilt that here and refill that foundation yeah i feel it's important note that trust it needs to be earned it's 100 so you have high expectations you have high support but then people need to to show it for both of those things yeah so i'm I'm glad he put you through some trials, but that showed that you could be a trustworth trustworthy person because, I mean, you got to trust in as big a program and valuable assets that they have.
Speaker: It's necessary. No question. Yeah. And it's it's and like that trust happens over time with consistency. So the more consistent you are on a long term basis, the more trust you're going to get.
Speaker: And this the more that relationship can grow organically. Yeah. And i'm we covered a very vast level of experience across many different sports because you're working right now with with quarterbacks. so you can't go in with necessarily this this one special way. Those guys got to be a part of the team.
Speaker: And there is an expectation with that position to be a leader. but then we don't want to mess them up. And I've, yeah, listened to you on different podcasts where it's like, well, we still got to prepare them to take a big hit from a big player.
Speaker: yeah So people can go too down this this specific road for quarterback-specific training and forget that they're a football player too. So take us into your mindset for crafting and building this program for these guys and then putting them in a position to lead the rest of the team through challenging workouts.
Speaker: Yeah, no question. I mean, first and foremost, like coach Beckton is a really good job of setting them up for success and in that manner. Right. Like he, he's one to kind of like, he meets a lot of these guys on a, on a weekly basis and he talks them through a lot of this stuff and he puts them in a position to be out front and to do those things where I come in. It's more like, I know these guys, I get to know these guys really well. It doesn't happen.
Speaker: doesn't happen overnight. Like it takes time and it takes like the time, consistency and effort to kind of create a real relationship with these guys. Understand who where're who they are and meet them where they're at.
Speaker: it comes to actual training, it's, you know, we lift real lifts. It's, you know, we we still squat. We still press. We still pull. We still hinge. we We still do all those things. We take consideration for all their throwing stuff, for the rotational work.
Speaker: but all of rotational work is program and progressed very similar to way you would progress a squat or a bench press or the way it's it's all the same principles you're just applying it in a different manner and so you can't get lost in a lot of like the the fancy like random tool it's about where does this tool fit into the progression of where we're at and why is it here at this time how did that get here so as long as you're following basic principles That to me is the key to having a sound and beneficial program and being able to apply those things.
Speaker: And then you get to know the person individually. Okay, where is this person actually, where is he weak at? Where is what are sports science saying that we have a weakness at or li link weakness in his chain? Hey, I'm gonna go watch this kid throw.
Speaker: Where are we having problems? we We're gonna watch him run and roll out. Where are we having problems? Where is he feeling like he had problems? How can I then... implement now individual things that help with his individual needs and assessments.
Speaker: And that's kind of where then a lot of some extra work comes in where I do one-on-one stuff with some of those guys or give them extra things on the, on the, on the side, create a different schedule. And we do that with all of our guys is I just happen to work with that group of people to do that.
Speaker: So, um, that's kind of where you start building the real relationship about how to formulate some of those things. And as a leader, that guy has to be a leader on the field, but they all,
Speaker: lead a little bit differently yeah you know so we've we've had leaders who don't want to be so vocal all the time but they have to be at certain moments and it's about giving them the courage and strength to be vocal in certain moments telling that's okay um there's other guys who are you know they're extremely uh forefront with their at their actions and how they and how they work and then like you have to be also cautious of your body language when things don't go well and like understand how that permeates everyone else.
Speaker: And so it's about the individual coaching about who that person is, meeting them where they're at and then trying to push them to the next level, best version of them. To it's not an to me it's an overarching of leader is this really vocal yelling guy. it It's who that personality is. Time out.
Speaker: Tex here to take a minute to talk about training. I just got back from the NFCA tactical conference, which I gave a presentation on barbell training for operators. I pulled all the movements in the presentation from the Old Bull program and discussed how I manipulate the body in certain setups to target Achilles, knee, ankle, hip, back health, all the things that we need to work on 30 plus years old because we're beat up, we've been training, we're ex-athletes, we're still operating and we need to target this stuff.
Speaker: We're still lifting heavy and having fun on Old Bull. for a seven day free trial. Check out the training program. You can see it in the show notes or click here. If you want to see that NSCA tactical presentation, it's up on YouTube.
Speaker: I'll click that here as well. With that, let's get back to the show. Ready, ready, and break. as a strength coach you get the opportunity to assess movement first when you meet this kid and almost daily to then determine where we go with the strength program what would you say are some assessments that you do for their style of leadership or where they're weak knowing hey sport coach has this expectations of this leader He, I assess that he may need to work on this and then pour that in. So what are some like social emotional assessments, leadership assessments that you do just as well as you do movement assessments? Yeah, from leadership perspective? Yeah. First thing coming the door when it's a young kid, it's going to be,
Speaker: How does he, how does he attend to the details? How does he do with the small details that we're asking these guys to do? Is he showing up on time? Is he wearing the right gear? Is it tucked in? Does he have his jewelry off? Is he out in front when we're getting ready to go? or is he in the back? Is he late?
Speaker: Is he coming in? Is he inconsistent? Like those first things in the first couple of weeks tell you a lot about who the person is and how they go about their business. then from there becomes like the small coaching on some of those small details and to get them to understand the importance of those small details and to see if they can pick up on some of those things and if they start to transition out of those things okay great now how do you handle it when we're under some physical adversity or when things are getting challenging in a team setting, how do you handle it?
Speaker: do Do you rise up and bring got bring people to you? Do you stand at the side? you get quiet? um And those are all noticeable things that can start picking up on. And now you have individual coaching interventions.
Speaker: Hey, you need to with right now. Hey, see him over there. to get with him. Hey, I saw you today. You were down. Your head was down. By language were bad. Like, you need to think about that. It just now gives you individual moments to intervene and and coach them through those things to get them to where they are. And for a young kid who starts seeing those moments, they start, there's there's small details over time that kind of can build and grow into the person that they need to be. Yeah.
Speaker: And at their their high school program, their coaches may be aware of these things, but they'll let them slide because the kid's really talented. Or those coaches may not even have the awareness call out these one, two, three details.
Speaker: So what are some common things that you've seen kids transition from high school to college that you just establish the expectations because you've seen it so much that they're not getting it at the lower levels?
Speaker: It's 100% accountability to the day-to-day. It is a really hard thing to do is how much we demand of these kids. That schedule is hard and it's tough.
Speaker: And so being able to handle the schedule with the amount of detail and focus that requires on a day-to-day basis and be consistent with that can be challenging. And it's like our job to then do everything we can to set that kid up for success through the ups and through the downs and push them through the finish line and drag them through the finish line. Even if they don't want it, we can all drag you through the finish line and to get them to move past some of the those things. Because like you said, like in high school,
Speaker: best kid, best talent, sometimes they'll't have they don't have to work very hard. Not in the weight room, not running, not with their skill development, leadership, everyone's already kind of fallen them anyway because they're the best. When you come into our environment, you're not the best anymore.
Speaker: You just kind of showing up ain't gonna get it done here. You have to run, you have to lift this way, you have to be accountable this way, you have to put in effort and time to your craft this way.
Speaker: And so sometimes it's it can be a hard switch for some guys. And are some guys like, crave it. It's like, wow, I've been missing this. I need this. And so it's um it's, it's, it's, it's all about the small details that stack up over time. Nothing, no, nothing big overarching that you put on somebody.
Speaker: No. ah So now adversity assessments. This is the beauty of strength and conditioning. I get to see how you fail. and There's a moment that I can shape your behavior before we take the next attempt in the rep.
Speaker: So what are some intentional adversity tools that you apply at the individual level And then at the team level, so I can see how these these quarterbacks lead the group during adversity. So how do they handle it personally? What's your assessment tools, techniques, challenges there?
Speaker: And then what are some fun stuff that you're all doing for the whole team that, hey, let's let's get some shared suffering in here? Yeah, no question. There's definitely a good amount of shared suffering outside when we run. Yeah. And it's not every session. We have like hard performance sessions where it's like, this is how you rely on performance. And then there's other days, especially in the summer, like,
Speaker: you talk to any one of our guys ever been through our our program, they know what sevens are and they know what a four quarter, they know what four quarters on Fridays is all about. And for us, it's a huge foundational tool to kind of get our, the conditioning and the lower body volume that we need from a soft tissue standpoint to prepare them for the kind of volume and loads are going handle at practice and at camp.
Speaker: So it's extremely necessary piece of it, but it's also like how we go about pushing the guys to do it. And, um,
Speaker: So we have that that kind of where it's is hard on everybody. Then we also have drills where we we incorporate a thinking, a thought process to it, to a simple drill.
Speaker: But now we're adding small details to that, whether it be touch the right hand, touch your left hand, left foot. And then we assess it as a coaching staff. Was it perfect? Was it not? Did everybody touch the right hand? Everyone hit the right line at the right time? Did everyone do the drill correct?
Speaker: And everyone goes around, yes, yes, yes, yes. No, this person didn't do it like this because he missed his hand on this line. That repped end count. Move him down in the next one. And so now it's that's a good telling culture a piece to do we pull together in these moments?
Speaker: Do we start bickering? Do start fighting? Do we start getting tired and frustrated, how do our leaders start leading? And so it's a good tell to kind of put some of the actual talks and leadership work to in practice before we even get on the field.
Speaker: yeah So it though like it's adding small details and seeing how the team can react to that is really, really cool. Yeah. And then is are there there coachable moments where you tell them exactly what they did wrong or how do we storm right now? We're gonna teach our leaders to lead.
Speaker: Or is it is it blank being like, That rep didn't count, zip it, and they have to figure out what they did. Yeah, we we like in that moment, you let those guys kind of play it out, right? And if gets hand, we can take over and kind of reestablish some things, but you let them figure it out because what we'll do later on is kind of bring the leaders together and coach leaders on those situations later on and use that as a coaching tool.
Speaker: And then you go to you build from that um that. That's more so, I think, you have to organically let things happen and let guys kind of figure that out and try to implement some of the talks you've had earlier.
Speaker: play out. um ah Across the the expanse of your career, have you noticed that, um I mean, we feel screens are are are taken away from our child development.
Speaker: I mean, you've been coaching for over a decade. Have you seen a transition, a challenge, or different social challenges that leaders face over the past 10 years? due to kids because kids you're coaching now, 10 years ago, they were those kids at the dinner table on screens potentially.
Speaker: So have you seen this, this social gap over the years or you still be in dudes? lot it's dudes being dudes, but I think there's different distractions now than there has been previously. I talking to college football, you got more money, you got more outside opportunities that you have to go your schedule. You get maybe a big fuller because you have ton of other NIL deals, photo shoots you gotta do outside of this deal that can interfere with what we're doing here. you may have um you know money problems family problems at home that you kind of got to help deal with and so distractions are different um you know social media is real big now it can be you know positive or negative influence on social media how do you deal with that um so there's there's different distractions i would say um but as far as the the tools and the alignments of like leadership and how a team comes together that hasn't changed it's just that sometimes the outside distractions may be a little bit different
Speaker: So now what are what are some tools and techniques that coaches can take away for, i mean, helping insulate them from those distractions and still understand who they are or who you believe they are versus listening to the negative voices out there that could be potentially there? Yeah. One thing that we do as a team, I think is really cool is that we do this thing called culture Wednesday. And so like every Wednesday we get together as a team and we talk about something that's going to be more relatable to,
Speaker: I would say like personal development or personal growth or as a team. And so it gives you an opportunity to be vulnerable. So we'll get look at it as do it as a team and then we'll get into small breakout groups. And it gives you now a chance to be more vulnerable and get to understand your teammates more in certain scenarios. You know, what is their why? You know, what is some of their hardships? You know, what are they grateful for? You know, and they started getting some of these conversations with guys who know them at a much deeper level. And when that starts to happen, you get become more vulnerable.
Speaker: You start pulling closer to guys. and You start understanding some of those things a little bit better. And you do that over time. Now our team's pulling together for a different reason than just... we're here lifting and running. Hey, I know you're going through this. Hey, what's up? Now they can have a little more conversation instead just getting on somebody.
Speaker: Now maybe they understand somebody a little better so that they can communicate better and they understand where they're coming from. Or maybe they're going through the similar deal and then they can talk about it outside of here. And now maybe they're helping others through something else. So that's the connection piece I think that we really use that kind of help.
Speaker: take care of some of those outside distractions. We focus on us. where We're enamored with us and our team. Yeah. And then, I mean, social media, that certainly is a distraction because you're putting forth your ideal self, what picture perfect is.
Speaker: And then in a locker room, we know the ups, the downs, the hardships, the ah challenges that we're facing. So I'm glad that y'all are able to keep the team focused on the team yeah versus letting them listen to what everybody else is going on there.
Speaker: Um, Yeah, in sticking with quarterbacks, you were not a quarterback yourself, but you were an offensive player. Right. So has that helped you connect that you under that you know ball?
Speaker: Yeah, I love office offensive football. Yeah. Even my time in like as a GA at Louisiana Monroe, I would go sit in the running back meeting rooms and watch film. ah Even now, like I don't know if anybody like really like knows all this, but like I'm in.
Speaker: every quarterback meeting, every offensive meeting. Like I'm watching film with those guys. I hear terminology that they're saying and using. I'm watching the film. I'm watching the office. I know the offense. And all that does, it helps me now further understand what the coach is looking for, what cues they're using, yeah um how they're talking to them, maybe where they're seeing their weakness, even on film. Okay, now how can I translate that and use that now and in our area? I see them more than you do in the off season.
Speaker: How can I help develop some of those things that we're seeing on film? Yeah. where can i help you with with those things i can communicate with those guys much better about like hey this is just like this play and thiss this is our action for this we're gonna do this this that and third the connection piece the buy-in piece of trust piece is now increased as well because they understand that i know exactly what's going on yeah so i think that's just more about the connection piece but also the fact that i love ball and i'm there and i'm on the sidelines and i know another play call i'm talking to them on on the field, like to like, a you know, number two quarterbacks is like you're standing on the side. Hey, what do you see here on on the field and keeping him more engaged?
Speaker: Like he may need help staying engaged at certain points of practice. This is another tool I can pull out and help use. Yeah. And so, I mean, that that is unquestionably the most competitive position in all sport and most challenging for those individuals.
Speaker: So now the important of a quarterback room being healthy. So they're pushing each other every rep. What are some instances, some guidance that you can give to help guys still compete for one another versus getting building resentment and conflict and negative, which can come with certain positions and teams like that should be me out there. Or are we healthily pushing and rooting for each other every step of the way?
Speaker: Yeah. I don't know. I've never been part of a quarterback room that was so negative like that, like fighting for a spot like that. Um, It's always been, especially like my time, like spending a lot time in quarterback rooms, it's more been about learning, developing, growing together and having to root for your teammate and their successes, ups and downs, because they're all really important.
Speaker: Like, and that that has to be that way. And any ah any negative stint I've gotten from people, it's been shut down pretty immediately or they don't make it because that that they don't that doesn't fit the cult that kind of culture.
Speaker: No. Yeah, the within the sport of lacrosse, like pushing your guys so much because you are literally, I'll use face-offs as an example. Like if I'm number two, I'm facing off against number one every single day. So I'm busting ass.
Speaker: I'm challenging him so I can get more playing time. But those guys get the most connected on the lacrosse field because they're in the trenches, literally working against each other, like physically one on one.
Speaker: So I think it's interesting, like quarterbacks, they're not physically going against each other, but they're they're aiming to like get valuable playing time. Yeah. Now, also, the the standard is the standard.
Speaker: Right. And like the film. portrays that. So it's like, this is this is the what the play is, is the execution the play. This is your read in one, two, three. What's your footwork look like? Like the standard is the standard and everyone gets coached the same.
Speaker: And so when you when you keep it that way and keep it consistent over time, there's there's less of that. yeah For now thinking about just fun at practice within lacrosse, we get ah offense versus defense and like we get riled up against each other and it's it's competitive against one another until we finally got someone else to point our aggression at.
Speaker: What are some things that you aim to cultivate in summer training before it gets like physical in training camp that we're we're heading into right now that keeps it competitive?
Speaker: Is it speed? Is it velocity? Like what are some fun stuff that you pit? offense versus defense. Yeah, we're always doing something competitive. Like, because guys, those guys thrive on it, right? Whether it would be like an actual rep outside where it's competitive rep, whether it be all of our metrics, like we'll do all our sports science metrics and we post all of them daily and our guys, our guys competitive over it, whether it be like our, even like the the velocity or the power put on the barbell that we have set up on the day and it's posted and it's there, guys are competing against it. We set those things in place so guys can compete on a date yeah a very regular basis.
Speaker: And they're always comparing each other's numbers and all all that stuff as well. And on top of all that, we kind of do a um accountability teams. So we kind of we have guys do a full draft. We kind of set up our our captains up front.
Speaker: we we kind of our leaders Our leadership council kind of guys up front. And they draft the entire team on their team. And now this is all... External stuff. Are you on your meals? Are you are you are missing meals? Are you late to workouts? Are you going to your athletic training appointments? Are you going to your doctor's appointments? Are you going to all your schoolwork and classwork? And all that stuff is graded and communicated and you lose points for missing stuff or docking stuff. and ah Offense and defense? We've got 10 total teams. We've got an offense and defensive guy together who are co-captains, and then they kind of lead the rest of their team. cool And we kind of split that all all all up, and that's posted on a weekly basis. And we kind of let people let people know who's holding up their end of the bargain, who's being accountable to all what the standard is.
Speaker: Man, I love that. So we kind of compete off the field as well on it. Yeah. And then, I mean, that that goes to show that's the aim is character. Like we're going to win and be successful because we are high caliber. We're not just focused on football. We're we are this holistic person that's going to help lead that team. Oh, absolutely.
Speaker: look Love that. ah I'd love to to highlight rotational. Now we're getting technical. I'd love to highlight rotational focus and training because you're still loading these guys up.
Speaker: So challenge I face within high school lacrosse is I have football players that also play lacrosse. So they're doing the spring training. They're they're loading up and then they come into high rotation rep practices.
Speaker: So now I've seen a like a flash of spondy, spondyleotheus or whatever, where it's like fractures the lower spine because they're bracing, loading up, and then come into high rotation work.
Speaker: what where does your brain go that you're still loading these guys up, factoring and rotations, and preventing all these little nuances that are potential with these, I mean, high-valuable assets that you're working with? Yeah, sure.
Speaker: So a lot of it can come with... um pairing up your strength movements with some mobility movements that tie those pieces together. And then as far as like the actual like rotational power work for the quarterbacks that I've been working with now, I haven't been doing any Olympic lifting with them as far as like catching cleans or catching snatches. Do variations of them, but as far as a full on catch,
Speaker: don't do it with these specific guys. There are quarterbacks in the past who I have done that with. um That's more of a case by case person. So the majority of the time, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna supplement all their rotational power and lot of their rotational work when the rest the is doing power cleans of some kind or doing Olympic lift of some kind.
Speaker: And so then we'll go ahead, we'll usually depending on the day or the emphasis of where we're at and in the program. We'll work, you know, rotational throws. We'll do loaded rotations.
Speaker: We will do like specific internal rotation of the hip, external rotation of the hip, depending on which side we're working on. We'll do anti-rotational work, focus on that anti-rotational bracing.
Speaker: And depending on the time of the year that we are um look at like the force velocity curve, like heavier, heavier eccentrics and bigger isometrics and like loaded, slower rotations. That's like more of an offseason kind of training, kind like it's like a would strengthen anything else. And the closer you get to throwing, the faster your rotational rotation becomes.
Speaker: um The lighter the ball may my ball make it and the faster you're rotating, the bigger dynamic, more movement I'm going to do. into a movement because it's the higher force that's creating, the higher speeds that's creating.
Speaker: And then once they get to a lot of throwing volume and we're doing a lot more throwing outside, well, they're doing a ton of rotation. So on and I kind of do the other thing. and I kind of do a lot more anti-rotation okay and a lot more preventative stuff.
Speaker: We're doing a lot more oblique oblique stabilizing and a lot more that core stabilization piece within that plane. Mm-hmm. offset a lot of their throwing that they're doing and then also you got to work the non-throwing side so we're still returning the non-throwing side create a little bit balance and structure with that too it's beauty lacrosse we do both yeah uh hopefully you gotta get them skilled enough skill to do both yeah to to do both and um the Sticking with training, and I don't know if you've seen this in the strength field. I still go to all the conferences and speak a lot, and I'm seeing velocity-based training being called out and like vilified.
Speaker: but y'all value it so much within the UT program. Like help me understand why are these guys so mad at velocity-based training now? And why do you lean into it as value add?
Speaker: Yeah, sure. No, the problem people the problem that people have with the velocity-based training now is that I think too many people are starting to use velocity-based training to take weight off the bar and focus on the speed that may not be relevant or not understanding what they're what they're doing with it i think that's what the problem is. The way we're using it is that literally trying to drive heavier weights and moving them faster so it's like almost the opposite effect i'm putting more weight on the bar and moving it at a faster speed as we go through it and setting these ranges so that we can kind of do a little more auto-regulation tory piece to it so we still have a percentage that we're trying to hit for the day and then now that's a range and based on that percentage range you're going to go up or down based on how fast you're moving that bar today but the intent and the output
Speaker: is extremely high. And that's like another competitive piece we add to it. You're competing with these guys around you at at your rack. And, you know, there's there's people who may say like, oh, well, a guy, he you he may sandbag it in the center the third.
Speaker: No, and you can see that immediately. And that's that's what the coach's job is to do is to make sure that guy's driving. And that's kind of like the coach's eye is understanding how to do that. yeah And we don't do with everything, but there are certain, there's also certain movements that you may prescribe that you don't have a true of one RM for.
Speaker: So you you lose ah use that little bit, that velocity help guide you as a coach too, to help slowly progress those numbers over a course of a training block to make sure that you had that dialed in the right way. and You're not just arbitrarily looking at some one RM that hit from seven months ago.
Speaker: Yeah. So I think that's a ah key thing and you said it's how fast you're moving today Like want to underline that today to help drive that right and you can use velocity based training for Max ever intent is your velocity is going to be at point two point two five point three Oh, you know that that's that's still Taking an account of like what your goal is what you're trying to do everything needs to be a 0.90 meters per second doing a dynamic effort speed movement to use velocity based training.
Speaker: no It's understanding, really understanding the systems of it. Time out. Tex here at Train Heroic headquarters meeting with the team to talk about the coaching experience that I'm able to provide for my athletes. So if you're a coach and want to put your program out there on an app that athletes actually enjoy using, Train Heroics for you. I've been using it since 2014. delivering literally over tens of thousands of workouts to athletes.
Speaker: And Train Heroic allows me to provide the unique coaching experience that I want to. Uploading video, providing coaching feedback, directions, and building a community, that's why I love Train Heroic. And if you want to take your athletes where they can't take themselves, that they want to go, head to trainheroic.com slash captains and check out how you can deliver programming to them.
Speaker: And now, back to the show. Ready, ready, and written.
Speaker: Daily assessments. So a very common trap for high school football coaches that are leading strength and conditioning sessions. that's That's a big, ah like, I'm trying to to shake those guys.
Speaker: ah They take a 1RM from last April and build our summer program off of it. So now what are some daily performance metrics that we can check in on these guys that may, i have to adjust my plan that says 90% of what you did four months ago on this piece of paper today.
Speaker: What are some daily performance metrics, one that Texas uses with the tech, and then how can we translate to high school coaches without the tech? Yeah, what i said we have like all the tech, so we have and we have a great sports scientist in Sam Quintano. So we if we we're gonna we can really look at the dive into the information there on that, and we can use our force plate data, and we can use some of our other data that we get from a velocity standpoint, and we can kind of do our assessments little differently. But from a high school perspective, those kids, they grow and adapt so quickly that you can almost do like a
Speaker: a modified like test um once a month, whether it be, you know, depending on what the phase you're at, it can be an eight rep max, a six rep max, a five rep max, three rep max, whatever the case may be, depending on what phase you're in and then update your numbers based on that.
Speaker: You can update those more frequently because guys are going to adapt a lot quicker than they would be at our level even you know and even further even more so in the next level the older you get obviously the harder it is to make that change but at that level like having more assessments i think on a on a more of a frequent basis and i love where you said rep maxis we're we're at eights fives threes a lot of another common trap with high school we're trapped in the ones
Speaker: And that's the measure, that's the metrics of success or not. Yeah, when I was looking with Gail Hatch, and as a better than weightlifter, 3RM was our thing. It was how much can do for a 3RM.
Speaker: And it was never about the 1RM. It was always about the 3. And that was in everything. It was an overhead squat. That was in our front squat. That was in the back squat. That was in deadlift. It was our 3RM. And that's kind of where found a lot of our numbers from. The only thing that mattered from a 1RM standpoint was our snatch and clean and jerk. yeah So it was just...
Speaker: You don't have to do a one RM to figure out where a guy's good at. Why do you feel they feel they have to? ah Just the more weight the bar, one Rex max. it's it's it's It's part of that old, like it's powerlifting mindset of,
Speaker: more way in the bar, the stronger am. Instead of taking the approach of we're training, this is more performance. We're not doing a max effort bench press in the 50 yard line.
Speaker: um Let's go ahead and use our training to help guide where we're at currently. yeah And then use this information to program the next cycle or or adjust the numbers where they need to be. yeah you know So if we're just if that's what we're doing and we're on a a phase where we're kind of hitting, you know, somewhere in the five to three range. Well, let's go ahead and, hey, last set, let's ahead and let this kid push. He's crushing five and let's see if he can get six, seven, eight.
Speaker: All right, cool. Now I know that can go ahead and up his up his up his numbers for this last one and had to be a planned plan set. And that keeps you more in tune with how we're developing. Yeah, have him fail at four and a half.
Speaker: instead of limiting at five. If you got six, let's go with six. Okay, let's fail at five and a half. Or if you're so if you're still stuck on ones, like um teach kids how to use an RPE system and you work up to a heavy single for the day, hey, that was about eight.
Speaker: That was at eight on ah on a scale of you know one to 10. Heavy single, cool. we're gonna hit our volume, we'll peel back down and off that number, we'll peel down and come back up. And now you can maybe work up to a heavier single every week. That's not a true max out, but it gives you a place to go to. And so it's touching heavy statements of heavy loads.
Speaker: Yes. And I mean, there, they're a different person every six months because they're hitting puberty, they're hitting strides. yep And that that's what I want to emphasize. Like if we're using the percentages based off six months ago, the program, you could be leaving a lot on the table for a kid.
Speaker: And then that one RM, it needs to be a beauty contest. like Then I know, okay, that's something we can base off of. I've just seen too many kids walk away with big back injuries because they were forced into, I mean, they're a 160-pound freshman quarterback, and they're throwing 315 on their backs just because. That's what's that's the next level up.
Speaker: So another fault is, and we do this now as seasoned old bulls, but it's 135 is 225 is 275 is 315. You can't do that with a freshman. Every ounce counts.
Speaker: I mean, we even get freshmen coming in our program the first two weeks is tripped down to a barbell. Yes. It doesn't matter. Like um every high school kid can squat 500. Every high school kid can bench 400 coming in the door. Like,
Speaker: okay, we'll find out. And then it becomes, you really teach them the terminology that you're use as coach. You break down the actual mechanics of everything and um do it in a way where they can really grow foundationally from a movement standpoint first and all the weight and everything yeah develops from there.
Speaker: Dude, I think that's something to take away. Even the the tip of the spear, Texas, Kids come into your program. They are talented, but you got to learn how we do things in them in the way around. I love that.
Speaker: ah so Some fun things to wind down here. And this is from our friend Andy Holmes, sticking with football. Special teams. What makes them so special?
Speaker: They're awesome, man. I've been working with specialists for a long time. I love that group of dudes. What makes them special is that they're another rotational athlete. and they're not seeing they're not seen that way with it so they kick they were they're rotational athlete as well that's kind of why i pair them both together like qbs and specialists i do both because they both do something similar and when similar to quarterbacks and start throwing a lot well the specials are kicking a lot and so their program has to be massive different based upon rest of the team because of what that looks like for them and that's usually just a ah good group of guys that
Speaker: They're there. There's a special, they're a special team. theyre they're they're They're a special group of guys. They have a great usually their own relationship and their own like culture. And it's extreme benefit to having on any team.
Speaker: And quarterbacks got a hold for them. Yeah. lot of times they do. A lot of times I do. Or is it, I don't know how it works. I mean, every team's different. Yeah. Do y'all have a quarterback hold? We don't right now, but like you have in the past. that's it's It's a very common thing. yeah You're right.
Speaker: Yeah. I just think of Tony Romo. Yeah. So close. Okay. And then Zurcher squat. Big fan of Zurcher squat. fan of Zurchers, yeah. And Andy so said you got a whole different variance tools in the toolbox. So explain some of those things that we could, I mean, I'm going start applying, but.
Speaker: Yeah. What do you got there? Man, searchers are my new, my new, my new favorite thing. Um, I started them like three years ago or four years ago. Like every once in a while I do a searcher just to kind of like see if I'm still man enough to kind of handle them. But then like, uh, like,
Speaker: one one year like i was having having like a lot of hip hip pain hip irritation just from doing like my back squats and front squats and from years of doing those things and i decided i was gonna do a full cycle on just going okay zurcher and kind of figure out like a normal program that i would do for a back squat but it's do with zurchers and when i came out of it i was like my hips hurt way less i was far more balanced in the bottom of that squat i was getting a ton more leg drive i feel way stronger um like Like overall overall, like this was the best I felt squatting in a long time.
Speaker: And so I kept on doing it. I kept on finding different ways. And that's all it is, is because you're taking that bar in a different center of mass. It automatically forces you into a really strong squatting position, upright torso. It opens, it puts you anatomically in the best position to to squat for yourself.
Speaker: And so, since i've been able to figure that out like i've gotten way stronger lot less hip issues and and um so i've kind of been rolling with that ever since and i've gotten really strong so last year like i hit a 500 pound zurcher squat the most ever back squat in my life was 455 for a double that's when i was going to competitive weightlifting and i was front squatting 425. so like i was able to squat more by doing it this way and it was just because i felt like i was far more stable yeah elbows in that position no elbow sleeves um
Speaker: It's far better, I think, without it. I think it's like actually bar on skin creates a good connection. And it's like learning how to actually like pull and use your back and lats and squeezing that part of your body like it feels feels good.
Speaker: And then you ever throw that at the quarterbacks? No, I have not. um Slowly been pushing it into the team here and there. We did a small cycle with some of our O-line, D-line in the winter.
Speaker: um But I'm not opposed to giving it to anybody. I just don't want to force it on anybody. and i My own bias is – creep into programs too much. Try to do his best for each person.
Speaker: Not yet try to leave some of my bias at the door. Yeah. Well, and with that, when did, was that always a way that you thought, or was there moments where you had to pull back? Was it fighting with sport coaches, resistant athletes?
Speaker: When did you start to to think as a, on a higher level as a coach? Um, it took me a little, a little bit longer. Cause like, and I was into Olympic lifting, like all my teams are heavy Olympic lifting teams.
Speaker: And so great benefit and great, great stuff from it. But it's like looking back on it, like all this little thing popped up, it's looking popped up. And then it became, you know, just slowly over time, I worked with a lot of, I worked with a lot, of a lot of our to return to play guys and our injured guys and i and do a lot of those modifications. And then from there, it just became maybe there's just lots of different ways to do this. Maybe I need to go ahead and put some of my biases at the door and figure out what's the best situation for this kid in this area.
Speaker: And then this let's implement the best version of this as opposed to just what would I do? And so yeah think it a little differently yeah when I start programming. for I mean winding down for coaches out there i mean most of the audience here is going to be that high school coach who's who's looking for more their sport and strength or strength trying to connect with sport and you've done that phenomenally especially with one of the best institutions in the country so what would guidance be like some one two three low-hanging fruit you can have for them to help build that connection with sport and strength
Speaker: Yeah, well, first is just like building that trust. And that that comes outside of sport and it comes outside of strength. It's just being there, being a person who's consistent on a daily basis and is meeting people where they're at and and being a person who's, I think, coming from a positive mindset.
Speaker: That's who I try to be every single day. I try to be very consistent every single day. You know, gonna be the same person I'm not gonna ride a wave of, I'm tired, um i don't wanna be here and be really angry coach, then to come in one day I'm super high, hi, everything's great coach. I am the same person every single day. And that over time builds trust. And from that trust, you can connect better with your with your players and they'll be able to tell you get you a better message of what's going on.
Speaker: And then that you can connect those pieces to so sport and to the strength. And from those two pieces, you can push a guy harder on days when you know who you can, or some days you mean that you need to realize you need to pull back.
Speaker: so I think meeting people where they're at is also very important too, and understanding who someone is, to be able to push them forward and pull back. You apply the tool. Yeah, and I get it. So I appreciate you coming out here and meeting me where I'm at, literally, so we can have this conversation. So Coach Castro, thank you very much. Yeah, i appreciate it. Yeah, great conversation. If people want to continue to learn from you and follow along in this journey and see you on sidelines, where where should they go? Yeah, I'm on Instagram. Thanks, Coach Castro.
Speaker: and that's been but primarily the main spot to go to. Sweet. Yeah. All right. Well, thank you for tuning in. you next time. you. All right. Sweet. Great. How do you feel? Good, man.
