A veteran of over 100 BFS clinics tells his story
Coach Tom Sullivan with his wife, Courtney, their son, Mason, age eight, and their daughter, Emma, age five. always wanted to be a teacher and a coach,” says Tom Sullivan, a BFS clinician who has given more than 100 clinics. “I played multiple sports beginning in the third grade, and I know that this is what I am supposed to do because I feel more passion and commitment coaching kids than from being in any other profession.” As with the other members of our team of more than 50 BFS clinicians, Sullivan lives the BFS motto that we are a company of “Coaches Helping Coaches.”
Sullivan’s first coaching position was at the University of Evansville. After a year Sullivan decided that the high school environment was the place for him, and so he accepted a job at Monroe County High School in Tompkinsville, Kentucky. He coached at other schools, including one year at Anderson County High in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, then focused more on working for BFS. Sullivan said he first learned about BFS in college, and after studying the ICoach Sullivan (right) with Susquehannock High School athletic director Chuck Abbott (left) and strength and conditioning coordinator Kevin Lawrence. Susquehannock was the BFS High School of the Year in 2009.
program he was convinced that it was the best for young athletes. “After learning about many different types of exercise programs and trying them out, there is no question in my mind that BFS has the most effective program designed for the middle and high school athlete. In addition, it is holistic. We cover everything needed in a strength and conditioning program, from lifting to stretching to plyos to speed. We even have our own nutritional division plus coaching education and certification. Who can compete with that?” Sullivan says that one of his most rewarding clinic experiences has been with Susquehannock High School in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania.
“Once I arrived I immediately got the feeling that this school was about to do something special because of the commitment from the administration, all the way down to the attitude of their athletes. They were more serious and detailed about implementing the system than any other school I had been to in the past.”
Case in point: Just look at the goals their strength and conditioning coordinator wrote out for them in 2008: s !DDITION OF !DVANCED 7EIGHT Training Class at SHS (3 sections) s 7RITE #URRICULUM -AP FOR !DVANCED Weight Training Class s !DDITION OF $OT $RILL AND Stretching Program to all SHS Phys Ed classes s !DDITION OF $OT $RILL TO ALL 3-3 0HYS Ed classes s PERCENT OF *6 6 LEVEL ATH letic teams introduced to the BFS Program s PERCENT OF *6 6 LEVEL ATHLETIC teams fully implementing the BFS Program s PERCENT OF *6 6 LEVEL ATHLETES fully tested and entered into Beat the Computer Pro s PERCENT OF *( LEVEL ATHLETIC TEAMS introduced to and implementing the BFS Readiness Program s PERCENT OF HEAD COACHES WITH "&3 Certification and at least one assistant coach in each sport s $ISPLAY 3(3"&3 3TRENGTH Conditioning Record Board s )NTRODUCE 3(3"&3 3TRENGTH Conditioning Awards Program and Banquet The result of such a commitment, which included BFS clinics every year by Sullivan, was that in 2009 Susquehannock became the 2009 BFS High School of the Year.
“They want to get better each and every day!” says Sullivan. Asked what advice he would give to other coaches about working with young athletes, Coach Sullivan replied, “Focus on fundamentals. Too many coaches want to attempt advanced techniques and strategies with teenagers who cannot even power clean or squat correctly. Master the fundamentals and then advance.”
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From BFS Magazine — March/April 2010. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
