The Strength In Numbers Podcast

Chase Sanders, owner of Chasing Strength and the strength coach for football and baseball at Damien High School, joins the show to share lessons from coaching across the high school, collegiate, and private sector settings. After spending six years as Director of Strength and Conditioning at Cal Poly Pomona and learning under an elite staff at Utah State, Chase brings a unique perspective on athle...

Will Graham, Director of Performance for Men's Basketball at Stony Brook University, joins the show to discuss his transition into a new role after spending the past seven years at Liberty University and four years in the private sector at APEC. We dive into what attracted Will to Stony Brook, the first steps he's taking to build relationships and establish his program, and the lessons he&...

Justin Ochoa, Owner and Director of Performance at Gem Sessions Training, joins the show to break down his approach to basketball development and the integration of both skill and performance training. We dive deep into Justin's athlete profiling system, how he manages leading both skill and performance development, and the value that comes from owning both areas. Justin also explains how he&#...

Sam Patterson, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, joins the show after a great first season that included an American Southwest Conference Championship and a trip to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. After spending eight years at Oral Roberts, Coach Pat shares what it was like stepping into his first head coaching role and the lessons he learned throughout...

Matt Aldred, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Men's Basketball at the University of Michigan, joins the show after helping lead the Wolverines to a national championship. But this conversation goes far beyond training, performance, or basketball. In this episode, Matt reflects on the impact his daughter has had on his life and career, how becoming a father has shaped his perspective, a...

Nick DiMarco, Assistant Athletic Director for Peak Performance at Elon University, joins the show to break down the systems, leadership principles, and operational details behind building one of the premier sports performance departments in the country. Nick recently released his new book, The Director’s Manual, a must-read resource for coaches looking to step into leadership roles or elevate the...

Tex McQuilkin, founder and leadership strategist of Captains & Coaches, joins the show to dive deep into leadership development, team dynamics, and how coaches can intentionally develop better leaders within their programs.  Along with working with teams and organizations on leadership development, Tex also hosts the Captains & Coaches Podcast and coaches middle school and high school lacr...

Fonzo Martinez, Head Boy’s Basketball Coach at McKinney Christian Academy and the winningest coach in school history, joins the show to break down how he’s built sustained success at a championship level. After losing every starter from the previous season, Fonzo still led his team to a 39-1 record and another state championship. We dive into how he structures his yearly development plan, how he h...

Mason Hays, VP of Sports Performance at Elite Performance in Frisco, Texas, joins the show to break down his journey from APEC athlete to training director and now to his role with EPT. We dive into how to build a coaching identity you’re known for, what it takes to succeed in the private sector, and why great coaches are generalists and elite problem solvers. Mason also gets into removing “trash...

Paul Hiepler, former Abilene Christian basketball player and current criminal prosecutor in Ventura, California, joins the show to reflect on his journey from college athlete to life after sport. You may recognize him from his role on the ACU team that upset Texas in the first round of March Madness.  In this conversation, we dive into his development as an athlete, including the impact of his mul...

Devin Young, Senior Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Pittsburgh, joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation on development, data, and growth within the profession. Devin works with track and field, cross country, and softball at Pittsburgh. In this conversation, we dive into his personal development as a coach, the data he uses to drive decision-making, and how he...

Jared Wilson, owner of JW Performance and former Head of Performance for NBA All-Star John Wall, joins the show to break down how he’s translating elite, one-on-one performance systems into a high-performance model for youth athletes. Jared breaks down how he makes development decisions—starting with health, then skill, then outputs—and why identifying an athlete’s needs is critical for efficient...

Andrew Nilo, Head Olympic Strength and Conditioning Coach at Texas State, joins the show to discuss the evolution of his training philosophy and his transition into a director role. After multiple conference championships and a College World Series run at Oral Roberts, Nilo brings a high level of experience and intentionality into his new position. In this conversation, we dive into how his traini...

Jacob Garvin, Director of Sports Performance for Women’s Basketball and Volleyball at Oral Roberts, joins the show to break down his journey through the field and how he approaches building high-level athletes at the mid-major level.  In this conversation, we explore his path from starting as an athletic trainer to transitioning into strength and conditioning, and how that background shapes his ap...

Luke Lancaster, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the New Orleans Saints, joins the show to reflect on his first season with the Saints after more than seven years at Abilene Christian, where he most recently served as Associate AD of Athletic Performance while leading the football program. We talk about the differences between working in the NFL and the collegiate setting, along with...

Dave Nedbalek returns to the podcast to reflect on his first year as Head Boy’s Basketball Coach at Tyler Grace after transitioning from the Division 1 level.  We talk about what he learned during his first year leading the program — what went well, what he would do differently, and where he wants to continue growing. Dave’s team had an incredible first season, as he earned Co-District Coach of th...

In this episode, I share five ideas designed to challenge the way you think about coaching, leadership, and development. We explore the potential benefits of injuries, why autonomy matters in player development through “20% Time,” and how player selection decisions can shape the floor and ceiling of your team. I also break down why the ability to develop yourself is the most crucial skill, and an...

Adam Menner, co-owner and managing partner of Team Varsity House Brands and the Business of Strength, joins the show to dive deep into skillset development, ownership, and accelerating your growth as a coach and business leader. In this conversation, Adam breaks down how to identify the best in your field, reverse engineer the skills that make them elite, and use tools like AI to compress your lea...

Antonio Bostic, assistant basketball coach for the Grand Rapids Gold—the G League affiliate of the Denver Nuggets—joins the show to discuss his transition from college basketball to coaching at the pro level. After serving as a college assistant at Oral Roberts and Abilene Christian, Antonio shares what’s different about coaching in the G League, from playing styles to daily demands. We dive into...

Blair Orr, founder of LEAD Athletic Performance, joins the show to break down how he’s built one of the top athlete-only sports performance facilities in California. We dive into why Blair chooses to serve and market exclusively to athletes, how he crafts a gym culture that keeps athletes coming back, and the intentional conversations he has during onboarding to set expectations and drive long-ter...

This episode is centered on Long-Term Athletic Development and features insights from six high-level coaches. Together, they share how they think about developing athletes from early childhood through adulthood. Featuring Nick Mascioli, Richard Burnett, Tanner Care, Justin Lovvorn, Josh Bray, and Colton Rosseau, this conversation explores what matters most at each stage of development and how to b...

Issac McBride joins the show to share his journey through basketball and the lessons that shaped him as both a player and a person. Isaac played at Kansas, Vanderbilt, and Oral Roberts, before most recently competing in the G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors. At ORU, he was a three-time All-Conference selection, a conference champion, the Summit League Preseason Player of the Year, and averaged...

Jorge Ruiz, Assistant Coach and Assistant GM at Weber State University, joins the show to share his path from Video Coordinator to one of the youngest assistant coaches in the nation and his recent promotion to Assistant GM. We dive into how Jorge approaches recruiting and roster building in today’s unpredictable college sports landscape, what he evaluates in high school recruits versus the transf...

Anthony Cockrill, Director of Volleyball Sports Performance and Assistant Director of Olympic Sports at SMU, returns to the Podcast for his second appearance after his first episode became our most downloaded episode ever.  In this conversation, we go deep into the systems behind elite volleyball performance. Anthony breaks down jump and swing mechanics, squat progressions, jump training, building...

Owner of Hansen Athletics and Speed Lab Director with Universal Speed Rating, Darren Hansen joins the show to break down how he’s built one of the top performance facilities in the region by making speed development a true priority. Voted the best performance facility in Southeastern Idaho, Hansen Athletics is known for both results and culture. We dive into how Darren creates an environment athle...