3 names to start this forum off

[syssstem]

#1) Joe Defranco

#2) Kelly Bagget

#3) Alan Barch



read anything and everything by those 3 and your sport specific knowledge base will be increased by 900000000000%

buy their books, their videos, and read all their articles.

[syssstem]

I am hoping Jay or Ben could add some other great sport specific educators that helped them gain the knowledge they have and preach.

Those 3 were meant to get the ball rolling!

[CougClan]

Jim Wendler - I like his no nonsense, no bullshit philosophy for training. A lot of "coaches" make sports performance seem like rocket science and really overthink it. Wendler's stuff is a breath of fresh air. I've seen his 5/3/1 protocol implemented and adapted to football, basketball and track & field with fantastic results.

Mike Boyle - This guy gets hated on a lot, but he's put out a lot of great ideas. You might not agree with all of them, but at least he'll make you think.

Christian Thibaudeau (spelling?) - Before he went to the "dark side" and started pushing 500$ a month supplement protocols, he actually wrote some great articles. He also authored "The Black Book of Training Secrets"; horrible name? Yes, but also a wonderful resource with lots of great information.

Charles Poliquin - Another controversial name in the field. Like Boyle he's thrown some radical ideas out there, but some of them actually turn out to be very good.

Al Vermeil - The only man to have been a strength coach in the MLB, NBA, and NFL. Also probably the only man with an NBA Championship Ring and a Superbowl Ring. Doesn't put out as much info as other coaches, but if you ever have a chance to see him speak at a conference, I strongly recommend it.

Yuri Verkhoshansky - "The Father of Plyometrics". Started writing about plyometics in the 1960s. If you can pick up one of his textbooks and actually understand what he's writing about after only reading it once, you're lying. His works are very difficult to get through, but they've also built the foundation for many well known training programs such as the Westside method.

Others...

Old but still good...
Vladamir Zatsiorsky
Bill Starr
Mark Rippetoe
Mel Siff
Dan John

Newer emerging experts...
Eric Cressey
Robert Dos Remedios
Alwyn Cosgrove



This is by no means complete list, but to read through everything that these guys have put out would probably take anyone a couple of years. Probably a good start.