The best S&C coach in the US?

Who are we talking about here? Brand new BJJ white belts training MMA or top level UFC fighters. For the former the best strength coach out there is Rippetoe. Nobody even comes close to reaching out and teaching as many new strength trainees as Rip. As for conditioning, why would someone brand new to martial arts need to train conditioning if they're on the mat every other day drilling?

....if they have a weakness in their conditioning or haven't laid down a base of GPP from youth sports. And there are thousands of high school coaches. Do Rip's novices have a better record than Dan John's? Are kids in Wichita Falls dominating the rest of the state (or two states, since it's on the Oklahoma border).
 
....if they have a weakness in their conditioning or haven't laid down a base of GPP from youth sports. And there are thousands of high school coaches. Do Rip's novices have a better record than Dan John's? Are kids in Wichita Falls dominating the rest of the state (or two states, since it's on the Oklahoma border).

How many thousand of those coaches were directly or indirectly taught by Rip? I would't know about Rip's novices(if you want to call em that), there are thousands in every state and they're in every meet I've ever competed in, every BJJ school I've ever trained at. Too many to account for.
 
That just means that he wrote a book with a decent novice protocol. I do Juggernaut. That doesn't mean Chad Wesley Smith is my coach. Starting strength is a fine book, but he doesn't automatically get the credit for every youth athlete that uses a linear progression with compound lifts in the country.
 
There are so many great coaches out there, it's hard to say who's "best". There are plenty coaches with more celebrity power, one of my favorite S&C guys is Rob Schwartz. Here's a short blurb from an NSCA "Coach's Corner" article. It lists a few of his credentials and accomplishments:

"Rob Schwartz, M.Ed, CSCS, CISSN
Rob provides the Strength and Conditioning for eight Olympic Teams; focusing on the sports of Boxing, Wrestling, Fencing, Gymnastics, Synchronized Swimming, Taekwondo, Judo, Karate and Diving. Within each sport are multiple disciplines/teams for a total of 22 National Teams. He also is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for professional boxer and lightweight world champion Adrien Broner. Prior to joining the United States Olympic Committee in 2009, Rob served for three years as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Northern Arizona University (2006-09). In his last year there, Rob witnessed seven of the 13 teams become conference champions and another two reach runner-up status."

So, he might not be the "best", but he's pretty good and he's one of my favorites.

Joe
www.joetoproathlete.com
 
Who are we talking about here? Brand new BJJ white belts training MMA or top level UFC fighters. For the former the best strength coach out there is Rippetoe. Nobody even comes close to reaching out and teaching as many new strength trainees as Rip. As for conditioning, why would someone brand new to martial arts need to train conditioning if they're on the mat every other day drilling?

Well, the best S&C coach would obviously produce the strongest and best conditioned athletes, which clearly leaves out those who teach people who are currently aspiring to mediocrity.

There is nothing wrong with teaching a ton of beginners basic technique, and very much right with it. But it does not exactly put you at the forefront of "cutting edge" coaches, which was clearly stated in the OP.
 
I wonder what criteria people use to judge the value of an S&C coach.

I don't think most people are even in a position to judge S&C coaches, or even identify. I'd have a hard time answering this question because I'm unfamiliar with most of the top ones in the country. Bommarito (Jake's answer) is one, and I've read up a bit on Cal Dietz after one of our lifters tried to incorporates aspects of triphasic training into his programming, and Louie Simmons is one of the rare coaches in powerlifting who has had success preparing other athletes for other sports, but otherwise it's not something that I know too much about. If I were to judge, whether it be for coaches in my discipline or just "general S&C" coaches, I'd judge them primarily on the athletes they've produced (and the improvements they've made for said athletes), secondarily on the original contributions they've made to their field, and I'd probably also consider their credentials (be it certifications or publications) and their own athletic background. But the one common denominator among great coaches seems to be that they are able to solve the hardest problem in training, which is taking high-level athletes, who are already performing at a high level, and further increase performance.

For powerlifting, I named Josh Bryant because he has a proven history of taking 550- and 600-lb. benchers and turning them into 650- or near-700-lb. benchers, which is the sort of feat that only great strength coaches can accomplish with any consistency.
 
Keo, great comment. Surprise, you are easily one of the best posters on the site.


Things I look for:

1. Implements sound training principles.

2. Reduce injury rate or down time secondary to injury.

3. Works well with the other members of the coaching team.

4. Has a long history of producing healthy, successful athletes.

5. Athletes show improvement in sport performance.

These would be top five for me, and are evaluated in comparison to the preceding coach.
 
Whats the overall opinion on mike boyle?

I know he gets alot of shit for not using much deadlifts or back squats in his programming.
But i have some of his books and seminars and he seems to be very very knowledgable.
 
He's a physiotherapist that decided that makes him a strength coach, too.
 
Whats the overall opinion on mike boyle?

I know he gets alot of shit for not using much deadlifts or back squats in his programming.
But i have some of his books and seminars and he seems to be very very knowledgable.

I'll be Mike Boyle

Step 1: Hockey Players should never do any aerobic work

Step 2: Release document on physical preparation of Hockey players

Step 3: Have the primary method of energy system development be tempo intervals, which are an aerobic method.


Also, last time i watched an interview of his, he still used deadlifts and trap bar deadlifts in programming
 
Back
Top