It's a scene that plays out in gyms across the country every fall. A dad hears that the new guy running the weight room played Division I football, maybe he even went pro. He's strong, confident, and motivational. The dad shakes his hand, watches him move some serious weight, and thinks: "This is exactly who I want training my son."

It's a completely understandable conclusion, but it's misguided. Not because he isn't a good person or a great role model, but because playing a sport at an elite level and teaching strength and conditioning to a developing teenage body are two entirely different skill sets.

Many elite athletes are genetically gifted in ways that made them exceptional regardless of how they trained. They could overtrain, under-recover, eat poorly, and still outperform everyone else. Your son is likely not a generational athlete. What worked for a once-in-a-lifetime athlete is not developmentally appropriate for an average 15-year-old. When most former elite athletes coach, they typically design a program that is ineffective at best and dangerous at worst.

According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), a qualified high school strength coach devises science-based training plans, evaluates athletes, and teaches strength as a class. The National High School Strength Coaches Association (NHSSCA) emphasizes that a high school coach operates at the unique intersection of education, youth athletics, and school culture. A former Division I athlete knows what it feels like to train hard, but he likely lacks the ability to assess a 15-year-old’s physical development, spot faulty movement patterns, design progressive multi-year programming, or intervene before an overuse injury takes hold.

Teaching is a skill. It develops over years of standing in front of hundreds of kids with different body types, athletic backgrounds, and starting points. A coach who has worked with a thousand teenagers knows how to communicate, adjust, and meet a kid where he is rather than where he wishes he were.

What about a personal trainer? While great for adult fitness, standard training certifications focus on healthy adults, not developing teenage bodies. Much like sending an adolescent to a general practitioner instead of a pediatrician.

Over fifteen years, I have trained dozens of D1 players, some pros, and a few Olympians. I don't say that to impress, but to share what it taught me: I was not the reason those athletes were great. Their genetics, work ethic, and talent made them great. But I was often the reason they stayed healthy long enough to use it. It also helped that I coached within an elite high school athletics program.

Every teenage boy needs a strength coach. He may need a D1 mentor too, just not teaching him how to lift.

Be well,

Coach Steve Kiely M.Ed, CSCS
​Founder, Wellness Lit Fitness
​@coachstevekiely