Scott Bennett: A STT Exclusive

Bringing nearly 23 years of experience in the strength and conditioning field, Scott Bennett is Radford University’s Head Strength and Conditioning Coach. Prior to his appointment, Scott worked as the Senior Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the James Madison Dukes where Bennett was directly responsible for programming baseball, softball, volleyball, and men’s tennis. He was also in charge of mentoring student interns, graduate assistants, and volunteers. Although Scott’s career has taken him as far west as Wyoming, he is no stranger to the New River Valley—having worked at Virginia Tech under Associate Director of Athletics for Athletic Performance Dr. Mike Gentry. During his stay with the Hokies, Bennett was responsible for the development of off-season and in-season strength and conditioning programs for 13 varsity sports, including testing and evaluation, proper training protocol, nutrition, and lifting technique. Prior to his position at JMU, Bennett was the Head Strength Coach at three other institutions—the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Wyoming and Marshall University. In his career, Bennett has coached a multitude of collegiate athletes who have gone forward to find careers in the professional ranks (over 30 in the NFL), as well as conference champions, national champions, world record holders, and Olympians. Perhaps the honor standing out the most in his impressive list of accolades is his accreditation as a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach with the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Association (CSCCa) since 2006. At the time, there were only 62 certified at this level in the world. Today, there are roughly 100 practicing at the Master’s level. This honor paved the way for Bennett’s election to the CSCCa Board of Directors, a position he served for two terms. His involvement with the association allowed for him to be chosen as the first strength coach to be invited as an ex officio member of the NCAA Committee for Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports—a position he has held the last three years. In addition to his numerous certifications in the strength and conditioning field, Bennett was voted by the American Football Quarterly as the College Division Strength Coach of the Year in 1996 and was nominated for the NSCA Strength Coach of the Year in 2002. The SMARTER Team Training Audio Interview Series has been developed to share insights from some of the best in the industry. Stay tuned for more insights, tips, drills, and techniques to come from STT. Be sure to share the STT Audio Interview Series with coaches, trainers, parents, and athletes too. Visit STT at http://www.SMARTERTeamTraining.com . Listen to STT on iTunes at http://sttpodcast.com . Join STT on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SMARTERTeamTraining . Subscribe to STT on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/SMARTERTeamTraining . And follow us on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SMARTERTeam . SMARTER Team Training has been developed to focus on athlete and team development, performance, and education. By incorporating the SMARTER Team Training programs into your year round athletic development program, you will decrease your injury potential, increase individual athleticism, and maximize your team training time.