Joe Ryan: Welcome in to another episode of the Moffitt Method Podcast. We're very excited about today's episode as we welcome in Coach Matt Bruce, one of our founders, and longtime friend of the show, Coach Sean Waxman, a Olympic lifting coach and strength and conditioning coach out in Utah. Today's episode has a little controversy and pet peeves involved. Be sure to give this one a listen and also wait around for part two, which comes out later this month. Also, give us a follow on all of our social medias, which include Facebook, Instagram, and X. All right, welcome into this episode of the Moffitt Method Podcast. We're excited to have y'all here today. We have Coach Sean Waxman and Coach Matt Bruce with us today. And this episode's something that we've talked about for a while here at the Moffitt Method and what are the pet peeves of strength and conditioning in 2026 and maybe even a lot of controversies we have in 2026. So guys, you know, I'll let y'all introduce y'all selves real quick. I know most of our listeners know who you are, but you know, just to kind of give them a taste of of of your background, where you've been, how you got here and and where you are today in 2026.
Matt Bruce: Sean, you go ahead.
Sean: My name is Sean Waxman. Thanks for having me on, guys. I appreciate it. I have been a professional strength coach for over thirty I think I got my first job in nineteen ninety-four at Los Angeles City College. And so I've been I've done the college and professional level, high school level, ran my run my own gym, had a big weightlifting gym for nineteen years in in LA, Waxman's weightlift, the waxman's gym. And I am back now doing I have been for the last this is my fifth year doing back to high school strength and conditioning. So I'm at Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah. And I'm the associate head strength coach there. The the the head football coach who brought me on is the is is the the head head strength coach. I'm the head for the for the freshman and I'm his kind of right hand man. which is a it's a great situation, unique because he actually knows what he's doing. So which is get into pet peeves in a little bit. But anyway, so that's what I'm at. still coaching weightlifting and doing high school strength conditioning.
Matt Bruce: And I'm Matt Bruce. I'm the one of the head coaches at the Moffitt Method. I'm a high school shrimp coach at Catholic High in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The way I'm connected with Coach Moffitt is I trained under a famous coach named Gail Hatch. And Coach Moffitt was mentored by Coach Gail Hatch. So we kind of grew up in the industry together. Of course, Coach Moffat was a lot older than I was. And Coach Moffitt, all of his children came through the school that I work at. And I was also a Olympic weightlifter, multi national champion, world team member in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, and then transferred over into the realm of strength and conditioning.
Joe Ryan: So guys, I'm sorry, I'm a little under the weather. Give me one second. All right. obviously there's a wealth of knowledge here, right? And and and y'all seen a lot of different things from different geographical regions. You've seen, you know, some stuff from around the world, right, Matt? You know, you've seen different areas and and Sean, you know, being in Utah, you know, is a little different in itself. And and the California area is a little different in itself. You know, what's something I guess you could say a a positive o of seeing all those different things in different areas.
Sean: Go ahead, Matt.
Matt Bruce: Yeah, yeah, I would say I I'm kind of I don't know, biased. Being from the South, I feel like the South kinda arguably we have better athletes in a in a way, I feel. and I and I feel like the South kinda relies on the the basis of strength con strength conditioning a little bit more. And now that'll we'll get into that a little bit more of as one of my pet peeves. but I I think the being from the South, We kinda understand that the basis of strength i is needed first and forehand. And then when you go further places out, you know, West Coast, maybe Florida, East Coast, things get a lot more sports specific and they try to get too technical with things. where I think in the South they we we try to feel like, man, you gotta get kids bigger, faster, and stronger overall. On a worldwide level, it it's kind of One one thing that really intrigued me, I used to teach the CrossFit seminars all around Central and South America. And one thing that we would do, we would do just a dynamic warm-up, right? leg swings, karaoke, you know, things like that. And we would I would try to teach this to a CrossFit weightlifting group, which are our you know, athletes, CrossFit athletes, and they look like giraffes walk, you know, trying to figure out these movements. And it made me realize that. in another aspect that or at least in the south I can speak for the south that we're pretty blessed that strength conditioning kind of has a an understanding with children growing up also. I think
Sean: Yeah.
Matt Bruce: you can you can ask most kids to do a karaoke and and they would know what it is to do a skip, you know, things like that. where a lot of other countries might not even know the basis of simple Like speed mechanics.
Sean: Yeah, I mean look I think a lot of that a lot of that if in the South, the success of the South, it's gotta come from Coach Moffitt and his coaching treat they're everywhere. So he's like infected the South with good coaching. Like, you know, as the look at the SEC, right? I mean, generally speaking, they do a pretty good job in the in the room. in and I mean it has a lot to do with with Coach Moffat. I I I I love Coach Moffat. He's he's he's the guy for me. Anyway, You know, I I have friends that coach in New York, so I'm from New York, the guys I played football with in college. so I get a good little bit of understanding what's going on over there, in in n in New York. Spend a lot of time in California now and Utah. you know, the one thing they all have in common is that sh like strength conditioning isn't a thing in high school as much as it why in a widespread way. There's some schools that embrace it, do a really good job in the strength and conditioning, but it's not cultural in the high school like landscape like it is in the South. and you would think in California it would be, but it's not. California, at least when I was d involved, was a bit of a shit show. and not even a lot. I didn't know of one High school strength coach in in my area in California. So, because I did a lot of like teams out of high schools would hire me to work with their team specifically. I would either do it if they had a weight room, which some places really didn't have great weight rooms, I would do it there, or I would bring them to my gym. But they didn't have like a they didn't have what you guys do. what I do. Like they don't they didn't have that. Utah is a different animal. So Utah they culturally it's a f it's a physical physical fitness, outdoors, moving around. Boy Scouts are still it's not Boy Scouts anymore, but like kids are outside hiking, climbing the tree. Like it's it's a little bit more old school when it comes to that. So generally speaking You know, you have kids that are pretty th there's more kids that are fit here than I than they I saw in California. I think that especially in my area in the in the Draper area, a lot of the parents train, they work out. They either come from CrossFit or they come from like they're always fit like they're like you watch, like you see games, you see the parents and you know they're they're in good shape, you know, in their thirties and forties, and they're a lot of them are in good shape. So there's a culture there of that that has ru has rubbed off on the kids, which I didn't see in California or New York. so I don't know. I mean now that being said, the strength and dish high school strength condition in Utah is terrible overall. It's it's really bad. it's starting to get better. but it's yeah, wow. It's it's bad.
Joe Ryan: Yeah, I mean and and and to touch on some of those, you know, you see a lot of those around here in Louisiana right now is different how you used to do in California where teams either get brought in or they go in and there's a lot of that going on, you know, through what we have out here with Oshner sports performance and other different people that do it. But you talked a little bit about kids being outside in Utah. You know, I think in Louisiana we have a lot of that as well. You know, kids are constantly hunting, fishing, you know, they're going outside.
Sean: Right.
Joe Ryan: And it's a different type, you know, obviously there's no hiking here because our highest elevation
Sean: Yeah.
Joe Ryan: is only like four hundred and sixty three feet or something like that.
Sean: Yeah.
Joe Ryan: But hiking isn't the most prevalent thing, but You know, I I think that can lead us right into this. You know, I think one of my big pet peeves these days is you're starting to see more and more that kids the the bulkier kids, yeah, they're going outside. But I think a lot of kids just aren't they have no foundation of different, movements when we were growing up. I mean like running, jumping, things like that. That you're it's not as prevalent, I guess, as when Matt said when he was in Central and South America, but I think a little bit, you know, I start our kids when they're some of them as young as fifth grade. I I get a hold of
Sean: Mm-hmm. That's great.
Joe Ryan: And you'd be surprised just don't know how to land when they d jump, don't know how to skip, don't know how to and I don't know if that's everywhere. I don't know if it's kids not going outside. I remember growing up and being in the neighborhood and there was kids everywhere. I mean kids up and down the road, running around. It didn't matter if it was the the heat of summer. There was kids constantly outside. And I drive through neighborhoods now and even my own neighborhood and I don't see a lot of that. You know, we have a ton of ton of kids in this neighborhood, you know, but If it's not my kids or the select few, I don't really see a bunch of kids outside climbing trees, jump like, you know, our our young dude, he he jumping out of the trees and jumping, you know, he's tying ratchet straps to his pants and seeing it, seeing if it'll hold him up, you know, and it's like I don't see a lot of that anymore. And and
Sean: Wait.
Joe Ryan: it's starting to get prevalent, I think, into this age group where we're at now as as the current freshmen and middle schoolers. I could be wrong, it might not be everywhere.
Sean: No, it's everywhere.
Matt Bruce: But I wonder what that is. You think you think back in like the sixties, seventies, you had the presidential fitness tests, right? And and it seemed like then people were more into fitness and and of course the physical educ education instructors were also. I think another reason maybe is you're seeing a devaluing of PE, right? the PE classes that used
Joe Ryan: I one hundred percent believe that.
Matt Bruce: to be every day in the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties are now maybe once or twice a week. Which I think that the valuing of that. and then at that point they're getting their their physical education during recess. That's how they kind of you know, get that you know, to and to claim that, you know, that's why they're cutting the PE program. But I think that's a that's another big reason is a lot of PE programs across the nation have been cut tremendously throughout the years.
Sean: Yeah. Yeah. You know, I agree with everything you guys said. I you know, I think though the those problems that you're talking about, like within the school are symptoms of a big like a bigger problem. I mean it's it's not a it's not a we're not a a political podcast. But I just think that it's kind of a b a devalu devaluing of especially for boys. Like, you know, girls have their own situation, but what especially with boys kind of a devaluing of you know the the of of playing rough or you know doing hard things and climbing trees and it's your masculinity's kind of They trip people are trying to kind of change what masculinity is, and that's no longer masculine to be out in a and I think that kind of trickles down into the decisions about getting rid of PE. If PE was, you know, if everybody was touting the importance, how great PE is and how you know how great it is for development and all these things. I guarantee you they would have PE every day. But it's not important enough.
Joe Ryan: Yep.
Sean: And so I that's not. Like that's not the teachers making those decisions. So I think there's a bigger issue with that's the issue that drives what we're seeing. but yeah, I mean I I I went to I mean I was in the s seventies when I was in elementary school. God I'm old.
Joe Ryan: Yeah.
Sean: seventies, I think eight yeah, yeah, seventy and we had pee every day. It wasn't always great. I mean sometimes it was like dance and stuffed like talk and then other times it was like dodgeball or kickball, which I loved, but there's a lot of kids that didn't love that. But
Joe Ryan: Yeah.
Sean: you know, we had something every day for an hour. We were running around.
Joe Ryan: Well even the recess part of it, right? It's not long enough anymore. Like I remember growing up and you could get Yeah.
Sean: Like forty five minutes, right? Like at least.
Joe Ryan: When we were growing up maybe nowadays it's like fifteen minutes.
Sean: Yeah, that's nuts. That's like, you know, that's like what they do to people who have life in prison. Right? Like they
Joe Ryan: Yeah, and it
Sean: get out like fifteen minutes a day, they walk the they they they walk the straight.
Joe Ryan: Yeah. And and I remember growing up and just getting you could get whole basketball games in and whole football games and and people are f
Sean: I yeah, yeah, I remember.
Joe Ryan: flying around and and having a good time and, you know, you're going back to class and just drenched and these days, like I asked my kids, you know, Matt touched on it, th my kids might go to P E once or twice a a week and I'm just like how like Y'all just don't have it every day now. Like, y'all don't have it. no, well we have you know, in it there's nothing against some of this stuff. But like, no well, that's our time during this time and there's this during this time and there's a place for that, but the physical especially in our state with the obesity level in our state is is is rampant. They need that.
Sean: Yeah. Well it's good that you work you get it you get so young. Matt, you work with do you work with the middle school too?
Joe Ryan: Hmm.
Matt Bruce: No, I have a middle school group that comes in the afternoon, but I don't specifically have like a a school or a group of kids that are consistently coming in.
Sean: okay. Okay. Yeah we
Matt Bruce: Yeah, so I w I won't see him until they get to high school for the most part.
Sean: Yeah, we get to see our middle school kids early, which is good. So that's one of the reasons like that that they brought me on to this school is because I'm wa I'm in I'm working with all those, like the middle school and the freshman. So they all have to go through me before they get into varsity. So it's gonna be exciting. So go yeah, it's great to teach those but but like those programs for me, you know, are the PE that they don't get. It's animal walks, it's calisthenics, it's You know, all the things that they should be should have been doing. So I I so that becomes their PE. So that's what my essentially the middle school program is with them. We teach technique on how to do the you know, the Olympic glyphs and things like that. But most of it is them bear crawling and, you know, mountain climbers and you know, all that duck walks and all that stuff.
Matt Bruce: That'll that'll bring me into one of my pet peeves. It was down on my list. I have a lot of them. so I I think a a reason that we we see these schools devaluing physical education is because they're they're so worried about the test scores, right? They're so worried about getting the whatever the the
Sean: Yeah.
Matt Bruce: the test score in Utah is, like for us, the Dibbles or these certain tests that they have to teach the kids and get the kids to to score high
Sean: Uh-huh.
Matt Bruce: on these tests, right? So, therefore, they're going devalue the physical education portion so that they can give them more time teaching them the test, right? that'll bring me to one of my peppies is and and don't get me wrong, I think technology is important in our industry. But I think some strength and conditioning coaches are getting way too into the technology and letting the technology kind of run their program instead of.
Sean: That was my number three, Matt.
Matt Bruce: it's my number four, but I I figure we can kind of lean into it that way. because at that point where I'm going with this is these strength conditioning coaches are are teaching the test, right? They're doing things to get their test measures better and only better, right? And and we'll go down this rabbit hole. and or maybe not so involved to get them bigger, faster, and stronger because they're too worried about getting this number. faster or higher or or whatever it may be that that they're they're they're shooting towards.
Sean: That's a great take. And that wasn't the take I had, but this but that was my that was my third. But I like, you know, what you said is actually the most important reason not to use it, like that like it's being used. I just think that look, we all have these f you know you get you got a bunch of freshmen that, you know, can't squat ninety five pounds without their knees caving in, you know, and we're worried about what their velocity is. I'm like, what are we doing here? Like what like what what what what are we actually trying to do here? So to your point, like what's the important thing? Like what are the real important metrics that for that age group? Now I'm not saying like with with a like with my high-level Olympic weightlifters and some you know high-level athletes. Absolutely, because you're looking at a a fraction of a percent increase improvement can move you. move you into the next level of success. These kids, let's get them to be able to squat with with their body weight without folding like a spatula and focus on move these qualities of movements, lower these movements as the movements get better, more s more symmetrical, they get deeper, they get whatever, then those are the metrics we gotta look at. Not how fast the freaking bar is going.
Matt Bruce: then even at the higher level let's
Joe Ryan: Mm-hmm.
Matt Bruce: even look at colleges right like
Sean: Yeah.
Matt Bruce: they're they're they're measuring the bar speed right let's say on a clean and especially if the if it's a hand clean and these athletes figure out ways that they can pocket the bar right with by pocketing the bar that
Sean: One hundred percent.
Matt Bruce: means like they they sit it into their hip crease in order to create more
Joe Ryan: Yep.
Matt Bruce: initial velocity in order for that green light to come on and say that they went you know so many meters per second so that their coach says he's good right But what that end up doing, that pocketing the bar, teaches them bad technique. They get out of bad positions and they're not doing the triple extension that that we require out of the lift. And then they're actually doing the opposite of what we want them to do, right? That they're training
Sean: One hundred percent.
Matt Bruce: the test instead of get developing as an athlete.
Sean: I will say this. So here's my here's a vote for it. And the only reason that I I really like it, still not enough for me wanting to want to use it, but I like that only for squats in the sub max, like in the bet in like the eighty to ninety percent range. Because we're doing reps, it's a way for them to compete in a way that I actually want them to. I Is y like if they want to go faster in the squat, there's no way that that there's anything bad about that. Right? It's not if I'm moving the bar faster in the squat and and my depth isn't where it's supposed to be, then that's great. And I like them to compete. That's something to get likes them to squat more and and break squatting a little bit more. So you had a little bit of a competition. What's your fastest, you know, for a triple? How fast can you get whatever it is. So that's the only reason I would vote for it but it's not enough of a reason to actually use it.
Joe Ryan: Yeah. And I think some of the colleges, right, with with the transfer portal, how it is, it all depends on where you're at and where you came from. You know, I think I can confidently say this, you take a guy, if you're at Tex A name with Coach Moffitt, you know, they're gonna you while using it, they're gonna do it the right way. They they're still building strength. But if you come from a school that's a a a younger strength coach who hasn't been around a lot, who really built themselves upon the book and the technology and learning it They're not gonna be as good, like they're gonna care about that number more than actually getting stronger, I think. And it's all I they don't have enough time with them as it is with this transfer portal. You know, they don't have time, it's not a development where you get a kid, you redshirt them for a year, they develop for two years, and by their junior and senior year, they're freaking LaRon Landry and they're an all-American. You know, that's just not the thing anymore. That's not how it works. It is a quick turnaround, you might get a few months with them to actually teach them, but it is the amount of modification in the collegiate level of strength. Conditioning these days is unparalleled to anything we've ever seen. And and I think that a lot of it has to do with They're looking at the w we're caring too much about the numbers. Joe Ken had something come out recently. It took the strength out of strength and conditioning. A lot of the technology i is getting there. I mean, we use some things like Matt said, you know, we have a few GPS vests, we have some timing gates, we have things like that. And my timing gate, the purchase of my timing gates was for, I guess you could say, proving a point. Like these people that you're going to pay sixty dollars to a session that are lying to you and telling you that you ran a four five forty, th that's exactly what it is. It's it's a lie. This is a timing gate for me to tell you exactly what you run. And I mean we use it for other ways too, but you know, some of that is it's I don't I don't wanna say it's a lie, but it's just it it's a it's a front for a lot of other stuff. You know, it's they put on this facade of like We have to constantly look at these numbers, you know. Kids are gonna go i it's it's all about Jimmies and Joes really is what it is, you know.
Matt Bruce: And I think your your elite level shrimp coaches know how to use it, right? Your your Moffitt's in the
Joe Ryan: Absolutely.
Matt Bruce: world, your Rusty Wits in the world, they know how to use it. The problem is our our industry is exploding right now, right? Especially on a high school level. So many new high school shrimp coaches are coming out there and they see these new gadgets, right? And they're they're getting inundated with all these emails about these things that you could buy and track. And they see Texas AM doing it, they see Florida doing it, they see all these. universities doing it and they say, well, we need to be doing that, right? But going back to what you said, I don't think they really if you understand and realize the purpose of it, right? And and sometimes the athletes need to see that information. And other times the athletes don't need to see that information. Right. for example, at our school we measure HR V heart rate variability. And and we do it through an app on on their phone where they do it every morning. They place it onto their chest and then I get the readings back basically gives us a readiness score. For our athletes that day. I don't want them to see those numbers because they can try to, you know,
Sean: Right.
Matt Bruce: manipulate it in ways, right? I wanted them to do it and I only see the numbers and they don't know what modifications I'm making based off of those numbers, right? and I think you your more intelligent strength coaches know that, but it's booming so much that these these coaches that, like you said, are coming out of school, they see all these fancy equipment and they let all the equipment, all the the tracking. run their program instead of them running their program.
Joe Ryan: And and that's why I think part of it is too they think that they'll fall behind if they're not doing it. And that's not the case at all. I mean, there's a reason Coach Moffitt's made in this in this industry for forty plus years. There's a reason, you know, you mentioned Rusty Witt who was in it, got out of it, got back in it, and look what he's doing with Florida right now. You know, it's I I like to call it the meat and potatoes, you know, and I know this is cliche, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. They have adapted to this stuff and use it for getting the maximum out of out of their kids and seeing things they might not have saw twenty years ago, you know, midway through their careers. But I I think that some of these younger cats coming out, they just think that if we're not doing it, we're gonna fall behind and I don't think that's the case. You know, I know that's not the case, you know.
Sean: It was a situation of a recent hire at a college. and there was an existing guy there who was very good, had been there for a while. New coach came in. And you know, one of the so they they they let the the current guy go and they brought in another guy. And one of the big gripes I get against the the the guy who was there for a while. was that he didn't embrace technology. And you know, I get it, I get so if if I was faced with that situation, you know, I would acquiesce and say, Fine, you want technology because I I think at this point it's people barking in the ear of the said, Hey, you know, you guys aren't using this, you guys are behind. Nobody knows, so then they they put that on onto the strength coach. So but like with if guys losing their job because he doesn't embrace technology, we got we got a big problem. You know, especially a guy who's doing it for decades. So yeah, so that is definitely
Joe Ryan: Yeah, you got a big, big, big, big problem.
Sean: one of the effects of that pet peeve, like that downhill of t of the guys who really are competent at their job without technology, doesn't mean that they they they they're d they couldn't have a benefit from it, but you're talking about degrees on the on the dial s a few degrees. You know, where the all the other shit, we got that locked down. And that's unfortunate, but it is look, it is what it is. When we don't have control of our own destiny as coaches, then where we're always gonna be, you know, one one, you know, one eye over our shoulder, looking over our shoulder, 'cause you never know what when it's gonna come. So
Joe Ryan: And I I think I think just as bad because I know y'all deal with this too. You have kids that see some stuff on social media, Instagram, TikTok,
Sean: Yeah.
Joe Ryan: whatever it is. Like I have kids that come to me all the time and they ask stuff like, Well, why don't we use the tsunami bars as an example? Well guys, y'all can't even
Sean: Yeah.
Joe Ryan: do a a push up the right way. Like why why the hell would I spend money on that? But coaches are the same way, you know, like and I'm not saying anyone specific, but like if a coach came to me and they're like, Well, I wanna put GPS vest on to see how much these kids are running during games and stuff. Well that's cool coach, but you also have to look at their load in the weight room. You have to look at their sleep. You have to look at all these other things. You can't just throw it on and say, Well I wanna see how much they're running in a game. Like that doesn't make a lick of sense. But because they see it and they see, you know, LSU or whoever else using it and they think, well we gotta do it too. Like some adults are to blame as well for some of that.
Sean: At least at the college level, there's somebody whose job it is to be able to understand the science. Right? Like doesn't mean that they always do a good job, but at
Joe Ryan: Absolutely.
Sean: least like it it they're at the college level right now, pro level two, they understand that okay, well, I c this is beyond me. Let me bring on an expert. Because that wasn't always the case. I mean, that's a recent development in strength and conditioning, trust me on this. So I'm I'm happy about that. Now, C high school's kind of where college was. Right? So you got guys who really, you know, they're looking at these numbers and they actually have no clue where it fits in into the big picture. And then they're making training recommendations or changes to their to their team. And that's that's bad. so you know, this is another, you know, this is one of my pet peeves. you know, if you don't know something, just don't do it. just find there's a lot of things you can do to solve the same problem right like don't like this if you have a you have to have a just a basic understanding of of the cause and effect of certain things and then once you understand that you can adapt to any situation you don't have to get fancy you don't have to do shit that you don't know how to do I mean you can squat bench and deadlift and be fine right like just figure out how to organize it all but if you don't know how to do it, don't just make something up. You know, bring somebody on. Or go to you know, go go go to the Martha method or you know, something where you can have help. Just to it's it's it's not hard to admit that you don't know something. That's my
Joe Ryan: I think I think a lot of people have a problem with that though. I really do. I think a lot of people,
Matt Bruce: You go.
Joe Ryan: yeah, ego we talk about this with our kids all the time. The word respect gets thrown out like it's, you know, saying hello these days. and I think some people feel disrespected when they have to go ask questions. Like like they're not doing a good job at their job. Like I have no issue. I shoot I I I texted Matt the other day about something, you know, hey are you seeing this and I have no problem with doing some of that. That's why I learned the most is getting, you know, other people's at the same time. You know, we're we're in the same week of our season. Are you seeing this with your kids? And I think a lot of people they feel disrespected when they have to go ask questions. And I don't get that these days. I don't get where that comes from.
Sean: I'm doing this 32 years. I am talking to other coaches, not every day, but multiple times a week. You know, and like to get that that mindset of I know enough or I don't need to know more. I never got that. Like I was always curious. I think it's one of my best, one of my best traits as a coach is I'm just curious. I mean, if you're not asking why about stuff, like I don't know what you're doing. Like that's how we solve problems.
Matt Bruce: Alright, so I'm I'm I'm I'm gonna put a hard stop on
Sean: And that's what we are, we're problem solving. We just do it
Matt Bruce: this so we don't spend two hours. Joe, give me your number one pet peeve.
Joe Ryan: So my my number one, I think there's a disconnect from the medical field and strength and conditioning. And what I mean by that is if I get a kid we can all agree on this. The weight room is a controlled environment. A squat
Sean: Mm.
Joe Ryan: is gonna be a squat, a bench is gonna be a bench, a clean is gonna be a clean. And when I get doctor's notes or when I get notes from orthopedics saying no weight lifting but can play sport.
Sean: Yeah.
Joe Ryan: It blows my mind because the sport is the unpredictable thing. You don't know what's gonna happen on a volleyball court, you don't know what's gonna
Sean: Right.
Joe Ryan: happen on a football field, you don't know but you mean to tell me that we're gonna hold a kid out from the controlled environment of a weight room or of a sprint or of what we're doing, but we're gonna allow them to do something like that. That is my biggest pet peeve is that and to me it it's a I don't wanna call it a cop out by the kid, but it's kinda like Where's the disconnect? You know, that it used to be that, you know, you can still do this stuff. And and for us over here, we tell them, you know, doctors note or not. If you can't lift, you can't play. If you can't do the sprinting and conditioning, you can't play. I mean, it's as simple as that. So that's my biggest one.
Sean: Yeah,
Joe Ryan: What a fantastic episode. Be on the lookout later this month for part two, which we follow up with some more pet peeves and controversy in our field of strength and conditioning.
Matt Bruce: Sean, you go ahead.
Sean: My name is Sean Waxman. Thanks for having me on, guys. I appreciate it. I have been a professional strength coach for over thirty I think I got my first job in nineteen ninety-four at Los Angeles City College. And so I've been I've done the college and professional level, high school level, ran my run my own gym, had a big weightlifting gym for nineteen years in in LA, Waxman's weightlift, the waxman's gym. And I am back now doing I have been for the last this is my fifth year doing back to high school strength and conditioning. So I'm at Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah. And I'm the associate head strength coach there. The the the head football coach who brought me on is the is is the the head head strength coach. I'm the head for the for the freshman and I'm his kind of right hand man. which is a it's a great situation, unique because he actually knows what he's doing. So which is get into pet peeves in a little bit. But anyway, so that's what I'm at. still coaching weightlifting and doing high school strength conditioning.
Matt Bruce: And I'm Matt Bruce. I'm the one of the head coaches at the Moffitt Method. I'm a high school shrimp coach at Catholic High in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The way I'm connected with Coach Moffitt is I trained under a famous coach named Gail Hatch. And Coach Moffitt was mentored by Coach Gail Hatch. So we kind of grew up in the industry together. Of course, Coach Moffat was a lot older than I was. And Coach Moffitt, all of his children came through the school that I work at. And I was also a Olympic weightlifter, multi national champion, world team member in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, and then transferred over into the realm of strength and conditioning.
Joe Ryan: So guys, I'm sorry, I'm a little under the weather. Give me one second. All right. obviously there's a wealth of knowledge here, right? And and and y'all seen a lot of different things from different geographical regions. You've seen, you know, some stuff from around the world, right, Matt? You know, you've seen different areas and and Sean, you know, being in Utah, you know, is a little different in itself. And and the California area is a little different in itself. You know, what's something I guess you could say a a positive o of seeing all those different things in different areas.
Sean: Go ahead, Matt.
Matt Bruce: Yeah, yeah, I would say I I'm kind of I don't know, biased. Being from the South, I feel like the South kinda arguably we have better athletes in a in a way, I feel. and I and I feel like the South kinda relies on the the basis of strength con strength conditioning a little bit more. And now that'll we'll get into that a little bit more of as one of my pet peeves. but I I think the being from the South, We kinda understand that the basis of strength i is needed first and forehand. And then when you go further places out, you know, West Coast, maybe Florida, East Coast, things get a lot more sports specific and they try to get too technical with things. where I think in the South they we we try to feel like, man, you gotta get kids bigger, faster, and stronger overall. On a worldwide level, it it's kind of One one thing that really intrigued me, I used to teach the CrossFit seminars all around Central and South America. And one thing that we would do, we would do just a dynamic warm-up, right? leg swings, karaoke, you know, things like that. And we would I would try to teach this to a CrossFit weightlifting group, which are our you know, athletes, CrossFit athletes, and they look like giraffes walk, you know, trying to figure out these movements. And it made me realize that. in another aspect that or at least in the south I can speak for the south that we're pretty blessed that strength conditioning kind of has a an understanding with children growing up also. I think
Sean: Yeah.
Matt Bruce: you can you can ask most kids to do a karaoke and and they would know what it is to do a skip, you know, things like that. where a lot of other countries might not even know the basis of simple Like speed mechanics.
Sean: Yeah, I mean look I think a lot of that a lot of that if in the South, the success of the South, it's gotta come from Coach Moffitt and his coaching treat they're everywhere. So he's like infected the South with good coaching. Like, you know, as the look at the SEC, right? I mean, generally speaking, they do a pretty good job in the in the room. in and I mean it has a lot to do with with Coach Moffat. I I I I love Coach Moffat. He's he's he's the guy for me. Anyway, You know, I I have friends that coach in New York, so I'm from New York, the guys I played football with in college. so I get a good little bit of understanding what's going on over there, in in n in New York. Spend a lot of time in California now and Utah. you know, the one thing they all have in common is that sh like strength conditioning isn't a thing in high school as much as it why in a widespread way. There's some schools that embrace it, do a really good job in the strength and conditioning, but it's not cultural in the high school like landscape like it is in the South. and you would think in California it would be, but it's not. California, at least when I was d involved, was a bit of a shit show. and not even a lot. I didn't know of one High school strength coach in in my area in California. So, because I did a lot of like teams out of high schools would hire me to work with their team specifically. I would either do it if they had a weight room, which some places really didn't have great weight rooms, I would do it there, or I would bring them to my gym. But they didn't have like a they didn't have what you guys do. what I do. Like they don't they didn't have that. Utah is a different animal. So Utah they culturally it's a f it's a physical physical fitness, outdoors, moving around. Boy Scouts are still it's not Boy Scouts anymore, but like kids are outside hiking, climbing the tree. Like it's it's a little bit more old school when it comes to that. So generally speaking You know, you have kids that are pretty th there's more kids that are fit here than I than they I saw in California. I think that especially in my area in the in the Draper area, a lot of the parents train, they work out. They either come from CrossFit or they come from like they're always fit like they're like you watch, like you see games, you see the parents and you know they're they're in good shape, you know, in their thirties and forties, and they're a lot of them are in good shape. So there's a culture there of that that has ru has rubbed off on the kids, which I didn't see in California or New York. so I don't know. I mean now that being said, the strength and dish high school strength condition in Utah is terrible overall. It's it's really bad. it's starting to get better. but it's yeah, wow. It's it's bad.
Joe Ryan: Yeah, I mean and and and to touch on some of those, you know, you see a lot of those around here in Louisiana right now is different how you used to do in California where teams either get brought in or they go in and there's a lot of that going on, you know, through what we have out here with Oshner sports performance and other different people that do it. But you talked a little bit about kids being outside in Utah. You know, I think in Louisiana we have a lot of that as well. You know, kids are constantly hunting, fishing, you know, they're going outside.
Sean: Right.
Joe Ryan: And it's a different type, you know, obviously there's no hiking here because our highest elevation
Sean: Yeah.
Joe Ryan: is only like four hundred and sixty three feet or something like that.
Sean: Yeah.
Joe Ryan: But hiking isn't the most prevalent thing, but You know, I I think that can lead us right into this. You know, I think one of my big pet peeves these days is you're starting to see more and more that kids the the bulkier kids, yeah, they're going outside. But I think a lot of kids just aren't they have no foundation of different, movements when we were growing up. I mean like running, jumping, things like that. That you're it's not as prevalent, I guess, as when Matt said when he was in Central and South America, but I think a little bit, you know, I start our kids when they're some of them as young as fifth grade. I I get a hold of
Sean: Mm-hmm. That's great.
Joe Ryan: And you'd be surprised just don't know how to land when they d jump, don't know how to skip, don't know how to and I don't know if that's everywhere. I don't know if it's kids not going outside. I remember growing up and being in the neighborhood and there was kids everywhere. I mean kids up and down the road, running around. It didn't matter if it was the the heat of summer. There was kids constantly outside. And I drive through neighborhoods now and even my own neighborhood and I don't see a lot of that. You know, we have a ton of ton of kids in this neighborhood, you know, but If it's not my kids or the select few, I don't really see a bunch of kids outside climbing trees, jump like, you know, our our young dude, he he jumping out of the trees and jumping, you know, he's tying ratchet straps to his pants and seeing it, seeing if it'll hold him up, you know, and it's like I don't see a lot of that anymore. And and
Sean: Wait.
Joe Ryan: it's starting to get prevalent, I think, into this age group where we're at now as as the current freshmen and middle schoolers. I could be wrong, it might not be everywhere.
Sean: No, it's everywhere.
Matt Bruce: But I wonder what that is. You think you think back in like the sixties, seventies, you had the presidential fitness tests, right? And and it seemed like then people were more into fitness and and of course the physical educ education instructors were also. I think another reason maybe is you're seeing a devaluing of PE, right? the PE classes that used
Joe Ryan: I one hundred percent believe that.
Matt Bruce: to be every day in the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties are now maybe once or twice a week. Which I think that the valuing of that. and then at that point they're getting their their physical education during recess. That's how they kind of you know, get that you know, to and to claim that, you know, that's why they're cutting the PE program. But I think that's a that's another big reason is a lot of PE programs across the nation have been cut tremendously throughout the years.
Sean: Yeah. Yeah. You know, I agree with everything you guys said. I you know, I think though the those problems that you're talking about, like within the school are symptoms of a big like a bigger problem. I mean it's it's not a it's not a we're not a a political podcast. But I just think that it's kind of a b a devalu devaluing of especially for boys. Like, you know, girls have their own situation, but what especially with boys kind of a devaluing of you know the the of of playing rough or you know doing hard things and climbing trees and it's your masculinity's kind of They trip people are trying to kind of change what masculinity is, and that's no longer masculine to be out in a and I think that kind of trickles down into the decisions about getting rid of PE. If PE was, you know, if everybody was touting the importance, how great PE is and how you know how great it is for development and all these things. I guarantee you they would have PE every day. But it's not important enough.
Joe Ryan: Yep.
Sean: And so I that's not. Like that's not the teachers making those decisions. So I think there's a bigger issue with that's the issue that drives what we're seeing. but yeah, I mean I I I went to I mean I was in the s seventies when I was in elementary school. God I'm old.
Joe Ryan: Yeah.
Sean: seventies, I think eight yeah, yeah, seventy and we had pee every day. It wasn't always great. I mean sometimes it was like dance and stuffed like talk and then other times it was like dodgeball or kickball, which I loved, but there's a lot of kids that didn't love that. But
Joe Ryan: Yeah.
Sean: you know, we had something every day for an hour. We were running around.
Joe Ryan: Well even the recess part of it, right? It's not long enough anymore. Like I remember growing up and you could get Yeah.
Sean: Like forty five minutes, right? Like at least.
Joe Ryan: When we were growing up maybe nowadays it's like fifteen minutes.
Sean: Yeah, that's nuts. That's like, you know, that's like what they do to people who have life in prison. Right? Like they
Joe Ryan: Yeah, and it
Sean: get out like fifteen minutes a day, they walk the they they they walk the straight.
Joe Ryan: Yeah. And and I remember growing up and just getting you could get whole basketball games in and whole football games and and people are f
Sean: I yeah, yeah, I remember.
Joe Ryan: flying around and and having a good time and, you know, you're going back to class and just drenched and these days, like I asked my kids, you know, Matt touched on it, th my kids might go to P E once or twice a a week and I'm just like how like Y'all just don't have it every day now. Like, y'all don't have it. no, well we have you know, in it there's nothing against some of this stuff. But like, no well, that's our time during this time and there's this during this time and there's a place for that, but the physical especially in our state with the obesity level in our state is is is rampant. They need that.
Sean: Yeah. Well it's good that you work you get it you get so young. Matt, you work with do you work with the middle school too?
Joe Ryan: Hmm.
Matt Bruce: No, I have a middle school group that comes in the afternoon, but I don't specifically have like a a school or a group of kids that are consistently coming in.
Sean: okay. Okay. Yeah we
Matt Bruce: Yeah, so I w I won't see him until they get to high school for the most part.
Sean: Yeah, we get to see our middle school kids early, which is good. So that's one of the reasons like that that they brought me on to this school is because I'm wa I'm in I'm working with all those, like the middle school and the freshman. So they all have to go through me before they get into varsity. So it's gonna be exciting. So go yeah, it's great to teach those but but like those programs for me, you know, are the PE that they don't get. It's animal walks, it's calisthenics, it's You know, all the things that they should be should have been doing. So I I so that becomes their PE. So that's what my essentially the middle school program is with them. We teach technique on how to do the you know, the Olympic glyphs and things like that. But most of it is them bear crawling and, you know, mountain climbers and you know, all that duck walks and all that stuff.
Matt Bruce: That'll that'll bring me into one of my pet peeves. It was down on my list. I have a lot of them. so I I think a a reason that we we see these schools devaluing physical education is because they're they're so worried about the test scores, right? They're so worried about getting the whatever the the
Sean: Yeah.
Matt Bruce: the test score in Utah is, like for us, the Dibbles or these certain tests that they have to teach the kids and get the kids to to score high
Sean: Uh-huh.
Matt Bruce: on these tests, right? So, therefore, they're going devalue the physical education portion so that they can give them more time teaching them the test, right? that'll bring me to one of my peppies is and and don't get me wrong, I think technology is important in our industry. But I think some strength and conditioning coaches are getting way too into the technology and letting the technology kind of run their program instead of.
Sean: That was my number three, Matt.
Matt Bruce: it's my number four, but I I figure we can kind of lean into it that way. because at that point where I'm going with this is these strength conditioning coaches are are teaching the test, right? They're doing things to get their test measures better and only better, right? And and we'll go down this rabbit hole. and or maybe not so involved to get them bigger, faster, and stronger because they're too worried about getting this number. faster or higher or or whatever it may be that that they're they're they're shooting towards.
Sean: That's a great take. And that wasn't the take I had, but this but that was my that was my third. But I like, you know, what you said is actually the most important reason not to use it, like that like it's being used. I just think that look, we all have these f you know you get you got a bunch of freshmen that, you know, can't squat ninety five pounds without their knees caving in, you know, and we're worried about what their velocity is. I'm like, what are we doing here? Like what like what what what what are we actually trying to do here? So to your point, like what's the important thing? Like what are the real important metrics that for that age group? Now I'm not saying like with with a like with my high-level Olympic weightlifters and some you know high-level athletes. Absolutely, because you're looking at a a fraction of a percent increase improvement can move you. move you into the next level of success. These kids, let's get them to be able to squat with with their body weight without folding like a spatula and focus on move these qualities of movements, lower these movements as the movements get better, more s more symmetrical, they get deeper, they get whatever, then those are the metrics we gotta look at. Not how fast the freaking bar is going.
Matt Bruce: then even at the higher level let's
Joe Ryan: Mm-hmm.
Matt Bruce: even look at colleges right like
Sean: Yeah.
Matt Bruce: they're they're they're measuring the bar speed right let's say on a clean and especially if the if it's a hand clean and these athletes figure out ways that they can pocket the bar right with by pocketing the bar that
Sean: One hundred percent.
Matt Bruce: means like they they sit it into their hip crease in order to create more
Joe Ryan: Yep.
Matt Bruce: initial velocity in order for that green light to come on and say that they went you know so many meters per second so that their coach says he's good right But what that end up doing, that pocketing the bar, teaches them bad technique. They get out of bad positions and they're not doing the triple extension that that we require out of the lift. And then they're actually doing the opposite of what we want them to do, right? That they're training
Sean: One hundred percent.
Matt Bruce: the test instead of get developing as an athlete.
Sean: I will say this. So here's my here's a vote for it. And the only reason that I I really like it, still not enough for me wanting to want to use it, but I like that only for squats in the sub max, like in the bet in like the eighty to ninety percent range. Because we're doing reps, it's a way for them to compete in a way that I actually want them to. I Is y like if they want to go faster in the squat, there's no way that that there's anything bad about that. Right? It's not if I'm moving the bar faster in the squat and and my depth isn't where it's supposed to be, then that's great. And I like them to compete. That's something to get likes them to squat more and and break squatting a little bit more. So you had a little bit of a competition. What's your fastest, you know, for a triple? How fast can you get whatever it is. So that's the only reason I would vote for it but it's not enough of a reason to actually use it.
Joe Ryan: Yeah. And I think some of the colleges, right, with with the transfer portal, how it is, it all depends on where you're at and where you came from. You know, I think I can confidently say this, you take a guy, if you're at Tex A name with Coach Moffitt, you know, they're gonna you while using it, they're gonna do it the right way. They they're still building strength. But if you come from a school that's a a a younger strength coach who hasn't been around a lot, who really built themselves upon the book and the technology and learning it They're not gonna be as good, like they're gonna care about that number more than actually getting stronger, I think. And it's all I they don't have enough time with them as it is with this transfer portal. You know, they don't have time, it's not a development where you get a kid, you redshirt them for a year, they develop for two years, and by their junior and senior year, they're freaking LaRon Landry and they're an all-American. You know, that's just not the thing anymore. That's not how it works. It is a quick turnaround, you might get a few months with them to actually teach them, but it is the amount of modification in the collegiate level of strength. Conditioning these days is unparalleled to anything we've ever seen. And and I think that a lot of it has to do with They're looking at the w we're caring too much about the numbers. Joe Ken had something come out recently. It took the strength out of strength and conditioning. A lot of the technology i is getting there. I mean, we use some things like Matt said, you know, we have a few GPS vests, we have some timing gates, we have things like that. And my timing gate, the purchase of my timing gates was for, I guess you could say, proving a point. Like these people that you're going to pay sixty dollars to a session that are lying to you and telling you that you ran a four five forty, th that's exactly what it is. It's it's a lie. This is a timing gate for me to tell you exactly what you run. And I mean we use it for other ways too, but you know, some of that is it's I don't I don't wanna say it's a lie, but it's just it it's a it's a front for a lot of other stuff. You know, it's they put on this facade of like We have to constantly look at these numbers, you know. Kids are gonna go i it's it's all about Jimmies and Joes really is what it is, you know.
Matt Bruce: And I think your your elite level shrimp coaches know how to use it, right? Your your Moffitt's in the
Joe Ryan: Absolutely.
Matt Bruce: world, your Rusty Wits in the world, they know how to use it. The problem is our our industry is exploding right now, right? Especially on a high school level. So many new high school shrimp coaches are coming out there and they see these new gadgets, right? And they're they're getting inundated with all these emails about these things that you could buy and track. And they see Texas AM doing it, they see Florida doing it, they see all these. universities doing it and they say, well, we need to be doing that, right? But going back to what you said, I don't think they really if you understand and realize the purpose of it, right? And and sometimes the athletes need to see that information. And other times the athletes don't need to see that information. Right. for example, at our school we measure HR V heart rate variability. And and we do it through an app on on their phone where they do it every morning. They place it onto their chest and then I get the readings back basically gives us a readiness score. For our athletes that day. I don't want them to see those numbers because they can try to, you know,
Sean: Right.
Matt Bruce: manipulate it in ways, right? I wanted them to do it and I only see the numbers and they don't know what modifications I'm making based off of those numbers, right? and I think you your more intelligent strength coaches know that, but it's booming so much that these these coaches that, like you said, are coming out of school, they see all these fancy equipment and they let all the equipment, all the the tracking. run their program instead of them running their program.
Joe Ryan: And and that's why I think part of it is too they think that they'll fall behind if they're not doing it. And that's not the case at all. I mean, there's a reason Coach Moffitt's made in this in this industry for forty plus years. There's a reason, you know, you mentioned Rusty Witt who was in it, got out of it, got back in it, and look what he's doing with Florida right now. You know, it's I I like to call it the meat and potatoes, you know, and I know this is cliche, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. They have adapted to this stuff and use it for getting the maximum out of out of their kids and seeing things they might not have saw twenty years ago, you know, midway through their careers. But I I think that some of these younger cats coming out, they just think that if we're not doing it, we're gonna fall behind and I don't think that's the case. You know, I know that's not the case, you know.
Sean: It was a situation of a recent hire at a college. and there was an existing guy there who was very good, had been there for a while. New coach came in. And you know, one of the so they they they let the the current guy go and they brought in another guy. And one of the big gripes I get against the the the guy who was there for a while. was that he didn't embrace technology. And you know, I get it, I get so if if I was faced with that situation, you know, I would acquiesce and say, Fine, you want technology because I I think at this point it's people barking in the ear of the said, Hey, you know, you guys aren't using this, you guys are behind. Nobody knows, so then they they put that on onto the strength coach. So but like with if guys losing their job because he doesn't embrace technology, we got we got a big problem. You know, especially a guy who's doing it for decades. So yeah, so that is definitely
Joe Ryan: Yeah, you got a big, big, big, big problem.
Sean: one of the effects of that pet peeve, like that downhill of t of the guys who really are competent at their job without technology, doesn't mean that they they they they're d they couldn't have a benefit from it, but you're talking about degrees on the on the dial s a few degrees. You know, where the all the other shit, we got that locked down. And that's unfortunate, but it is look, it is what it is. When we don't have control of our own destiny as coaches, then where we're always gonna be, you know, one one, you know, one eye over our shoulder, looking over our shoulder, 'cause you never know what when it's gonna come. So
Joe Ryan: And I I think I think just as bad because I know y'all deal with this too. You have kids that see some stuff on social media, Instagram, TikTok,
Sean: Yeah.
Joe Ryan: whatever it is. Like I have kids that come to me all the time and they ask stuff like, Well, why don't we use the tsunami bars as an example? Well guys, y'all can't even
Sean: Yeah.
Joe Ryan: do a a push up the right way. Like why why the hell would I spend money on that? But coaches are the same way, you know, like and I'm not saying anyone specific, but like if a coach came to me and they're like, Well, I wanna put GPS vest on to see how much these kids are running during games and stuff. Well that's cool coach, but you also have to look at their load in the weight room. You have to look at their sleep. You have to look at all these other things. You can't just throw it on and say, Well I wanna see how much they're running in a game. Like that doesn't make a lick of sense. But because they see it and they see, you know, LSU or whoever else using it and they think, well we gotta do it too. Like some adults are to blame as well for some of that.
Sean: At least at the college level, there's somebody whose job it is to be able to understand the science. Right? Like doesn't mean that they always do a good job, but at
Joe Ryan: Absolutely.
Sean: least like it it they're at the college level right now, pro level two, they understand that okay, well, I c this is beyond me. Let me bring on an expert. Because that wasn't always the case. I mean, that's a recent development in strength and conditioning, trust me on this. So I'm I'm happy about that. Now, C high school's kind of where college was. Right? So you got guys who really, you know, they're looking at these numbers and they actually have no clue where it fits in into the big picture. And then they're making training recommendations or changes to their to their team. And that's that's bad. so you know, this is another, you know, this is one of my pet peeves. you know, if you don't know something, just don't do it. just find there's a lot of things you can do to solve the same problem right like don't like this if you have a you have to have a just a basic understanding of of the cause and effect of certain things and then once you understand that you can adapt to any situation you don't have to get fancy you don't have to do shit that you don't know how to do I mean you can squat bench and deadlift and be fine right like just figure out how to organize it all but if you don't know how to do it, don't just make something up. You know, bring somebody on. Or go to you know, go go go to the Martha method or you know, something where you can have help. Just to it's it's it's not hard to admit that you don't know something. That's my
Joe Ryan: I think I think a lot of people have a problem with that though. I really do. I think a lot of people,
Matt Bruce: You go.
Joe Ryan: yeah, ego we talk about this with our kids all the time. The word respect gets thrown out like it's, you know, saying hello these days. and I think some people feel disrespected when they have to go ask questions. Like like they're not doing a good job at their job. Like I have no issue. I shoot I I I texted Matt the other day about something, you know, hey are you seeing this and I have no problem with doing some of that. That's why I learned the most is getting, you know, other people's at the same time. You know, we're we're in the same week of our season. Are you seeing this with your kids? And I think a lot of people they feel disrespected when they have to go ask questions. And I don't get that these days. I don't get where that comes from.
Sean: I'm doing this 32 years. I am talking to other coaches, not every day, but multiple times a week. You know, and like to get that that mindset of I know enough or I don't need to know more. I never got that. Like I was always curious. I think it's one of my best, one of my best traits as a coach is I'm just curious. I mean, if you're not asking why about stuff, like I don't know what you're doing. Like that's how we solve problems.
Matt Bruce: Alright, so I'm I'm I'm I'm gonna put a hard stop on
Sean: And that's what we are, we're problem solving. We just do it
Matt Bruce: this so we don't spend two hours. Joe, give me your number one pet peeve.
Joe Ryan: So my my number one, I think there's a disconnect from the medical field and strength and conditioning. And what I mean by that is if I get a kid we can all agree on this. The weight room is a controlled environment. A squat
Sean: Mm.
Joe Ryan: is gonna be a squat, a bench is gonna be a bench, a clean is gonna be a clean. And when I get doctor's notes or when I get notes from orthopedics saying no weight lifting but can play sport.
Sean: Yeah.
Joe Ryan: It blows my mind because the sport is the unpredictable thing. You don't know what's gonna happen on a volleyball court, you don't know what's gonna
Sean: Right.
Joe Ryan: happen on a football field, you don't know but you mean to tell me that we're gonna hold a kid out from the controlled environment of a weight room or of a sprint or of what we're doing, but we're gonna allow them to do something like that. That is my biggest pet peeve is that and to me it it's a I don't wanna call it a cop out by the kid, but it's kinda like Where's the disconnect? You know, that it used to be that, you know, you can still do this stuff. And and for us over here, we tell them, you know, doctors note or not. If you can't lift, you can't play. If you can't do the sprinting and conditioning, you can't play. I mean, it's as simple as that. So that's my biggest one.
Sean: Yeah,
Joe Ryan: What a fantastic episode. Be on the lookout later this month for part two, which we follow up with some more pet peeves and controversy in our field of strength and conditioning.
