Q: What is the vision and mission behind Elite Performance Training System & how did you get started?
A: The vision was to create a place where the modern athlete, today’s athlete, could prepare at the highest level, be it mentally or physically, just being the right atmosphere where they can come in and get their best day in and day out. That was the initial and then, upon pushing that forward, we found out that it’s not just athletes that want to train in that environment, it’s the regular person, the person who is the athlete at heart, the person who just wanted to be the best that he or she could be. So with that being said, we kind of just created a space where the athletes can come in and get quality work, but also the people who wanted to train like athletes could come in and be pushed and be motivated, just as their professional counterparts.
Q: When it comes to building you programming and your staff of coaches and trainers there, how do you go about building that team?
A: The majority of our trainers actually start off as interns. that gives me a chance to really evaluate who they are, what they’re about, what their work ethic. Is this just something that they’re doing to kill time or is this something that they really want to do and where they want to be? There’s so much that you can learn on both ends, being the person who provides the internship, but also being the intern. And as an intern you have a chance to really work in a fast pace energetic environment, and kind of get to see okay this is what performance training is really about… And then on the other side, me being the person who’s providing this opportunity, I get to see little things that you might not see right away with someone that you hire directly. You get to see are they on time for meetings, when they come in do they do extra, how often are they looking to study or improve their knowledge base?…
Q: How do you go about continuing to grow your programming and your knowledge of the latest advancements in training?
A: Right so you know sports training, performance training It’s a constantly evolving industry. All of my staff members will tell you I’m a huge advocate of education. Just continue to better yourself whether it’s going to seminars, taking you CEUs, or even something as informal as picking a co-worker’s brain or a mentor’s brain, or colleague from another facility. As long as we’re actively discussing in promoting growth, that will help us stay at the forefront in the industry which is where we want to be.
Q: Tell us a story about one of the proudest moments in your coaching career?
A: I would say early on when the business first started, year three, one of my first athletes got a scholarship to go to college. that was a very proud moment, just knowing the hard work and sacrifices that he and his family made to get him to facility training 4 or 5 times a week… And then year in and year out as these kids get older, and they move from high school to college, and some kids from college two pros, my career is just filled with a lot of meaningful moments…
Q: Tell us a story about some of the challenges you faced in your training career and how you overcame them, or maybe you still are?
A: The biggest challenge now is just dealing with the athletes, and you know the parents of younger athletes, and just educating them. The misconception right now is that you always have to do something, it’s who can work the hardest, who can work the most… A lot of these athletes and these parents think that the more you do the better you’re going to be and you know I think it’s our job as coaches and trainers, and as mentors, you know people who have been where these kids and these athletes want to go, to let them know it’s not necessarily about how much you’re doing. It’s about working efficiently, working smarter. A big part of the training process is the rest and recovery. The body is not changing, you’re not getting stronger, you’re not getting faster, while you’re in the gym. You’re getting those gains when your body is allowed to rest and recover. So one of the biggest challenges is just education toward the clients and toward of the parents, letting them know that this is how it needs to be done despite what they may be hearing…
Q: How do you think technology is changing the way you work and coach?
A: Technology is playing a major role, not just in our facility but I’m sure and other facilities as well… Specifically how we capture data, with these events we are allowed to measure things that maybe 10, 12 years ago the average facility outside of a professional facility, would not be able to see… For us it’s just another means to really validate and let us know that this is in fact what we are seeing… and quantify it. so that’s how it helped us on our end.
Q: Have you Found that you’re able to use that data and video analysis to help with burnout or injury prevention?
A: Absolutely. So again, I have this conversation with colleagues all the time. It’s not about the data that you capture, it’s about what you do with that data. So all that data is useless if we’re not somehow going to implement it into what we do on a day-in and day-out basis…
Learn more about Elite Performance Training Systems at www.eptsstrong.com. Subscribe to the Upper Hand Blog for latest podcast episodes and other news!
