Samson Strength Coach Collective

On the latest edition of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, host Connor Agnew shares the personal experiences and professional reflections behind his decision to leave collegiate strength and conditioning. Connor opens up about his departure from App State and how personal loss changed the way he thinks about time, family, and career priorities. The decision meant taking a closer look at what m...

On the latest edition of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, we sit down with Dr. Faith Brown to explore her journey from collegiate athlete to strength and conditioning coach and the role of sports science in everyday coaching. Faith reflects on the experiences that shaped her career, including a near-fatal car accident and the demands of pursuing a PhD while working full-time. Her story highli...

High-performance environments depend on coaches who can interpret information, communicate clearly, and work together to support athletes. On the latest edition of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, Asa Britt, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Long Island Nets, shares his journey through college internships and into professional basketball. He reflects on the transition to the NBA G...

A coaching career across collegiate athletics, the NFL, and the tactical sector offers plenty of opportunities to rethink how you work with people. For Jess Langvardt, those experiences reinforced the importance of relationships, communication, and remaining open to new ideas. On the latest edition of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, Jess shares his journey through strength and conditioning a...

What does it take to lead a strength and conditioning staff while giving every team a strong athlete experience? Claire Quebedeaux joins Connor to reflect on her journey through athletic training and strength coaching to her director role at Ohio State University. Claire discusses hiring with intention, helping coaches learn from one another, and creating a supportive staff culture. She also expla...

Athlete buy-in is not created by a training program alone. It is earned through trust, consistent communication, and a genuine investment in each athlete. In this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, Isaiah Myers shares his journey from collegiate wrestler to strength and conditioning coach. He reflects on his experiences at West Liberty, Mississippi State, Cincinnati, and Glenville St...

There is no substitute for experience, but the best coaches know how to combine experience with education, adaptability, and a willingness to keep learning. In this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, Jacob Banegas shares the path that took him from a multi-sport athlete to coaching and eventually building Built Sports Performance. Along the way, Jacob faced transfers, the disruption...

Building a successful career in sports performance requires more than understanding sets, reps, and data. It requires the ability to communicate, build relationships, remain accountable, and understand the purpose behind your work. In this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, Kevin Deitz, Assistant Sports Performance Coach at the University of Cincinnati, shares his career journey and...

Building a successful strength and performance business requires more than great programming. It requires relationships, systems, leadership, and the ability to stay authentic as the business grows. In this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, Estevan Lucero shares his path from athletics and education into strength and conditioning and gym ownership. He explains how his background in...

Sports science gives coaches access to more information than ever before, but collecting data is only valuable when it leads to better decisions. In this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, Blake Wright shares his path through strength and conditioning, his decision to pursue a PhD, and his work as a sports science consultant at Vault. He explains what effective sports science looks l...

The Power of Simplicity Summary On this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, we sit down with Adam Kolberg, Head Strength Coach at Fairmont State University, to discuss his unconventional journey into strength and conditioning and the philosophy he has developed along the way. Adam's path into strength and conditioning didn't follow a traditional route. Through internships, net...

Sam McGriff has been the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Pembroke Hill School since 2013. He came into the field through a nontraditional path, earning his degree at Mizzou on an ROTC scholarship before serving in the Navy, then working as a personal trainer before Pembroke Hill hired him to supervise the weight room after school. McGriff describes those early years plainly. There was no s...

Most strength coaches get weeks to settle into a new job. Kevin Rodriguez got four days. Kevin Rodriguez's path to Siena wasn't a straight line, but it was fast at the end. After building the strength program from scratch at Delta State and spending four years at UT-Chattanooga working with men's basketball, women's golf, and beach volleyball, Rodriguez accepted the Head Strength a...

Ryan Horn has spent 20 years building strength programs, and almost none of that time has looked stable from the outside. Horn's path runs through Robert Morris, Virginia Commonwealth (where he became the school's first full-time strength coach), Tulsa, and seven years at Wake Forest under Danny Manning. After being let go from Wake Forest following COVID, Horn spent two years outside coll...

Eddie Ramirez took an unconventional route into strength and conditioning. He spent his teenage years and early twenties as a competitive breakdancer before a friend showed him that college strength coaching was even a career path. Internships at Syracuse and Texas followed, and by the time he wrapped his stint with Texas football in 2019, he knew this was what he wanted to do for good. Now in his...

Devin Young, Senior Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Pittsburgh, did not take a straight path into the profession. He grew up chasing a hockey career through the junior ranks, walked on at Fitchburg State, and did not make the team. That setback pushed him into exercise science and a string of internships at UMass Lowell, Eastern Michigan, Princeton, St. Francis, and...

On this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at UT Tyler, Morgan McCrary, joins us to discuss his journey through nearly every corner of the strength and conditioning profession. From JUCO athletics and private sector coaching to the collegiate level, Morgan explains how each experience shaped his coaching philosophy. Throughout the conversation, Mo...

On this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, we sit down with Bailee Sturgeon , Coordinator of Certification and Education for the CSCCa. Bailee provides an inside look at the administrative side of strength and conditioning, explaining how certification, accreditation, continuing education, and conference planning all contribute to the profession's growth. She shares her journey f...

On this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, we sit down with Kainon Clark, Associate Director of Football Performance at Washington State University. Kainon reflects on his path through the strength and conditioning profession, highlighting how experiences at multiple programs helped shape his coaching philosophy and approach to athlete development. Throughout the conversation, Kainon...

Andy Holmes carries two titles that rarely appear in the same sentence. He is the Business Development Manager for the Americas at Informed Sport and Informed Choice, the world's largest anti-doping third-party certification organization. He is also the Strength Chaplain at Ottawa University, a role he helped create and one that speaks directly to what he believes coaching is actually for. On...

On this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, we sit down with Sports Performance Coach Gage Taylor to discuss how adversity can become a catalyst for growth. Gage reflects on his athletic journey, the injuries and setbacks that challenged him, and how those experiences ultimately led him toward a career in strength and conditioning. Throughout the conversation, Gage emphasizes the valu...

On this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, we sit down with Joshua Poahway, Director of Sports Performance for Cache Public Schools. Josh shares his journey from growing up in Lawton to returning home and leading sports performance efforts in his community. Throughout the conversation, he reflects on leadership, mentorship, relationship-building, and the importance of authenticity in...

On this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, we sit down with Johnny Fabrizius, Assistant Athletic Director for Strength and Conditioning at Florida State University. Johnny shares lessons learned while transitioning into a director role, including how leadership responsibilities evolve and why relationships remain the foundation of successful athletic departments. The conversation div...

In this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, Connor Agnew reflects on his experience at the 2026 CSCCA Conference. He shares stories from the event floor, discusses standout equipment and facility conversations, and breaks down the excitement surrounding the Samson Hold competition. Connor also highlights the value of networking and relationship building within strength and conditionin...

In this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, we sit down with Patrick Brooks, strength coach for Arkansas State Women’s Basketball. Patrick shares his coaching journey and growth, detailing his transition from intern to full-time coach and the lessons learned along the way. The conversation highlights the importance of building strong relationships with athletes, developing a confident...