Alice Read | How Do We Build Sustainable Pathways in Strength and Conditioning?

How do you build a sustainable high-performance culture despite yearly assistant coach rotations and demanding schedules? Alice Read, Assistant Athletic Director for Sport Performance at Vassar College, shares expertise from managing 29 teams and 600 student-athletes while continuously "riding the rollercoaster" of Division III scheduling. Read explores strategies for maintaining program continuity, including matching assistant coaches to sports based on strengths and growth areas. She emphasizes advocating for daily staff lifts to test and refine programs firsthand. In a full-circle moment, Read, once an NSCA Foundation Assistantship Recipient, now serves on the committee awarding these opportunities, demonstrating the value of early professional involvement. She also discusses collaborative problem solving within the Liberty League Strength and Conditioning Committee and explains how the College Coaches Professional Development Group (PDG) provided boots-on-the-ground guidance for the 2024 NSCA Strategic Plan. Tune in for actionable insights on mentorship, collaboration, and longevity in collegiate strength and conditioning.

Connect with Alice via email at aread@vassar.edu and on Instagram: @ajpr3 and @vassar_strong | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

“I think I'm the coach I am today because I was thrown right into the fire. I definitely had good support, so I wasn't going to fail. […] I want to give young coaches the kind of experience I had, which was get your feet wet right out the door and experiment yourself so you can really understand how your programs are working.” 3:40

“I think especially to younger coaches, I think that for so long you're thinking, what's the next step to push my career forward? I need to build my network or things like that. I think it's important to think outside of just yourself. I think at some point, you have to take a step back and think, OK, this career is treating me really well, or I'm building all these networks to get me to that next dream job or whatever it might be.” 18:15

“My advice is that you're never too young to get involved, […] get involved in some way on a small level, even if it's just attending your first national conference. Get to a conference. Attend some of these meetings you feel really passionately about. And don't be afraid to speak up.” 18:45

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[00:00:02.66] Welcome to the NSCA Coaching Podcast, season 9, episode 5.
[00:00:07.53] I think I'm the coach I am today because I was thrown right into the fire. I definitely had good support, so I wasn't going to fail. But I have young assistants now who come into my setting with 29 different teams.
[00:00:19.47] And a lot of them are coming either straight from undergrad or straight from grad school. And I'm like, here's five to seven teams, get your feet wet, get going right away because I want to give back that experience that I had, help them fail up, try a lot of different things, see what works, see what doesn't.
[00:00:33.78] In strength and conditioning, there's so many different modalities that will work for you. So I want to give young coaches the kind of experience I had, which was get your feet wet right out the door and experiment yourself so you can really understand how your programs are working.
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[00:00:50.63] This is the NSCA's Coaching Podcast, where we talk to strength and conditioning coaches about what you really need to know but probably didn't learn in school. There's strength and conditioning. And then there's everything else.
[00:01:01.17] This is the NSCA Coaching Podcast, season 9. I've had the opportunity to visit a number of college campuses over the past year and see the different dynamics that are at play within collegiate strength and conditioning departments. At the NSCA, we have a professional development group for college coaches that helps represent these topics and interests within the profession. We're joined today by a member of our college coaches, PDG, Alice Reed. Alice, welcome.
[00:01:30.43] Thanks for having me. It's nice to be here.
[00:01:33.19] Yeah. You are the Assistant AD of athletics for sport performance at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Tell us about your program there.
[00:01:44.95] Yeah, so I joined Vassar seven years ago as the head strength and conditioning coach and kind of served in that role for about four years. And then only, I guess, two years ago now was promoted into this Assistant Athletic Director role.
[00:02:00.40] I still serve basically as the head strength and conditioning coach at Vassar. But I also do a lot of administrative stuff and help advise coaches in exercise science and work with administrators to help them understand the bigger training dynamics.
[00:02:13.45] So I think that overall, the role has grown a lot in the seven years I've been at Vassar. But I'm super proud of where we're at. We've got 29 different sports. I'm never bored. That's 600 different student athletes.
[00:02:28.83] So we definitely have a really unique environment that I work in, but it's super fun. And the high academic student is one I've worked with prior to coming to Vassar. But I really enjoy-- they're super smart kids and push me to be better every day, which is awesome.
[00:02:43.41] That's cool. What are some of the stops you've had along the way?
[00:02:46.92] Yeah, so I started off my career at Dartmouth College. I actually got an NSCA assistantship to do that there at Dartmouth College and walked in with four teams on day one. By day seven, I had seven teams because we had a change of staff, so kind of got my feet wet right out the door.
[00:03:03.37] So I was at Dartmouth for a year, had stopped at the University of Montana for grad school. I was at Williams College for a while as well and Bates College. So again, a little bit of time with D1, but then I was a Division III athlete and wanted to give back to that. So have come back to the D3 level and really enjoy servicing those student athletes.
[00:03:23.77] One thing you said, you really got thrown into the fire early. You went all over the country. You experienced a lot of different things. But you got coaching experience early. Do you think that's important for young professionals getting into the field?
[00:03:38.68] 100%. I think I'm the coach I am today because I was thrown right into the fire. I definitely had good support, so I wasn't going to fail. But I have young assistants now who come into my setting with 29 different teams. And a lot of them are coming either straight from undergrad or straight from grad school.
[00:03:54.89] And I'm like, here's five to seven teams, get your feet wet, get going right away because I want to give back that experience that I had, help them fail up, try a lot of different things, see what works, see what doesn't. In strength and conditioning, there's so many different modalities that will work for you. So I want to give young coaches the kind of experience I had, which was get your feet wet right out the door and experiment yourself so you can really understand how your programs are working.
[00:04:21.01] How does that work when you're-- I mean, you're obviously an administrator of the program, the head strength coach. You're bringing in young professionals and giving them some leeway to make coaching decisions, to work with teams, to talk to athletes. How do you guide these young professionals, but in a way that keeps the program at the highest level under the supervision of someone who's qualified?
[00:04:46.33] That's a great question. I think that's the thing I'm challenged with every year because I've had a different assistant-- for the past five years, I've had a different assistant every year. And the challenge is continuity and maintaining that program to the highest possible standard.
[00:04:59.39] And so I think part of that is in the interview process when I'm talking with these candidates for this position is understanding what their past experiences. Did they play that sport, or do they feel comfortable with that knowledge base?
[00:05:12.48] So give them some things that they already are bringing in a wealth of experience with, but also understand what areas could they grow with and talking with them about things that they want to grow with, and also understanding what sport coaches would be a good fit with their personality, their interactions.
[00:05:29.08] I really think about it as a whole. My staff is collaborative. So even when my assistant is going to take on a team that maybe I've been programming for the previous year, I'm going to sit in on all of those meetings.
[00:05:40.70] And vice versa, they're going to sit in on all of my meetings with my coaches as well. That way, we're always in the know. So if I do have a concern about, hey, this is a little different this year, let me just bring some insights in-- it's collaborative in nature, if that makes sense, kind of answering that.
[00:05:56.24] Totally. One thing we get asked a lot at the NSCA is about career progressions and pursuing, hey, I want to be a strength and conditioning coach, or even sometimes, hey, I'm studying to be a physical therapist, what should I learn about strength and conditioning, all these different things?
[00:06:14.07] I think one of the things that gets missed sometimes is what's the 9 to 5 like? What's the daily routine in your role at Vassar as a Division III strength and conditioning coach, department head, all the responsibilities you have so that people listening can maybe connect better with what the job is?
[00:06:34.55] Yeah, for sure. So I feel fortunate. I work Monday through Friday. I don't work weekends, which is pretty nice. But that is a long Monday through Friday. I'm getting into the weight room at 6:15 in the morning.
[00:06:45.77] Our first session starts at 7:00 AM. We have a morning kind of block. So we run lifts at 7:00, 8:15, 9:20. We have staff lift. I advocate to my administration that that's an important part of our day to be trialing out programs, dialing things in. That happens at 11. And then 12 to 2 is our break for meetings. That's the time I have to do a coach meeting, sports med, that type of thing.
[00:07:09.16] 2 o'clock, we start up our afternoon lifts again. So we have a 2 o'clock, 3:30, and some days, we have a 4:30. So we're wrapping up, getting out of the weight room about 5:45, 6-ish on our later days, kind depends on whether we have that 4:30, we have an extra team session, some conditioning or whatnot.
[00:07:28.17] But generally, it's like a 6 to 6 is kind of what I have blocked off on my calendar. So it's a long day, but they're fun. And I think the nice thing about Division III is I say we kind of ride the roller coaster. We're in a really busy seven-week stretch right now. But we're about to have a two-week spring break where our schedule gets really chill.
[00:07:46.74] So we get to recharge our batteries a little bit, do some professional development during that time, and then we'll come back, have a big six-week stretch again, and then summer break. So you ride the roller coaster of really, really busy times where you're working really intense amounts of hours. But then you do get a little bit of a reprieve, which is kind of what I really enjoy about being at the D3 college academic setting.
[00:08:08.89] I like thinking of the field this way. In terms of different areas, there's going to be different time demands. There's going to be slightly different schedules. I know working in professional baseball, it was that second shift, that 11 to 11, from getting there early to after the game. And I like that.
[00:08:27.31] I know some areas in the field, private sector, some colleges, universities where you're the 5 AM, 5 PM strength coach. And the middle of the day is a more of a break. But it's nice. You have a similar day to maybe what the student athletes are going through and the rest of the administration there. So that's a nice balance for you.
[00:08:50.07] Yeah, for sure. One thing I've tried to advocate for and got me kind of interested in trying to talk with other professionals about is just how do we build sustainable pathways in strength conditioning? And what's sustainable for me is very different from other coaches. So I'm not saying what's good for me is good for other people. But at Vassar, I've really been able to build what I feel for me is a pretty sustainable model.
[00:09:11.60] Sure, I'm pretty tired come the end of my coach day, for sure. But I'm able to recharge and get going again, gives me the weekends, those types of things, so I can be the best coach I can possibly be for the next week, if that makes sense. So for me, it's been a really great model.
[00:09:25.01] And I think a lot of that is attributed back to the coaches I work for and the administration. I just have tremendous support here at Vassar that just makes it possible for me to run the program. But I feel it's been very successful.
[00:09:39.34] So when we're talking sustainability, that comes through loud and clear in leadership within our field. And that's something that you've really taken a proactive role with. You've helped to form a Liberty League Strength & Conditioning Committee. How did that group come about? And what do you all talk about?
[00:10:00.13] Yeah, so that's a byproduct of COVID. I think during COVID, a lot of people were like, let's get on Zoom and talk to each other. And so during COVID, a few of us in the league kind of got the ball rolling on collecting, meeting once a month on Zoom and just talking about ideas. What were we doing during that time?
[00:10:19.61] But since then, we've more formalized. We've given ourselves a name. We try and report back to one of the ADs within our conference. So we actually have a more formal structure that we've kind of created.
[00:10:29.53] And so basically, now, we meet twice a semester. And the agenda is very informal. Coaches bring questions to the table. We talk about them. We promote different jobs, clinics, things going on in their area. There's definitely a lot of good like banter. We all compete against one another. We want our schools to be successful. But there's just a tremendous amount of want to be supportive of each other's programs.
[00:10:52.37] And we face similar challenges, whether that's budgeting, staffing, facility needs, whatever it is. We're able to just be in that space together and talk about common issues and help troubleshoot with each other, which has really been a really great group for us, for sure. I really enjoyed the time we spend interacting.
[00:11:11.96] Say at the D3 level or in the Liberty League, what are some of the common challenges you all face? Is it staffing? Is it resources? What have you seen?
[00:11:21.53] Well, the cool thing about the Liberty League-- I think it's really cool-- is we're all so different. Vassar College is a high-academic institution, whereas we've got Bard College, which is very performing arts kind of oriented. And we've got Clarkson, SLU, RIT, all who have like D1 hockey. So they have a whole mix of sports there. Hobart William Smith has D1 men's lacrosse.
[00:11:44.73] So there's a real mix of sports and dynamics that are very different. And the programs are actually run quite differently. So I'll get to similarities. But just to say, I love being on the calls because I'm learning very much so about other schools and other dynamics that are very different from Vassar and what they have going on. So it's kind of cool to see those different dynamics at play.
[00:12:07.95] But similarly, we are still, for the crux, all Division III schools. The common themes we see are our staffing, budget, facility, space limitations. I think that's pretty common amongst Division III.
[00:12:22.59] Ratios of coach on the floor to student athlete, I think that's a common theme you're seeing in Division III as well. Nothing mind blowing, I think, from what you probably have seen from other Division III coaches. But it's nice to at least feel like you have common issues or hard points with colleagues and can talk through those and figure out, view it from a different lens, get some different creative ideas.
[00:12:48.12] Yeah, I mean, open communication is always a good thing. We've seen that in multiple areas of the field, obviously networking, extending resources that you have to help each other. You might be able to help someone's career.
[00:13:01.57] You might be able to help their institution and really grow our profession. You've been very involved with the NSCA. You mentioned being a foundation assistantship coaching recipient to get your career started. What are all the activities you've been able to participate in at the NSCA?
[00:13:20.85] Yeah, kickstarted my career. And then I think it was in 2022, I kind of had this realization. I'd been in the field for 10 years. And I was like, well, hold the phone. I need to start giving back to this industry that I love so much and also the organization that kind of helped me get my start.
[00:13:38.50] So I started off just by speaking at a state clinic, kind of got my feet wet building some just connections, learning the clinic or speaking world. And then from there, I applied last year to be on a couple different committees. So now, as you mentioned earlier, I sit on the college coaches professional development committee.
[00:14:01.56] So I just started up that work this past summer. And then I also sit on the NSCA Foundation's grants and assistantship committee. And so I help give back to the thing that first started off my career, so helping select candidates and working with Carissa Gump and their group on that front.
[00:14:19.90] You were part of a 2024 meeting for the next NSCA strategic plan. You got to come out to headquarters, meet a lot of our board of directors, leaders at various levels of the NSCA. How was that experience for you? And what's on the horizon for the NSCA?
[00:14:40.60] Yeah, it was an awesome opportunity for me. Honestly, I had just joined on both these committees this summer. So it was coming in with very little to no knowledge of the inner workings of the NSCA. So I showed up in Colorado, probably the most green individual at the table with-- the whole board was there.
[00:14:59.09] I got to meet most of the staff at the headquarters out there, which was just great to just meet all these people. You see their faces online. You hear them talk or read emails. So it's great to just meet all the individuals there at the NSCA.
[00:15:12.70] And then it was such a unique opportunity to be a part of building out the strategic plan for the next three years, which is really, really cool. I really appreciated Ian Jeffreys, who's our new president, kind of bringing in these professional development groups and wanting to really have the voices of the boots on the ground a part of that strategic plan in a really meaningful way to further our profession.
[00:15:35.57] So from that, we spent three days hashing out what a strategic plan should look like from all different facets. And we got down to a really clean framework, which is the profession, the professional, and the organization. And I think underneath each of those topic areas, we're really looking forward to building out some different goals to bolster the professional, professional, and organization.
[00:16:02.39] And I think those can be pulled into a PDG, pulled into headquarters staff. You can pick your pockets and find different goals for that. The goal was to give us some headers to create strong working groups to give back to those boots on the ground from the professional development group areas.
[00:16:23.39] It's important we do a strategic plan every so many years, to revisit some of the main topics that we are bringing into the NSCA and making sure that what we're working on at headquarters resonates with the field and is coming from voices in the field. So bringing in our professional development groups to the strategic planning process is extremely valuable. It was a positive step.
[00:16:51.24] I know Dr. Jeffreys was extremely passionate about the PDG program and the voices that would be represented to our leadership in that way. So a lot on the horizon for the NSCA. These will be rolled out throughout 2025 into the next few years. And we should start to see things going in that direction.
[00:17:14.72] And so it's a good measuring stick for us to look back on how we did and what our strategic plan goals were. But it's also-- at this stage of the game, we get to forecast a little bit. Where's the field going? What can we do to make it better and really engage a new crop of volunteers and coaches to get involved and help us?
[00:17:37.91] So really appreciate all your involvement with that. You really embody someone who-- you've gotten involved at every stage of your career in the NSCA. And I think there's a lot of coaches that maybe see themselves progressing into leadership or progressing into opportunities where they might be in the front of the room or sharing as part of a committee. But they're not doing that at that current stage in their career. What's your message to them to get involved?
[00:18:13.02] Yeah, I think especially to younger coaches, I think that for so long you're thinking, what's the next step to push my career forward? I need to build my network or things like that. I think it's important to think outside of just yourself. I think at some point, you have to take a step back and think, OK, this career is treating me really well, or I'm building all these networks to get me to that next dream job or whatever it might be.
[00:18:36.07] But I think I had a real step back where I was like, hold on, I need to give back to the bigger community and really trying to get involved that way. So I think my advice is that you're never too young to get involved, for sure, so even young coaches, whether it's applying for grants or assistantships or whether it's, hey, I've only been in this field coaching for two years, try and jump on a SIG group or a professional development group.
[00:19:02.10] Get involved in some way on a small level, even if it's just attending your first national conference. Get to a conference. Attend some of these meetings you feel really passionately about. And don't be afraid to speak up.
[00:19:13.87] I think that's one piece is sometimes you go into a room and there are some big names sitting in that room, some strength coaches you've idolized your whole life. Don't be afraid to put your two cents in there as well because everyone's voice is really valued at NSCA. And that's what I've always really appreciated is that no matter big or small, we want to hear from you as an organization.
[00:19:34.38] And you're really valued no matter where your experience level lies. So I think that part is the biggest piece of advice I would want to give back is just get out there, get involved. No small amount is too small to get involved. Anyone's voice can be heard.
[00:19:53.82] I know some coaches are going to want to reach out, learn more about the PDG strategic plan, some of the different things you've been a part of, maybe even coaching at the D3 level or a school like Vassar. What's the best way for them to contact you?
[00:20:07.45] Yeah, email is probably my best method to get a hold of me. That's kind of where I live and die. My Instagram is definitely always available to hit me up on the DM there. I'm not very social media savvy.
[00:20:19.73] But I definitely keep a presence there for sure as well. But those questions, anything like that you want, I'm happy to talk with anybody. So shoot me an email is probably the easiest way. And then from there, we can find a good way to connect.
[00:20:33.64] Sounds great. We will add those to the show notes. We'll add a link to the college coaches professional development group as well, so you can learn what's going on there, how to get involved, and who else is on the committee with Alice.
[00:20:48.10] Thanks, Alice. Really appreciate everything you're doing for the profession. Thanks for being involved with the strategic plan. Really great episode, sharing a little about the NSCA but your path into the profession.
[00:21:02.56] Yeah. No, thanks. I really appreciate you and all the NSCA's doing to help push us all forward. So thank you.
[00:21:09.40] Absolutely. To all our listeners, we appreciate you. Thanks for tuning in. Also, a special thanks to Sorinex Exercise Equipment. We appreciate their support.
[00:21:18.52] Hey, guys. It's Dr. Bryan Mann coming at you from Texas A&M University. Hey, this is a call to arms. If you feel like there's something that needs to be done, something that needs to be changed, this is your call to go ahead and sign up for the volunteer opportunities within the SIGs, the different committees, or just to get involved in your local chapter. Please go to the website for more details.
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[00:21:41.95] This was the NSCA's Coaching Podcast. The National Strength and Conditioning Association was founded in 1978 by strength and conditioning coaches to share information, resources, and help advance the profession. Serving coaches for over 40 years, the NSCA is the trusted source for strength and conditioning professionals. Be sure to join us next time.
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