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March 15th, 2022 | Josh Adelman

Soldiers to Sidelines welcomes the newest cohort of soldier coaches who were recently certified in the STS Military Women’s Coaching Certification Seminar.  This seminar was sports agnostic and the content applied to coaching leadership at any job, at home, and on the ball fields.

The reality is we are all coaches every day in every aspect of our lives whether we realize it or not. And, we need more female coaches in our communities setting a high standard of character-based leadership on our ball fields and athletic courts.   The STS Military Women’s Coaching Certification Seminar provided an atmosphere where committed women could come together and explore the depths of coaching strategy with others who have faced similar experiences.  

Soldiers To Sidelines Director of Sports Performance, Johannah Zabal, guided the weeklong seminar in addition to presenting on topics such as Authenticity in Coaching and Self Exploration.  

The seminar kicked off with an energetic and inspirational keynote from Phyllis Newhouse.  Phyllis is the Founder/CEO of ShoulderUp, CEO of ShoulderUP Technology Acquisition Corp SUAC.U (NYSE), CEO of Xtreme Solutions, Inc., and US Army Veteran. She reinforced the tremendous potential our military women possess and that it is their mission to fulfill that potential. Phyllis tells us, “Know your value card, stay fearless, and be crazy with it.” 

US Army COL (Ret) Holly West Ph.D. recently transitioned from the US Army to Head of Talent for Kimmeridge.  She presented to the class how the leader growth model taught at West Point perfectly translates to coaching. 

Carla Criste delivered a detailed and informative presentation on sports nutrition in an effort to optimize both coaching performance and athletic performance. Carla was the former Head Women’s Track and Field Coach for the US Naval Academy for 27 years and now serves as USNA Assistant Athletic Director and Professor.  

Other topics included how to Improve Focus and Attention and The Science of High Performance presented by Dr. Angie Winter Ph.D., a mental performance expert at HigherEchelon. The class learned the latest science around sleep and performance presented by Dr. Ashlee McKeon Ph.D., Sleep Research Scientist and Director of Research at United States Army Special Operations Command.  

USAF Col. (Ret.) Jen Block currently serves as the Executive Director of Athletics for the US Air Force Academy, and she showed the class the feasibility and process of turning their military experience into a successful career in athletic administration.  

Finally, US Navy Veteran and High School Coach Doug Wilkinson took the class through an exercise that highlighted the difference between identity and the roles we assume in life. This was powerful in calming the worries that we could have when going through any transition. 

In total, this seminar of talented military women sacrificed a lot of time and energy to grow as coaching leaders. The experience was touching, sentimental, powerful, inspirational, and fun!  Soldiers To Sidelines is thrilled to welcome this class of women Soldier Coaches to the STS Tribe.