The UMRFC is proud to announce our new strength and conditioning coach Austin McBee! A current graduate student at the
University of Michigan, has been invited onto the staff to help take the 2018-2019 season to the next level. President Lyric Kleber did a brief interview Austin to find out some more information on what motivated him to join the UMRFC coaching staff.
Why you guys?
I like working with blue-collar, hard-nosed athletes. Sports like football, rugby, wrestling, etc. require a different type of mentality and intensity. I align with that intensity and it’s what I like to see and bring to training. Your team is also underserved in terms of resources in comparison to the rest of the athletic teams (I know you guys are a club team) so I enjoy the feeling of working with “the underdog” in a sense. We can have that we’ll do whatever it takes to win attitude.
What certifications do you have?
As far as certs:
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
Level 1 Sport Performance Coach through United States Olympic Weightlifting (USAW)
What do you bring to the table?
Training experience, intensity/passion, reliability, and education.
I’ve been training since I was 14 (about 11 years) and I’ve pretty much had to teach myself most of what I know so I’ve gotten the pleasure of going through the process myself. Kind of like Edison with the lightbulb, I know what to do by figuring out what not to do. Also as a collegiate football athlete, I remember what kind of training worked for me and what kind of training didn’t so I’m able to look back on that experience and help you guys avoid those mistakes.
In regards to passion, I love this stuff. I’d do it for free all my life if I could. And I’m basically laying it all out on the line financially to see if I can make a career out of helping young athletes get better. So I’ll do WHATEVER I can to make sure you guys get what you need.
I think I’m reliable in the sense that if I say I’m going to deliver on something then I’ll do my best to make it happen. For example, trying to build the best possible summer training system for you guys this offseason that met a lot of different needs and skill levels.
I take my education very seriously. I think continuing education and practical experience are the only way you can progress as a coach and thus progress your athletes. So between my graduate experience, certifications, seminars, and tens of thousands of dollars I’ve spent on digital, hardcopy, and other learning material some of it has to make a difference and give me the edge that I can hopefully transfer to you guys.
What are your plans for the rest of the summer?
We’re going to continue to address our maximal strength needs. I think as a team, just by looking at the data, we’re kind of weak. And I don’t mean that as an insult. I just think we need some more training exposure. I think that if we’re able to further develop our maximal strength that we’ll see a transfer towards some of our explosive strength measures (sprinting and jumping). As we get closer to the season, we’ll taper off the max effort work and begin to focus more on conditioning and higher volume prior to the season so we have the capacity to dominate a match. I’m still hoping to get all of the guys on campus together to do some actual coaching so we can address some of our technical needs. You’ll have to let me know how we look on that front.
Good luck to Austin, and good luck to the boys in blue as the hit gyms all around the World hard this summer.
