Strength and Conditioning

  Strength and Conditioning Internship 

Applications will be accepted year round to fill internship positions for each of the semesters and also the summer.  To be considered, please email cover letter, resume, and three references to: michael.kamal@merrimack.edu

 

MERRIMACK STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

  MISSION STATEMENT: The mission of Merrimack College Strength and Conditioning is two-fold: 1.) enhancement of athletic performance, and 2.) reduction of injuries. This will be accomplished through programming with special attention to individualization, based upon assessment. Relationships amongst coaches and student-athletes will be strong and confidence driven.  

  Merrimack College Strength and Conditioning is led by Coach Mike Kamal. The year-round strength and conditioning program is based upon 11 performance enhancement principles:  

PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT PRINCIPLES

  1. Three-Dimensional Movements
    1. Athletes in sport will move in all three planes of motion. Therefore, they must be trained in all three planes of motion in order to stabilize and produce force. Athletes will train frontal (side to side), sagital (front to back), and transverse (rotational) in the strength and conditioning program.
  2. Ground Based Movements
    1. Sports require balance, stabilization, strength and power. We will train and enhance these qualities by the utilization of ground based movements, which are simply any movement where the athlete is in contact with the ground. These will increase the preparedness of each athlete in their respective sport.
  3. Rate of Force Development
    1. The ability to produce force is that which sets one athlete apart from the next. This is an essential quality to an individuals' performance in sport. We will emphasize rate of force development, or explosive training, in all movements, especially through triple extension (ankle, knee, and hip) based movements.
  4. Multi-Joint Exercises
    1. Utilizing multi-joint exercises will provide the greatest training effect for the athlete. These compound movements, such as the squat and deadlift will be the foundation of the program design. Such exercises will utilize the greatest amount of muscle mass and therefore be the emphasis of the program.
  5. Posterior Chain Development
    1. The posterior chain consists of the muscles on the backside of the body, namely the back, glutes, and hamstrings. These muscles are an essential link to performance enhancement and the reduction of injuries. A strong and powerful posterior chain will increase the ability to generate power and strength in an athlete.
  6. Torso Development
    1. Through systematic programming the torso will be developed as a whole. Focus will be on training movements and not individual muscles in this area. The torso makes up the entire area between the chest and knees. A weak or under developed torso will be an in-effective one. A properly trained torso will help display strength and power in an athlete.
  7. Injury Reduction
    1. Through the evaluation process, it will be determined areas of concern for each athlete. The evaluation will expose any potential issues in strength, balance, mobility, and flexibility. From here, each athlete will be prescribed individual work to help to reduce the chance of injury.
  8. Speed and Agility
    1. An essential link between the weight room and the playing field is speed and agility training. It is taking what the athlete has developed through training in the weight room and links it to sport. Speed (straight ahead) and agility (lateral movement and change of direction) are a crucial component to the training program that will be emphasized year round.
  9. Energy System Development
    1. Being the best at what you do means not only possessing great strength, power, and speed, but also requires that you have the energy system development (ESD) to sustain a workload during competition and practice. Each athlete will go through comprehensive energy system development (conditioning). During the off-season, ESD will be general, and, as the competitive season approaches, ESD will become more specific. 
  10. Nutrition
    1. Another essential link to what the work done within the strength and conditioning program to the competitive arena is nutrition. Through continual education, each athlete will learn what, when, and how to consume food based around training, competition, and on a day to day basis.
  11. Student-Athlete Relationships
    1. The strength and conditioning staff will create positive and success oriented relationships with the student athletes. This will be accomplished through various motivational strategies conducive to performance enhancement.