Sean Foster is the man responsible for keeping the bodies of AU’s student-athletes ready for competition. Since taking over as head coach of the Strength and Conditioning program seven months ago, 29-year old Foster and his team have worked tirelessly with the athletes to build strength, flexibility and speed.
“My main goals are get the athletes stronger, faster and more flexible with the training we do. I want to keep them healthy and that comes from the strength and flexibility work we do,” Foster said.
Since taking over in August, Foster has been the person responsible for getting athletes fit for competition.
One of Foster’s most notable accomplishments in his first year with the Eagles came with the men’s basketball team, who won the Patriot League for the first time since the 2008-2009 season.
Many of the men’s basketball starters played the entire game, and redshirt junior guard Darius “Pee-Wee” Gardner and junior guard John Schoof ranked in the top 20 nationwide for the number of minutes played per game. Under Foster, Schoof increased his playing to 1,222 minutes from 1,085 minutes for the 2013 season. Schoof’s playing time set the new record for play time, with an increase of 137 minutes.
The endurance, durability and fortitude displayed are one of the core tenets in Foster’s program.
This isn’t Foster’s first stint with the the Eagles. The Reston, Va. native earned his master’s degree in exercise science from AU. He then went on to Georgetown University Athletic Department staff as an assistant strength & conditioning coach. Foster’s time at Georgetown coincident with Brennan’s time as the Hoyas assistant basketball coach.
“I have worked closely with Sean for several years now, and there is no one I would feel more comfortable with when it comes to motivating, teaching and guiding our student athletes to be the best athletes and the best people they can possibly be,” Brennan said in an email.
One of Foster’s first actions as the Strength and Conditioning coach was the reorganization of the training center by removing machines and giant racks. Currently the weight room is equipped with eight fully operational lifting platforms, eight moveable squat stands, a new 15 and 20-kilogram Olympic barbell and a new complete bumper plate set.
“My commitment to sticking with the basic weight lifting exercises is the reason the room appears as it does today,” Foster said in an email.
An important member of Foster’s team is assistant coach Alex Lee, previously of Auburn University. Both Foster and Lee are present for every training session, an uncommon practice among strength and conditioning programs. Normally programs divide the workout among the staff, but Foster makes it a point to be present, along with Lee, in every team’s training session.
A typical session for every team begins with a dynamic workout, warm-up movements designed for high intensity activity. After their core body temperature is raised athletes work on lift technique. Next is Olympic-style weightlifting; snatch, clean, jerk. These explosive lifts are designed to develop speed, balance, flexibility, coordination, total-body strength and muscle.
Then athletes go into strength movements which involve squats and deadlifts before finishing with upper body training.
Each sports team meets with Foster twice a week during the season and up to five times during the offseason, each session running between 45-90 minutes.
Foster designs specific work regiments in accordance to the needs of each sport and the head coach.
“Sean has been a valuable asset to AU Athletics,” volleyball head coach Barry Goldberg said.
“His practical knowledge and approach toward building stronger athletes has contributed to our team’s continued success over the last few years.”
Foster also works to reduce the risk of injuries as much as possible and help injured players regain normal strength.
“We work very closely with the sports medicine staff here,” Foster said. “As soon as we can we get them back in the weight room doing as similar things as the rest of the team. Our goal is to get them back to their previous strength level as soon as possible.”
Foster also works to keep his athletes healthy outside of the weight room. Although he is not a registered dietician, he gives advice when asked on meal choices to the players.
“We were able to set a solid foundation this past year with lots of technique work and improvements in flexibility,” Foster said in an email. “Now that we have that in place I’m really excited to ramp the program up and push the guys to another level physically.”
