Issue 174

December 2018

The American Top Team coach reflects on his start in the business and building trust with his charges.

Q. You don’t just become the head Strength and Conditioning coach at ATT overnight. What was the route that got you to where you are today? I started as a fighter. In the beginning when I left college I knew I had to do something. I had to compete. I played college football for Alabama State. I had my degree and I was doing personal training on the side. I met a guy by the name of Din Thomas. I went to his satellite ATT School. I was training there and getting involved in the sport I was an amateur for about six months then I turned pro. Usually when you have these satellite gyms, you go to Coconut Creek, our headquarters, to test your skills there. It’s iron sharpens iron with everybody.

We used to go out there and I would cross train with the elite guys who were there at the time. I opened my own facility at 22 years old. I was training my teammates and other amateurs in the area. About four or five years later I retired from the sport of MMA due to concussions I suffered playing football. It was just one too many at the time.

It was a freak accident. We were drilling and he threw a kick that hit me in the back of the head. I was concussed for a good amount of time. I didn’t feel right. I went to a neurologist and he said if I didn’t quit I was going to have Alzheimer’s by the time I was fifty. He said it was a good idea to call it quits with the fighting. It took me a while. I’d put a tremendous amount of time and hard work and dedication into it. For me to stop instantly was a bitter pill to swallow. When I retired I was in limbo. I didn’t want to do anything with the sport. I didn’t even watch fighting for a while.

I got into power lifting and strongman. I was doing that consistently. The opportunity came up where Din got one of the coaching jobs down at Coconut Creek. I asked if he would meet for some coffee. We met and I told him that I really wanted to get back involved with the sport. He said I might be in luck because the old strength coach was leaving. He asked if I could get my resume together. I told him I had it with me. I live about 90 minutes away from Coconut Creek. I make the two hour commute every day. I drove down there and the first day I trained Tecia Torres, King Mo Lawal, Dustin Poirier and Hector Lombard. I was thrown into the re. At that point I was working with fighters for six or seven years. I used to train there so I knew those guys in passing. It wasn’t like I was a brand new coach who didn’t know anything. They liked my style. They liked the way I coached. I try to stay as personal and keep great relationships with the fighters. That’s a key concept to have when you are trying to create buy-in and trust in the program. That’s the big thing I usually harp on. I was a fighter before, so I understand the process they go through on a daily basis and in camp. We connected there. I had a conversation with Conan and it was a good t. It took about a month before they put me on the staff as a coach. It’s been great. As a coach, I have won three world titles so far. We are looking to get Dustin in there to get his shot, too. It’s been a good year and it’s only going to get better.

Q. With all that being said, what is your proudest moment as a coach to this point in your career?

In general, the progression with all the fighters that I am working with and creating that relationship, I think that is the one thing I can say I am truly proud of. Every fighter in that gym I have created a relationship with. Even the ones that don’t work with me physically, I create a relationship with them. I make sure they understand that I am there for them, whether I’m training them one on one or in a group or if they need to come to me for weight cutting advice or anything else. I am there for them. That is the one thing I can say is my true accomplishment. This game is always going to be ups and downs. That’s what makes a coach a coach. It’s not about counting sets and reps. For me, it’s just being there for them daily. If they call me at 3AM. and need advice I can give it to them. I’m not just a Strength and Conditioning coach. If that was the case, I would just be a regular trainer. I look at myself as a performance coach. I want to get them in the best possible position to be successful. If I can do that with everybody than I did my job. At the end of my life I don’t want to have any regrets. I want to help as many people as possible and do that in a timely manner and make sure that it works out for each individual than I will be happy.

As far as specific fights, Joanna winning her last fight was big for me. Amanda winning the title from Meisha Tate was huge, too. That was big for me as a coach. The main thing though is creating a relationship with each and every fighter at American Top Team.