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Sports Performance Seminar Recap

The Power Sports Performance Coaching Certification Seminar took place April 22–25, 2024. Sponsored by the Wounded Warrior Project, the seminar’s keynote speaker was Martin Rooney, founder of Training for Warriors. STS Sports Performance Director Johannah Zabal said, “We had one of the largest classes, second only to the Women’s Coaching Certification Seminar.” By the numbers, 120 newly certified Soldier Coaches joined the ranks of Soldiers To Sidelines.
One of the most educationally dense seminars that STS offers, the Power Sports Performance Seminar kicked off with coaching education content, then rolled right into the science of strength and conditioning. Participants were challenged to lock in for an information-packed week. This included topics on strength training, energy system development, recovery, sleep & programming.

Attendees spent a large portion of time in breakout rooms, getting to know their fellow veterans and service members while collaborating on programming for a team of their choice. All of this was made possible by Teambuilder, who allowed the students to use their online programming platform to build out programs for their athletes and teams.

Coach Martin Rooney implored the participants, during such a long and in-depth week, to “Keep punching!” He provided five keys to gaining clarity in your purpose. Find where your passion intersects with your purpose & pursue that wholeheartedly! “Clarity of purpose is power!” he said.

Giovani Urrutia, Programming Manager of Education, Tactical, and Sport, EXOS, Energy System Development, gave real-world examples of training all of the energy systems and provided weekly examples of training programs as a guide.  He urged the audience, “Don’t have a stupid story to tell.” Make sure you are intentional with your programming & execution of intelligently planned exercises.

Catherine Wallace, Synergistic Effect, “Recovery & Sleep,” reminded us of the importance of recovery for maximizing training effects. She also acknowledged these practices can be difficult to maintain, but if we know our values, it will be easier to remember why we are practicing these habits in the first place. “Know your barriers… but make sure you have a strategy for when barriers arise,” she said.

Attendee and certified Soldier Coach, Dominic Lewis, shared, “This is my second seminar, and they still exceeded my expectations. As someone who is just entering the world of coaching and personal training, being able to listen to some of the best in the business was truly inspirational. This won’t be the last seminar attended by a long shot.”