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Letter from the EditorNo longer under the radar by: Rex Lardner© More from this issue
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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