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Letter from the Editor

No longer under the radar
by: Rex Lardner
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One of the major elements of a football program – at just about every level – is a strength and conditioning program. While somewhat under the radar for the last decade, both the quality and quantity of a strength and conditioning program has emerged as both a prerequisite for a successful program but also a major recruiting strategy.

At last month’s American Football Coaches Association convention in Louisville the importance of this ingredient came to life. A number of coaches at all levels of competition placed the quality of their strength and conditioning program at the same level as the other parts of their football resources: consistency of staff, facilities, recruiting budget, school tradition, and alumni support.

More specifically, when Southern Illinois University head coach Jerry Kill was asked the reasons for the turnaround in Carbondale (the Salukis went from 1-10 to 10-1 over a four year period) he responded by saying, essentially, there were three things that contributed to the program’s success: having little turnover that time in the entire coaching staff; having outstanding football facilities throughout the campus; and having an outstanding strength and conditioning program. Coaches agree: it is not only important, but an essential element of success.

In this month’s issue of American Football Monthly, we devote much of our editorial to just that: strength and conditioning. Samson Equipment has sponsored the professional, college, and high school strength and conditioning coaches of the year for 2004. I think you’ll enjoy reading about each one. One of the regional high school winners is Stephanie Ciarelli, the strength and conditioning coach at Huntington Beach High School in California. It shows the great strides women have made in this profession.

Selecting winners in this category is more a subjective judgment. While it’s somewhat easier to decide a Coach of the Year based on – to some degree – won and lost records, it is more an objective decision. As it relates to strength and conditioning coaches, many factors differ from school to school. One institution may have a huge weight room, 3-4 person staff, and unlimited resources. Another may have one limited weight room to be shared by all student-athletes and not just the football team. One of the feature articles in this issue discusses both the importance of adequate facilities as well as tips to doing more with less.

But tremendous strides have been made in this area. More will be made, as well, over the next few years. As always, please let us know if there's anything we can do for you or your staff. Thank you.

Respectfully,



Rex Lardner
Managing Editor
American Football Monthly
rlardner@lcclark.com






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