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Rapid Fire #1: Stephanie Mock—“Assess What’s Working, What Can Be Improved, and What’s Not Working”

Rapid Fire Episode 1
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Summary

“Exciting, first episode, let’s do it!” Always game, Coach Stephanie Mock—the Assistant AD for Sports Performance at the University of Pittsburgh—jumps straight in with Coach Justin Ochoa to launch SimpliFaster’s new interview series, Rapid Fire. The purpose? Meet coaches, sports scientists, and high-performance professionals where they’re at and connect for focused insights on a targeted…

“Exciting, first episode, let’s do it!”

Always game, Coach Stephanie Mock—the Assistant AD for Sports Performance at the University of Pittsburgh—jumps straight in with Coach Justin Ochoa to launch SimpliFaster’s new interview series, Rapid Fire.

The purpose? Meet coaches, sports scientists, and high-performance professionals where they’re at and connect for focused insights on a targeted slate of questions. Need to bookmark an hourlong podcast for when you’re gridlocked in endless commuter traffic or for that extensive, steady-state treadmill workout?

This is not it.

We’re going to be agile. We’re going to move fast.

“Year One was laying the foundation. Year Two I really thought about it as building a house, so it was more building the frame and the install.” Appropriate to kicking off our new series, Coach Mock begins the episode by detailing the four-year roadmap she charted when first taking on her new role at Pitt. With that early foundation laid, she describes then hiring the institution’s first Director of Sports Science and setting about asking the right questions. “We looked at what’s working, what can be improved, and what’s not working.”


Rapid Fire Episode #1. Watch the full episode featuring Coach Stephanie Mock with Coach Justin Ochoa.
Year One was laying the foundation. Year Two I really thought about it as building a house, so it was more building the frame and the install, says @CoachStephMock with @JustinOchoa317. Share on X

Through the short conversation, Mock also touches on how she applies microdosing concepts during the game-dense, in-season schedule for Pitt Volleyball and previews her chapter on that topic for the ebook Strength & Conditioning: How to Program, Train & Recover. With those volleyball athletes, one recurring problem Mock has identified is players landing on each other’s feet under the net and suffering rolled/twisted ankles—to address that issue, Mock also describes how she targets lower-limb stiffness, rigidity, and stability through exercises on Skyhook’s Polish Plyo Boxes.

“The one box in particular that I use to introduce the girls into training with the Polish Boxes, I really like the half-pipe or circular box,” Mock says. “Especially because it’s easier to scale the intensity.”


Rapid Fire Quick Take—Coach Mock describes how her athletes use Polish Boxes, including a practical demo. 

Cutting to the chase, Mock wraps up by discussing how college coaching is evolving in the NIL-era and how she stays true to a people-first philosophy.

“I really try to hire the best people around me to make me the best practitioner as well and have the best team.”

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF


Authors

  • Justin Ochoa is the founder of Gem Sessions Training in Indianapolis, a complete basketball development organization. Justin works with basketball players of all ages and experience levels from youth to pro, specializing in bridging the gap between skill development & performance training. Aside from training, he founded the Gem Sessions Foundation — a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to serving youth athletes with crucial resources needed to excel in academics, athletics and life after athletics. Connect with Justin on Instagram or X (@JustinOchoa317) or find him here.

    View all posts

  • Stephanie Mock joined the University of Pittsburgh athletic department in June 2021 as the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance. Most recently, she spent three years at Mississippi State University as Director of Olympic Sports Strength and Conditioning. Prior to MSU, Mock worked for five years at Clemson University as the Tigers’ Assistant Director of Olympic Sports Strength.

    In her role at MSU, Mock was responsible for the supervision of the assistant strength coach, graduate assistants, and volunteer interns. She oversaw the Holliman and Shira Olympic Sport weight rooms. She was directly responsible for the strength and conditioning efforts for softball and women’s volleyball.

    In Mock’s tenure at Clemson she worked with men’s and women’s tennis, women’s diving, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s track and field, rowing, baseball, and women’s volleyball. As a graduate assistant at Clemson, she earned a master’s degree in human resource development.

    Prior to her graduate assistantship at Clemson, Mock completed internships at the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University.

    Mock graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. While attending WVU, Mock was a collegiate athlete on the women’s volleyball team finishing her career with Big East All-Academic Honors and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.

    Mock holds the Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) certification through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa).

    View all posts

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Rapid Fire Episode 1
Table of Contents

Rapid Fire #1: Stephanie Mock—“Assess What’s Working, What Can Be Improved, and What’s Not Working”

Share this

Summary

“Exciting, first episode, let’s do it!” Always game, Coach Stephanie Mock—the Assistant AD for Sports Performance at the University of Pittsburgh—jumps straight in with Coach Justin Ochoa to launch SimpliFaster’s new interview series, Rapid Fire. The purpose? Meet coaches, sports scientists, and high-performance professionals where they’re at and connect for focused insights on a targeted…

“Exciting, first episode, let’s do it!”

Always game, Coach Stephanie Mock—the Assistant AD for Sports Performance at the University of Pittsburgh—jumps straight in with Coach Justin Ochoa to launch SimpliFaster’s new interview series, Rapid Fire.

The purpose? Meet coaches, sports scientists, and high-performance professionals where they’re at and connect for focused insights on a targeted slate of questions. Need to bookmark an hourlong podcast for when you’re gridlocked in endless commuter traffic or for that extensive, steady-state treadmill workout?

This is not it.

We’re going to be agile. We’re going to move fast.

“Year One was laying the foundation. Year Two I really thought about it as building a house, so it was more building the frame and the install.” Appropriate to kicking off our new series, Coach Mock begins the episode by detailing the four-year roadmap she charted when first taking on her new role at Pitt. With that early foundation laid, she describes then hiring the institution’s first Director of Sports Science and setting about asking the right questions. “We looked at what’s working, what can be improved, and what’s not working.”


Rapid Fire Episode #1. Watch the full episode featuring Coach Stephanie Mock with Coach Justin Ochoa.
Year One was laying the foundation. Year Two I really thought about it as building a house, so it was more building the frame and the install, says @CoachStephMock with @JustinOchoa317. Share on X

Through the short conversation, Mock also touches on how she applies microdosing concepts during the game-dense, in-season schedule for Pitt Volleyball and previews her chapter on that topic for the ebook Strength & Conditioning: How to Program, Train & Recover. With those volleyball athletes, one recurring problem Mock has identified is players landing on each other’s feet under the net and suffering rolled/twisted ankles—to address that issue, Mock also describes how she targets lower-limb stiffness, rigidity, and stability through exercises on Skyhook’s Polish Plyo Boxes.

“The one box in particular that I use to introduce the girls into training with the Polish Boxes, I really like the half-pipe or circular box,” Mock says. “Especially because it’s easier to scale the intensity.”


Rapid Fire Quick Take—Coach Mock describes how her athletes use Polish Boxes, including a practical demo. 

Cutting to the chase, Mock wraps up by discussing how college coaching is evolving in the NIL-era and how she stays true to a people-first philosophy.

“I really try to hire the best people around me to make me the best practitioner as well and have the best team.”

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF


Authors

  • Justin Ochoa is the founder of Gem Sessions Training in Indianapolis, a complete basketball development organization. Justin works with basketball players of all ages and experience levels from youth to pro, specializing in bridging the gap between skill development & performance training. Aside from training, he founded the Gem Sessions Foundation — a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to serving youth athletes with crucial resources needed to excel in academics, athletics and life after athletics. Connect with Justin on Instagram or X (@JustinOchoa317) or find him here.

    View all posts

  • Stephanie Mock joined the University of Pittsburgh athletic department in June 2021 as the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance. Most recently, she spent three years at Mississippi State University as Director of Olympic Sports Strength and Conditioning. Prior to MSU, Mock worked for five years at Clemson University as the Tigers’ Assistant Director of Olympic Sports Strength.

    In her role at MSU, Mock was responsible for the supervision of the assistant strength coach, graduate assistants, and volunteer interns. She oversaw the Holliman and Shira Olympic Sport weight rooms. She was directly responsible for the strength and conditioning efforts for softball and women’s volleyball.

    In Mock’s tenure at Clemson she worked with men’s and women’s tennis, women’s diving, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s track and field, rowing, baseball, and women’s volleyball. As a graduate assistant at Clemson, she earned a master’s degree in human resource development.

    Prior to her graduate assistantship at Clemson, Mock completed internships at the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University.

    Mock graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. While attending WVU, Mock was a collegiate athlete on the women’s volleyball team finishing her career with Big East All-Academic Honors and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.

    Mock holds the Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) certification through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa).

    View all posts

Leave the first comment

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