Matt Goosey - USFCA Week 5

So my time here in San Francisco is coming to an end and I honestly cannot tell you where the time has gone! My last two weeks have involved doing a mixture of different jobs and have defiantly been the busiest out of the six.

Finally the renovations being made to the weights room were finished which was amazing news, I’ve been waiting to get in there since I arrived. However before we could start working there was a large amount of cleaning and arranging of the equipment to do. This doesn’t sound to interesting but it was a good laugh doing it with coach Brian and the other intern Sam. As well as this it gave me a better appreciation for a weights room and how best to get the most out of the space available. We were thanked many times for doing these jobs and another thank you for this was being taken out for food by the one of the athletic directors and Coach Brian, which was a very nice bonus on top of having a functional weighs room.

It really does make a noticeable difference being in a private weights room than a commercial open gym and I honestly think this is the part of my experience that I have enjoyed the most. Its not just dumbbells and weight racks in there, there is a small corner of cardio equipment, one of which is very unique.

They have an AlterG Treadmill which is essentially a zero gravity treadmill, this allows you to affect the load through the legs and joints when running on a treadmill. Fortunately enough for me, someone had to try it out to see if it was working properly after the renovations. Honestly it was the weirdest thing I’ve done since being here but also great fun!! Unfortunately I don’t have a picture to show you of me on the treadmill because I’m sure it was a funny sight, however I do have a picture of the treadmill (you’ll have to use your imagination).

 

The other weekend I went to my first Baseball game! Which was very enjoyable but not very action packed. The game was between San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia which are both not very successful teams at the moment and probably the reason for the lack of action. But I can defiantly see why the sport is so popular and would definitely go again.

There has been plenty of other sport to watch with the start of the season for men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball. It's been great to get on the side-lines and see the athletes do what there hear for and see all the hard work they put into training pay off on the pitch. The final game I will get to watch is men’s soccer, USF against UCLA, which is a big game for us and if they win it will be very big deal.

San Francisco you have been amazing, I’ve learnt so much both in and outside of the gym and value every second of my time here. I’m sad that I have to leave but also partially glad to be getting back to everything back home. Hopefully I’ll be back one day!!

Jordan at Pepperdine - Week 4

Week 4 at Pepperdine

It's testing week at Pepperdine. All the athletes’ hard work was put on display, and it was their chance to lift some solid numbers. Both Men’s and Women’s Basketball hit some rep maxes in the weight room. I had the opportunity to visit another local university: California State University of Northridge (CSUN), take a look around their facilities and chat with their assistant S&C coach Chris. Chris also came through the Pepperdine intern system, further showing the road available to those that work hard and want to progress in this field.

Intern Education

We have been making additional changes to our program. This is a really beneficial part of this internship, as we get a lot of feedback: both good and bad. In order to make the most out of an internship like this, you have to be able to take constructive criticism on board. You are constantly being evaluated, either while coaching, programming or communicating with your peers. In the intern orientation one of the key points were "Every day is an interview", which is a constant reminder to be your best all of the time, not just when you feel like it.  This week I really tried to discover what Matt looked for when hiring strength coaches. Matt’s three "must have" qualities were as follows:

1.      Ability to grind = Work hard. Work long hours. Be detail driven. Get the job done and get it done right.

2.      Get along with his staff = You can’t stick out like a sore thumb. You need to like them and they need to like you. A healthy work culture is important when you spend 14 hours in close proximity of the same 6 people.

3.       Adaptability: You have to be continually developing. Whether that’s additional research, adapting to a new team you’re working with or taking new qualifications (Masters, S&C Accreditations or Weightlifting Qualifications).

Soccer workout at 6am. We have 28 athletes to train in one hour. A pre set up weight room allows the session to run smoothly.

Coach Interaction

All of the coaches here are big readers. It doesn’t matter if it’s S&C specific research articles or not, they read. Leadership books and communication books are common. Since being here I’ve purchased 10 books, either because I saw one of the coaches reading it or they recommended one. I'm stocked up for a while. They also apply what they read which is nice, you will often find them experimenting with new exercises or methods they have read about. They aren’t just the science guys that have no social skills, they all well rounded. I have been training a lot since being out here which I love. We have been training three times a day Monday and Friday and twice Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday. Our Mondays and Fridays look like:

5:30am

Pull Ups (90 reps every day this week)

11:30am

Usually a compound exercise performed EMOM style or standard strength protocol (e.g 5x5)

5:30pm

This session varies day to day. It usually ends up being accessory work for the main lift or something in a circuit format.



Schedule for the Fall. Team Sessions starting at 5:30am and finishing at 7:30pm.

Team Sessions

Testing week was great to see. Men’s Basketball really get into it and there is constantly shouting and cheering each other on. Once the guys are onto their last 1RM attempt of the day. Matt has the full team gather around and give encouragement. I think this kind of atmosphere would increase my squat by 200%. I didn’t see any ugly reps during testing week, as the coaches were very cautious of the potential of injury. Most of the coaches here are low volume programmers, with the intention of giving the most amount of stimulus with the least amount of work. The athletes tend to go home for a few weeks in summer, so at the end of the week Matt sat down and explained the summer program to the team. Matt had each athlete send a picture of the gym they have access to at home so that he can make sure the program is appropriate. This week was a busy one, and every day was different. Some days are steady and some days are extremely busy. This was a medium day, with a slow morning but picked up in the afternoon.

California Life

On the weekend I was taken to California State University of Northridge (CSUN) to have a look around their facility. I was told this type of set up was typical of a state college, generally a lot of space but not as much quality equipment as Pepperdine. They still had equipment such as a K-box, numerous specialty bars, bumpers and a few verti-max stations. Afterwards I got the chance to speak to one of Matt’s ex interns who had just been appointed the assistant S&C coach at CSUN. He is a classic example of Matt’s intern development route. Intern position, progressed into a volunteer position and then into a paid S&C role. We went for some food afterwards and it was cool to pick his brains about his path leading up to this point. He was discussing all of the additional responsibilities he’s had to take on since the new job and seemed a bit flustered by this. I’m excited for him though because increased responsibilities are signs of a career heading in the right direction.

And in true British style I got ridiculously sunburnt.

California State University of Northridge's S&C facility.

Matt Goosey - Week 3

I cannot believe I have now been here for three weeks, its amazing out here and I am trying to make the most of the rest of my time here. My work is starting to change now and is likely to get a busier. The women’s basketball team have just left on a two week tour to Italy and so I will no longer be working with them. However I am now picking up more work with volleyball and women’s soccer which will defiantly expand my understanding for different sports.

As well as work in the gym I am being introduced to the different technologies that USF like to use to collect data with their athletes. The two main ones are GPS and Heart rate tracking with the women’s soccer team and Force plate data for most if not all teams. Its interesting to see how the coaches collect this data and how it is then put into place to effect the athletes training. This is hopefully something I will get to see in the remainder of my time here.

The full women’s soccer team has now returned and they’ve got a very intense few weeks before their season starts. Their first week back began with an intense set of conditioning tests, which began at San Francisco’s Kezar stadium (which is an amazing place!) where the athletes had to run 7x 400m laps within 1:30s with a 2:15s rest between laps. This was an intense first session back for the athletes which was then followed by another 2 different training sessions that day! High volume and high intensity work to try and get all the athletes aerobically fit before the start of the season.  

The presentation that at the start of the week went well, I think I did a good job of explaining the many uses of velocity based training and also the work I do with it back home. It was also great to sit and listen to the other interns presentation, which defiantly gave me a lot to think about in with programming and planning future training sessions.

I really feel like I’ve settled into living here and am just hoping that the next three weeks don’t go as quickly as the last!

Jordan at Pepperdine - Week 3

Week 3 at Pepperdine

Getting more and more coaching responsibilities, from taking athletes through full sessions to just assisting the process of how the facility runs on a daily basis. More intern education from Matt going through the pros and cons of different types of periodization, linear speed development and how they integrate it into their athletes programs, along with a Knee Injury reduction Presentation by Bri (S&C Coach for Soccer and Women’s Volleyball). With my weekend I spent some time by the pool reading up on a few things I’d learnt through the week AND went to Hollywood. It was a cool place, very busy with loads going on and would definitely recommend going to see this tourist destination that is obviously very well known.

Intern Education

As part of the Intern Curriculum at Pep, the expectation is that you will be working on a 12 week S&C program for one of the teams here. You will have one or two meetings per week with the coaches and other interns to pick up ideas and receive guidance. You are also expected to be able to defend your program and explain your rationale. We had a few of these meetings this week, which I took a lot from as you also pick up what the other interns are doing well/not so well. The presentations on the knee and linear speed were useful and it is always nice to see how different facilities use and apply the research to a team setting.

Periodization presentation covering the benefits of different types and how they use them at Pepperdine. 

Coach Interaction

Been trying to find out more about the coaches here, and the path they had taken to get to where they are currently at. The career path at Pepperdine is typical of the USA’s way of developing interns into S&C coaches. The current structure Matt has in place for his career pathway at Pepperdine is as follows:

1.       Complete a 6-12 week internship, with the best intern being invited to progress to a Volunteer position.

2.       Complete 12 month volunteer position at Pepperdine, with increased responsibility (Leading a team) and additional education.

3.       Providing a successful year, Matt can help arrange interviews for future positions (usually Graduate Assistant or Assistant S&C coach positions).

All of the current S&C coaches at Pepperdine have gone through this and have come out the other side with a paid position in a very prestigious school.

We are still going strong with the pull ups, 70 reps per day.. we are mixing up rep ranges and method e.g As Many Reps As Possible, Weighted, Every Minute On the Minute ect.

Team Sessions

It’s been a big week of training for the guy at Pepperdine. Next week is testing week before the end of summer and they go home for a few weeks. So this week served as the last big push before we see where the athlete’s strength and conditioning levels are at. I’m curious to see how the testing days are run and as a movement orientated facility, how far the coaches will push the athletes and whether we will see any “ugly” reps. Seen some fun sessions this week, with Women’s Basketball playing “Medicine Ball Volleyball” as an extended warm up with a hill run forfeit for the loser. Men’s Basketball had off the feet conditioning on Tuesday with a 30 minute spin bike workout. There is always an abundance of energy and encouragement from the Men’s BB team – even when gasping for air between a 30 ON/30 OFF uphill climb.

California Life

The benefit of renting an Air BnB in Calabasas California is that a pool is never too far away. I spent Saturday reading and relaxing by the pool. My body clock is so used to waking up at 4am (my usual week day wake up time) so I couldn’t sleep past 6:30am so I tried to be productive with my time and work on my programme too. On Sunday I caught an Uber to Hollywood to do the touristy stuff. Saw all of the Hollywood Walk of Fame stars on the ground and the huge Hollywood sign. There was lots of aspiring music artists, gymnasts and Hollywood definitely catered to my inner fat boy and had a burger spot and dessert shop every 100m.

Matt at USFCA - Week 2

It’s now the end of my second week here in the states and its honestly going way to quickly, time must fly when you’re having fun. I haven’t been able to do much more exploring of the city this week but I’m making a list of things to do while I’m here, no.1 is definitely get to and cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge!!

My work with the athletes has continued to be full of lessons, especially about working with basketball players (the team I spend the most time with) and how to adjust a training plan around any injuries the athletes have or might of picked up in recent training. One of the coaches reminded me that there is always a way to work around an injury and still get the most out of each training session.

 

It’s been a cold week here and very foggy on most days, I’m almost starting to regret only packing one jumper! I’m not complaining though as I don’t see myself getting another chance to be in a city like this any time soon!!

Myself and the other intern have been challenged by the coaches to put together a small presentation each about a topic of interest which we will present and discus early next week. It had to be a relevant to S&C and something we either are reading about or interested in. I have decided to talk about the use of velocity in strength based training, as It is somethi8ng I have experience with and something they do not use here with their athletes. Hopefully it goes well! I’ll let you all know next week!