ATHLETIC STRENGTH AND POWER

ASAP Wrestling Podcast with OHHS Hall of Famer Greg Strochinsky

Wrestling.... Strictly Business!
x

For a Cincinnati, Ohio high school wrestler, to qualify for the Ohio High School Athletic Association's State Wrestling Tournament is an arduous task at the very least. Attaining and maintaining a given body weight-class, wrestle-offs, intense practices, managing a disciplined approach to nutrition, continuing the in-season strength training and conditioning program goals, and of course..... lots of winning, especially in the district and regional tournaments that are along the way to Columbus, Ohio where the OHSAA State Wrestling Tournament is conducted at St. John Arena on the campus of Ohio State University.

 And that's the way it went for ASAP~Athletic Strength And Power Podcast guest Greg Strochinsky, a Cincinnati Oak Hills High School Hall of Fame wrestler who had the privilege to be coached by an Ohio High School wrestling coaching icon, Dick Roche. The coach, a stoic military veteran, was a strict disciplinarian who didn't veer off course too much when it came to following and enforcing rules. He was the Woody Hayes of Oak Hills High School who despised losing and demanded that his wrestlers felt the same.  Conversely, Strochinsky was the loose, fun loving student athlete who oozed self confidence 24/7. His self-given nickname was ''strictly business', which he prominently displayed on his shoes, his pick-up truck, t-shirts, chains, etc. However, 'Stroh' shared the same desire for victory as did his coach. And, Coach Roche and Assistant OHHS Wrestling Coach Ken Hauck, a Championship Miami Redskin defensive lineman and former OHHS wrestler himself, knew that they had themselves a potential star in the making and didn't alter the "strictly business" mojo. 

Unlike a lot of today's high school wrestlers, Strochinsky never stepped onto a wrestling mat until he was a seventh grader. In fact, it was by chance that his junior high school gym teacher, Randy Owen, announced and encouraged the lanky twelve year old to explore the sport at an after school practice session. It wasn't long before the hook was set and Strochinsky was well on his way to becoming an Oak Hills High School wrestling star. Upon leaving junior high, he entered high school 10th grade, bringing his shiny winning record along in tow. Initially, Coach Roche wasn't greeting him with hugs and adulation. But, he soon realized that he had someone who could become a serious competitor for his team as the two figures combined their passion for winning. 'Stroh' felt a bond to Roche and never wanted to disappoint the legendary coach. However, as an undefeated senior and state qualifier making the two hour drive to Columbus and walking into an arena packed with thousands of wrestling fans and supporters, Strochinsky met the sting of defeat against a well skilled, experienced state meet opponent in the semi-final match. And, not one to sulk or mope from the loss, he'd only felt the emotions of thinking that he'd let his coach down. 

 

Coach Roche passed away at the age of 73.

Greg Strochinsky became instrumental in starting the

Dick Roche Memorial Scholarship  







XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
   

 

ASAP PODCAST with the 2023 Cincinnati Bearcats Football Sports Performance Staff

When The University of Cincinnati Bearcats' Director of Football Sports Performance, Niko Palazeti, took on his new role in January 2023, he recognized an immediate need for his program and the Bearcats football squad: he needed a strength and conditioning performance staff. Palazeti had been a member of Coach Mickey Marotti's sports performance staff at Ohio State Football. Yet now, he found himself having to formulate a complete staff to complement new Head Football Coach Scott Satterfield's vision and mission. Coach Palazeti moved quickly, as time was ticking away and the Bearcats would soon be returning from the holiday break.

The returning squad had not quite really met him yet and he needed a staff that could hit the ground running to prepare the team for the rapidly approaching spring football practices. Nobody occupied the small and cramped assistant strength & conditioning office. Palazeti made his first call to Columbus, Ohio. His fellow strength and conditioning partner, Coach Chris Friend, had been a strength intern at OSU Football and was later promoted as a full-time strength coach under the olympic sports strength training umbrella. Coach Friend was ALL-IN for Cincy and made the 90 minute trip with his sleeves rolled up and ready to go. Next came Coach Brandon Garcia, who decided to depart Las Vegas, Nevada and UNLV to take on a fresh challenge of Big 12 Conference Football in Cincinnati. Garcia, a former football player at West Virginia State University, also had coaching stints at WVSU and Maryland Terrapins as well as some experience as a personal trainer down in Knoxville, Tennessee. Next on board was Scottie Etherington who had gained some early coaching experience at Marshall University with some intern experience at Ohio State Football and also Maryland Football. Finally, Robert "Robo" Williams was brought back into the fold. Robo had gained football playing experience at Miami University (Ohio) and also played a fifth year at Ohio Dominican where he completed his Masters Degree in Exercise Science, did an internship at Robert Morris University as well one back in his hometown at Cincinnati. He was an assistant at Toledo Rockets, Duke Blue Devils and at Army Football.

This is an energetic, meticulous and hard working strength staff with some very good early on coaching experience that is sure to provide solid strength and conditioning knowledge and motivation for a very good and surging college football team. So, here's the ASAP~Athletic Strength And Power Podcast with all four members of Niko Palazeti's strength staff.

        

 

Basketball Strength Training Podcast with Xavier S&C Coach Andy Kettler

It took awhile to reconnect with Andy Kettler, mostly due to that good old pandemic. Closed doors and stop signs, red lights and masks. However, I was finally able to get a mutual date on the ASAP~Athletic Strength And Power calendar with the veteran strength, conditioning and sports performance coach! I have seen him on several occasions, including at the West Virginia Mountaineers where he worked his program for legendary basketball coach Bob Huggins. Not only in Morgantown, but I tracked him down in Indianapolis, Indiana for an ASAP 'Final Four' Podcast at the Lucas Oil Stadium. A few years following that mission, Coach Kettler found himself in Louisville, Kentucky as the strength coach for the Louisville Cardinals. An opportunity to work under Head Basketball Coach Sean Miller, got him packing to head up Interstate 71 North to Cincinnati and Xavier University as their Head Strength And Conditioning Coach for Men's Basketball. 
The Xavier Strength and Conditioning Center has recently been refurbished and is the perfect size facility to train elite basketball players. Coach Kettler can even swing open their giant open air windows and if your a visitor to the facility, there's no question as to where the weight room is. Just follow the music, as you can almost see musical notes coming from those windows. Speaking of music, it's loud and if you happen to be an audiophile, you'll love the high quality-high fidelity sound emanating from the master sound system. Kettler likes it loud! He want the players to learn to communicate during loudness as if their in the raucous Xavier Cintas Center that's just down the hallway from the training center.
In the podcast, Coach Kettler and I discuss the strength training methodologies that he employs....how the program is configured, and why he trains his players to develop a mentality and a tenacity that encourages physical and mental toughness. 
His program is not for the meek. When a player steps foot into the facility, he better be ready to get hit from all angles. This is about as far away from Planet Fitness as you can get! In fact, when I walked in and took notice of one of his guys, I assumed that Xavier University had re-instituted their football program. A few of the players in this group looked like decent size defensive backs so I decided it would be best not to challenge any of these guys in a game of H-O-R-S-E nor one-on-one, just in case things got a little salty.

Here's the ASAP Basketball Strength Training Podcast with Coach Andy Kettler, that will also soon make a debut in YouTube video form so coaches can see the training demeanor and with pics of the facility mixed in.

 

This podcast is brought to you by the following strength and conditioning businesses. They outfit the top training centers with great service and :
Spec Athletic: The Sports Flooring Professionals
Kevin Cassidy: 

 
The Bill Jacobs Power Company
Call Coach Jake for any weight room facility need! 'From the Ground Up'

TRX Suspension Training

Call the TRX Director for Team Sports
Tim Bourke 

ASAP Podcast with Football Sports Performance Coach Tommy Moffitt

Former LSU longtime S&C
Coach Tommy Moffitt

One of the big highlights of the HAMMER STRENGTH Clinic that was conducted at the Spooky Nook Athletics Complex in Hamilton, Ohio was the presentation on the opening night by Coach Tommy Moffitt. Basically, he laid out the infrastructure of his championship performance program that had the LSU Fighting Tigers fighting for and winning the big games and the big prizes. He's been in the strength & conditioning field for over thirty years. At Louisiana State for 23 years and prior to there, he'd been at Tennessee Vols and the Miami Hurricanes.

Tommy Moffitt's Championship Level Slide Presentation 
HAMMER STRENGTH CLINIC 

So, I guess it's a no-brainer that the Hammer Strength Clinic roped in the accomplished Tommy Moffitt. And, the clinic was the perfect time to catch an Athletic Strength And Power Podcast recording with Coach Moffitt. We talked strength training and conditioning an discussed how he used Polar heart rate monitors with the Tigers at LSU when conducting speed and conditioning workouts.

Currently, Moffitt has a strength & conditioning website called The Moffitt Method. It looks like a great resource for coaches & athletes and can even merge with TEAMBUILDR, the online strength & conditioning software.  In addition, he has a podcast that he records every Wednesday! 

 

Hammer Strength Clinic: Spooky Nook Champion Mill Hamilton, Ohio

For over 30 years, Hammer Strength has been hosting clinics to offer Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) for strength and conditioning coaches as well as other fitness professionals. Hammer Strength has cultivated a community based on its foundations of wisdom, respect, focus and performance. Each clinic has esteemed guest speakers and several breakout sessions to network and discuss training philosophies.

Clinic emcee Ted Lambrinides at The Cotton Bowl CFP Game

Renowned strength & conditioning expert, Ted Lambrinides, will emcee this clinic at the Spooky Nook Champion Mill which is in Hamilton, Ohio. In addition to his forty year pursuit of sports performance science, "Doctor Ted" has become a leader in the field of strength & conditioning program design, speed and human performance enhancement concepts and athlete-wearable gps tracking data analysis. Track him down at the clinic!

REGISTER HERE

 

 

2023 Speaker Lineup:

Molly Binetti | Director of Women's Basketball Performance, University of South Carolina

Presentation Title: Freestyle Warm-Up

Description: This presentation will debunk current methods and strategies incorporated during warm-up/prep periods, and explore outside-the-box methods to enhance overall athleticism, motor learning, and skill acquisition. Concepts that will be explored are autonomy/choice, differential learning, games/free play, and the importance of exploration within training. Attendees will leave with tangible ideas and drills to incorporate immediately.

David Queck | Director of Strength and Conditioning, Jones College

Presentation Title: Programming for the JUCO Athlete: From Weight Room to Speed Training

Description: This presentation will cover the challenges and triumphs of programming the strength and speed components in a Junior College setting for football, basketball and softball. As well as what is a JUCO athlete and how you coach them.

Al Johnson­ | Chief Development Officer, CSCCa 

Presentation Title: 30+ Years in the Profession: "What I Learned Along The Way"

Description: My journey in the profession and an overview of how strength and conditioning has changed but in some ways has remained the same.

Tommy Moffitt | Head Coach, The Moffitt Method

Presentation Title: Developing Speed, Strength and Conditioning for Field Sports

Description: This presentation will cover the macro, meso and micro cycle development for field sports and show examples of each.

Lance Walker­ | Executive Director, Human Performance & Nutrition Research Institute­, Oklahoma State University

Presentation Title: Angular Acceleration for Performance and Rehabilitation

Description: How concepts of linear speed development can be applied to nonlinear movement patterns to better express force, improve efficiency in cutting, and potentially improve return-from-injury outcomes.

Auggie Promersberger | Director of Sport Performance, St. Edward High School (Lakewood, Ohio)

Presentation Title: Assent of the Edsman: Department-Wide LTAD at St. Ed's

Description: In this session we will take a deep dive into some of the details, principles and key points that drive long term athlete development in the St. Edward High School environment.

Garrett Medenwald | Director of Men's Basketball Sports Performance, University of Tennessee

Presentation Title: Coach has a Question…..do you have an answer?

Description: At some point in the season, your head coach will come to you with a performance-related question. The question could be regarding an individual or the team. When this moment happens, will you response with “your opinion” or will you have the “facts” to answer their question? Your answer may very well decide what type of impact you have on the program. What kind of impact do you want to make?

Niko Palazeti | Director of Football Sports Performance, University of Cincinnati

Presentation Title: Strength and Conditioning Onboarding: Strategies for Transitioning Faster and Smarter

Description: Reflection and key take away on Transitioning Roles and Responsibilities

Corey Miller | Director of Speed and Movement, UCLA

Presentation Title: Coming Soon

Adam Smotherman | Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, University of Virginia

U.C. Bearcats' Coach Niko Palazeti coaching the details

Cincinnati Bearcats Head S&C Coach Niko Palazeti Podcast

Coach Palazeti was a speaker at the 2023 Ohio State Football S&C Clinic

Things were moving quickly at The University of Cincinnati as the school's athletic director scoured the football world for a replacement for Head Coach Luke Fickell who had departed to take on a struggling program in Madison, Wisconsin. A little over a week later, Cincinnati A.D. John Cunningham was welcoming in his new football coach, Scott Satterfield, to take the reins of a program that has experienced winning and lots of it in recent history. 

 

Meanwhile, one hundred miles to the north, in Columbus, Ohio, at Ohio State Football, assistant strength and conditioning coach Niko Palazeti was busy training his groups of Buckeye football stars at The Woody Hayes Athletic Center under the direction of his mentor and the Director of Football Sports Performance, Mickey Marotti. The Buckeyes were in training for another run in the College Football Playoffs. However, things were about to change for Coach Palazeti.  As the newly named UC Football Coach Satterfield began familiarizing himself with the Bearcats' athletics building, the Richard Lindner Center, he knew that his real and immediate focus was to find someone to take direction of the team's strength and conditioning program, often the heart and soul of a team, and assure the current roster of Bearcats that the uncertainty and doubt that they were experiencing was coming to an end. The Bearcats are now official members of the Big 12 Conference. In fact, the Oklahoma Sooners will be in town on September 23rd, so the football program was in real need of a strength & conditioning coach with much needed experience to guide the team and reset the foundation. 

 

Phone conversations, texts, emails were suddenly lighting up the former Michigan State Spartan's cell phone. The Cincinnati Bearcats would like to interview Niko Palazeti! . As it turns out, Niko Palazeti finished up his morning training-groups at Ohio State, changed shirt logos to a CINCINNATI "C" paw, and headed to I-71 South for the two hour drive 
to the Queen City along the Ohio River. Bearcat football coach Scott Satterfield would introduce him to the squad a few hours later.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a new focus for Palazeti, he needed a strength staff of his own. So, he finally was able to secure his new personnel:

Chris Friend (via Ohio State, football, hockey)

Scott Ethington (via Marshall, Maryland)
Brandon Garcia (via UNLV, Maryland)

Robert 'Robo' Williams (via Duke, Cincinnati)
Now that he had a staff, it became time to roll out the Winter Program and begin Coach Palazeti's first priority:

Prepare the Players for the demands of Spring Football

In today's ASAP ~Athletic Strength And Power Podcast, Niko and I discussed:

• the Cincinnati Bearcats opportunity
• his admiration of his mentor OSU's Mickey Marotti
• how the Bearcats attack the ever important region of the neck
• Spring football strength training objectives
• looking ahead to the Summer Program
• construction has begun on the new indoor facility and subsequent football building

Coach Niko Palazeti addresses one of the morning groups

Associate Director of Football Sports Performance
Chris Friend

 

Brandon Garcia & Robo Williams
Assistant Football Sports Performance Coaches 

 

Scott Ethington
Asst Football Sports Performance Coach

 

2023 Notre Dame Football Strength & Conditioning Clinic

Notre Dame Football Strength Clinic 2023

The University of Notre Dame Football Strength and Conditioning staff will be opening up their training center for an opportunity for S&C coaches, sports performance trainers, physical therapists, sport coaches and sports nutritionists to gain training and performance knowledge at one of the premier college football programs in all the land. There's a very impressive speaker list as this clinic promises to be a winner. February 24th & 25th (Fri/Sat)

REGISTER HERE 

Ohio State Football Strength Clinic 2023:: February 18th

The Ohio State Football Strength and Conditioning Clinic is intended for coaches and fitness professionals who are interested in learning about strength and athletic performance training that is exclusively geared to football players. The fee for this clinic is $75 and includes one single day parking pass. CEUs will also be given during the clinic. The clinic is open to all coaches ages 18 and older. College students who are studying strength training or who are interested in a strength training career may also attend. The fee for college students is $25 and proof of a student ID is required. High school students are NOT permitted to attend this clinic. Full payment is required at the time of registration. You may register here:

REGISTER

Date: Saturday, February 18, 2023
Who: Open to coaches and fitness professionals at all levels who are 18 & Older (Grade School, College, Professional, Private Sector) interested in learning about strength and athletic performance training exclusively for football players.
Location: Woody Hayes Athletic Center (Weight Room and Team Meeting Room)
Clinic Staff: Clinic will be hosted by the Ohio State Football Strength and Conditioning Staff

Check-in: 8-9am
Instruction: 9:00am-3:00pm

CEUs:  Yes

Meals and Housing

Breakfast and lunch will be provided. The Football Strength and Conditioning Clinic is a day clinic only and no overnight accommodations will be provided. Participants are responsible for providing their own overnight accommodations if needed. Hotel information can be provided upon request.

 

2022 Performance-4 Final Four Strength Clinic

Longtime strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown is preparing for the annual 'Performance 4 Final Four Strength Clinic' which, this year, will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana on Friday April 1st. This is a great opportunity to network with other coaches,  compare notes on off-season, pre-season and in-season program design and gather some great information for tweaking your basketball strength and conditioning program upon returning back home. Discussions on human performance, vertical jump training, injury prevention, development of explosive leg power, and nutritional advice for athletic enhancement. 
This clinic is NSCA CEU certified for 0.4 CEUs. We have a great lineup of speakers and sponsors for this year's clinic. There will also be a social, that is free for all attendees of the clinic. Be sure to sign up today!

The 2022 Performance Four Clinic Emcee is Ted Lambrinides. He's a nationally recognized former strength training & conditioning coach (Ohio State Buckeyes, Kentucky Wildcats), an NFL Player Tracking analyst, and sports performance consultant for a multitude of NFL and collegiate strength coaches. He's been speaking at clinics all across the United States for nearly 40 years! 

Coach Brown ...West Virginia Mountaineers' Director of Strength & Conditioning for Basketball, has been in the business of strength and conditioning of basketball players for 35 years! High school, big-time college and NBA, national championships, Final Fours, mentoring. He's accumulated a wealth of experience and knowledge in player and culture development for basketball squads from working in tandem with some of the game's great coaches.

Each year Performance 4 aims to provide its attendees with an immersive experience intended to expand and promote the scientific and technical knowledge surrounding strength and conditioning. This conference brings together experts in the basketball performance field to help expand and grow the game of basketball and build better athletes.

The aim of this conference is to provide an interactive experience for all attendees based around best practices in the field and cutting edge scientific knowledge.

Speakers:

University of Alabama - Mike Snowden

University of Arkansas - Dave Richardson

University of Colorado - Steve Englehart

University of Houston - Alan Bishop

Time to register

.

Yulman Stadium Glazer Family Club,

2900 Ben Weiner Dr, New Orleans, LA 70118

 

Mississippi State University’s Athlete Engineering Summit to be held on May 11th & 12th 2022

STARKVILLE, Miss. 

Four divisions at Mississippi State University (MSU)—the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS), the National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (NSPARC),Bagley College of Engineering, and the MSU Athletics Department—along with The Communiversity at East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) have joined forces to host the inaugural Athlete Engineering Summit. The two-day event will take place on May 11 and 12 at The Communiversity with a ticketed dinner event at the MSU Baseball stadium the night of the 10th and a social at the MSU football stadium the night of the 11th.

The summit will feature discussions focusing on how to build effective collaborations between athletics and academics, and will explore how key elements affect the four athlete personas: sports, industry, tactical, and at-risk athletes. In addition to nationally-recognized keynote speakers and panels of experts, attendees will have an opportunity to network with professionals, enjoy delicious food, and see human performance technology in action. 

Summit details

Registration will open in March.

Registration is $300 for general admission, $150 for MSU and EMCC faculty and staff, and $100 for MSU and EMCC students.

Georgia Tech Strength & Leadership Clinic April 9th 2022

Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia Tech Football Strength and Conditioning Coach Lew Caralla has announced the upcoming 2022 clinic to be conducted at the football strength training facility at the venerable Bobby Dodd Stadium on April 9th.  Without a doubt, the clinic promises to be a pretty big deal with a rock solid line-up of speakers! In addition to the master motivator, Coach Caralla, and the Yellow Jackets strength staff, this one day seminar features plenty of knowledgeable clinicians:    

• Dr. Thomas Stallworth  Atlanta Falcons Head Strength Coach who came to the Falcons after three seasons with the New York Giants. Prior to his time with the Giants, he was the Head Strength and Conditioning coach at Western Kentucky University.
• Harold Nash: spent 16 seasons in the NFL as a strength and conditioning coach, and after joining the Cowboys in 2020 as an assistant strength and conditioning coach, he was elevated to Head Strength Coach in 2021
• Inky Johnson: nationally known motivational speaker
• Dr. Aaron Wellman: Indiana Hoosiers Senior Assistant Athletic Director for Football Performance
• Mark Naylor: Arizona Cardinals; Assistant Strength Coach

 

Click Here for the registration form

Clinic Schedule:

Registration Check in: 7:00am-7:50am

Speaker 1: 8:00am – 8:50am

Speaker 2: 9:00am – 9:50am

Speaker 3: 10:00am – 10:50am

Lunch: 11:00am-11:50am

Speaker 4: 12:00pm – 12:50pm

Speaker 5: 1:00pm – 1:50pm

Speaker 6: 2:00pm-2:50pm

Conclusion & wrap Up

 

Breakfast and Lunch will be provided.