Amber Burson is Strength and Conditioning Coordinator and Head Powerlifting Coach at Lexington High School in Nebraska, and she was named the 2022 NHSSCA Region 6 Coach of the Year. Lexington’s Powerlifting Team has won the state championship six years in a row, averaging nearly 150 members yearly. This success is a testament to Coach Burson’s ability to bond with her athletes and get the most out of them.
We asked Amber: “What do you do to build a strong rapport with your athletes so they are fully engaged in your strength/conditioning program?“
Staying committed to a high level of consistency takes a high level of discipline, which can be challenging in today’s world. Committing to consistency, in a sense, means you will never get bored with the basics. You are saying “Yes” to a commitment to the mundane, the fundamentals, the simple, and the forever, and you are saying “No” to the quick-fix ideas and shortcuts that may be easy at the moment. There is no substitute for staying committed to consistency. When working to engage student-athletes, the question to be answered is, “What can I consistently do?”
In the Lexington High School Strength and Conditioning program, we use many different approaches to engage our student-athletes. Our consistency in each approach keeps student-athletes engaged for four-plus years in our program. The areas outlined below are a few of the things we do consistently.
The first area that we commit to is consistency in building relationships. Student-athletes have people and programs pleading for their attention at all times, so hooking them on lifting weights isn’t enough to keep them engaged in a program for a long period of time. We start with basic relationship–building, like exploring our student-athletes’ interests and goals but then move beyond by learning about their families and future plans. We attend sporting events, dance recitals, band/choral concerts, school plays, and family funerals. We also take an interest in learning what they like to do outside of school and support those areas when possible. Relationship–building can’t be a box you check when a student enters your program; it requires constant maintenance and care.
Along with the above thought is our behavior as a coach. Student-athletes in our program see the same person inside the school walls as outside of the school. We always hold ourselves to the same standard, no matter where students encounter us. We follow through with commitments we make to our student-athletes–whether it is holding them accountable or having consistent daily plans. Student-athletes show faster growth when they feel they can trust the person leading them, and we work hard to gain that trust.
We also gain trust and engagement from student-athletes by staying committed to program consistency. We constantly track data to inform our decisions on what should stay and what needs to improve in our program. Often, we try things multiple times to make sure our first impression isn’t the only impression we have. We educate our student-athletes on the “why“ behind approaches used and the “why“ behind implementing something new. The more knowledge they gain from us on the why behind our process, the deeper the trust and the stronger their engagement in our program.
