“I learned a long time ago, you have to be able to give them what they want while also putting in what they need.”
Carlos Cueller, Strength & Conditioning Coordinator and football Offensive Coordinator from San Benito High School in the Rio Grande Valley, joins Coach Crochran for Episode 5 of The Croc Show. Given the size of the weight room at San Benito, there may be up to 130 athletes from a range of teams lifting at the same time, with those teams’ sport coaches on the floor to help supervise. With all of those moving parts, Coach Cueller discusses the importance of being open to the feedback and suggestions from those sport coaches invested in working with their athletes week-in and week-out, while also staying true to his own expertise and priorities to make sure every team receives quality programming.
“What I tell my kids is, if you go across the state of Texas to other weight rooms, everyone is doing some sort of clean variations, everyone is doing some sort of squat variation, everyone is doing some sort of press variation, everyone is doing speed drills, everyone is doing change of direction,” Cueller says. “But what separates a good program from a bad program is to what standard you are doing it.”
Before kicking off the interview, Cueller provides an extended tour of the weight room, which the staff refer to as “The Factory.” Operating with the slogan Sharpen the Axe, The Factory boasts 40 racks, each one equipped with a trap bar, TRX, foam pads, resistance bands, DC blocks, and loading charts. Beyond those stations, the facility also features neck training machines, glute ham raises, medicine ball stations for specific work, plus a neighboring indoor space with 80 yards of turf for sprints and change of direction.
“Most places that might not have that high amount of kids, they don’t have to worry about having more than 40-50-60 kids at one moment versus having 120-130 kids,” Cueller says.
In discussing how the strength coach needs to be able to blend in and succeed with so many elements and egos at once, Coach Croc offers an anecdote from one of his prior mentors, Coach Burt:
“Strength and conditioning is like the lighting in a movie. Nobody notices or gives credit to the lighting, they just watch the movie and say oh man, that was a great film. Until it’s black and white or the lighting is poor…or there’s no lighting.”
What happens when there’s no lighting? Watch the full episode and find out.
Video 1. Episode 5 of The Croc Show featuring Coach Carlos Cueller.
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