Agree with this. I’m actually genuinely curious if there is a single football program in Ohio who doesn’t embrace a weightlifting schedule year round and I’m also curious what their record looks like? Or who were the last few hold outs before everyone started having to do it. Would love to know the history on it and it would be a fascinating pilot study.
How important is weight lifting to the success of a team?
- Thread starter Yappi
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CedarBuck92
Well-known member
Both are important and its all about timing your heavy lift days.
CometGetIt
Active member
How many schools have a dedicated strength/conditioning/etc coach/person employed?
And if so, is that their sole job or is it a supplemental position like coaching?
I would imagine larger schools do but I've seen a couple pretty small schools with them.
And if so, is that their sole job or is it a supplemental position like coaching?
I would imagine larger schools do but I've seen a couple pretty small schools with them.
clarkgriswold
Well-known member
It's simple;
Strong > Weak.
Strong > Weak.
Hard to say how many. St. Eds, St. X, Badin, and Canton McKinley all have multiple full time S&C coaches and their head strength coaches are very good at what they do. McKinley’s was previously at Hoban for a long time. Not sure on the employment details. Seems to be a growing trend vs having a football position coach or head coach run it. Aligns more with the college model. Some football coaches do it just as well.
eaglesfan216
Well-known member
Always thought conditioning was more important because it's easier to get kids involved in weight training compared to running or high intensity interval training.
Which is why I think wrestling translates so well to high school football success. Wrestlers might be a little smaller but are normally tougher and have motors that never die. Olentangy Liberty had a few wrestlers on their defense and they were lights out. A little undersized but made every play that came their way.
Weight training and conditioning should be synonymous. Benching and squats are fine and can make a team huge, but the size goes nowhere without conditioning.
Which is why I think wrestling translates so well to high school football success. Wrestlers might be a little smaller but are normally tougher and have motors that never die. Olentangy Liberty had a few wrestlers on their defense and they were lights out. A little undersized but made every play that came their way.
Weight training and conditioning should be synonymous. Benching and squats are fine and can make a team huge, but the size goes nowhere without conditioning.
Weightlifting, nutrition, and range of movement/stretching are all key to a programs success. If your focus is not on all 3 of these areas you're not getting the most out of your athlete. Lots of strong kids don't hold up throughout a long season because of injury that could have possibly been prevented by extended stretching. Young athletes who work hard in the weight room but don't replenish their body on a regular basis will not make the rapid gains they potentially could. So back to the original question, yes, weightlifting is key if done correctly.
I posted this word for word in another thread a while back, but it seems even more appropriate for this topic...
"From the outside looking in, Hoban's success (as a school) seemed to be directly tied with the presence of former strength & conditioning coach Mike Winkler. He was there from 2014-24.
State titles during that span...
Hoban is still a beast no doubt, but time will tell how successful they'll be moving forward post-Wink."
"From the outside looking in, Hoban's success (as a school) seemed to be directly tied with the presence of former strength & conditioning coach Mike Winkler. He was there from 2014-24.
State titles during that span...
- Baseball - 2021
- Boys Golf - 2020, 2024
- Football - 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020
- Boys Basketball - 2023
- Girls Soccer- 2015
Hoban is still a beast no doubt, but time will tell how successful they'll be moving forward post-Wink."
A similar track record for Craig Cheek at Badin. I believe he has been here 8 years. Previously, he was at Notre Dame. Badin Football hasn’t lost a league game in 6 seasons. Girls volleyball has won a state title and the baseball team is the best non division 1 team in the state over that span of time.
Well said, particularly the mention of strategy. Position specific focus. If a school can afford to hire a CSCS, all the better. Without a specific program AND supervision, too many opportunities for problems. The strongest guy showing off and others trying to keep up. Kids that age should not be doing single rep/max weight lifts of any kind. Basic lifts for reps; half squats, close grip bench press, power cleans, weighted sled, incline bench, and core strength moves. Kids will ignore stretching, inviting pulls and tears when then get on the field. Young guys, for the most part, don't understand the concept of rest and recovery and might need to be chased out of the weight room from time to time.
eastisbest
Well-known member
In the urban schools. to stereotype, it's a little more time with adult males (generally) of (hopefully) positive influence. It's more time off the cell phone and off the streets. It offers a life-long skill that a sport like football rarely does. And it's something better learned under skilled trainer, with well designed equip than old school, in the garage with no one to guide you. Those mistakes come back to haunt as age appears.
fantastic50
Well-known member
In a perfect world, having both an ATC (certified athletic trainer) and a CSCS (certified strength & conditioning specialist) on the staff is helpful. These need to be two separate people, even though some athletic trainers also have the CSCS credential for rehab reasons, since the ATC stays busy with other sports.
Some of the best football players I ever worked with were guys who spent the other two seasons as wrestlers (functional strength, fitness, agility, balance, mental toughness) and track (speed, acceleration, power).
Some of the best football players I ever worked with were guys who spent the other two seasons as wrestlers (functional strength, fitness, agility, balance, mental toughness) and track (speed, acceleration, power).
Crimson and Black
Well-known member
I would flip 1 & 2.
There should be a year-round weightlifting program encompassing all sports.
CedarBuck92
Well-known member
True, but that only really works if you have a dedicated weight room guy who has the time to make up individual workouts based on what sports a kid plays and what the goal is for them. Also requires some amount of playing nice by all parties so you don't have kids at school for 14-16 hours every day between school, in season sports, and out of season lifting.
Not at Marion Local, the entire school has less boys than some of the bigger football programs lol
BirdDog10
Well-known member
Marion Local has a very well-run strength and conditioning program for all sports at their school
Athletic Success Starts Before School at Marion Local
Marion Local in Ohio has always made headlines in the world of high school athletics. For Marion Local, athletic success starts before school.
plt4m.com
Exactly. They don't have a dedicated strength and conditioning coach and have 200+ students that move through the weight room per the article in 2023. The argument that you have to have a dedicated coach to have a good S&C program isn't a "have to" in my opinion when discussing across all school sizes. Maybe at some high enrollment schools it could be more needed, but the results speak for themselves at ML.Marion Local has a very well-run strength and conditioning program for all sports at their school
Athletic Success Starts Before School at Marion Local
Marion Local in Ohio has always made headlines in the world of high school athletics. For Marion Local, athletic success starts before school.
CometGetIt
Active member
For this to work, the athletic department has to work as one cohesive unit. Relying on individual coaches to put together year round programs for their athletes can be overwhelming for many and lead to some dysfunction or miscommunication or at the very least not always the results you want. I think having a strength coach could be a great, and potentially easier, first step in unifying the whole athletic department.
BirdDog10
Well-known member
I'm pretty sure they do have a dedicated S&C coach, or at least a "volunteer" that runs the weight room. I know they did have a dedicated S&C coach for several years not too long ago before he left
Also I can imagine it's pretty easy to get all the coaches on board when the main man in charge is the head football coach with 15 state championships, and 90% of the male athletes in the school play football...
That wasn't my take away from the article:
First, the school has overhauled the weight room and significantly improved the space. Second, the coaches at the school have worked together to ensure they take a unified approach to strength and conditioning. To help support this unified approach, Jacob explains the role technology has played,
“We started using PLT4M two years ago, which gives us a great foundation and baseline for programming. But the biggest advantage is we can tweak and modify to work with our specific groups and teams throughout the year. It is a perfect fit for high school strength and conditioning.”
David Wooderson
Well-known member
A little late to this thread.
Weightlifting is imperative for all sports. In football you have to be stronger. Fast works great up until varsity football. But at the varsity level you must be strong.
In baseball, 75%+ of the time, I can look at the teams and tell you who will win based on how thick they are. Big rear end and legs = better at baseball. If I were a baseball coach, I would insist my players followed the same weight training regiment as the football players. In fact, I'd encourage my baseball players to stop killing their arms playing too long into the summer and fall and join the football team.
Weightlifting is imperative for all sports. In football you have to be stronger. Fast works great up until varsity football. But at the varsity level you must be strong.
In baseball, 75%+ of the time, I can look at the teams and tell you who will win based on how thick they are. Big rear end and legs = better at baseball. If I were a baseball coach, I would insist my players followed the same weight training regiment as the football players. In fact, I'd encourage my baseball players to stop killing their arms playing too long into the summer and fall and join the football team.
CometGetIt
Active member
There really aren't enough farms anymore for that many kids to work on. Especially ones with a lot of manual labor.