7 Things I Learned from The 2015 MAC Women's Basketball Player of the Year

Hello Everyone!

One of the best parts of my job is getting the opportunity to mentor up-and-coming university students during their required collegiate field experience. I've had many students spend time with me over the past 7 years at AGSP and I've learned something from all of them. Some things are positive, some are a bit lacking, but as much as I hope I teach them, they also teach me.

It is rare that I know who the university student is before they start, but it was hard not to know who Sina King was before she started her field experience. Sina is the 2015 MAC Women's Basketball Player of the Year for the University of Akron. Her athletic story and journey from life-threatening injury to becoming Conference Player of the Year is well worth your read. Check out the following stories:

The Cleveland Plain Dealer's article: 
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MVP SINA KING OVERCOMES LIFE-THREATHING EMBOLISM, LEADS SURPRISING AKRON ZIPS

The Akron Beacon Journal's article: 
UNIVERSITY OF AKRON BASKETBALL: BLOOD CLOT THAT COULD HAVE KILLED SINA KING BRINGS UNEXPECTED REWARDS

The University of Akron's article: 
KING NAMED MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Here are 7 Things I Learned from Sina

1. Great athletes are made, not born. Sina shared many stories of intense training sessions she did with the coaching staff at the University of Akron. Often times, she was the only one of her teammates participating.
2. Have a support system. Sina shared how tough her freshman year was for her. She had doubts and turned to her parents for counsel. Her parents gave her the support she needed to persevere.
3. Use your arms. Sina demonstrated how one of her coaches would put his arm out to force her to get into a lower and better position. I've incorporated this technique into many of my drills with great results. 
4. You have to be seen. Sina is from a small Ohio town. She said if it wasn't for her travel team getting in front of college coaches she's not sure if she would have achieved her goal of being a D1 basketball player.
5. Commit 100% to your dream. Sina said she knew from a very young age that she wanted to be a Division One basketball player. She kept her focus on her dream. She didn't allow life's distractions to stop her.
6. Run everywhere. Sina said she was known for always running between stations and never walking (like everyone else). She said, "If I got there sooner I had more time to improve."
7. Light up the room. Sina has the special talent of walking into the room and instantly making everyone around her better. What a great thing for all of us to strive for!

If you have questions for Sina, or want her thoughts on how you can become a collegiate athlete and achieve your dream like she did, please email me at amanda@keppy.com and I will try and put you in contact with her. 

Keep Training!

Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance 

Athlete Spotlight #78) Nic Anderle

Hello Everyone!

Our 78th athlete spotlight is an athlete that brings confidence and leadership to every training session. He's determined and coach-able. His energy is contagious. He's a workhorse that wants to be challenged. He's the kind of athlete you want on the court when the game is on the line. It's time to meet....

Athlete Name: Nic Anderle
Sport(s): Basketball
Position(s): Point guard/guard
School: Padua Franciscan High School
Graduation Year: 2016
AGSP Athlete Since: 2013

Single Leg Strength work has improved Nic's jumping and dunking.

Favorite Professional Sports Team: Golden State Warriors

Favorite Professional Athlete: Steph Curry

Nic's vertical has increased multiple inches since he started training at AGSP in 2013.

Favorite Lift: Back Squat

Favorite Movement Skill: Ladder 

Pullaparts strengthen the back and shoulders. Crucial for basketball players like Nic.

When I am not training at AGSP, I am:In the gym putting up shots, working at Marcs, golfing, or fishing.

What are your short-term goals? Get my vertical to 34" and get as many scholarship offers as I can 
What are your long-term goals? Playing college basketball, and doing a windmill dunk 

Nic getting faster with resistance band sprints.

How has AGSP impacted your performance as an athlete? AGSP has mde me into an above average athlete by making me stronger, faster, and helping me jump higher. AGSP is making me into a super athlete.

Check out some video of Nic in action at AGSP!

Keep Training! 
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance

Juniata College Strength and Conditioning 2015 Recap

Hello Everyone!

The 2015 Juniata College Strength and Conditioning Clinic was an incredible experience! I met some of today's best strength coaches, sport coaches, trainers, doctors, therapists, and educators!

Here are some of the highlights!

Standing in the center, next to Coach Doug Smith and some of the great attendees!

Coach Doug Smith, creator of the Juniata College Strength and Conditioning Clinic, was named the 2015 Strength Coach of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. I got to spend some time with Coach Smith and we had some great conversations about strength and conditioning. I can tell you he is one of the smartest, most passionate, caring coaches I have ever met!

Check out the Juniata College Strength and Conditioning Clinic Website HERE
See a list of the other Strength Coach of the Year recipients HERE 

From top down, Head Strength Coach for Football at Wake Forest, Brandon Hourigan.
Head Strength Coach for Women's Basketball at West Virginia University, Brian Whiting, and
Coordinator of Strength for Carnegie Mellon University, Alan DeGennaro.  

The were a variety of topics and something for everyone. There are a lot of cool vidoes of Wake Forest's Head Strength Coach for Football Brandon Hourigan like this one that you should check out!

Being from Ohio, it was a big deal to meet the Head Strength Coach of Olympic Sports for
The Ohio State University, Anthony Glass. 

I asked my athletes before I went to Juniata if they had any questions they wanted me to ask the other coaches. The two questions I got were both for Ohio State's Strength Coach Anthony Glass. He was so friendly and approachable (thank you Coach Glass)!

• The first question: the heaviest back squat he's ever seen? He's answer 775lbs by a hockey player! 
• The second question: what's one exercise/drill the athletes at Ohio State do to become faster? He's answer: once a week speed drills in a sand pit! 

To learn more about Coach Glass and his amazing staff at Ohio State, check out their webpage HERE.

Coach Robert Taylor Jr of SMARTER Team Training brought great energy and information to his presentation!

I was eager to talk with Coach Taylor of SMARTER Team Training (DC area) as I am a big fan of his work. I asked him some very personal and candid questions, and his genuine responses were incredibly helpful to me. Coach Taylor gives away a ton of free information about speed, strength, and conditioning, including his free SMARTER Team Training podcast which I have listened to many of his episodes via Stitcher. Check out his website, it is full of GOLD!

I was really impressed by Jim Kielbaso of Total Training Performance Centers.

A lot of what I teach about speed training was reinforced and added too thanks to Jim Kielbaso of Total Training Performance Centers (Detroit, Michigan area). He showed a great exercise for speed development called the Foot Popper that I will be adding to my coaching arsenal! He's got a great WEBSITE and YOUTUBE

I had a lot of fun participating in some great Hands-On Sessions!

Eric Mitchell (left) of Parisi Speed School and Training for Warriors did a great job of demonstrating a proper warm-up and conditioning session. HERE's a great video of him to check out! I also learned a lot from participating in Forever Fit Foundation's Pilates training session (right). Which could have easily been called, "how to make your athletes strong from the inside out!" I highly recommend checking out their website HERE.

Me speaking at Juniata College Strength and Conditioning Clinic 2015.

Lastly, I was honored to speak to such an amazing group of professionals at Juniata. My topic, "How to Setup a Continuous Speed, Strength, and Conditioning Program" received great feedback. I was humbled when Coach Doug Smith said my presentation gave him a summer homework assignment. :-)

Creating a system takes time to setup initially, but saves you over 10 times the amount of time later!

Here are some other great strength professionals and programs you should check out!

• ADAPT - Athletic Development and Performance Training in the New Jersey area
• Victory Sports & Fitness in the State College, Pennsylvania area
• Rusnock Sports Performance in Greensburg, Pennsylvania 
• Thrive Sports Performance by Scott Schreiber
• Zach Matusak in Pennsylvania 
• Ambitious Athletics by Carmen Sturniolo in downtown DC

I look forward to presenting again at next year's Juniata College Strength and Conditioning Clinic!  If you would like a copy of presentation please email me at amanda@keppy.com 

Keep Training!

Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance 

Juniata College Strength and Conditioning Clinic 2015

Hello Everyone!

This weekend I am honored and excited to be speaking at the Juniata College Strength and Conditioning Clinic in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. As a speaker I am in the company of some of the greats in the world of speed, strength, and conditioning.

Coaches such as:

• Anthony Glass, Ohio State University Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports 
• Bradley Pantall, Penn State basketball Speed, Strength and Conditioning Coach
• Brandon Hourigan, Wake Forest University Head Strength Coach 
• Alan DeGennaro, Carnegie Mellon University Strength and Conditioning Coordinator 
• Robert Taylor Jr, owner of SMARTER Team Training 
• Todd Hamer, Robert Morris University Strength Coordinator 
• Kate Decker, who works with the Philadelphia Eagles and is one of the most certified coaches I've ever seen.
• And many others! See the full list of awesome strength and conditioning professionals HERE

My topic is "How to Setup a Continuous Speed, Strength, and Conditioning Program" and is about how creating a continuous system can be used to provide high level speed, strength, and conditioning without much overhaul throughout the year. This is important for strength coaches because creating this system will save time, build cohesiveness, and be easier to implement and stick too. 

My talk will address both the private sector strength coach, like myself, and the collegiate strength coach, like I used to be. And will help strength coaches of any philosophy do what they do better, which is making athletes faster, stronger, and more powerful.

Stay tuned for my weekend recap!

Keep Training!

Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance 

PGC Basketball's SNAPS Leadership Convention

Hello Everyone!

I just finished an amazing extended weekend with PGC Basketball (Point Guard College) as I attended their 3rd Annual SNAPS Leadership Convention in Dallas, Texas.

Everything at PGC Basketball's SNAPS is first class.

What is SNAPS?
The best way I can explain SNAPS is:
An opportunity to immerse yourself into a powerful, professional, and passionate culture that will expose you to industry leaders and people that are genuinely interested in you and your success.

Top left: Alan Stein. Top right: Adam Bradley. Bottom let: Michael Goad. Bottom right: All the great speakers.

If you're striving to be greater than you currently are, if you want more out of your career, sport, or life, then going to SNAPS will accelerate your progress into the better you that you want to be.

Tangibly you'll leave with blueprints and actionable plans on how to achieve whatever it is you're trying to achieve. You'll leave focused and fulfilled. You'll wish you could be in the SNAPS environment all year long. I know that's how I and everyone I interacted with feels.

Powerful topics with powerful messages!

SNAPS isn't for everyone. It's for the great coaches, people, athletes, (put any profession here) that are trying to be the top 1% at their vocation and life. SNAPS is a competitive advantage for those in attendance.

I look forward to attending next year and maybe I'll see you there!

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance