Amber is in her 19th year as Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at Lexington High School in Nebraska.
Burson arrived in Lexington in 2008 as the school’s first athletic trainer, hired after student-athletes experienced a high number of significant injuries the previous year. Right from the start, Amber realized that implementing a comprehensive strength and conditioning program was critical to preventing injuries while helping students improve athletic development and develop lifelong skills. “When I interviewed for the job, they talked a lot about the number of injuries they had,” she explained. “My suggestion to them at the time was that they needed to get a full-time strength and conditioning person so we could prevent these injuries instead of having to treat them.”
In the beginning, Burson ran the summer weight room, wrote programs for physical education teachers to implement, and worked to bring more structure to the school’s approach. In 2015, Amber moved to a full-time strength coach and teaching position at Lexington and became the assistant athletic trainer, allowing her to work with athletes in the weight room every day. As a result, the program expanded, evolving into a comprehensive curriculum.
Amber has built the Lexington strength and conditioning program into one of the finest in Nebraska. The school was named the state’s High School Strength Program of the Year in 2017–2018. Burson was named the Nebraska Coaches Association Strength Coach of the Year in 2025, the NHSSCA Regional Coach of the Year in 2021–22, and the NHSSCA Nebraska Coach of the Year in 2019–20. She was awarded the SHAPE Nebraska High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year Award in 2022.
In addition to her duties as strength coach and athletic trainer, Burson teaches physical education at the school and has served as Assistant Volleyball Coach, Assistant Boys Soccer Coach, and Head Powerlifting Coach during her tenure at Lexington. She has expanded the school’s powerlifting program from just two student-athletes in its first year to more than 100 participants. The team has won numerous state and national championships.
Burson’s path to education and high school athletics began in the Nebraska Panhandle, where sports were central to her life. After suffering a knee injury in eighth grade, the Kimball native became interested in the medical side of sports and initially explored physical therapy before discovering athletic training. She played basketball for two years at Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte, then transferred to the University of Nebraska–Kearney, where she completed the athletic training program and earned her bachelor’s degree in exercise science in 2004.
Amber earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Chadron State College and completed her teaching certification through the University of Nebraska–Kearney after arriving in Lexington. Amber is also an Approved Clinical Instructor at the University of Nebraska–Kearney, where she supervises UNK internship students.
What do you enjoy most about being a strength and conditioning coach?
My favorite part of the job is watching students come into the weight room with limited movement skills and, many times, a lack of confidence in themselves, then seeing them leave as competent movers who have confidence in their bodies to conquer whatever stands in front of them. Watching them leave as confident, capable individuals gives me great pleasure.
Please describe your training philosophy.
My initial emphasis is on movement quality. Students must become competent movers before we add external load. Once movement is established, we focus on developing strength. After reaching an appropriate strength level for the athlete’s body type, we shift our emphasis to improving speed of movement.
What do you feel are your best qualities as a strength coach?
I believe my greatest strength is consistent, disciplined behavior. We establish routines that help students feel safe, confident, and ready to give their best effort. I remain committed to our weight room principles and make sure we consistently check every box necessary for improvement.
What tips do you have related to these qualities that can benefit other strength coaches?
Make the “big time” where you are by committing to your program and staying long enough to build something meaningful. It’s difficult to become exceptional if you’re constantly changing jobs before seeing progress. Be consistent, be disciplined, and understand that the discipline you demonstrate in your own life will naturally carry over into your weight room.
