In this episode, I sit down with Chris Murdock, Head Football Coach at Billings Senior High School in Montana. Coach Murdock is the very first "Gridiron Warrior School," meaning he fully outsources his strength and conditioning programming to the Gridiron Warrior system. We dive deep into the logistics of running a high school weight room with limited space, time constraints (50-minute blocks!), and how to get buy-in from administration, other PE teachers, and parents.

Chris shares how shifting from a "lifting weights" mindset to an "athletic development" mindset has transformed his program—from the middle school feeder system all the way to varsity Friday nights. If you are a head coach wearing too many hats (teacher, DC, husband, father), this episode is a blueprint for how to get elite S&C results without having to write every single workout yourself.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Train Heroic & Plyomat

03:03 – Who is Chris Murdock? Football in Billings, Montana

06:26 – Why Billings Senior became the first "Gridiron Warrior School"

08:05 – The "Head Coach Reality": Wearing too many hats

10:00 – Managing a crowded weight room (16 platforms, 50-minute classes)

12:15 – Implementing the "Zero Period" football class

14:30 – The shift from "lifting weights" to "athletic development"

17:00 – Using weight room drills to teach tackling & block destruction

19:30 – Logistics: How to run a warm-up and lift in a tight time window

23:30 – Using technology (Projectors & Train Heroic) to streamline the flow

26:00 – Creating competition and leadership in the weight room

29:30 – The Middle School Feeder Program: Building the future

33:50 – The pitch to coaches: Why you should outsource your programming

37:20 – Why we coach: Relationships & the love of the game

39:10 – Where to find Billings Senior Football

40:24 – Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

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Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

Chapters

00:00 Cold open

00:33 Sponsor: TrainHeroic

01:32 Sponsor: Plyomat

03:08 Why Dustin is on the show + Summer Summit preview

04:05 Welcome Coach Jack Dustin

04:30 From Compete S&C to Coastal Carolina under Joe Moglia

07:45 Why he chose strength over football coaching at Assumption

09:30 Becoming the first head strength coach at Endicott

10:00 Endicott's run of athletic success across every sport

12:30 Building a culture of competition in the weight room

13:45 The off-season program structure and periodization

15:30 Programming competition vs spontaneous competition

17:30 The "money in the bank" idea Dustin is stealing from Gilfedder

21:00 Why the Summer Summit is hands-on, not PowerPoint

22:00 The visual learner assessment from Coastal

22:45 The 77-hour warm-up math

23:30 The four-day theme system: vertical, lateral, multi-directional

24:00 Day 1 vertical breakdown: jumps, throws, fly 10s

26:00 Day 2 lateral: skater hops, hip tosses, reactive acceleration

27:30 Med ball variations and the violence of the throw

28:30 Sponsor: Enduraphin

29:30 Adding warm-up wrinkles on the practice field

32:00 The med ball over the field goal post competition

33:45 In-season warm-ups extend to 25 minutes

35:30 Why Scott cuts accessory work before he cuts athletic work

37:15 The travel game primer protocol for road games

38:30 The Summer Summit speaker lineup

40:00 "What a privilege it is to be tired from what you once prayed for"

43:30 Where to find Coach Dustin

44:30 Outro

Connect with Coach Jack Dustin

Instagram: @dustinsportsperformance

Personal: @coach_jack_d

Email: jdustin@endicott.edu

Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

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 https://scottleechtraining.com/insiders/

Keep the Fire Burning,

Leech

If you want to run a department instead of just lift weights, this one is for you.

Pick up The Director's Manual on Amazon.

0:00 Intro

3:00 Nick's path from William Penn to NFL to Iowa to Elon

14:00 Why he wrote The Director's Manual

17:00 Autonomy inside a system, not outside of it

20:00 Hiring: the internship pipeline, the trusted network, the open posting

28:00 Patrick Lencioni - humble, hungry, smart

32:00 Aggressive patience and getting admin to fund the vision

37:00 Eliminating the negatives going upstairs

40:00 Building outside projects without burning out

43:00 Unlimited hours - what would you actually do

47:00 Where to find Nick

In this episode, I sit down with George Adams, Head Athletic Performance Coach at Madison Ridgeland Academy in Mississippi. We dive into the difference between track speed and game speed. We talk about why running cone drills often doesn't transfer to Friday nights and how to actually fix it.

Coach Adams shares his approach to the conditioning debate. He explains why he sits in the middle ground between high-volume tempo runs and the "sprint only" crowd. We also break down how MRA uses shared struggle to build team identity and leadership in a program that constantly plays bigger schools.

If you’re tired of athletes looking great in drills but slow on the field, or you’re looking for a better way to structure your conditioning, this one hits home.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – What the Gridiron Warrior Podcast is about 

01:50 – Coach Adams’ journey to MRA 

05:30 – Why we stay in Strength & Conditioning 

09:50 – Mississippi private school football is different 

15:40 – Game speed vs. track speed 

19:00 – Why cone drills don't always transfer 

22:00 – Skipping robotic arm drills and using constraints 

27:50 – How MRA structures the training week 

35:00 – The conditioning debate: Tempo vs. Sprints 

41:00 – Using GPS to backfill conditioning volume 

43:00 – Conditioning for Linemen vs. Skill positions 

49:00 – Building identity through shared struggle 

52:00 – Decision making under fatigue 

57:30 – Where to find Coach Adams 

58:45 – Gridiron Warrior Insiders community 

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, discounts, and a private community of coaches leveling up together. 👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with my good friend and former teammate Mike Serricchio, Head Football Coach at Ledyard High School in Connecticut. Mike took over a program that was stuck in the "dark ages"—winning only a handful of games in four years—and has rebuilt it into a perennial playoff contender.

We dive into the reality of coaching at a small school where you have to wear every hat. Mike shares how he uses the Gridiron Warrior system to outsource his strength & conditioning so he can focus on being a head coach. We also geek out on the Single Wing offense (and why it destroys the 7-on-7 culture), the non-negotiable value of multi-sport athletes, and how to build a team that nobody wants to play against.

If you’re a coach trying to punch above your weight class or rebuild a struggling program, this episode is for you.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Train Heroic & Plyomat 03:04 – Mike Serricchio’s journey: From Springfield College to Head Coach at 27 06:05 – The "Why": Teaching delayed gratification in an instant-gratification world 11:50 – The Ledyard Rebuild: Turning around a program after the "Dark Ages" 15:00 – Why Mike outsources his S&C programming to Gridiron Warrior 17:48 – Structuring the High School Off-Season (Winter, Spring, Summer) 21:10 – The "Big Bang" Drills: Why kids love Contact Prep & Scores and Stops 24:48 – Small School Mentality: How to beat teams with double your enrollment 28:00 – Building a "Nobody Wants to Play Us" Culture 31:38 – The Multi-Sport Argument: Why every football player should wrestle or play lacrosse 38:25 – The value of being coached by someone other than your position coach 41:02 – The Single Wing Offense: Flipping the script on 7-on-7 culture 45:00 – The New England Summer Summit & Dante Scarnecchia 47:34 – Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, discounts, and a private community of coaches leveling up together. 👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with Mike Niklos, Director of Athletic Development at Acceleration Sports Performance. We dig into his "FASTT" philosophy (Football, Agility, Speed, Technical, Tactical) and why so many traditional football drills—like the W Drill—are failing to prepare athletes for the demands of the game.

Mike breaks down his three-stage progression for developing elite game speed: Confidence, Consistency, and Chaos. We discuss how to take robotic, pre-planned drills and turn them into reactive, decision-making crucibles. We also tackle the "soft" skill player problem, sharing how to build physicality in WRs and DBs through "Walk Ball" and controlled roughhousing.

If you’re still running drills just to fill time, or your athletes look great in cones but slow on Friday nights, this episode is the fix.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Train Heroic & Plyomat

03:56 – Who is Mike Niklos? From Robert Morris to Private Sector

09:20 – The "FASTT" Philosophy (Football, Agility, Speed, Technical, Tactical)

11:40 – The "Aha Moment": Why playing the sport isn't enough to get faster

18:30 – Why the "W Drill" is broken (Too slow, non-reactive, no context)

21:20 – The 3-Stage Drill Progression: Confidence, Consistency, Chaos

24:50 – The "Chaos Phase": Forcing decisions at high speeds

31:30 – Training Vision & Decision Making for Defensive Players

36:00 – "1v1 in the Box" and adding eye-wash to drills

39:00 – Bridging the gap: How S&C and Sport Coaches can work together

42:30 – Building Physicality: "Walk Ball" and controlled roughhousing for skill guys

48:30 – Why Pickup Basketball is banned in the off-season

49:30 – Glazer Clinics & Connecting with Coach Niklos

52:18 – Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

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Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with Nolan Cooney, a former NFL punter for the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints. Nolan has one of the most unique journeys to the league you will ever hear—he didn't kick a single football in high school. Instead, he was a three-sport athlete (soccer, basketball, baseball) who battled and survived testicular cancer during his junior year. 

We dive into how he went from a novice at a post-grad prep school to an NFL starter, and more importantly, how coaches should be managing their specialists. Nolan breaks down the biggest mistakes high school coaches make (like sending kickers to the side field with no plan), how to structure a kicking week to maximize freshness for game day, and why young kickers need to "train like athletes" in the weight room rather than specializing too early. 

If you have a kicker on your roster and don't know what to do with them during practice, this episode is the blueprint. 

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Train Heroic & Plyomat 03:17 – Nolan Cooney: From Cancer Survivor to the NFL 05:54 – The "Gap Year": Learning to kick at Bridgton Academy 09:24 – NFL Practice Reality: Every rep is a Super Bowl 12:00 – Why the kicking position is so under-coached 15:40 – How to structure a Kicker’s practice week (HS vs. College) 18:43 – Managing reps: Using specialists for scout team & situations 21:54 – Drills for downtime: Bad snaps and Jugs machine work 25:00 – Strength & Conditioning: Why kickers must train like athletes 29:30 – The Mental Game: "One thought" and handling pressure 34:20 – Where to find Nolan Cooney 35:28 – Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders 

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, discounts, and a private community of coaches leveling up together. 

👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Gray, Director of Sports Performance at Archbishop Moeller High School in Ohio. We dive into what it really looks like to run a high-level high school program. Not just training, but culture, standards, fundraising, competitions, and community buy-in.

Chris shares his journey from college strength coaching to one of the most tradition-rich high school programs in the country, and breaks down the systems they use to create structure, discipline, and momentum year-round.

If you’re a high school coach trying to raise the standard of your program without burning kids out, this one hits home.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – What the Gridiron Warrior Podcast is about

03:00 – Introducing Coach Chris Gray and his coaching background

05:30 – College vs high school coaching: more similar than you think

08:45 – Why Moeller is a national powerhouse and what makes it different

11:50 – Culture standards: posture, presence, and daily accountability

15:00 – Adjusting expectations for high school realities (parents, travel, schedules)

18:00 – Planning the entire year in advance to eliminate confusion

22:00 – How Moeller structures training year-round

26:00 – Teaching fundamentals and decision-making in the weight room

32:00 – Fundraising done right: lift-a-thons, events, and community support

38:00 – Using competitions to drive offseason attendance and energy

44:00 – Making lifting fun without losing standards

48:00 – Where to find Coach Gray and Moeller Sports Performance

49:30 – Gridiron Warrior Insiders community

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, discounts, and a private community of coaches leveling up together.

👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with Coach Joe Gilfedder from Rutgers Football — one of the most passionate, energetic, competitive coaches I’ve ever worked with. We go deep on offseason competitions, how to create real buy-in, ways to bring juice into your winter workouts, and how to build memories your athletes will never forget.

If you’re a high school or college coach gearing up for winter training, this episode is packed with ideas you can plug in immediately.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Welcome back to the Gridiron Warrior Podcast

01:00 – Introducing Coach Joe Gilfedder and our Springfield connection

03:00 – Joe’s story: New Jersey roots, Ithaca, Springfield, Dartmouth, Fordham, Rutgers

05:00 – Coaching 12–14 teams a day and the joy of early-career grind

06:00 – Full circle moment: Reuniting with Spencer Brown at Rutgers

07:00 – Why offseason competition matters more than your sets and reps

08:00 – How Dartmouth and Rutgers structure team-based competitions

09:00 – Themes, team identities, and building a culture kids want to be part of

09:40 – Bar math battles: loading the bar under pressure

10:30 – How to run head-to-head bar math races

11:00 – When to use best-of-three vs. winner-take-all formats

11:30 – Physical grinders vs. mental challenges: choosing the right style

12:00 – Relay races, plank holds, pull-up holds, and time-based duels

12:50 – Using competition as an energy igniter when a group is flat

13:10 – Tic-Tac-Toe sprint competitions and why they always hit

14:00 – Push-ups on the whistle and matchup-based battles

14:30 – Standardizing rules so the “rep police” don’t kill the vibe

15:00 – Large-group competitions and cumulative time-trial ideas

15:40 – Cone reaction drills and rapid-fire contests

16:30 – Scores & Stops influence and how competitive drills transfer

16:55 – Tug of war: undefeated, primal, and always high-juice

17:20 – The dog-harness battle and gladiator-style matchups

18:00 – Why competitions create lifetime memories for your athletes

18:35 – Effort and enthusiasm: the two things every program needs

19:00 – Tracking points at Dartmouth/Rutgers: wins, losses, and negative scores

19:30 – Taking points away for missed study hall, tardiness, or poor standards

20:00 – What the offseason champions earn: belts, trophies, and bragging rights

20:40 – The Brotherhood Challenge at Springfield College

21:30 – How to run multi-station gauntlet days safely and effectively

22:20 – The balance between pushing limits and not being reckless

23:00 – Money in the Bank: the greatest offseason competition ever created

24:00 – Where the idea came from and why WWE inspired Joe’s coaching

25:00 – Worker of the Week title belt vs. objective competition wins

26:00 – What’s inside the briefcase and how challengers earn it

27:00 – Weekly challenge examples: sprints, med ball throws, push-ups, pull-ups

28:00 – How a challenger “cashes in” mid-workout to call out the champion

29:00 – Strategy: attacking the champ when he’s most fatigued

30:00 – Day-of-week challenge variations and category-based duels

30:40 – Why title defenses are often more epic than title wins

31:15 – Celebrations, cafeteria walk-arounds, and building program pride

32:00 – Hidden competitions: Royal Rumble and behind-the-scenes legends

33:00 – Why showing your personality as a coach unlocks athlete buy-in

33:45 – Juice King stories, brick-by-brick awards, and creating moments that last

35:00 – Why athletes remember competitions more than your percentages

36:00 – Certificate of Strain and other simple culture-building tools

37:00 – Final question: Why Joe still loves football and coaching

39:00 – Why winning and losing is personal and why passion matters

41:00 – How to contact Coach Gilfedder

42:00 – Gridiron Warrior Insiders: weekly Q&As, webinars, early podcasts, discounts

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

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👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with Coach Nick Crouse to break down how he builds training systems for multi-sport athletes without chaos. We talk training age vs. biological age, why rushing strong freshmen backfires, and how to manage volume when kids are never truly “out of season.”

If you coach at the high school level and juggle football, basketball, baseball, track, and everything in between, this conversation will sharpen how you think about long-term development.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – What this podcast is about + who it’s for

02:30 – Introducing Coach Nick Crouse and his coaching background

06:30 – The reality of coaching multi-sport athletes year-round

13:40 – “Train qualities, not sports” explained

19:40 – Why multi-sport athletes don’t really have an offseason

25:30 – Training age vs strength: why rushing freshmen is a mistake

32:00 – Managing volume without killing intensity

38:30 – How Nick adjusts training through competitive seasons

44:00 – Final thoughts + advice for high school coaches

46:00 – How to connect with Coach Crouse

47:00 – Gridiron Warrior Insiders community

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, webinars, discounts, and a private community of coaches leveling up together.

👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with Rich Burnett, creator of the Plyomat, to break down jump training from a coach’s perspective. Not theory. Not lab talk. Real-world application for high school and college weight rooms.

We talk RSI, reactivity, jump testing mistakes, how to actually use jump data without slowing your session down, and why instant feedback changes effort, competition, and culture in the room.

If you’ve ever wondered whether a jump mat is worth it — or how to use one the right way — this episode answers it.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – What this podcast is about and who it’s for

01:55 – Why jump feedback matters for high school programs

03:40 – Rich’s background and how the Plyomat was born

07:40 – Discovering RSI and why reactivity separates athletes

12:00 – Why jump height alone isn’t enough

16:55 – “Use it every day, not just testing week”

18:45 – How jump data changes weight room culture

23:00 – Readiness, RSI, and not overcomplicating monitoring

26:10 – The quadrant system and coaching different athlete types

33:00 – Common jump training mistakes (especially with linemen)

41:55 – How often you should really be jumping

48:20 – Letting athletes self-record without losing control

54:10 – Why Rich still loves coaching and the profession

🔥 Plyomat Discount for Gridiron Warrior Coaches

Use code TGWI15 to save 15% on your Plyomat order.

If you want better feedback, better competition, and better jumps in your program, this is an easy win.

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, webinars, discounts, and a private community of coaches leveling up together.

👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with Coach Logan Tomlinson from Carson-Newman University to break down how he handles return-to-play when you don’t have a massive staff.

We talk what to do with injured athletes during practice, how to rebuild confidence instead of just tissue, and why total volume, time on feet, and progressive exposure matter more than sitting guys on the sideline doing nothing.

If you’re a high school or small-college coach wearing multiple hats, this one is extremely practical.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – What the Gridiron Warrior Podcast is about

03:30 – Introducing Coach Logan Tomlinson

05:30 – Why return-to-play should happen during practice

07:45 – Building simple RTP systems when staff is limited

10:15 – Walk–jog circuits and rebuilding time on feet

11:45 – The stoplight system (red, yellow, green) explained

14:45 – Using total distance and sprint volume to guide RTP

18:15 – Why doing nothing is the worst rehab plan

22:45 – Layering speed, cuts, and reactivity back in

26:15 – Confidence as the real limiter in late-stage rehab

27:30 – End-stage hamstring rehab and fly sprint progressions

33:00 – What high school coaches can do when they’re alone

38:30 – Recovery myths that grind Logan’s gears

42:30 – Why Logan loves coaching and the profession

47:30 – Where to find Coach Tomlinson

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, discounts, and a private community of coaches getting better together.

👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with Coach Jimmy Gajewski of Lakewood High School to break down the real process of rebuilding a high school weight room. Not just equipment. Not just aesthetics. Vision, funding, administration buy-in, safety, flow, and how to sell the why to people who control the money.

If you’re a high school strength coach staring at an outdated room and thinking, there has to be a better way, this one’s for you.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – What this podcast is about + who it’s for

03:00 – Introducing Coach Jimmy Gajewski and why this project matters

06:00 – Jimmy’s coaching path and how he created a full-time role

11:30 – Getting all sports on board with one unified vision

14:30 – What the old weight room actually looked like

19:00 – Clearing space, flow, and fixing what you already have

22:00 – The biggest hurdle: funding and administration buy-in

26:00 – Selling safety, usage, and foot traffic to decision-makers

30:30 – Why the weight room is the most used space in the school

33:00 – Designing flow, turf space, and overlapping team sessions

38:00 – Equipment priorities, modular racks, and smart upgrades

43:00 – Branding, music, pride, and culture inside the room

48:00 – Advice for coaches starting their own rebuild

49:40 – Final thoughts + how to contact Coach Gajewski

50:00 – Gridiron Warrior Insiders Community

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, webinars, discounts, and a private community of coaches building better programs together.

👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with Coach Mike Morgan of Jefferson High School in Georgia — one of the best in the business when it comes to building a true middle school to high school strength pipeline. We talk structure, expectations, buy-in, PE integration, culture, lifting progressions, organization, and the hidden details that make a feeder system work.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Welcome back to the Gridiron Warrior Podcast

00:29 – TrainHeroic partnership + 90-day trial + two 12-week programs

01:12 – Why I train with TrainHeroic and recommend it for all coaches

01:56 – Partner highlight: The Plyomat and why it’s a difference-maker

03:03 – Introducing Coach Mike Morgan

03:29 – Mike’s story: URI → Springfield → Citadel → Jefferson High School

04:22 – What Jefferson football looks like in Georgia

04:55 – School size, out-of-district rules, and competing at higher classifications

05:14 – State titles, Final Four runs, and building a winning athletic department

05:36 – Why Mike loves strength & conditioning and high school coaching

06:01 – Impact, community, and living where you coach

06:37 – Seeing athletes from age 10 to graduation

07:02 – Why coaches need help with S&C and structure

07:45 – The power of a middle school feeder program

08:01 – Georgia PE integration and how weight training works in-school

08:16 – 6th, 7th, and 8th grade differences in schedule and exposure

08:42 – Year-round 8th grade model and alternating health/weights

09:01 – Two middle school coaches running the program

09:18 – How Mike checks in with each grade weekly

09:40 – Before-school lifting at the high school

10:05 – Baseball team model and academic schedule flexibility

10:27 – Summer camp for Grades 4–7 and early buy-in

10:54 – How strong high school programs create middle school demand

11:12 – Parent buy-in and eliminating “lifting too young” myths

11:38 – Administrators, communication, and keeping everything smooth

12:14 – Older sibling influence and competitiveness

12:32 – The progression: 8th → 7th → 6th grades

13:01 – What 8th graders must know before high school

13:43 – Teaching front squat, power clean, bench, row, and warmups

14:00 – Why Mike flipped his philosophy: teach lifting first, movement later

14:37 – Cutting speed days and going 4 lifting days + 1 movement

15:14 – 6th grade: goblet squats, training bar cleans, learning basics

15:37 – Why bench press is now introduced earlier

16:02 – Movement training: speed, plyos, pogo hops, broad jumps

16:46 – Using tennis courts, hurdles, lasers, and jump mats

17:18 – Why broad jumps have huge ROI at these ages

17:54 – SAQ setups and rotating stations for large groups

18:18 – Gen-pop students: how they train and why it works

18:58 – Why athletic-style training benefits every kid

19:29 – The rise of functional fitness, CrossFit, Hyrox, and why training like an athlete matters

20:38 – Developing maturity at the middle and high school level

21:05 – Why everything must be structured and coached on cadence

21:26 – Calling every warmup set by whistle

22:05 – Keeping middle schoolers focused with rigid organization

22:52 – Accessory work at the rack only

23:31 – Matching circuits to cadence and limiting chaos

24:01 – Why simplicity increases quality

24:57 – The phone problem and the phone bin solution

25:37 – Why paper programs still dominate at the high school level

26:32 – Cubbies, safety, and keeping backpacks out

27:15 – Microplates, female athletes, and smarter progressions

28:34 – Advice for coaches starting a program from scratch

29:09 – Reduce injury, increase performance, simplify everything

29:36 – Why 3 days per week is the minimum effective dose

29:57 – Start with 8th graders in the spring if resources are limited

30:26 – Summer as the accelerator for new programs

31:18 – How Mike collaborates weekly with the middle school staff

31:44 – A-group vs B-group programming differences

32:29 – Transitioning seniors to college programs

33:03 – Freshman college programs vs high school training realities

33:49 – Guiding athletes who also have private trainers

34:07 – Summer open hours and self-guided lifting

34:49 – Winter break policies and protecting family time

35:16 – Being a father vs being always available

35:30 – How to contact Coach Morgan

36:11 – Final message + Insiders community pitch

36:38 – What’s inside the Insiders: film study, webinars, early podcasts, discounts, community

37:31 – Closing

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

Weekly film studies, webinars, live Q&As, discounts, early podcast access, and a full community of coaches leveling up together.

👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with Coach Joel Reinhardt, Director of Football Performance at Lafayette College, to break down one of the most misunderstood parts of coaching: load management and practice design.

We talk about how to balance reps without losing detail, how to keep athletes healthy through the entire season, how to structure weekly practice flow, and why monotony is the real silent killer in football. If you coach a team at any level, this conversation will sharpen how you build your week.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome to the Gridiron Warrior Podcast

00:29 – Why TrainHeroic is the platform I use for programming

01:12 – The 90-day free trial + two 12-week programs offer

01:56 – Why the Plyomat is a game-changer for jump testing

03:02 – Introducing Coach Joel Reinhardt

03:30 – Joel’s background: Springfield → Nicholls → UMass → Stanford → San Jose → Lafayette

04:34 – Coaching as a lifestyle and why Joel loves the yearly rhythm

05:42 – Why neither of us could survive a normal 9-to-5

06:44 – The balance of family, hours, and college football life

08:00 – Having kids, dogs, and real life inside the weight room

09:18 – Being fired, bouncing back, and coaching resilience

10:11 – Load management: what it actually means

11:13 – Joel’s guiding question for weekly load

12:00 – The goal: maximize game-intensity reps without losing freshness

13:07 – The “game load” model: 2.75–3.25 units per week

14:11 – Using practice time as the simplest GPS metric

15:25 – What happens when teams hit 3.5+ game loads

16:07 – FBS cautionary tale: high loads and injury explosions

16:50 – How simple scheduling adjustments keep athletes healthy

17:34 – The real purpose of high-low practice concepts

18:39 – Big field vs small field days

19:47 – Manipulating speed, space, and contact

20:34 – Why Wednesday can’t look like Tuesday

21:30 – What “high” actually means in football

22:12 – Why a true low day in football is almost impossible

23:00 – How your practice script drives athlete recovery

24:00 – Why every day feels the same for players (and why that’s a problem)

24:59 – Using barrels, tempo, and formation checks to manage load

25:47 – Monotony: the most overlooked performance killer

26:50 – Simple fix: change practice feel, not just duration

27:23 – Using GPS to reveal invisible workload mistakes

28:03 – Fast Friday vs regular Friday: which model makes sense?

29:20 – How Joel runs Thursday speed checks

30:51 – Why players AND coaches misjudge speed

32:07 – Underestimating your slow days vs overestimating your fast ones

33:06 – Fixing pre-practice “walkthroughs” that aren’t walkthroughs

34:21 – The warmup trap: burning a quarter of a game before kickoff

35:15 – How we corrected game-day warmup overload

36:40 – Fall camp: the real place where teams lose the season

37:32 – Why Joel avoids more than 3 practices in a row

38:20 – The “big rocks” that matter more than GPS fine-tuning

39:50 – Preparing players for the heavy weeks before they happen

40:56 – Using planning to eliminate panic

41:39 – Why coaches feel like they “didn’t do enough”

42:23 – The emotional burden of under-preparing vs over-preparing

43:07 – Decision-making: what’s the cost of one extra period?

44:20 – Every choice has a trade-off — and coaches must admit that

45:17 – Trusting your coaching instead of adding more volume

46:15 – Using film, meetings, and detail instead of just more reps

47:05 – Where to find Joel (SprintJumpThrow.com + Instagram)

48:36 – Closing out

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

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👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, I sit down with Coach Nic Giblin, the Florida NHSCA Strength Coach of the Year, to break down how he trains quarterbacks at a high level. We get into offseason development, in-season adjustments, sprint work, shoulder prep, recovery, and the unique challenges that come with the position.

If you coach quarterbacks — or want to understand how to build a true QB development system — this episode has everything you need.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Welcome back to the Gridiron Warrior Podcast

00:34 – Introducing Coach Nick Giblin

03:37 – Nick’s story: Calvary Christian, Florida football, and going independent

05:50 – Why Florida is a hotbed for football but behind in S&C

09:28 – Why so few Florida high schools have real S&C positions

12:16 – Growing the profession and creating roles at the high school level

13:32 – Why high school S&C is the best place to build impact

14:05 – What Nick loves most about coaching

16:01 – Real relationships, real conversations, and being yourself

18:03 – How being consistent builds trust with athletes

19:21 – Why Scott brought Nick on: QB training done right

20:32 – The quarterback is unique — and must be trained that way

21:39 – What Nick looks for when developing QBs

23:06 – Raising the athletic ceiling of the quarterback position

23:42 – Why QBs still lift with the team in the offseason

24:50 – Pre-game QB warmups: dead hangs, T-spine, PVC, skips, wickets

27:15 – Why wickets are a game-changer for nervous system priming

28:27 – Intent, belief, and why warm-ups must excite athletes

29:42 – Sprint work during the week for quarterbacks

30:12 – Balancing sprint work with practice demands

31:50 – Early pushback from assistant coaches on sprint work

33:16 – In-season lifting for QBs: what changes and what stays

34:22 – Lower-body staples: skater squats, single-leg squats, hand-assisted splits

36:28 – Upper-body work: landmines, rotational work, cable rows, pushups

37:53 – Tidal tank and rotational core work for QBs

39:14 – Viking press + Tendo for power and competition

40:54 – Post-game recovery for quarterbacks

42:00 – Manual resisted shoulder work, mobility, full-body flushing

43:18 – Ski erg, assault bike, mobility stick work

44:40 – The pool as a secret recovery weapon

45:43 – The problem with “recovery shop” gimmicks

47:04 – The three undefeated recovery tools

47:19 – Sneak peek: the upcoming QB Training Webinar

49:28 – What’s inside the presentation: film, visuals, drills, templates

50:21 – How to contact Coach Giblin + remote training

52:02 – Closing: Gridiron Warrior Insiders Community

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders

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👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

In this episode, Coach Scott Leech sits down with Bill DeLongis, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at Trinity College. Trinity has gone 32–4 over the last four seasons, and Coach DeLongis breaks down exactly how they manage the post-season phase — restoring range of motion, rebuilding size and strength, and preparing athletes for winter break.

You’ll hear how he uses long-duration isometrics, hypertrophy clusters, partner accountability, speed priming, EMOM structure, and strategies for training in a voluntary Division III environment. He also shares details about his Strength on the Gridiron Virtual Clinic and his mini-course, After the Final Whistle.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome to The Gridiron Warrior Podcast

00:20 – TrainHeroic sponsorship + 90-day free trial

02:00 – Introducing Coach Bill DeLongis (Trinity College)

03:00 – Trinity’s culture and the NESCAC conference

05:00 – Training year-round with restricted practice time

06:30 – How to build culture in a voluntary environment

07:00 – Trinity’s new weight room + equipment upgrades

09:00 – End-of-season training philosophy and goals

11:00 – Restoring ROM and regaining mass post-season

12:00 – Loaded stretching + long-duration isometrics

14:00 – Partner accountability and weight room culture

16:00 – Leadership development and player-run groups

18:00 – Hypertrophy clusters vs traditional volume

20:00 – Speed of training + urgency with EMOM

22:00 – Creating buy-in with early wins

24:00 – Winter-break training realities and accountability

26:00 – One-by-twenty method explained

27:00 – Post-season field work and movement training

28:00 – 10×10 work + reintroducing sprinting

30:00 – Extensive plyos, 8-vector COD circuits, deep tier work

32:00 – Conditioning and body composition after season

34:00 – Circuit-based GPP and rebuild phase

36:00 – Tabata-style arm finishers and fun circuits

37:00 – Strength on the Gridiron Virtual Clinic

39:00 – Presenters, registration, and early-bird details

41:00 – “After the Final Whistle” mini-course

42:00 – Gridiron Warrior Insiders community

🔗 Links Mentioned

🔥 TrainHeroic 90-Day Free Trial - www.trainheroic.com/gridironwarrior

🔥 Strength on the Gridiron Virtual Clinic - https://coachtube.com/course/football/strength-on-the-gridiron-summit/23545800?a=dea171d1de2b4375aa4e1996b

🔥 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders Community - https://scottleechtraining.com/

💬 Question for You

What’s your biggest challenge in the post-season phase?

Drop it in the comments — I reply to every coach.

Keep the fire burning. 🔥

In this episode, Coach Scott Leech sits down with Alex Nadolna, Director of Strength & Conditioning at DePaul College Prep in Chicago. They break down how to apply Triphasic Training at the high school level, manage limited resources, and build buy-in with young athletes — without burning them out.

You’ll hear real stories, practical takeaways, and programming insights from two coaches living it every day in the trenches.

👇 Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Welcome to the Gridiron Warrior Podcast

00:34 – Introducing Coach Alex Nadolna

02:00 – Alex’s background and path to DePaul Prep

04:22 – How he created his full-time S&C role at the high school level

06:13 – Competition level and athlete development at DePaul

07:00 – Building strength programs into the school day

08:36 – Balancing classes, after-school sessions, and family life

09:42 – Summer camps and private-school recruiting benefits

10:10 – Intro to Triphasic Training and early lessons learned

11:31 – Mistakes made applying Cal Dietz’s system

13:07 – Why most high school athletes can’t handle “true” Triphasic

14:55 – Adapting the method for different athlete types

15:56 – Eccentrics, isometrics, and lifting as a skill

17:03 – Teaching movement control and strain tolerance

18:31 – Athlete motivation and connecting the weight room to sport

19:15 – How he structures force days (High, Fast, Slow, Human)

20:21 – Using eccentrics and PRE systems for progression

23:08 – Simple contrast pairings vs. full French Contrast

24:40 – Matching field work themes with weight room programming

25:50 – The importance of extensive plyometrics

27:02 – Underrated Triphasic tools: isos, contralateral circuits, aerobic work

29:10 – Building athlete health and longevity beyond sport

30:50 – The lost art of work capacity in modern training

32:03 – Implementing long-duration isometrics in teams

34:17 – Making isos engaging for high school athletes

36:00 – Realistic effort vs. perfection in team settings

36:34 – What’s new in Triphasic 2 and performance pattern cycling

38:15 – How to run performance cycles using the Shredmill

42:28 – Using resets to manage flow and rest

42:48 – Final reflections: coaching purpose and legacy

46:59 – How to contact Coach Nadolna

47:15 – Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders Community

🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders:

Exclusive webinars, live Q&As, early podcast access, discounts, and your ticket to our live Gridiron Warrior seminar.

👉 ScottLeechTraining.com

Follow Coach Leech:

Instagram | Twitter | YouTube → @ScottLeechTraining

Website → scottleechtraining.com

Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

We dive deep into what makes great line play, the misconceptions high school athletes carry into college, how to better prepare linemen for the next level, and practical tools coaches can use to maximize their players’ development.

If you coach linemen or want to understand the unique challenges of training the trenches, this one’s for you.

⏱️ Timestamps

0:00 – Introduction

0:53 – Coach James Burk’s background and coaching journey

7:13 – Why football still matters: violence, competition, and camaraderie

10:15 – Training big bodies: what makes great O-line and D-line play

12:15 – Strength vs. power: why movement quality matters more than raw numbers

16:30 – Misconceptions high school linemen bring to the college level

19:34 – Why offensive linemen need more time to develop than skill players

23:47 – The importance of chemistry, film study, and position-specific work

28:08 – Managing ego and teaching freshmen to “take a step back” in training

31:50 – Taking care of big guys: recovery, mobility, and body tempering

39:45 – Essential weight room tools for offensive and defensive linemen

42:11 – Big Body Power program and how Coach Burk shares his methods

44:45 – Contact prep, agility, and open-ended drills for linemen

46:26 – Closing thoughts and where to find Coach Burk

Welcome to the first episode of The Gridiron Warrior Podcast. In this conversation, Coach Michael Gragg (Head Strength Coach, Harding University) breaks down his approach to training freshman football players, building developmental lifts, and running challenges that build toughness and unity.

If you’re a high school or small college coach, this episode gives you a blueprint for preparing your young athletes for the next level.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Episode Intro & Welcome
• 01:00 – Coach Gragg’s background & journey into S&C
• 03:40 – Why football and family drive his career
• 07:15 – Freshman onboarding: developmental lifts from Day 1
• 11:00 – High school vs. college prep: what should coaches focus on?
• 13:30 – Managing maturity and coachability in new athletes
• 16:00 – In-season strength programming for developmental players
• 20:50 – The Red Dog Challenge & building culture with competition
• 25:30 – Why “doing hard things” still matters in today’s training climate
• 27:40 – Handling egos, entitlement, and buy-in challenges
• 30:40 – Transitioning freshmen into the main group at semester’s end
• 34:00 – Final advice for high school coaches: keep it consistent, keep it simple
•