Robert and I are on our expedition from our facility, Tyler English Fitness, in Canton, Connecticut to Louisville, Kentucky for our 2 day Mastermind Meeting on Thursday and Friday with some of the best fitness minds in the biz.

Yesterday, Sunday, we started our day at 5am and were on the road to Lawrenceville, New Jersey for our Kettlebell Athletics Certification with Jason C. Brown and Pam MacElree.

Well, 1 wrong turn and 1 wrong high school (we showed up at Lawrenceville H.S. instead of the host school Notre Dame High School some 3 miles apart.

Can’t tell you how happy I am that we had this great opportunity yesterday.

Notre Dame High School can teach every high school athletic program a thing or two about youth strength and conditioning and athlete development.

Notre Dame High School, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, has developed a weight room that is exactly what every high school should aim for!

But, this wasn’t done over night.

In his 11 years at Notre Dame Head Strength and Conditioning Coach John McKenna has done a phenomenal job developing a great program and building the weight room to what it is today.  It is a second home for all of his young athletes. Many of which come back later on in their lives to share how their experience at Notre Dame helped shaped the person they have become.

Coach McKenna strives to provide his athletes the best. He often organizes workshops and programs for coaches and athletes alike, putting all the proceeds back into his weight room.

“If you see something you like….grab it, use it, study it, believe it, master it, benefit from it, then pass it on and always remember to give credit.” UNKNOWN

That quote truly defines the man that Coach McKenna is and the reason he has built the foundation for what is The Irish Strength Club.

Here is an excerpt I pick up off the schools website about the Notre Dame weight room.

“In the basement of Notre Dame is Donovan’s Den. The weight room is named after Keith Donovan a 1988 graduate. The weight room is a place where people of character go to push themselves past their limits. The variety of equipment from free weights, hammer strength ground base equipment, kettle bells, sandbags, sleds, strongman equipment, flex bands, and cardio equipment gives every person entering the weight room an opportunity to achieve their fitness goals. The room is run on two principals, the first being John Woodens (Two Sets of Threes)  Honesty 1. Never lie 2.Never cheat 3. Never steal. Adversity 1. Don’t whine 2. Don’t complain 3. Don’t make excuses. The second is based on Seven things to do. 1. Be true to yourself 2. Help others 3. Make each day your masterpiece 4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible. 5. Make friendship a fine art 6. Build a shelter against a rainy day 7. Pray for guidance and count your blessings every day.”

This is what it is all about!

Over the past 3 months I have submerged myself into the development of our youth fitness program. It is something I have always been very passionate about and want nothing more then for the youth of Farmington Valley and parent’s of these youths to have a safe, fun and effective place for their young athletes to get better in every facet of their personal development as an athlete and young adult.

The young athletes of Notre Dame High School already have this and we want the same in Canton, Avon, Simsbury, Farmington and all of Farmington Valley.

Tyler English Fitness is launching our Youth Fitness and Strength and Conditioning Program effective May 3rd.

Contact us at farmingtonvalleybootcamp@gmail.com for more details.

Get Better,

Tyler English, NASM-PES, CPT