Zach Woodard is a sports performance coach at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Coach Woodard oversees men's soccer, both swim and dive teams, both cross country squads, the softball team, and assists with any other sport when asked upon, showing that he has extensive knowledge and experience in developing athletes to perform at their best. Previously, Zach has worked at Western New England University, Springfield College, and Buffalo State College as an assistant strength and conditioning coach before being appointed as head of strength and conditioning at Hobart & William Smith Colleges, where he oversaw the training programs for all 22 sports, including Division 1 lacrosse. In this interview, Zach shares his valuable insights and advice around performance in the gym, incoming freshmen facing their first preseason, and why discipline is important.

The Importance of Giving Your All in the Gym

You may or may not be an athlete that enjoys going to the gym or have much experience in lifting weights. However, Zach believes that pushing yourself in the gym every day is highly important to be able to transfer the work you do on the gym floor into your sport. “Work in the gym is general preparation,” he said. “It's building general strength, power, and capacities. The more we build that general tank and to draw from, we should be able to use those qualities on the field.”

Related: Strength and Conditioning: What is it and How it Help College Athletes

Although following appropriate training programs that your coaches provide you is highly important in making those small improvements in performance, Zach advocates that the athletes are the ones in control of how much they push themselves and get out of what they do. “Let's take a jump or a loaded jump [for example],” Zach said. “If you have the purpose and intent of jumping with maximum force, and not just going through the motions, you're going to benefit a lot.”

Recovery is Key!

Although coach Zach discusses the importance of working hard in the gym, giving your all, and exposing yourself to stimulus to get better, he expresses that recovery plays a large role in how well an athlete can develop and improve. “Getting good sleep, adequate nutrition, hydration, and doing all the extra things to help you recover from the stimulus you get–whether it's in the gym, on the pitch, or in the pool–is highly important”.

Related: The 3 Cornerstones of Recovery for Athletes

Incoming Freshmen Tips

Joining a new team and becoming part of a new college can be a daunting experience for incoming freshmen. Prior to preseason or beginning practices with a new team, incoming freshmen may feel lost in what they need to do prior and have no knowledge of what preparation work needs to be done. Coach Zach gives his take and tips for incoming freshmen: “In general, I would say just be in shape,” he said. “For the sport of soccer, that's making sure your fitness is up and being keen and sharp on your skills. Incoming freshmen may have never lifted a weight in their life and that's why people like me have a job where we teach them everything. But if they have a general base of fitness and a base of athleticism, we can take that clay and mould it.”

Related: 4 Tips to Help Athletes Prepare for Preseason Soccer

Discipline Equals Freedom

A great point that Zach discusses in the interview is around discipline. “I live by [what Jocko Willink says]: discipline equals freedom,” Zach said. “The way I view discipline is doing what needs to get done and being able to attack the task at hand.” Discipline was one of the key traits that Zach thinks is most important for athletes who enter his gym and in general to succeed. Therefore, following the training program that coaches provide religiously, giving 100% effort into everything that you do, and being consistent over long periods of time are points that can be taken away from Zach's views. 

Related: Jocko Willink: The Relationship Between Discipline and Freedom 

A final thought from coach Zach around discipline: “It might not be easy, but we're going to go ahead and do it. It's the ability to understand long-term that ‘this is going to make me better'. Having the discipline to do the stuff that's hard, allows you to have the freedom to be better for it later.”

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* Originally published on April 24, 2023, by Rhys Davies