☕️ S&C Daily — Coaching Leadership

{{current_date_full}}

A new Vox video breaks down how F1 drivers are built, and the surprise is how familiar the work looks. David Dunlop, a strength coach who trains NFL players, demonstrated the prep and said he could train an F1 driver or an NFL player and "80% of the things can be the same." Where it diverges, per Pete McKnight - Director of Coaching and Sports Science at Hintsa Performance, who oversees F1 performance coaches - is the extremes.

First, neck strength: in a 5G corner, an 11-pound head loads like 55, so the neck gets isolated work most field-sport athletes never need. Second, the aerobic engine: elite drivers carry VO2 max numbers around 60-72 ml/kg/min - cyclist and distance-runner territory - because heat is the real enemy, with cockpits hitting 130°F and drivers losing 4-6 pounds of sweat a race.

In interviews this week with The Clemson Insider and Rubbing the Rock, Clemson strength and conditioning director Dennis Love and coach Dabo Swinney framed Love's first summer as a homecoming with an edge. Love began his career at Clemson in 2004 under mentor Joey Batson, left for the NFL (a Super Bowl 50 ring as a Broncos assistant), and turned down an NFL head strength job with the Vikings to return and succeed Batson. "Are you ready to come home?" Swinney recalls asking.

Love's focus so far has been effort, toughness, and weekly hill runs, and Swinney says the demanding summer is already paying off - pointing to playmaker Chris Johnson Jr., who bought into a nutrition and body-weight challenge. "He's got his weight in a good spot."

In a new WRAL feature, NC State has been running its 22-player leadership council through offseason classes led by Mike Erwin, a West Point grad and combat veteran who trains leaders - no coaches in the room. Head coach Dave Doeren says the buy-in has shifted from "I have to go to this meeting" to "I get to go," and the results are showing up in how players talk to and lift up teammates.

Erwin's framing lands for any weight room: leadership is trainable the same way strength is. "You can't hope to get stronger, you have to work at it," he said - make it a priority, put in intentional reps, and a player-led culture follows.

Via BroBible, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire leaned on his strength staff to recruit five-star DL Jalen Brewster, pointing to "people in this building" who have won it all. He meant head S&C coach Lance Barilow, who won a national title at LSU in 2019 after climbing from intern to associate director of strength and conditioning in Baton Rouge before following McGuire to Lubbock.

The wrinkle: Brewster's other finalist is LSU itself, where that title was actually won - so the pitch built on championship pedigree quietly pointed a recruit toward the school it was meant to beat.

AI Is Constantly Changing. Stay On Top of It. The S&C AI Playbook delivers a new Claude lesson every week - plus full access to the newly reworked S&C Career Hub: jobs, salary data, and CEU tracking.

Ball State University

Weekly Claude courses built for S&C coaches.

Track job opportunities. Stay certified. Stay ahead.

Sponsor Morning Rep and put your brand or business in front of 1,900+ strength coaches every day.