The Gridiron Warrior Podcast

Gridiron Warrior Podcast - Nick DiMarco

Nick DiMarco, Assistant AD for Peak Performance at Elon, just released "The Director's Manual." It is the book every assistant should read before they take the head job, and every director should read after they take it. We get into hiring, system building, managing up to your AD, getting admin to fund your vision, and why most strength coaches burn out trying to do everything themselves. If you want to run a department instead of just lift weights, this one is for you. Pick up The Director's Manual on Amazon. 0:00 Intro 3:00 Nick's path from William Penn to NFL to Iowa to Elon 14:00 Why he wrote The Director's Manual 17:00 Autonomy inside a system, not outside of it 20:00 Hiring: the internship pipeline, the trusted network, the open posting 28:00 Patrick Lencioni - humble, hungry, smart 32:00 Aggressive patience and getting admin to fund the vision 37:00 Eliminating the negatives going upstairs 40:00 Building outside projects without burning out 43:00 Unlimited hours - what would you actually do 47:00 Where to find Nick

Gridiron Warrior Podcast - George Adams

The Gridiron Warrior Podcast | "Game Speed, Conditioning & Identity" with Coach George Adams In this episode, I sit down with George Adams, Head Athletic Performance Coach at Madison Ridgeland Academy in Mississippi. We dive into the difference between track speed and game speed. We talk about why running cone drills often doesn't transfer to Friday nights and how to actually fix it. Coach Adams shares his approach to the conditioning debate. He explains why he sits in the middle ground between high-volume tempo runs and the "sprint only" crowd. We also break down how MRA uses shared struggle to build team identity and leadership in a program that constantly plays bigger schools. If you’re tired of athletes looking great in drills but slow on the field, or you’re looking for a better way to structure your conditioning, this one hits home. 👇 Timestamps 00:00 – What the Gridiron Warrior Podcast is about  01:50 – Coach Adams’ journey to MRA  05:30 – Why we stay in Strength & Conditioning  09:50 – Mississippi private school football is different  15:40 – Game speed vs. track speed  19:00 – Why cone drills don't always transfer  22:00 – Skipping robotic arm drills and using constraints  27:50 – How MRA structures the training week  35:00 – The conditioning debate: Tempo vs. Sprints  41:00 – Using GPS to backfill conditioning volume  43:00 – Conditioning for Linemen vs. Skill positions  49:00 – Building identity through shared struggle  52:00 – Decision making under fatigue  57:30 – Where to find Coach Adams  58:45 – Gridiron Warrior Insiders community  🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, discounts, and a private community of coaches leveling up together. 👉 ScottLeechTraining.com Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

Gridiron Warrior Podcast - Mike Serricchio

The Gridiron Warrior Podcast | "Resurrecting a Program & The Single Wing" with Coach Mike Serricchio In this episode, I sit down with my good friend and former teammate Mike Serricchio, Head Football Coach at Ledyard High School in Connecticut. Mike took over a program that was stuck in the "dark ages"—winning only a handful of games in four years—and has rebuilt it into a perennial playoff contender. We dive into the reality of coaching at a small school where you have to wear every hat. Mike shares how he uses the Gridiron Warrior system to outsource his strength & conditioning so he can focus on being a head coach. We also geek out on the Single Wing offense (and why it destroys the 7-on-7 culture), the non-negotiable value of multi-sport athletes, and how to build a team that nobody wants to play against. If you’re a coach trying to punch above your weight class or rebuild a struggling program, this episode is for you. 👇 Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: Train Heroic & Plyomat 03:04 – Mike Serricchio’s journey: From Springfield College to Head Coach at 27 06:05 – The "Why": Teaching delayed gratification in an instant-gratification world 11:50 – The Ledyard Rebuild: Turning around a program after the "Dark Ages" 15:00 – Why Mike outsources his S&C programming to Gridiron Warrior 17:48 – Structuring the High School Off-Season (Winter, Spring, Summer) 21:10 – The "Big Bang" Drills: Why kids love Contact Prep & Scores and Stops 24:48 – Small School Mentality: How to beat teams with double your enrollment 28:00 – Building a "Nobody Wants to Play Us" Culture 31:38 – The Multi-Sport Argument: Why every football player should wrestle or play lacrosse 38:25 – The value of being coached by someone other than your position coach 41:02 – The Single Wing Offense: Flipping the script on 7-on-7 culture 45:00 – The New England Summer Summit & Dante Scarnecchia 47:34 – Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders 🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, discounts, and a private community of coaches leveling up together. 👉 ScottLeechTraining.com Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

Gridiron Warrior Podcast - Mike Niklos

The Gridiron Warrior Podcast | "FASTT: Fixing Broken Drills & Building Reactive Speed" with Coach Mike Niklos In this episode, I sit down with Mike Niklos, Director of Athletic Development at Acceleration Sports Performance. We dig into his "FASTT" philosophy (Football, Agility, Speed, Technical, Tactical) and why so many traditional football drills—like the W Drill—are failing to prepare athletes for the demands of the game. Mike breaks down his three-stage progression for developing elite game speed: Confidence, Consistency, and Chaos. We discuss how to take robotic, pre-planned drills and turn them into reactive, decision-making crucibles. We also tackle the "soft" skill player problem, sharing how to build physicality in WRs and DBs through "Walk Ball" and controlled roughhousing. If you’re still running drills just to fill time, or your athletes look great in cones but slow on Friday nights, this episode is the fix. 👇 Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: Train Heroic & Plyomat 03:56 – Who is Mike Niklos? From Robert Morris to Private Sector 09:20 – The "FASTT" Philosophy (Football, Agility, Speed, Technical, Tactical) 11:40 – The "Aha Moment": Why playing the sport isn't enough to get faster 18:30 – Why the "W Drill" is broken (Too slow, non-reactive, no context) 21:20 – The 3-Stage Drill Progression: Confidence, Consistency, Chaos 24:50 – The "Chaos Phase": Forcing decisions at high speeds 31:30 – Training Vision & Decision Making for Defensive Players 36:00 – "1v1 in the Box" and adding eye-wash to drills 39:00 – Bridging the gap: How S&C and Sport Coaches can work together 42:30 – Building Physicality: "Walk Ball" and controlled roughhousing for skill guys 48:30 – Why Pickup Basketball is banned in the off-season 49:30 – Glazer Clinics & Connecting with Coach Niklos 52:18 – Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders 🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, discounts, and a private community of coaches leveling up together. 👉 ScottLeechTraining.com Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥

Gridiron Warrior Podcast - Nolan Cooney

The Gridiron Warrior Podcast | "From Cancer Survivor to NFL Punter" with Nolan Cooney In this episode, I sit down with Nolan Cooney, a former NFL punter for the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints. Nolan has one of the most unique journeys to the league you will ever hear—he didn't kick a single football in high school. Instead, he was a three-sport athlete (soccer, basketball, baseball) who battled and survived testicular cancer during his junior year.  We dive into how he went from a novice at a post-grad prep school to an NFL starter, and more importantly, how coaches should be managing their specialists. Nolan breaks down the biggest mistakes high school coaches make (like sending kickers to the side field with no plan), how to structure a kicking week to maximize freshness for game day, and why young kickers need to "train like athletes" in the weight room rather than specializing too early.  If you have a kicker on your roster and don't know what to do with them during practice, this episode is the blueprint.  👇 Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: Train Heroic & Plyomat 03:17 – Nolan Cooney: From Cancer Survivor to the NFL 05:54 – The "Gap Year": Learning to kick at Bridgton Academy 09:24 – NFL Practice Reality: Every rep is a Super Bowl 12:00 – Why the kicking position is so under-coached 15:40 – How to structure a Kicker’s practice week (HS vs. College) 18:43 – Managing reps: Using specialists for scout team & situations 21:54 – Drills for downtime: Bad snaps and Jugs machine work 25:00 – Strength & Conditioning: Why kickers must train like athletes 29:30 – The Mental Game: "One thought" and handling pressure 34:20 – Where to find Nolan Cooney 35:28 – Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders  🔗 Join the Gridiron Warrior Insiders Weekly film studies, live Q&As, unreleased podcasts, discounts, and a private community of coaches leveling up together.  👉 ScottLeechTraining.com Keep the Fire Burning. 🔥