If you're a strength coach and you don't have a strong relationship with your athletic trainer, let me say it clearly: you're missing out — and so are your athletes.
I recently caught up with Kyle Cherry, former Head Athletic Trainer at Towson University, to talk shop about injury management, return-to-play protocols, and how strength coaches and athletic trainers can (and should) work together to serve their athletes better. Kyle and I spent just under four years working side-by-side, and what we built there still shapes how I think about high performance teams today.
Here’s what stood out — and what you can take back to your own program.
The Athletic Trainer is Not Your Enemy
Way too many strength coaches view the athletic trainer as the "fun police" — the one standing between them and their training program. That mindset? It's trash. Kyle reminded me (and now I'm reminding you) that athletic trainers are working under the license of the team physician. When it comes to injury management, they’re the ones signing off on progressions — not because they're power tripping, but because the team doc is ultimately responsible. Respect that chain of command. Communicate. Build trust. It's the only way high performance models work.
Understand the Big Picture on Injuries
During our conversation, we broke down injuries by joint — knee, ankle, hip, spine, shoulder — and what strength coaches need to know.
A few key takeaways:
ACL rehab: Early phase? You're not going to "win" rehab here. But you sure can ruin it. Respect healing timelines and don't try to get cute with progressions.
MCL and PCL injuries: Understand that the ligament's job (medial vs posterior stability) dictates early training choices. For example, stay away from hamstring-dominant loading too soon in PCL cases.
Ankle management: Bracing in practice reduced ankle injuries by over 80% at Towson. Not sexy. Highly effective.
Spine and Disc Issues: Extension work often helps — and “neutral spine” isn't the be-all-end-all during actual sport play. Athletes need to adapt, too.
Concussion Management: Newer protocols encourage more activity early — within symptom thresholds — rather than strict "no movement" rules.
If you don't know why the athletic trainer is being cautious about something, ask. Learn. The better you understand the injury, the smarter you can be about training modifications.
Shared Documents, Shared Success
One of the best things Kyle and I did together was create a return-to-play matrix.
It mapped out who was responsible for what (ATC, PT, S&C) across each phase of rehab — from isolated glute firing post-ACL to full ground-based explosive work. No assumptions. No confusion. No finger-pointing. If you're not already doing this at your school, start. It's the difference between "hoping" an athlete returns clean and engineering their comeback. Click here to download this document we used.
Progression is Key, Not Reinvention
One big myth: injured athletes need completely new training plans. Wrong. Instead, Kyle stressed the idea of regression, not reinvention. If an athlete can’t do a full ground-based explosive lift yet? Find the scaled version that fits the movement pattern. Stay in the same programming structure as the team whenever possible. It keeps the athlete mentally engaged and physically progressing without unnecessary isolation.
Trust is Everything
At the end of the day, our collaboration worked because we trusted each other.
Kyle trusted me to responsibly progress athletes once he handed them off. I trusted him to advocate for the athlete’s best long-term health, even if it meant slowing down return-to-play by a week or two. If you don't have that trust with your ATC, the athlete is the one who suffers.
Final Thoughts
Injuries suck — but they’re also a huge opportunity.
An opportunity to build better collaboration.
An opportunity to refine your systems.
An opportunity to put the athlete first.
Big thanks to Kyle Cherry for hopping on the Cheeky Midweek and sharing his insights. I miss working with him every day — but conversations like this help keep pushing the profession forward.
If you’re serious about high performance, build your bridge with your athletic trainer. Your athletes deserve it.
