Tim Lang Interview

Tim is presently the strength and conditioning coach at DePaul University in Chicago. Before that he was the strength and conditioning coach with the Texas Rangers. Tim was an intern for me, in fact the first in pro baseball in 1991. He was also my assistant with the White Sox for several years. He was also a high school teacher and coach for over twenty-five years. He is a great friend and the consummate professional.

What are most essential requirements for a successful conditioning
program?
Support from the coaching staff - without their support you are
limited in what you can do.
What are the most common mistakes in conditioning?
Overtraining - this is an issue with conditioning coaches who allow
sport coaches to "run" the conditioning program, there is a difference between support and interference. Coaches usually equate work with (total collapse and fatigue). they do not understand the complexity of training periods, yearly, monthly, weekly and daily cycles.
What is "functional training" from your point of view?
The ability to support and balance your body weight while completing simple and complex athletic movements.
What do you do to make your training more functional?
We do multiple single leg movements, not only vertical but horizontal and change of direction movements. This is true in the weight room as well as during conditioning.
How important is specificity?
Depends on the time of the year, the training age of the athlete and the comfort level of the conditioning coach. In my mind specificity does not necessarily mean copying or mimicking a specific sport specific movement. I believe that it is important to train athletic movements. Athletic movements are similar for a variety of sports. Core rotation and angle twists, lower body explosiveness (take off- landing), Upper body follow through (arm movements - load/unload), Agility movement patterns - work/rest ratio (game situations)
What aspect of conditioning athletes is most difficult and how have you tried to address it?
Lack of motivation, settling for less than doing their best. Being
comfortable with being mediocre. You as a conditioning coach must be a salesman, you must believe in what you are doing and be excited each and every day - show them what intense training can lead to. Sell it to their pride. Once you have one of two athletes buy into your program, use them to help sell the product, (they should help teach some lifts, they should be placed in a position of leadership)
With the plethora of information available how can a coach determine what is best?
Trust who you get the information from. How does the info fit into
your philosophy. Have a philosophy, stick to it, modify and learn but know what you stand for. Don't change just for change sake.
Where do you stand on nature versus nurture? How much difference can
training make?
There will always be those athletes who are going to be exceptional no matter what the do or don't do. We can always make a difference - intensity and proper progression is the key.
What is the sure sign that a self proclaimed conditioning guru is not a good source of advice?
When he makes claims that are so outrageous they cannot be believed. When he is the only person who can run a specific type of program – when his exercise is the best ever developed and you must purchase the product and training DVD.
What do you differently with the female athlete in terms of
conditioning?
Females require more of a training base. Many have not been exposed to regular training programs. They are typically weaker in their upper body (shoulders) - we use crawls and crab walks and roller coaster pushups for improvement, they have difficulty with intense lower body explosive training (poor landing technique) - we include take off & landing training
What has been the biggest innovation in training that you have seen during the course of your career and where is the biggest room for innovation in training athletes?
Innovation (I don't know if there is anything that is innovative -
everything has been recycled from somewhere and someone. As conditioning coaches we know how to copy, we should know how to modify. The one thing that I've seen is more attention to detail, more attention to proper form and performance. The inclusion of more women in the conditioning coaching field)
What's the biggest issue in training athletes today?
Allowing individuals who are not conditioning professionals to be
involved with the design, implementation and evaluation of conditioning programs - i.e. (personal trainers who passed a simple written test, athletic trainers whose background is rehabilitation, coaches who want to do it the way that they did it 15 yrs ago) Not evolving with the influxof knowledge, staying status quo - not stepping out of their comfort zone.
Who has been a role model in your career and why?
Vern Gambetta - he gave me my start and believed in me. He took a chance on a 40+ year old high school teacher and football coach.

What are the biggest professional challenges have you had to face?
Personal Trainers while in professional baseball. (and now - the
personal training guru's) Coaches who coddled and babied their athletes - never wanting to challenge them, accepting the easy way. Coaches who did not understand the role of the conditioning coach, did not understand what could be done, did not change their old notions about training.
What do you enjoy most about coaching? Dislike?
I like seeing the athletes improve during their sport, I like seeing
how they take what we've worked on and applying it to their sport. I like working with motivated athletes, I enjoy the challenges of the athlete who wants more. I dislike lazy, unmotivated individuals. I dislike the waste of time with administrative stuff{administrators} (not test results, but meetings to discuss meetings)
Did there come a time in your career where you were faced with a "fork in the road?" If so, do you ever revisit the decision you made or didn't make?
Yes, I left teaching into strength and conditioning - sometimes
on those bad days I look back and see that I would've been retired (now)if I stayed in teaching. However; it was time for me to leave high school teaching - I made the right decision even though I took less money to
stay in this profession and leave high school teaching.
What inspired you to get into coaching?
I've always been a coach - I enjoy challenge, I enjoy the aspect of
competition, I enjoy the relationships developed in this profession. I knew that my skills would not allow me to continue to compete at a high level, coaching kept me involved in the sports that I love.
Is failure ever valuable?
Yes, How can you learn if you've never experienced setbacks. It has forced me to "look at" things differently, it allowed me to be more self analytical and self critical. Self evaluation is very important.
Which changes now taking place in your field that should be encouraged, and which resisted?
*Becoming a much more professional field. Certification (which could be even more stringent - look at the European model for coaching).Resist the watering down of the profession by allowing personal trainers and others to receive the CSCS certification - the new certification available is a step in the right direction.