Inside Cal Poly's Weight Room: Leadership & Legacy with Sara MacKenzie Ep 51

In this episode of the Athletic Performance Podcast, Coach Ryan Patrick sits down with Sara MacKenzie, Director of Strength & Conditioning at Cal Poly.Sara shares her journey from a $0/hour intern at Arizona State to running a full department at Cal Poly, the challenges of coaching 500+ athletes solo, and how parenting reshaped her coaching philosophy.We cover everything from building systems under resource constraints to balancing toughness and empathy in the weight room — and why durability, not numbers, is the ultimate metric of success.📌 What You’ll LearnHow Sara broke into strength & conditioning when few women had a seat at the tableWhy her Arizona State internship became the turning point in her careerThe systems she uses to manage programming for hundreds of athletesHow COVID forced Cal Poly into a “wedding tent weight room”Balancing parenthood, leadership, and athlete development without burning outWhy Sara chose legacy and community over chasing jobs across the country🔗 Links & ResourcesCal Poly AthleticsFollow me: Ryan Patrick on IG