Voodoo Power

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to build a successful track and field program, develop athletes, and create lasting relationships that go beyond the competition? On this episode of the Voodoo Power Podcast, Steven Thompson sits down with Coach Mike Erb to discuss his unconventional journey into coaching, from environmental science and municipal government to collegiate track and field. Coach Er...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to build an athlete who can perform under pressure, overcome adversity, and reach their full potential? On this episode of Voodoo Power, Steven Thompson sits down with Jim Beebe, founder of Unbreakable Athletics, to discuss athlete development, strength and conditioning, mental toughness, and the principles that help athletes succeed both in sports and in life. J...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Voodoo Power Podcast, Steven Thompson sits down with George Adams, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Madison-Ridgeland Academy, to discuss the differences between high school and college strength and conditioning, developing young athletes, and building programs that translate to performance on the field. George shares his journey from college athletic...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Voodoo Power, Steven sits down with high school strength and conditioning coach Travis Webb to talk about his journey into coaching, building culture, developing athletes, and constantly evolving as a coach. Travis shares how an unexpected turn in his college career eventually led him into strength and conditioning, including his internship experience at UMass a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Voodoo Power Podcast, Steven sits down with Mark Garrett, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at Crown Point High School in Indiana, for a deep conversation on Olympic lifting, athlete development, and building a long-term training system. Mark shares his journey from a powerlifting-focused approach in the 1990s to incorporating Olympic lifting after lear...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Voodoo Power, Steven Thompson sits down with Brayden Durfee, a former Division I sprinter at Boise State University and Mountain West champion as a member of Boise State’s 2019 distance medley relay team. Brayden is now the Sprint Coach at Northwest Nazarene University. Brayden shares the story of his development as a sprinter, including the challenges he faced...

Send us Fan Mail This conversation is about more than lifting weights. It’s about identifying weaknesses, building physical qualities that transfer to the mat, developing trust between coach and athlete, and preparing young wrestlers for the demands of college competition. Subscribe to Voodoo Power for more conversations with strength coaches, athletes, and coaches working to develop better athlet...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Voodoo Power, Steven Thompson sits down with Chris Greene for a deep conversation about strength and conditioning, football performance, conjugate training, speed development, powerlifting, athletic development, and building better athletes. Chris Greene shares his journey into the conjugate training system, including the influence of Westside Barbell and how he...

Send us Fan Mail What does it really mean to be a successful coach? In this episode of Voodoo Power, Steven Thompson sits down with Dean Matsche to talk about coaching, athlete development, track and field, strength training, competition, and the lessons that come from years of working with athletes. Dean shares his experience and perspective on developing athletes in shot put, discus, track and f...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to develop 350–400 collegiate athletes across 25 teams? In this episode of the Voodoo Power Podcast, Steven sits down with Steve Barrick, Associate Athletic Director for Sports Performance at the University of Indianapolis, to discuss strength and conditioning, athlete development, coaching philosophy, Olympic weightlifting, and velocity-based training. Steve Bar...

Send us Fan Mail What if the place that hurts isn’t actually where the problem starts? In this episode of the Voodoo Power Podcast, Steven sits down with Morgan Rojas, licensed massage therapist and founder of FindAligned, for a deep conversation on fascia and its role in athletic performance, recovery, movement, and injury. Morgan breaks down her approach to assessing fascia from a structural per...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Plates and Pancakes, Steven sits down with Paul Carrezola and Rachel Lifson, Director and Associate Director of Athletic Performance at Norfolk Academy, where they oversee the development of more than 500 student-athletes. The conversation dives deep into their approach to athletic performance, including summer training, sprint mechanics, relative strength, fron...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Plates and Pancakes, Steven sits down with Riley Edgerton, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at Munster High School, for an in-depth conversation about building a successful high school strength and conditioning program from the ground up. Riley explains how he developed a comprehensive strength and conditioning manual, established a point-based grading sys...

Send us Fan Mail How do you build faster, stronger, and more resilient high school athletes? In this episode of Plates and Pancakes , Steven Thompson sits down with Jon Hersel , strength and conditioning coach and current NHSSCA Region 1 Southeast Strength Coach of the Year , to discuss the systems behind developing elite football players and multi-sport athletes. Jon shares his proven approach to...

Send us Fan Mail Ryder Weischedel on Sports Psychology, Strength & Conditioning, Mental Toughness, and Building Championship Athletes | Plates & Pancakes Podcast What separates great athletes from everyone else? Is it strength, speed, talent… or something deeper? In this episode of the Plates & Pancakes Podcast , Steven Thompson sits down with Ryder Weischedel , Senior Director of Stre...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to prepare one of the nation’s top softball programs to compete for a national championship? In this episode of Plates and Pancakes , Steven Thompson sits down with Michelle Diltz , Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Alabama , to discuss how she develops powerful, explosive female athletes using a conjugate-based training system. Michelle over...

Send us Fan Mail What separates elite jumpers from everyone else? According to legendary performance coach Jeremy Fisher, it isn’t just strength—it’s mastering movement. In this episode of Plates and Pancakes, Steven sits down with one of the most respected coaches in track and field to discuss the biomechanics behind explosive performance. Jeremy breaks down why sprint mechanics, posture, hip pos...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Plates and Pancakes, I sit down with Coach Brandon Davis, Head Performance Coach and Assistant Athletic Director at Southwest Florida Christian Academy. Brandon brings a unique blend of sport science, coaching, and administration experience to the conversation as we dive into the methods and philosophies that are driving athletic development in his program. (Lis...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Plates and Pancakes, Steven Thompson sits down with legendary strength coach, author, educator, and former Olympic-level discus thrower Dan John to discuss decades of experience in strength training, athletic performance, and coaching development. Dan John shares the story behind his discovery of anti-rotation training for rotational athletes and why movements l...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steven sits down with Coach Cade Oller, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Choctaw High School in Oklahoma City, to discuss the training philosophies and coaching principles that have helped build a successful athletic culture. The conversation dives deep into Coach Oller’s implementation of Brief Maximal Tension (BMT) training within a conjugate framework, i...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 2 of this conversation, Steven and Michael Fahey dive deeper into the principles that separate good athletes from elite performers. Building on the foundation established in Part 1, the discussion shifts toward advanced strength training methods, velocity-based training (VBT), force production, and the role specialty exercises play in long-term athletic development. Michae...

Send us Fan Mail Can athletes get significantly faster without spending more time sprinting? In Part 1 of this conversation, Steven sits down with Michael to explore the relationship between strength development, sprint performance, and athletic coordination. Michael breaks down how exercises such as sled drags, belted marches, deep box squats, and specialty movements can improve running mechanics...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steven sits down with veteran strength and conditioning coach Jay Floyd, currently of Taylor County High School, to discuss what it really takes to build a championship-level athletic program. Drawing from years of experience developing athletes and leading successful programs, Floyd shares why simplicity, consistency, and technical coaching remain the foundation...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 2, Steven Thompson and Monte Sparkman continue their conversation by diving into game-day lifts, confidence building, reversal strength, sprint performance, and the relationship between strength training and athletic transfer. Monte breaks down his non-negotiable training pillars: * Total body strength training * Maximal sprinting * Maximal jumping * Full-range movement qu...

Send us Fan Mail Steven Thompson sits down with veteran strength and conditioning coach Monte Sparkman for a deep discussion on training philosophy, movement-based programming, and the evolution of the conjugate method for athletes. Monte explains why he shifted away from rigid powerlifting-based templates and toward movement-specific approaches built around sprinting, jumping, trap bar work, spli...