Building a Championship High School Strength Program | Riley Edgerton

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Plates and Pancakes, Steven sits down with Riley Edgerton, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at Munster High School, for an in-depth conversation about building a successful high school strength and conditioning program from the ground up.Riley explains how he developed a comprehensive strength and conditioning manual, established a point-based grading system for athletes, and built a program that now serves hundreds of students. He shares his philosophy of “do it right, do it fast, then do it heavy” and explains how he uses that principle to teach movement, develop athleticism, and establish high standards in the weight room.The conversation also dives into Riley’s approach to youth athletic development, including summer camps and the Futures Program for middle school athletes. Riley discusses teaching fundamental movement patterns before progressing to more complex exercises, including his unique “sandwich method” for teaching the power clean.Steven and Riley also explore velocity-based training (VBT), auto-regulation, APRE, sprint mechanics, resisted sprinting, and the importance of using technology as a coaching tool rather than a replacement for the coach’s eye.Beyond programming, Riley shares how he is building the Mustang Mentality at Munster High School—developing leadership, accountability, work ethic, and a culture that extends beyond the weight room. They discuss athlete-driven leadership, incentives, competition, and how external rewards can eventually develop into internal motivation.This episode is a deep look at what it takes to build a sustainable high school strength and conditioning system—from program design and exercise selection to coaching, youth development, leadership, culture, and long-term athletic development.Topics Covered:* Building a high school strength & conditioning program from scratch* Creating a strength & conditioning manual* Point-based athlete grading systems* Youth athletic development* Futures Programs and summer camps* “Do it right, do it fast, then do it heavy”* Teaching the power clean* Riley’s “sandwich method”* Velocity-Based Training (VBT)* APRE and auto-regulation* Sprint mechanics and resisted sprinting* Athlete-driven leadership* Building a championship weight-room culture* External vs. internal motivation* Mustang Mentality* Testing and performance metrics* Long-term athletic development* Coaching hundreds of athletes effectivelyhttps://youtube.com/@platesandpancakes4593https://instagram.com/voodoo4power?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=https://voodoo4ranch.com/To possibly be a guest or support the show email [email protected]://www.paypal.com/paypalme/voodoo4ranch