Her Story
About Jen
I've been working in strength and conditioning for about 15 years across different age groups and settings. I started in the high school setting back in 2011, where I worked as a strength coach, math teacher, and sport coach for basketball and volleyball, including men's basketball. Two years ago, I transitioned to the college level at a Division II school, which happens to be the same school where I earned my bachelor's degree, so it's been really cool to come back. In my current role, I work with 11 college teams, and we start at 5:30 in the morning. Right now I have football, and we warm them up, take them through their lift, their conditioning, and any recovery aspects like stretching or cool-downs. Then we move to the next team, whether that's tennis, volleyball, or others. We have every team 3 to 4 times a week, and I usually work from 5:30 a.m. to about 6 p.m. every day. A few years ago, I started my own business called Lock and Key Athlete because a lot of high schools in Arizona didn't have strength and conditioning programs, and the people running weightlifting sessions were just PE teachers who weren't really getting the athletes what they needed. I remote contract with high schools that don't have certified strength coaches on staff and run their programs remotely through an app after working in person with them initially. I recently published a performance journal as another piece I'm adding to my business to help with all the other things athletes need to be successful beyond just the weight room. I'm currently working on my master's degree in kinesiology and earned my CSCS certification (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) through the NSCA about 4 years ago, which is required to coach at the college level.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jen
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think having such a good foundation from my family, from my parents, and my brothers and sisters.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is probably to find a mentor, and don't be scared of failing, because that's how you're gonna learn the quickest.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say take up space would be probably my number one. We're always going to be the outcasts and the outliers in this industry, and so if we don't take up our own space and not play small, we'll end up leaving very quickly, because it's a tough one for a female. So I would say definitely take up space and make yourself be seen by how good your work is. You don't necessarily need to prove it with your words or anything like that, but just showing people, like, hey, we belong here too, and this is why. Let it show in your performance.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge I've faced is being a female leading multiple all-male sports teams. It's something I welcome as a welcomed challenge. I knew getting into it that this is what it was gonna be, that those barriers were gonna be there for me. So I've had to find ways to still be really good at my job, but also try to break down those barriers. As far as opportunities, right now I'm at a Division II school, so I've kind of promoted up from high school. More opportunities, or better, would be a Division I school, working at a Division I school. You have more resources, you obviously are going to make more money. The hours are probably going to be very similar to what I'm doing right now. That part would be the same, but definitely a Division I school would be another opportunity. Maybe further down the line would be like an athletic director position, or something in that field or in that lane. But honestly, this job is very physical, I don't think I can do this forever, and I'm very aware of that. And so, the streams of income will definitely have to change at some point.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think being a hard worker is really important in my field. Being honest, whether that's with yourself, or your coaches, or your teammates, or whatever, I think being a hard worker and being honest is going to take them pretty far. Having grit is a big one, because you're not gonna make it long in this industry if you don't have thick skin and some grit behind you. So, I would say those are probably my top 3: hard work, honesty, and grit.
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