Iowa Strength Program

Coaches,

I will be attending another clinic with Coach Doyle this weekend....did anyone have a question / philosophy or otherwise I can look into for you?

Strength and Conditioning Coach Interview
Chris Doyle, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, University of Iowa
For EliteFTS

1. What are your name, age and current position?

Chris Doyle
Head Strength & Conditioning Coach
University of Iowa Football.

2. What kind of educational background do you have?

B.S. Human Movement, Boston University
M.Ed. Human Movement, Boston University
NSCA Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist

3. What strength coach has had the most impact on you and why?

It is difficult to name just one. The one point I will make is that to be a successful S&C coach, it is imperative that you maintain a beginner's mind. We are continuously trying to learn. The field of S&C is ever-evolving and I want to thank the following people who have been generous sharing their knowledge with us:

Mike Boyle
Al Vermiel
Louie Simmons
Vern Gambetta
Rusty Jones
Johnny Parker
Mike Woicek
Mark Philippi
Jon Jost
Jerry Schmidt

4. Do you still compete in athletics?

Yes, I have always loved strength athletics and have managed to compete in the USAPL Nationals in 97 and 98. At that point, I moved into Highland games and made it to the North American Scottish Games Association Nationals in 2000. Recently, I have competed in Strongman and was able to compete in the Nationals in 2002 and 2003. It was a goal of mine to compete at the National level in all three sports. Currently, I am still training, I do not think the sport of bodybuilding has anything to worry about, however, I may give Olympic Lifting a shot at some point.

5. What are the most common mistakes that you see strength coaches make?

S&C coaches need to be performance driven. Sometimes we can get caught in the trap of being driven by numbers, this is a mistake. Train properly and the numbers will take care of themselves.

Secondly, it is important to be proactive rather than reactive. Each athlete that comes into our program is evaluated at the start. The areas we are evaluating are the following:

Linear and Lateral Speed (change of direction)
Vertical Jump
Body Composition
Posterior Chain (erectors, glute, hams)
Torso Stability
Shoulder Girdle Stability
Ankle Flexibility
Hip Flexibility
Shoulder Flexibility
Hip Girdle Strength (flex, ext, ADD,ABD)
Unilateral Lower Body Strength

Once we gather this information, we design a program for the individual addressing specific needs. Too often strength coaches embark on a program without this information. The problem arises when an athlete becomes injured and then we react to the injury when we may have been able to avoid it with proper evaluation at the onset. Often athletes are diagnosed with overuse injuries when in reality they have "misuse" injuries. They are compensating for weaknesses which create problems in other areas.


6. What mistakes have you made as a strength coach?

Refer to question #5. We are a "work in progress". We have evolved into our current system by learning from our mistakes in the past.

7. What tips and tricks can you share that have made your strength and conditioning program better?

There certainly aren't any tricks. One thing that we have learned is to "slow cook" our young athletes. Don't be in a hurry. Developing a good foundation will help set up years of productive training.

8. What are the most glaring weaknesses you find in athletes?

Clearly the following:
1- torso stability
2- posterior chain strength
3- posterior shoulder girdle strength
4- dynamic flexibility


9. Are there any exercises that you feel every athlete, regardless of sport, should do?

Every athlete will benefit from have a strong stable torso and it hard to overemphasize the importance of the ability to apply force against the ground. Thus, torso training is a must and ground based explosive movements are always a staple in our programs.

10. What is the biggest obstacle you have to face as a strength coach?

Developing relationships with both the athletes and the sport coaches you are working with is critical. We are fortunate to have athletes who are motivated to train. Our coaching staff has done a good job getting the right people on the bus. Most importantly, we have been empowered by our head football coach to do our job. The support has been unmatched.

11. How do you deal with hesitant and/or stubborn coaches that don't agree with
your program?

This is difficult because there will always be sport coaches who have little or no S&C experience yet think they know something. Our field has gained a lot of ground and there is less of this going on in athletics. Fortunately, we don't have any of that at Iowa. The Offensive Coordinator runs the offense, the Defensive Coordinator runs the defense and I run the S&C. It may not be the popular response, however if a position coach has something to say, I suggest throwing it back in their lap. If a coach were to suggest an off the wall idea, my reply is "the other day in the weight room I was thinking about how we block the zone play." At that point I would get on the white board, draw up 22 Xs and Os and start drawing arrows. They usually get the message and then I can move forward into explaining logically why we do things the way we do. It helps if you can discuss things with a researched back explanation.


12. What advice would you have for those wishing to become a strength coach at
the collegiate level?

Identify the people who are the top in your field. Visit these people and read everything you can get your hands on that they have written.

13. How do you explain your system/program to your athletes so that they
understand what they are doing? Or do you do this at all?

Nowadays, athletes are going to ask why. They are taught to think critically in school and that is great. If we cannot give a logical and simple explanation of why we are doing things, then we shouldn't be doing them. We are constantly educating our athletes on the importance of what we are doing and why we are doing it. As they mature your athletes will become the best teachers of your young athletes.