Written by: Jeff Watson
Every athlete remembers that one coach or trainer that was more personable, more detailed and more dialled into every session than others. That coach set themselves apart because of one main detail – PRESENCE.
Behind every solid Strength and Conditioning Coach is a presence on the gym floor that is unmatched in comparison to science and programming alone. It’s not that programming, planning and science don’t matter (because we all know it’s imperative) but how the program is delivered and how the athlete grasps each session determines the true effectiveness and adaptation of that training program.
Despite what you might think, your job as a Strength and Conditioning Coach is not to just read off exercises, sets and reps. Your primary job is to perfect movement. That is where the art of coaching lies and that rides parallel to the science of programming.
There are two very different settings in the strength and conditioning world and how the weight room is handled varies between those two settings. Let’s look at them separately to give insight on the different focuses as the Head Strength Coach.
Small Group or Individual Training:
The first step is being completely present EVERY session with every athlete. In order to be completely present for that session, your plan needs to be created ahead of time. Whether you are using a YTP (Yearly Training Plan) or working within a micro cycle because you only have a short window with that athlete, your single session plan needs to be scripted and reviewed ahead of time. This not only allows you to be professionally prepared, but also mentally able to make adjustments on the fly and not left scrambling for ideas.
Step 2 (and this is the hard one in 2025), put your phone away. Wait…what? Yes, your mother, instagram and even boss can wait. If you are working specifically with an athlete or client, they deserve your undivided attention. Using your phone to video exercises for coaching purposes or to teach the athlete through visual aid is acceptable. But, more often than not you’ll catch unprofessional coaches with their heads down while their athlete grinds out a rep, misses a key point of execution or worse, fails and injures themselves. Want to lose an athlete’s trust easily…have your head down when they finish their set.
Step 3 comes with experience. When the athlete is mid rep or exercise, keep cues simple and more often than not, simply just motivate. Throwing random cues or consistently talking AT them while they push through a squat or deadlift is going to lead to confusion, lack of confidence and more than likely, frustration. Look to hit them up during their rest period on keys to focus on for the next set. Remember to stay positive and provide constructive feedback versus “what they are doing wrong.”
Depending on the training age of the athlete you’re working with, coaching between sets needs to be progressive…just like their training program. If it’s their first time performing the movement, keep your keys as simple as possible. “Knees out, chest proud” is going to go a lot further than, “Pressure through your feet, don’t let your knees cave, grip the bar, squeeze your core, head up, breath…but don’t breath too much…”
Pro tip: Want to know the best way to learn if cueing is too much? Train yourself. This is a talk for another day, but if you’ve never lived it…how can you expect someone to respond to your coaching.
The Team Setting or Large Group Training:
Coaching the rep can be tough in larger settings based on the sheer volume and number of athletes you are required to manage. This is typical in most collegiate weight rooms and amateur sport organizations. On top of that, they typically have little to no support staff. In these cases, the key is to focus on overall session details, hammer home key points of success for the session for the group and find small details for each athlete where you can once the lift is underway.
If you are in charge of a team, learn to rely on your assistant coaches and make them extensions of you as the lead coach. Direct objectives for major portions of the lift, clear and concise cues for certain exercises and stay on the same page when it comes to performance indicators for each block.
Start every session with a team breakdown. Rely on leaders of the team to worry about the small details (reps, sets, rest periods). You are in charge of movements, flow and energy during the session.
Make your way around the room in order to monitor the areas that matter the most. Almost every lift has major and minor movements. Major movements (compound movements, olympic lifts, or highly technical skill movements) should be where you spend the majority of your time. Use minor movements (accessories, movements from past programs that are mastered, or basic skill exercises) to keep training volume up and session flowing without requiring your detailed attention. This is an area to use your assistant coaches for!
The bottom line is, your program and training plan is one thing. How you deliver and progress movement within that program determines the effectiveness and more importantly, transferable skill from that program to sport. More often than not athletes will “work out” for years incorrectly, loading their bodies in a way that does not translate to sport. That’s where we come in as coaches. Get the athlete in the right position, every time, and watch their performance take off!
Jeff is the owner of Elite Training Systems in Whitby, ON and has 15 years of experience training athletes across a variety of sports (hockey, rugby, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball and track). Jeff is passionate about developing well educated young coaches and continuing to drive Long Term Athlete Development in Canada.
