It is a great honor for The University of Alabama Strength and Conditioning Staff to nominate John McWilliams-Jr for the CSCCa Lance Vermeil Award. John joined our staff at Alabama in the summer of 2015 as a volunteer intern after the completion of his undergraduate degree in Exercise Physiology from Valdosta State University, where he was also a member of the football team. His experience, work ethic and leadership skills have proved invaluable to our staff and more importantly, our athletes.
Strength and conditioning has been a passion for John since he was in high school. He interned and volunteered several years while playing college football at Valdosta State. Following graduation, he attained his CSCS and he plans on acquiring the SCCC this coming May. John's certifications are examples of his dedication to learning and growing in the field of strength and conditioning. He applies what he learns every day as he assists with several of Alabama's sports teams including: football, softball, track and field, women's rowing and men's cheerleading.
There are many of us who have had the privilege of mentoring and supervising John's progress and efforts in assisting the strength and conditioning department. His roles extend as far as programming all aspects of men's cheerleading, centered on effort, toughness, discipline, commitment and pride. These aspects of training are yielding tremendous results in the strength, power and team buy-in. In addition to his current role as volunteer, John attends graduate school and is majoring in Exercise Science with expected graduation date August 2016. He successfully balances his time and resources to maintain a 4.0 GPA.
John's desire to learn and grow serves as an example for our volunteers while he has taken over the role as leader of our Intern/volunteer group. At the beginning of each semester, he teaches and coaches new interns the technique of weightlifting. This is done through day to day programming and coaching. Lifts include: the Olympic lifts and their variations and the power lifts, i.e. bench, squat, and deadlift. His influence on the interns is only matched by his influence on the athletes. John McWilliams has been an amazing addition to our program here at The University of Alabama and we highly recommend him for the CSCCa Lance Vermeil Award. It would be our pleasure to answer any questions in regards to his work and credentials.
