Stan Luttrell Jr., MS, CSCS, has built one of the most accomplished careers in high school strength and conditioning, Olympic weightlifting and football coaching in the Southeast.
An Original member of the NHSSCA and a longtime Georgia State Advisory Board Member, Luttrell has been a powerful advocate for integrating elite strength-training principles into high school athletic development.
Luttrell is a USA Weightlifting Level 5 Senior International Coach, a Lead Instructor for USA Weightlifting Coach Certifications, and a co-founder of Team Georgia Weightlifting, which has produced national champions, international competitors, and Olympic athletes—including Jenny Arthur, a 2016 U.S. Olympian.
As a high school football coach and strength coordinator, Luttrell has led transformational programs across Georgia and Tennessee. His teams have achieved state championships, deep playoff runs, and historic turnarounds, while consistently implementing unified, school-wide strength and conditioning systems. Currently serving as Strength & Conditioning Coordinator and Defensive Coordinator at Colquitt County High School, Luttrell has earned back-to-back-to-back Region Championships and multiple State Strength Coach of the Year honors (four-time Parker Resources 7A). He was named the NHSSCA Georgia Coach of the Year in 2023.
Lutrell is known for his ability to build culture, develop athletes, and mentor coaches, and his influence extends far beyond wins and titles—shaping generations of athletes through discipline, accountability, and relentless standards.
What do you enjoy most about being a strength and conditioning coach?
I really enjoy helping my student-athletes develop into the best version of themselves. The discipline and consistency that it takes in that development can be utilized throughout their academic and athletic careers. Ultimately, I’m honored to get to be a part of their lives and celebrate their success.
Please describe your training philosophy.
I believe that the best way to train athletes is using the Olympic lifts. I have a detailed teaching plan that I call “Learn to Lift,” and it is the cornerstone of my program. I have a detailed LTAD plan that begins with Learn to Lift and progresses to Lift for Life.
Do you strongly believe in using elite strength training principles in high school athletic development? Can you expand upon your beliefs?
I believe in barbell fundamentals and quality movement while using the Olympic lifts as the foundation of my program. One of my favorite sayings is, “Do it right, Do it fast, and then–and only then–Do it heavy.”
What do you consider your greatest accomplishments as a strength coach?
I have trained an Olympian, Weightlifting National Champions, and high school athletes from various sports who would go on to play at the collegiate and professional levels. But I would say that my greatest accomplishment as a strength coach has been training my own children. I have had the privilege of introducing each of them to the bar and then seeing them develop into elite athletes themselves in their chosen sport.
You have impacted so many student-athletes during your career. What stands out most about your career?
I have been at 10 schools in 28 years, from the smallest classification to the biggest, and for the most part the student-athletes are all similar. They want a teacher/coach who knows what they are doing, cares about them as a person, and can motivate and inspire them to work to be the best they can be. I learned how to teach and apply the Olympic lifts from my mentor, CJ Stockel. CJ and I started Team Georgia Weightlifting together, which at one point was the largest weightlifting team in USA Weightlifting. I would attribute most of my teaching and training philosophy to three legendary coaches: CJ Stockel, Mike Burgener, and Glenn Pendlay. All were excellent at teaching and programming the beginning weightlifter.
You believe in Olympic Weightlifting as an important part of developing athlete strength. Can you please expand upon this philosophy?
I believe that there is not a better way to train athletes than with the combination of the Olympic lifts, sprinting, and jumping. The Olympic lifts are the center of my program, and everything else radiates from these lifts. I have a system that starts with a detailed teaching progression and then gradually progresses as the students progress in their technique and time with the bar.
