1. Rowland 1
Coaching Philosophy
“Many Coaches have a very large toolbox but cannot decide what to do because they don’t have a
philosophy.” –Dan Pfaff
As a strength and conditioning coach, my first priority is to create dynamic relationships with all
student athletes I have the opportunity to work with in a professional setting. I strive to not only develop
better athletes but to also develop better, more well-rounded people. I believe that this is done by creating
a positive atmosphere where student athletes are able to learn the “why” behind the training, not merely
be told what to do in a training session. In addition I believe that it is my resolve to create a culture built
around mutual qualities including, but not limited to, respect, dedication, humility, discipline and
accountability.
Secondly I believe that by utilizing an organized system of approach to training, I can not only
enhance an athlete’s performance but also reduce the risk of injuries. Assessments should always be used
to evaluate athlete’s movement limitations and general training level. By integrating a needs analysis for
each sport, based on the demands of the sport, provides a theoretical model to help design an appropriate
and effective program. By using the joint by joint approach and utilizing ground based multi joint
movements athletes can create stability or mobility around joints to aid in reduction of sport related
injuries.
Lastly, because each sport is unique, all aspects of training should relate to the specific demands
of the sport. A proper system should be constructed around evaluating an athlete’s quality of movements
rather than concentrating on training individual muscles. Movements should progress from simplicity to
complexity based on the athlete’s skill and training level. Great emphasis should be focused on teaching
student athletes how to progress their skill the right way. Over all student athletes should have fun in an
atmosphere that provides a great experience built around excitement and hard work.

2. Rowland 2
Systematic Movement Based Approach to Training
My approach to training is constructed around a movement based system. Bodybuilders think in
terms of muscle size, powerlifters and Olympic lifters train to become better at their designated lifts.
Although some of these principles can be incorporated into an athletes program, athletes have to move in
open space and often times have to perform the same type of movements repeatedly.
“If you train only the muscle you may not train the overall movement, but if you train the movement, the
muscle will be trained accordingly.” Mark Verstegan, EXOS founder
The physical and mental demands for each team or individual sport are rarely the same. No
matter the sport, there are optimal ways for athletes to accelerate, decelerate, overcome external forces,
change in direction and sequence their body’s rotational movements. As a performance coach it is our
priority to teach the athlete to move more efficiently and to develop the physical characteristics that will
allow him or her to be more successful in their chosen sport. Integrating a needs analysis for each athlete
and team, based on the demands of their sport, provides a theoretical model that enables a performance
coach to design an appropriate and effective program. A needs analysis answers three general questions:
1. What are the metabolic demands of the sports?
2. What are the biomechanical demands of the sport?
3. What are the common injuries observed in the sport?
After these questions are answered, a performance coach can begin to develop a program
following an organized system to allow for optimal results in a training program. The following
components are important for developing the overall athlete; however, some components can be removed
because the need is simply not there or due to time constraints. Each component is put in a specific order
of how they should be implemented but the sequence can be changed due to facility limitations, lack of
equipment or other unforeseen circumstances. This sequence of components includes:
1. Testing and Evaluation
2. Tissue Quality
3. Muscle Activation
4. Dynamic Warm Up
5. Plyometrics
6. Movement Session
7. Olympic Training
8. Strength Training
9. Interval Based Conditioning
10. Recovery Process
“People use facilities as an excuse when in reality it is a failure of creativity.” –Dan Pfaff
1. Testing and Evaluation:
Testing and evaluation are done before, during and after an athlete has been introduced to a
training program. This allows the sport performance coach to assess the athlete’s quality of
movement and to progress and regress the athlete as needed. Testing and evaluation tools used
include but are not limited to the following:
 Functional Movement Screen (FMS)
 Predisposition to injury (previous injury information)

3. Rowland 3
 Training age and experience level (past training experience)
 Informal movement assessment (watching the athlete move)
2. Tissue Quality:
An athlete’s soft tissue undergoes stress through training. Accumulative stress can cause trigger
points, or knots, to build up in muscle tissue. Muscles containing trigger points are more
vulnerable to strain and tears because they resist lengthening. Therefore, it is important to utilize
tools (e.g., foam rollers, massage stick, lacrosse balls, etc.) to effectively maintain soft tissue
quality. Benefits of soft tissue work include:
 Reduce effects of delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS)
 Enhance blood flow
 Reduce muscular fatigue
 Improve range of motion (ROM) and flexibility through autogenic inhibition
 Improve proprioception
 Restore nerve conduction speeds
 Improve global movement patterns
3. Muscle Activation:
Muscle activation exercises are used to “wake up” muscles or activate muscle patterns that are to
be used in the following training session. These light weight exercises isolate muscles and groove
movement patterns before upcoming movement sessions (i.e., performing hip flexion and
extension exercises before sprinting).
4. Dynamic Warm Up:
A dynamic warm up prepares the athlete for a specific training session and should progress from
slower to faster movements. A dynamic warm up is used to elevate the heart rate and further
groove movement patterns for the upcoming movement or weight training session. The
movements of a warm up will depend on the type of training that follows. For example:
 Preparing for a movement session
a. Linear acceleration or absolute speed warm up
b. Lateral speed and agility (LSA) warm up
 Preparing for a weight training session
a. Olympic lifting warm up (ex: barbell complex for Olympic movement)
b. Strength training warm up (ex: barbell complex for Strength movements)
5. Plyometrics:
Plyometrics in a training program should follow a proper progression that allows for athletes to
regress and progress according to their relative strength or injury history. A performance coach
should recognize the difference between loading of the knee and loading of the hip. A coach
should also understand the stretch-shortening cycle before implementing plyometric training.
Types of plyos include:
 Hops: emphasis is to achieve height or distance with maximum rate of cyclic leg
movement
 Skips: emphasis height or distance by alternating right to right step, then left to left step

4. Rowland 4
 Jumps: emphasis on maximum height (projection of hips upwards)
 Bounds: emphasis on gaining maximum horizontal distance (single or alternating legs).
Lower Body Plyometric Progression
Phase 1
 Eliminate gravity by
jumping onto
something
 Heavy emphasis on
proper landing
mechanics
 Less knee stress for
athletes with anterior
knee pain
Phase 2
 Introduce gravity
 Jumping over
objects or jumping
vertically and
landing
 Heavy emphasis on
holding each
landing and proper
landing mechanics
Phase 3
 Introduce the
stretch-shortening
cycle
 Perform a double
hop upon each
landing
Phase 4
 Implement true
stretch-shortening
plyometrics
 Must have good
relative body
strength
 Volume is closely
monitored
6. Movement Session:
A majority of the time, the movement sessions are designated linear or lateral. Unless it is a track
and field sprinter, most of the time we are dealing with athletes who have to change in direction
and accelerate quickly. With the proper progression and knowledge, an athlete can be taught to
change directions or accelerate linearly more effectively. It may be running mechanics, better
deceleration patterns, teaching a better start or gaining more strength in the weight room but there
is always room for improvement. Depending on the individual needs of the sport will determine
how much focus is given to both linear and lateral speed and agility (LSA). An example of a three
day split is listed below.
Monday Wednesday Friday
Week 1&3: LSA
Week 2&4: Linear Acceleration
Week 1&3: Linear Acceleration
Week 2&4: LSA
Week 1&3: LSA
Week 2&4: Linear Acceleration
With this set up there will be equal opportunities to improve both linear acceleration and LSA.
7. Olympic Lifting:
Not every sport or individual will Olympic lift due to the demands of their particular sport and or
physical contraindications such as past or current injuries. There are many benefits to Olympic
lifting, if performed properly, for those sports who utilize them. It is vital that the athlete is
coached on how to perform specific Olympic lifts and variations properly. The sole purpose of
using Olympic lifts for team and individual sport athletes is to achieve triple extension by
producing force through the ground and learning how to properly decelerate and receive the
weight of the barbell. The primary Olympic variations I utilize with my athletes are as follows:
 Hang Clean
 Power Clean
 Hang Snatch
 Power Snatch
 Power/Split Jerk

5. Rowland 5
8. Strength Training:
The strength training model I use is based off of training movements not muscles. As a sport
performance coach, I train athletes accordingly to their specific sport. My system is based off of
what I consider to be the basic movement patterns of the human body. These include:
 Upper Body Pushing
a. Vertical
b. Horizontal
 Upper Body Pulling
a. Vertical
b. Horizontal
 Lower Body Knee Dominant
a. Single Leg Squatting variations
b. Bi-Lateral Squatting variations
 Lower Body Hip Dominant
a. Single and Bi-Lateral Leg Hip Hinge
b. Single and Bi-Lateral Leg Bridging
 Lower Body Hybrid
a. Rear Foot Elevated (RFE) Split Squat
b. Trap Bar Dead Lift
It is important that athletes develop proper muscle balance; therefore I utilize the following guidelines,
when writing a program.
 2:1 Upper Body Pulling to Pushing ratio
 2:1 Hip Dominant to Knee Dominant ratio
Core Training:
I believe that at the center of every great athlete is a strong pillar. This pillar is considered to be
anything between the chest and knees. The majority of the time, the role of the core musculature is
twofold: one, to create a stable platform for the outer limbs to move and two, to help transfer the energy
produced at the ground level effectively. I believe in training the core to resist external forces acting on
the body instead of training the core to produce movement. Core stability exercises are categorized as the
following:
 Anti-Extension (plank, dead bug, roll out, etc.)
 Anti-Rotation (chops, lifts, palof variations, 1-arm pressing)
 Anti-Lateral Flexion (suitcase carry, waiters carry, side plank variations)
 Anti-Flexion (2-arm carry, back extension)
9. Conditioning:
Unless you are a competitive distance runner, being conditioned is not the ability to perform a
long slow, continuous activity for an extended period of time. Instead, it is the ability to repeat
high intensity bouts of exercise over and over with limited recovery time. Another consideration
could be a 100m sprinter who trains for 1 specific bout of high intensity output. The bottom line
for most team sports is who can recover faster! Therefore, when I condition team sport athletes, I
do so by using both tempo and high intensity interval based training. Each sports metabolic

6. Rowland 6
demand has to be taken into consideration before programming their conditioning. These
metabolic demands are categorized by the following:
 ATP-CP system (short-duration, high intensity physical activity)
 Lactic acid system (short lived energy system, lasting only a few minutes)
 Aerobic system (long-duration energy system, lasting for long period of time)
10. Recovery:
Recovery from exercise is probably the most overlooked aspect of performance and health in the
college athlete’s life. There are many aspects about recovery that an athlete needs to be aware of
to help increase physical potential. Many times these aspects need to be expressed to the athlete
when they’re living their day to day lives. However, there are some aspects of recovery that can
be implemented into a strength and conditioning program. Either way, athletes need to learn the
“why” behind recovery instead of just merely being told what to do. The following are some
aspects of recovery that should be addressed:
 Post Workout Nutrition
The recovery process should begin as soon as a workout or intense activity is over. It is
vital to replenish the glycogen stores and begin to repair the muscles that have been
broken down during a training session. Continually, there is about a 45 minute window of
opportunity to replace the nutrients and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to
provide a recovery shake prior to intense activity. If a program is not equipped to provide
post workout nutrition then it is up to the athletes themselves. In this case, the athletes
need to be educated by the staff on what is NCAA approved and what good options are
for them.
 Sleep Habits
The body repairs itself while the athlete sleeps. An athlete should aim for at least 8 hours
of sleep each night.
 Nutrition Habits
Athletes should eat to perform not perform to eat. Athletes have to be educated on good
eating habits that will provide them the energy to compete at a high level each day in the
weight room, at practice or games. For this reason I present my athlete with the “ACU
Nutrition 101” handout that is easy to read and understand. Improving the knowledge of
each athlete and making them aware of the consequences (both negative and positive) of
their nutrition habits relative to their performance, is important not only for compliance,
but also for the athlete’s overall health.
Sports Performance Goals
As a sport performance coach I believe in having a list of general goals that can be utilized with
any specific team for which I am responsible. These general goals can then be adapted to meet the
individual needs of each sport. This list of general goals includes:
1. Avoid weight room related injuries.
2. Reduce the risk of practice and competition related injuries.
3. Develop all aspects of athletic performance relative to each student athletes sport.
4. Promote qualities that develop team unity and chemistry for each sport.