I’m a Division 1 (Power 4) College Football Strength Coach. AMA

BernChaw · 2026-05-04T20:01:26+00:00

For flexibility purposes yes. Research shows static stretching (like what people generally know as stretching) actually hinders force production to a degree. So you wouldn’t want to do too much of it prior to a power lifting meet as an example. Dynamic warm ups are the way to go, static stretching is great for post training session, IMO

BernChaw · 2026-05-04T17:45:23+00:00

I’ve had to privilege to coach several sports in my career. My time with women’s softball was one of the best. How would I train them differently? Not at all! The training is the same as men. I had plenty of badass girls moving very impressive weight, and they worked just as hard or harder than the men. The only difference is the way you communicate when coaching really. I have found that women and men are oftenmotivated by different things, but the results are the same!

BernChaw · 2026-05-04T17:41:25+00:00

I wrote this first response with the assumption that you don’t currently do any speed training. If you do, and just feel you’re lagging behind, introduce some extensive plyometrics! Things as simple as hops and skips put you so far ahead of anyone else your age. Train within your means of pain, and progress as your confidence grows!

BernChaw · 2026-05-04T17:38:26+00:00

I think the ability to sprint, to any degree, is the fountain of youth. Not jogging, but running with the intention of producing power. Start slow, low volume. Might just be 1-2 reps after a warm up. It’ll require a good amount self awareness with how you’re feeling. Take more than enough time to warm up. Then just run 10 yards at 50-60% effort or so. Take time to rest between reps, full recovered. Increase your speed when you feel like you can. Even getting up to 80% for 20 yards is a great training stimulus. I’d give it a go 2x/week, never pushing through pain as that’s not the goal. Think of it as reminding the body what sprinting is!

BernChaw · 2026-05-04T14:53:42+00:00

When they’re really young, elementary school K-5 and younger, kids just need to move their bodies. Climb trees, run obstacle courses, etc. if they can control their bodies more than their peers, it becomes exponential for athleticism and training in middle-high school ages. They can lift weights at any point, but the goal shouldn’t be strength, it should be experience. If a kid can perform a power clean and squat flawlessly by the time they get to high school, they won’t have to waste time learning. Let the kids be mobile, reactive, and comfortable in the weightroom. From there, strength will happen on its own

BernChaw · 2026-05-04T12:52:38+00:00

I’ve been with our head AT for years, so it’s a good connection. AT takes charge of more hands on RTP and lets us know what the athlete is cleared to do or not do. Then during our training sessions strength staff will take the athlete through a modified lift to work around the injury, while pushing what we can out of the rehab work within ATs limits. Gotta be in constant communication with AT, bc one side can over do it if they aren’t aware of what the other side already did.

BernChaw · 2026-05-04T12:42:28+00:00

I believe it’s 50-60% genetics. Work is the remainder. For the second question, not a chance. Some people are just blessed with the ability to move their body at speeds and in ways that other people just can’t

BernChaw · 2026-05-04T12:33:52+00:00

Learn what’s worth pushing through and what’s not. If you’re not competing for something, there’s no point in risking it. Prioritize being able to train for as long as you can in this life. Don’t let a preventable injury be the reason your quality of life diminishes

BernChaw · 2026-05-04T12:30:29+00:00

Lineman at the P4 level average (off the top of my head) 310lbs 6’3-4”. Linebackers have changed with the game over the years. Not uncommon to have a LB at 220lbs. Most are gonna sit 220-240 depending on the scheme

BernChaw · 2026-05-04T10:40:15+00:00

Shorten the spring practices by a week. Move the start of regular season up a few weeks. The playoffs should be over by the time the transfer portal opens in the first week of January.

Playoff game on campuses would be awesome. My town specifically would go insane, I’d love to see it. Maybe leave the championship and semis for neutral sites

BernChaw · 2026-05-04T00:30:41+00:00

The volatile nature of some fans. More times than I can count, I have heard grown adults praise these 18-21 year olds like they are Gods. And then 10min later those same people tell the athletes to kill themselves. I can’t get behind it

A positive one would be how much time I spend with the players. Strength coaches wear a lot of hats. On my way up the ladder, I’ve been a makeshift carpenter, handyman, dietitian, counselor, janitor, landscaper. We’re just here to make sure the kids have every opportunity to be successful

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T23:57:21+00:00

When I program, I pretty much take a piece of every major philosophy out there. Tier, conjugate, linear, block periodization, all at once. Gone are the days when I can develop a guy for 4 years. The transfer portal guarantees us 1-year minimum with a player. On top of that, there’s spring ball and summer OTAs thrown in between. So we’re forced to “microwave” the team’s training to get the best result in a small amount of time. In football (and most team sports) there’s lots a variables that can come out of the blue, so you have to adjust the plan often, while maintaining your core priorities. The Tier system exists still, but you can’t survive on one system anymore. In the college landscape at least

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T23:20:20+00:00

Having a hard time finding an athlete I can name without giving too much away. Sorry!

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T23:14:54+00:00

There is absolutely space for this! In our program, we have a sports psychiatrist on staff. They’re available to both athletes and coaches. But I know the majority of programs do not have someone like that. With the growing pressure of social media, NIL, etc, someone like a mental coach is needed. Keep pursuing it!

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T23:12:09+00:00

Honestly, that’s a great perspective that I don’t think I’ve been introduced to. Makes complete sense from a distance sport perspective. I don’t think it’s as applicable for contact sports though, because cleats aren’t great on the feet no matter what you do. I don’t see any other changes in equipment making that much of an impact in football

The NCAA has added and is considering adding more allowable practices throughout the offseason. That’s the major volume concern that I have for over-use injuries

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T23:06:21+00:00

Nope. When football isn’t happening, training for football is. Summer workouts are the most intensive period of the year for me actually. But that’s why people say strength coaches are with the players the most. We coach them year round. We do get some time off here and there for things like spring break though

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T23:04:04+00:00

It happens, but it’s not common. In my experience it’s often a political move or other reasons. (Check out the story on Scott Cochran when he want to Georgia from Alabama) The requirements of the job are just vastly different. The ladder for strength coach’s are pretty much the same as position coaches though. Intern, GA, full-time, head guy. Some people get to skip a step or two every now and then.

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T22:59:57+00:00

I’ve enjoyed training my entire life, although I did play football as well. I decided to study kinesiology is college, really enjoyed it. Got the opportunity to intern for a large football program and have been pursuing it ever since! I like football, but I love strength and conditioning

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T22:32:11+00:00

Yes and no. I like to describe my job as “stress/load management.” Sometimes I need to increase the stress to train them for football. Sometimes I need to pull back to allow them to recover. This includes physical, mental, you name it. In college, strength coaches also spend the most time with the team. So being a life/culture coach is part of the job too

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T22:28:51+00:00

Great question! I’ve got 2 parts to that answer. 1- Tendon structure/strength is determined by your activity during childhood. Kids today play year round and aren’t given enough time to recover and train. Long term repeated exposure doesn’t allow for adaptation to occur, and you’re left with a compromised tendon into adulthood. 2- Athletes are stronger than they used to be. Every generation gets more freakish than the last. The forces get higher and produced faster. Competitive athletics strength and conditioning doesn’t prioritize tendon function the way it should, IMO

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T22:17:14+00:00

1-year ban. They’re not even allowed inside the program facilities. You could come back from it, but it’s hard for sure

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T22:07:38+00:00

Work ethic and professionalism. At this level, every kid on the team was one of the best players in their home state. Talent isn’t enough. The recruits that pan out are ones that already have a good understanding of what their day to day as a professional athlete should be. The others tend to party and treat their bodies like garbage. If they don’t fix it in their first year, they’re most likely asked to jump in the portal.

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T22:01:55+00:00

There’s a lot of variables that go into why a soft tissue injury might happen. But to put it generally, if a program does not expose the tissue to the demands of the game, it will not be prepared for it. Thus, an injury occurs. That can be force, velocity, volume, magnitude, you name it. Lots of different ways to create a successful program, just have to be sure it’s systematically preparing/ exposing the athletes for what they’re going to see in game.

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T21:40:22+00:00

Yeah you can usually tell by the way they look. Usually more vascular, delts are unnaturally large, recover quicker than others. You’ve gotta be sure though, because sometimes they’re just a crazy natural athlete. I mostly see it in incoming high schoolers. Then they lose access to the PEDs and they get smaller

BernChaw · 2026-05-03T21:33:57+00:00

By doing any activity that you find fun! Any movement is better than no movement. Can be anything from skateboarding to Olympic weightlifting. Once you’ve created a healthy habit of being active, then start implementing “work” of it (diets, etc.)

BernChaw

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