Bookmark Time Capsule

I recently pulled out my 2010 MacBook Pro and oh boy is it a time capsule. Over the years I have transferred documents, pictures, and videos to new computers, but something else never quite made the trip- that is my bookmarks.

Reading through these bookmarks is a nice snapshot into where my mind was at the time. Most of these bookmarks come from my time in college when I was interested in all sorts of different things. Studying in college, competing in track and field, and trying to find my way in life all show in these bookmarks. In this blog post I’d like to reflect on a few.

1. MSU S&C- Growing up in Michigan there was always a big rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State. I didn’t go to either school. Nobody in my immediate family did. I didn’t have a strong allegiance to either school. In high-school I enjoyed watching UofM football and MSU basketball. As I got into college, I didn’t care too much for either because it was too far removed for me. I was interested in my own sport. I did however come to be interested in Michigan State Basketball Strength and Conditioning. At the time, an upperclassman on the track team landed an amazing internship at MSU working with the basketball teams. I remember him talking so proudly of it. In my mind it became the gold standard for what strength and conditioning should be. At the time I was very much still interested in S&C at the college level so I studied these videos closely.                           
2. Dan John- One of the earliest and biggest influences on my career. I found him as a young throws athlete because of his exceptional discus career. Later I learned of his catalogue of writing on competing in throwing events (including the Highland games), coaching, discus camps, etc. . . As I developed and became more interested in S&C, I read his work on kettlebells, olympic lifting, his work with Pavel Tsatsouline, his speaking engagements, etc. . . In so many ways he was doing what I wanted to do-coach throws and coach S&C. At the time I read his collection of writings reverently referred to as the Gospel on Dan John. His advice was no-nonsense. Exceptionally intuitive and pragmatic. He spoke the truth in a field where there is so much unnecessary flash and so many gimmicks. While I now find much of his modern work pedantic, I always enjoy rereading his accounts of Discus Camp and Coaching in the High-school. A major inspiration whom I still hope to be at least microscopically comparable to.                                                                            
3. T Nation- for anyone in the field, need I say more? For anyone not in the field, no need to go down that rabbit hole. I do however have so many fond memories of reading through those endless articles of varying levels of ethical advice. 
4. Dick Hartzell- A man unknown to many. An absolute mad scientist. We all have a lot to thank him for. If my memory serves me correctly, he was involved in basketball and developed a new training device and protocol. This device was the super band. You know, the giant rubber bands you see at the gym. He used them with basketball players for stretching and strengthening. Again, my memory may be choppy, but I think he may have been involved in an ankle sprain rehab protocol that got Michael Jordan back on the court. Using his bands he rehabbed all kinds of athletes back to competition shape. Somewhere along the way, putting on a camp, or while selling them, Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell found him. As I recall, he was immediately enamored by the possibility of these bands which led to exceptional pushes forward in the science of S&C via his Dynamic Effort Methods. I think his videos are still up on Youtube. He is/was a real character (both Dick and Louie).
5. I don’t remember all of the details of these websites or how I found them, but they do represent something to me. As I got later into my junior and senior years of college I knew that I didn’t want to be a college strength and conditioning coach. I even became aware that I wasn’t interested in Physical Therapy programs. Stereotypical personal training wasn’t calling to me either. I knew I wanted to do something different in my career which led me to researching endless companies that were related to Health, Wellness, and Fitness that didn’t fit within the superficial stereotypical jobs. Movement analysis software, breath work, force plates, blood analysis, sleep monitoring, applied kinesiology, biomechanics. The list was long. I find myself now in a position where I enjoy what I do, I work with clients in the way I like, and I proudly do not consider myself one to conform to the stereotype of what I should do for work. 
6. MobilityWOD- and Kelly Starrett were a big inspiration to me as a young professional. Kelly is a DPT who was doing the rad stuff that I thought all PTs did. I admired his excitement for taking care of your own body. Rather than going straight to a doctor because of a pain, try some things on your own first. I admired this attitude. I admired a lot about him. His excitement, attitude, his California coolness, and his lifestyle of sport where there was no separation between work, home, health, and athletics. Heck, I even wrote a senior thesis on a case study I performed using his protocol for improving the deep squat. Without my exposure to this, I do not think I would have been led down the path to further systems such as FRC, Flobility, PRI, etc. . .
7. Throwing Websites- I read these religiously. Track and Field- particularly the throws- are such a big part of my life. I’ve been obsessed since I was 16. It’s a big part of who I have become. I will always owe so much to the sport.
8. National Strength and Conditioning Association- My main certifying body. The NSCA certifies me as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Throughout college I had a student membership and was exposed to their journals which have some of the greatest research coming out in the field. Since then I regularly attend their state and regional clinics. The CEUs seem to get steeper and steeper, but I like the organization a lot- I can’t give it up. In college, it was taught to us that becoming a CSCS was the gold standard. Whatever career you chose to take after college, it was their mission to prepare us to take the CSCS exam. I took mine about a year after college when I moved home from Thailand and passed it easily. Hope College did prepare us well for the exam. 
9. PRI- Wow. I discovered PRI in college as I was searching for different organizations within the field as I was so unsure of what to do with myself. At the time, everything was way over my head so I wrote it off as too dorky. For many years, I continued to see it that way. It continued to come across my radar regularly. I learned some concepts here and there, but it still remained unbelievable or gimmicky to me. Why? Entirely because I was too dense to consider that the body is so much more than muscles and bones. Instead it is a magnificent virtual reality device that senses, interprets, and comprehends more stimuli than we can list. PRI understands this and programs in a way that I am only beginning to understand. In 2019 I became more serious about figuring this stuff out. I read a lot, then FRC took over, I continued to pick it up here and there, but then it wasn’t until I began working with an Athletic Trainer who is certified through the system that I began to study in depth. Hearing his approach to our shared clients baffled me and only made me more excited to learn more. The course work is frustratingly dense and long, but it is so entirely fascinating to me. So much more than when I was 20 years old. And yes, the purple balloons, Nebraska pride, and pleated khakis are still dorky.

There are so many bookmarks here that I could elaborate on. These are just a few that caught my eyes and brought up good memories . I feel as if I have come so far since then. I now stand confident in how I like to coach, what I want to do, and how I can continue to do it. 


Regarding the knowledge of the body, I suppose when I was 18, I thought I would know more by now about the system that creates us- instead I have so many more questions. The box has been opened and there is far too much for me to learn and I love it!