William Fly is currently the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Northwest Cabarrus High School in Concord, NC. He is also the Assistant Head Football Coach/Offensive Line Coach for the Trojan football program and the Assistant Track and Field Coach. Coach Fly was named 2020 NHSSCA North Carolina State Coach of the Year. He also serves on the NHSSCA State Advisory Board for North Carolina and as the Cabarrus County School’s PLC Lead for High School Strength and Conditioning.
Freelap USA: What led to you using Vmaxpro?
William Fly: Throughout my journey as a high school strength coach, I always worried whether we were training what I intended and whether my athletes/students were getting the adaptation I wanted. I previously used an APRE system, and I felt it was the best approach to answer that question. For some situations, APRE was exactly what we needed. However, going into my new position, I knew I wanted to better provide for my students/athletes. Using APRE alone in my new situation simply didn’t deliver what we needed.
Video 1. An athlete performs reps with live feedback from Vmaxpro.
This thought led me down the “rabbit hole” of velocity-based training. From reading articles on SimpliFaster, online courses, and listening to well-respected speakers/presenters, I knew that this technology could greatly benefit our students/athletes here at Northwest Cabarrus. Once I knew I wanted to invest in VBT units for our program, I tested Vmaxpro and Push. We allowed our students to try both products. After a 30-day period, I asked my students which one was easier to navigate, set up, and use. Their feedback led us to go with Vmaxpro.
After a 30-day period, I asked my students which one was easier to navigate, set up, and use. Their feedback led us to go with Vmaxpro, says @FlyCoach_68. Share on XFreelap USA: Do you currently use Vmaxpro in a team setting? What are the pros/cons of using it in that setting?
William Fly: Yes, we currently use Vmaxpro in a team setting. Almost every student in every class uses our Vmaxpro units. One of the advantages of using Vmaxpro in a team setting is that we can run eight racks/eight Vmaxpro units off four iPads. Two racks share an iPad attached to the wall between them: one rack is labeled “Station 1” and the other as “Station 2.” It was much easier to get four iPads from our technology department than eight.
Another advantage is the navigation of the “Multi Station” feature of Vmaxpro. Our students/athletes can easily tap to the next person and modify the weight/load listed on the iPad. They can also see feedback on both sides of the screen and use both sides without blocking the rack next to them.
Unfortunately, one of the disadvantages we have found is simple user error. We have had situations where one person “accidentally” closed the app or did something that not only affected them and their rack but the other rack next to them as well. Then, one person’s slip-up impacts 7-8 other students. We understand there is a learning curve, though, which comes with any applied technology.
Freelap USA: What metrics do you find most useful?
William Fly: The velocity measurement is the first metric that is valuable for us. That metric alone has done wonders for our program. We can now quantify effort and intent for our barbell movements. Students/athletes can see if they are moving the bar at the prescribed speed.
The velocity measurement is the first metric that is valuable for us. That metric alone has done wonders for our program. We can now quantify effort and intent for our barbell movements. Share on XAnother plus for velocity is the creation of competition throughout the entire room. Students are consistently trying to “beat their score” or “beat the score” of someone next to them.
The bar path feature has been a tremendous asset to our program. Kids can see on the spot if they are moving the bar in an appropriate path given the movement. This is especially valuable with our clean progressions. It shows whether they are pulling the bar tight enough to their body and eliminates guessing what went right or wrong with a particular rep.
The distance metric has been a blessing in disguise. We now use our Vmaxpro units and the ankle straps to measure vertical jump, and we can measure a class of 40 in 15-20 minutes.
Freelap USA: What stands out about the Vmaxpro to you?
William Fly: The ease of use and setup is the biggest reason why we picked Vmaxpro over other units. The longest part of the experience is the “syncing” of the devices for the first class/group. Once that is done, you are set for the entire school day. Once it’s set up, I know (for the most part, given human error) it will capture/detect/record every rep completed by a student/athlete.
One of the most significant and remarkable things that stands out with Vmaxpro is its customer service. Because it’s a company based in a different country, I braced myself for a long response time if I were to ever have an issue. However, whenever I had a problem, they always got back to me in a very reasonable time (given that we are in different time zones). They have always found a solution to whatever problem I was having.
Freelap USA: Why should any coach invest in Vmaxpro?
William Fly: As a strength and conditioning coach who must coach multiple sports, I have to depend on systems to make sure I can fulfill all the requirements of my job. I rely on programs like TeamBuildr to streamline our programming for all our classes and teams. I now use Vmaxpro as a simple way to track all our 1RMs.
I know that I can rely on these devices to do their job. Realizing that I can’t watch every student complete every rep, I can now pull up everything done on a particular day on my iPhone/iPad and make adjustments for the next day.
Vmaxpro breeds competition for each rep and set. You will begin to hear students/athletes yelling out their speeds in the weight room in excitement. Coaches always are looking for ways for athletes to compete in the weight room setting, and Vmaxpro helps them do that.
Vmaxpro breeds competition for each rep and set. You will begin to hear students/athletes yelling out their speeds in the weight room in excitement, says @FlyCoach_68. Share on XVmaxpro ensures that you are training what needs to be trained at all times. It provides load recommendations according to your training goal for the day/session. Lastly, Vmaxpro serves as an assistant coach on the floor, providing real-time feedback on speed, power, velocity drop, and bar path.
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Hello, I bought a set for our strength and conditioning classes and we are having a hard time figuring out how to use these when you have 20-30 students coming through a class. We have 5 racks or bars at work on most days and I’ve polled some trainers to see how they use them but haven’t seen structure yet that would work.