Michael “Coach Steg” Stegemoeller is the strength & conditioning coach at the University of Pittsburgh, leading Women’s Lacrosse and Swim & Dive. A former undersized soccer kid turned performance nerd, he built his chops at MJP, Houston, Texas A&M, and Cincinnati—and now engineers teams that hit harder, move faster, and don’t fade.

Steal-this-playbook:

• Periodize under constraints. Vertical integration + APRE (6/3) to touch all qualities; front-squat base → box-squat peaking; manage “high” days when the sport staff wants Tue/Thu Olympic-only sessions—keep qualities alive without frying athletes.

• Readiness that actually works. Conversations > gadgets, plus CMJ/RSI twice weekly; if outputs dip or practice smoked them, swap full-ROM for pins/boxes, trim accessories, or chase singles/doubles. Remember: how you feel can lie—let performance set the throttle.

• Culture that travels. Show up at practice, own warm-ups, coordinate with coaches in the open; build enough trust that when it gets dark, they toe the line and keep going.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TeamBuildr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

Coaches, revolutionise your training programs with their cutting-edge platform. Create and customised workouts, track progress, communicate effortlessly, and analyse performance data-all in one place. Take advantage of our 30-day free trial and see how TeamBuildr can elevate your team's performance.

Head over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.teambuildr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code "PACHALKUP" for your 30-day free trial.

Steg's Social:

Instagram - @coachsteg

Manny' Social:

Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@_coachmanny_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Enquiries:

mannysilveira@primitiveathletix.com

Rett Larson is an Olympic and pro volleyball S&C coach who turns warm-ups into real training and intent into horsepower. He gamifies everything—measured jumps, landmine throws, reverse treadmill sprints, and sneaky isometrics—so athletes get explosive, durable, and hooked. Creator of No Zombies, he thrives under constraints and builds teams that leave the gym sweaty, smiling, and better.

steal-this-playbook:

• Warm-up = development block. Games that earn the grind (tag/volley variants → 2–3 min micro-dosed isos), then one tracked jump per lift (weighted block/approach/drop-catch), constraints rotated daily (broad-in, left-only, band-accommodated, <200 ms contacts), pairs/leaderboards so intent stays real.

• Constraints > cues (perception–action). Replace cone mazes with spikeball/pickleball/table tennis, copy fencing-style decel, and if you keep ladders, make them leader–follower for rhythm + reactivity. Design the drill so the body learns without the speech.

• Shoulders + posterior chain the volleyball way. Straight-arm capacity (ring hangs + L-sits, handstand holds), landmine coiled-core jerks and throws to vertical (heavier if it still hits vertical), plus Bulgarians/RDLs/Nordics and curved-treadmill badges (chasing top km/h) for the other side of the force–velocity curve; early season hides eccentrics/isos in warm-ups, late season skews reactive/play.

• Creativity under constraints (and the toolbox tiers). No flywheels? Use BOSU (ball-up adduction squeeze), bands, noodles as “swords,” partner backpedal knees-over-toes starts. Build a living library: explore in warm-ups → promote what works, demote what doesn’t. When the HC says “arm speed,” the next two weeks of warm-ups look like arm speed—med-ball throws, landmines, sprint cues—measured and scored.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TeamBuildr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

Coaches, revolutionise your training programs with their cutting-edge platform. Create and customised workouts, track progress, communicate effortlessly, and analyse performance data-all in one place. Take advantage of our 30-day free trial and see how TeamBuildr can elevate your team's performance.

Head over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.teambuildr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code "PACHALKUP" for your 30-day free trial.

Rett's Social:

Instagram - @rettasaurus

Manny' Social:

Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@_coachmanny_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Enquiries:

mannysilveira@primitiveathletix.com

Christina Bernal (Penn S&C) sits down for a raw, no-BS deep dive on building buy-in in the Ivy League, coaching rowers and jumpers in the same room, and why the team-around-the-team matters most when athletes get hurt. We get into contrast training you’re probably not using yet, the micro calls she makes between practice and lift, and coaching the human first—data, nuance, and a little Nickelback for good measure.

Steal-this-playbook:

• Contrast beyond “just load.” ROM contrasts, uni ↔ bi, assisted ↔ resisted, pins/quarter squats for sprinters & jumpers, plus how she stacks plyos (POGOs → depth drop to box jump) with cleans—and why heavy lives Monday while neuro-prep and “feel fast” work land late-week.

• Rowing realities, solved. Long warm-ups after class, CNS “wake-ups,” keeping rib-stress and lat fatigue from nuking the session (trap bar → belt squat/leg press swaps) while protecting water time through daily AT collaboration.

• Coach’s eye + simple data. Weekly RSI/CMJ to catch midterm dips, Perch for athlete ownership, and the 15–30 minute window she uses to rewrite a lift after watching practice.

• Culture that sticks. Buy-in without scholarships, pairing leaders & followers on racks, non-negotiable standards (clean the room, raise the bar), coffee check-ins, and using music requests as a sneaky intent switch.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TeamBuildr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

Coaches, revolutionise your training programs with their cutting-edge platform. Create and customised workouts, track progress, communicate effortlessly, and analyse performance data-all in one place. Take advantage of our 30-day free trial and see how TeamBuildr can elevate your team's performance.

Head over to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.teambuildr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code "PACHALKUP" for your 30-day free trial.

Christina' Social:

Instagram - @coachxtina_

Manny' Social:

Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@_coachmanny_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Enquiries:

mannysilveira@primitiveathletix.com