This blog started with a conversation with a SCN member earlier this week. During the call we were talking about their current role and how the 4 P's applies to them. One thing that was important to this coach was moving back within a radius of his family. They realized they needed to spend more time intentionally networking so opportunities would arise. In addition to spending more time in the SCN members only forum, we spoke about this coach's ability to network at in-person events. This is when they hit me with the news. The organization had spent a small fortune on a VBT company in order to keep up with the Jones. 🤦♂️
Not only is this VBT system not worth the price, this coach has to miss out on other opportunities just to say they have some company VBT. It seems to me like I say it all the time - but I suppose I do not because people keep making the same mistake. The only companies that SCN has partnerships is with companies that I Justin Lima have used and trust the product with. I had not had good experiences with, nor had I heard positive feedback from other coaches using various camera based VBT platforms. Not only that, but the sticker price does not allow for you to purchase other products for your organization.
With this being the case, getting Vitruve is a no brainer for coaches. Look at the price of a Vitruve encoder you can't beat it for the reliability and validity of the device. Not only is the device a great price, the associated application which displays the velocity of the rep is based on research. Yes, the algorithm that was set for bench press, deadlift, pull up, etc...is all based on equations set from research. This takes into account the fact that movements with shorter ROM (bench press vs squat). I personally do not know any other VBT tool where this is the case.
Image of UCLA baseball head S&C coach Kyle Hashimoto uses Vitruve.
There are tons of free resources for you to better understand VBT from the team at Vitruve. I did a presentation on in-season and off-season use of VBT. They also have a webinar on how elite coaches use data to build champions. Be sure to check both of these out to help you better understand why you need to use VBT with all your athletes.
So, if you want to be able to still use VBT and program velo ranges for your athletes (which you should do) then get Vitruve and be able to spend your budget elsewhere. This means you can also get force plates in your weight room. Yes I am biased and think you should use Hawkin Dynamics here. Just cuz I am biased does not mean that I am wrong. Look at all the thousands of other coaches who use and trust Hawkin. Now your athletes have force plates and have VBT. Or you can get TeamBuildr and iPads for all the racks. See how you're helping your organization.
Then, to help you save money on your recertification get a premium membership to SCN and earn 2.0 NSCA CEUs and 10 CSCCa CEUs every year!
Price of a premium membership costs less than conference registration fees.
Read that again ⬆️ ⬆️ ⬆️
So, for a fraction of the cost, with no expensive and time consuming travel, hotel rooms, dining out, rental cars, etc...you can simply earn the precious CEUs you need to stay up to date on your certification.
SCN Premium membership will allow you to be able to spend your department funds on multiple things. Now that you aren't dropping over $5k for you and your staff to go to a conference, you can get the tech your athletes need. Or since you took care of your CEUs for such a low price, now you can spend some budget on visiting a coach. Even though you don't earn CEUs for spending time visiting other coaches (but you know this is EXTREMELY valuable) you don't need to worry about that. SCN premium membership has your CEUs covered so you can go on that site visit.
If you want to get your whole staff memberships simply email us at service@strengthcoachnetwork.com and we will get you all set up with our department discount.
