On Monday mornings at 5:00 a.m. most people are fast asleep, getting their last few hours of rest before starting another week of work. Human Performance coaches, however, are not most people. Also referred to under the title of 鈥淪trength & Conditioning,鈥 Human Performance coaches most days are the first ones into the building and the last to leave 鈥 sometimes by choice, but most of the time because of facility limitations and scheduling conflicts.
It is a young, energetic profession traditionally fueled by meat-heads and macho-men alike. Oftentimes, the Human Performance coach takes on various roles that stretch far beyond the scope of the weight room, such as being a motivational speaker, mentor and therapist for athletes.
On any given day, if someone had the opportunity to visit every collegiate weight room in the state of Nebraska, the athletic weight room in 香蕉视频鈥檚 Lynn Farrell Arena would stand out 鈥 not because of its equipment or the athletes that lift there, but because of the Broncos鈥 Human Performance staff.
Currently in the state of Nebraska there are only five female collegiate Human Performance coaches 鈥 and three coach at 香蕉视频. Their names are Shandra Farmer ’20, Ally Ginkens ’20 and Cassidy Dyhrkopp, and all second-year graduate assistants with the Broncos working with Brett Wells, the director of Human Performance and 2019 NSCA Nebraska Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year.
A fourth female Strength & Conditioning coach in Nebraska, Laura Buttermore, is an assistant coach with the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). Before UNO, Buttermore coached from 2012 to 2018 in the weight room at 香蕉视频. This means 80 percent of the female collegiate strength coaches in the state of Nebraska have coached at 香蕉视频 in the last three years.
Hooked on Human Performance
Ginkens, who majored in Exercise Science and Recreation & Sport Management, played volleyball at 香蕉视频 and was a member of the 2016 National Championship squad. The former team captain became interested in Human Performance when she first started working out in the Broncos鈥 weight room and began to see improvements in the performance of her teammates and herself.
鈥淲hen I came to Hastings it was very obvious which freshmen had experience in the weight room and came from a high school that had a strength coach because they were progressing so much faster than players like me who had to start our progress from the ground up due to our technique being wrong from never having anybody to coach us on that before college,鈥 Ginkens explained. 鈥淚 was watching all my teammates making huge strides forward, while I was moving backward. So when I adjusted to the technique and began to see huge improvements I got hooked on human performance and what it could do for myself and others.鈥
Ginkens made the weight room her home when right before her senior season she received the news that former Broncos head volleyball coach Matt Buttermore was moving on to become the head volleyball coach at UNO.
鈥淎s a senior the last thing you want to do is start over and it felt like everything we knew had been erased,鈥 Ginkens said. 鈥淚t was a new culture, new lifestyle, new everything with a new coach and I just really found a home in the weight room where that culture remained the same despite everything in my world that was changing. It held everyone to a high standard and that was really what I clung to. It was a great place for me to exemplify leadership and hard work because it was something that I knew. It was familiar in a time where everything was changing.鈥
This sense of belonging and drive to become better inspired Ginkens to become a graduate assistant of Human Performance at 香蕉视频 where she now coaches women鈥檚 basketball, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 tennis, shotgun sports and football in the weight room.
Finding another path
Farmer is also a Bronco alumni and decorated graduate of the 香蕉视频 women鈥檚 basketball team. As an athlete, Farmer received many honors on the court, including being named First-Team All-Conference her junior and senior years, and as a senior she was named First-Team All-American, the Great Plains Athletic Conference Player of the Year and the Omaha World Herald鈥檚 Midland Co-Female Athlete of the Year in addition to being a team captain.
Farmer, who studied business administration and human resource management as an undergrad, never considered the possibility of coaching until questions about her future in athletics became a consistent theme during her senior season.
鈥淚 had planned to earn a Masters of Business Administration somewhere else, get a business job and use my degree,鈥 Farmer said. 鈥淏ut my senior year, after having a really successful season, I had been approached by multiple people about the possibility of coaching. So it got me thinking that if other people are seeing me as a good leader and having a way of being able to speak to people and help them out, maybe I do need to stay around sports. So this opportunity came up with coach Wells and the Human Performance staff and I took it right away.鈥
In order to receive the foundational knowledge needed to coach Human Performance, Farmer set out to preparing for the Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam through the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA), and got enrolled in the United States of America Weightlifting (USAW) Level 1 coaching course with Ginkens and Dyhrkopp.
She now coaches the Broncos鈥 softball, men鈥檚 basketball and football teams in the weight room while attending University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) to earn an MBA with an emphasis in Human Resources. Her dream is to utilize the combination of her coaching experience and business background to become an athletic director or other form of administrator within an athletic department so she can make the most of her education and stay around sports.
Unlike Ginkens and Farmer, Dyhrkopp did not attend 香蕉视频 as an undergraduate, but joined the Broncos鈥 Human Performance staff after coming highly recommended by her strength and conditioning coaches at UNK, where she ran track as a sprinter and competed in the long jump and triple jump events.
Dyhrkopp became highly involved in the Lopers鈥 weight room after seeing the positive results that strength and conditioning had on her performance as an athlete.
鈥淚n high school, I never really had a strength program. We just had the football coach who taught weights class,鈥 Dyhrkopp said. 鈥淪o when I got to college I had the best strength coaches I鈥檝e ever had and actually saw myself improve in my sport and just life in general. That鈥檚 when it really clicked for me mentally about how much that relationship with the strength coach makes a difference and how much you can accomplish when you buy-in to what they鈥檙e doing.鈥
Dyhrkopp currently coaches the Broncos鈥 volleyball, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 wrestling and football teams in the weight room. Her goal is to be a Human Performance coach, either at the collegiate level or in the private sector working with athletes. She has even entertained the idea of owning her own performance center one day.
Building relationships, growing confidence
When asked about what their favorite part of coaching is, Ginkens, Farmer and Dyhrkopp immediately came to a consensus: relationships.
鈥淥ne of my favorite things is creating relationships, not just with my athletes but all the athletes in general and just getting to know them more than just as a player or as an athlete,鈥 Dyhrkopp said. 鈥淕etting to build those relationships and watch them progress is so meaningful.鈥
Farmer added, 鈥淚 just love having the connections and interactions every single day with other people. Being able to see the athletes and be around people who love playing their sport and want to be there; it鈥檚 amazing.鈥
But as great of a profession as coaching is, these grad assistants still experience plenty of struggle in their day-to-day coaching activities.
Ginkens pointed out that confidence is one of the most important attributes of being a coach, but it鈥檚 a trait that doesn鈥檛 come easy.
鈥淛ust as a young coach, you get questioned a lot,鈥 Ginkens said. 鈥淟ike, if I was five years older people would not even question things, but since I鈥檓 a young coach I feel questioned a lot about what I鈥檓 doing. So that can have an effect on developing confidence, because if you鈥檙e always being questioned about what you鈥檙e doing, you start to question yourself.鈥
For Dyhrkopp, her biggest struggle has been coming face to face with the realization that coaching is a lot more than just X鈥檚 and O鈥檚 and having lots of sports knowledge.
鈥淲hen I first became a coach I thought the hardest part would be programming workouts and those other things that I didn鈥檛 have any experience doing, which of course was difficult at first,鈥 Dyhrkopp said. 鈥淏ut what I didn鈥檛 expect was having to coach more than just technique; things like effort, body language and culture. When you become a college coach, nobody tells you that you鈥檙e going to spend most of your time coaching and managing attitude and effort. I assumed college athletes already had those things taken care of, but I learned differently very quickly.鈥
Dealing with stereotypes
On top of developing their identities as coaches, these women have also dealt with facing the stereotypes and assumptions that come with being females working in a male-dominated industry.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a struggle dealing with the social media influencer stereotype,鈥 Ginkens said. 鈥淧eople think females in the fitness industry are only there to teach people how to develop their glutes and come up with all these 10-minute band workouts and things like that. People just don鈥檛 see females actually coaching athletic teams.鈥
Farmer said personal trainers and social media influencers have their place and do a lot of good. 鈥淏ut when that is the majority of what people see from females in the industry it just becomes much harder to be taken seriously when coaching with the goal of athletic performance,鈥 she said.
They attribute these stereotypes to a large-scale issue in the realm of Human Performance by sharing: part of the problem is that the field is just over-saturated with unqualified people who are portrayed as personal trainers or specialists.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a huge reason why we鈥檙e seen as different in this setting,鈥 Dyhrkopp said. 鈥淏ecause us as females have also portrayed ourselves this way. We have to get people to see that we can be the smart, sport scientist style of coach as well, not just the model or social media influencer.鈥
Despite the challenges, these coaches have taken an active role in battling biases and assumptions by proving their merit through their own coaching demonstrations and personal workouts.
鈥淧eople can doubt our weight room abilities because we鈥檙e female, but it鈥檚 always funny when the athletes see us doing advanced weightlifting movements and get surprised at how good we are at them,鈥 said Ginkens.
鈥淚 always think it鈥檚 funny when our athletes or other coaches walk by the weight room and see us working out and lifting heavy, then all of a sudden we get a lot more credibility,鈥 Farmer said. 鈥淲e are no longer seen as girls who are just there to clean up the weight room after sessions. But, it鈥檚 not until they see that we know what we鈥檙e doing when we finally get that response and respect.鈥
They鈥檝e also seen these biases and assumptions leave the weight room and leak into professional interactions.
鈥淥ne struggle I鈥檝e specifically had is male coaches being nervous about working around a female every day. I鈥檝e had guys feel that they don鈥檛 want me around because of ideas like 鈥榶ou shouldn鈥檛 cuss around a female鈥,鈥 Farmer said. 鈥淧eople are raised to respect women and that is a great thing. However, when the ideology that men need to act or talk differently around females creates more barriers for women in the workplace, it becomes an issue that should be discussed. That鈥檚 just how it鈥檚 been for so long and if we don鈥檛 talk about it, it becomes this systemic cycle.鈥
On the opposite end of things, Gingens said she鈥檚 struggled with coaches specifically hiring someone because they are female.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like 鈥 no 鈥 I want to be the absolute best candidate you have, not the best female candidate you have,鈥 Gingens said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be hired because I鈥檓 a female. It鈥檚 just something I鈥檝e struggled with. When I apply for jobs I鈥檓 starting to question: are you hiring me because you actually like my work ethic and what I have to offer as a coach? Or is it because I鈥檓 a female and I have some good qualities, but mainly it鈥檚 because you need to hire a female? I just want to be the best for the position.鈥
Building a better profession
Despite the struggle, these women are working through it, hoping to create a better coaching profession and advance the field of Human Performance through their efforts.
鈥淧eople always talk about how this industry is male-dominated and you never really see females in it,鈥 said Farmer. 鈥淭he phrase I always come back to is 鈥榠f not us, then who?鈥 If females don鈥檛 start doing this job, then we won鈥檛 progress or get anywhere in it. We are starting to see more females get into the industry. The change is starting to be made and it鈥檚 pretty cool that we get to be a part of it.鈥
Dyhrkopp said she fully embraces her role as a Human Performance coach and has complete pride in what she鈥檚 doing.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just out here making moves for everyone else,鈥 Dyhrkopp said. 鈥淣ow that I鈥檝e taken the step to be a female Human Performance coach, whenever I鈥檓 looking at jobs or internship opportunities I always look to see if they have female coaches. That鈥檚 something that is just so awesome. And if you look around, you do start to see more and more females in coaching and that is just so cool.
鈥淭he positives we get are the same positives as any other coach who is benefiting their athletes. We鈥檙e here to do the same thing as them. But the added positive of it is that we鈥檙e helping to pave the way for other females in the future. However, we strive for the same things as any other strength coach.鈥
Ginkens said she believes the whole industry itself is making a big change.
鈥淎 strength coach in 10 years is no longer going to be portrayed as this huge meat-head, screaming and yelling at athletes,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd I think part of this change is females making their way into the industry. And I鈥檓 glad we鈥檙e going to be a part of it. If we keep going in the right direction it鈥檚 just a matter of time before having a female strength coach isn鈥檛 special, it鈥檚 just normal.鈥
When asked what advice she would give to other females who dream about working in Human Performance, Ginkens said 鈥淕o for it. It鈥檚 not going to be easy and you鈥檙e going to have to be tough. But just go for it.鈥
Farmer鈥檚 advice is to trust yourself.
鈥淜now who you are and what you want to do, and don鈥檛 let people who don鈥檛 agree with it or don鈥檛 like you make you doubt yourself,鈥 she said. 鈥淒o qualified work by growing through critique and disagreement, but don鈥檛 let it break you completely. Take the opportunity to put yourself in positions that you normally wouldn鈥檛, so when your opportunity does come you鈥檙e ready for it.鈥
Farmer, Dyhrkopp and Ginkens have elevated the 香蕉视频 Human Performance program above any previous level. They bring intelligent work, accountability, vulnerability and goodwill to an athletic department that consistently reaps the benefits of their intentional efforts. Every day these women are working toward building a better world of athletics, and hope to spark the minds of others who wish to do the same.