Brittany Wiebe | Coaching “Full Send” Across Sports and Cultures

Growth happens when you go all in, or as Brittany Wiebe says, “full send.” As Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of women’s basketball at the University of Oregon, she shares her people-first, evidence-based approach to maximize performance, minimize risk, and positively impact each individual. Using reverse engineering and fundamental principles, Wiebe describes programming around the big seven movements, progressive overload, and objective and subjective feedback. She reflects on her path through Kenya, Dubai, and the Dominican Republic, gaining exposure to athletes across sports, backgrounds, and abilities. Logistical challenges, like language barriers and limited resources, strengthened her adaptability and creativity. Wiebe believes weight room culture starts the moment you walk in. Her strategies — from high-energy greetings to rallying around big lifts — remind coaches that intent begins with environment. She challenges coaches to step outside their comfort zones, say “yes” to opportunities, and bring the same intensity to their development that they demand from athletes.

Reach out to Brittany on Instagram: @coach.bwiebes and LinkedIn: @bwiebes | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs  

Ready to take your coaching further? Explore opportunities to connect with top professionals and gain new insights at NSCA.com/Events, from local clinics to national conferences.

“When I do take on a new position, my core philosophy remains consistent. I want to maximize those performance outcomes, minimize risk, and positively impact each individual that I do come across. So to do this, I always utilize a people first and evidence-based approach. But it all comes down to reverse engineering. So, what are the demands of the sport? What are the positional differences? What energy system are we working with? What's the risk of injury? What are the main movements and actions in their sport that they need to be able to perform at a very high level to be successful?” 5:30
“I think the environment that you foster is ultimately going to determine the intent that you get out of your athletes. And you can have the best program in the world, but unless there's intent behind it, you're not going to see results.” 16:00
“Get comfortable getting uncomfortable, get outside of your bubble, and same people that you see every day, and same people that you train. And it's not easy moving to the other side of the world, not knowing anyone, not speaking the same language, or really not knowing what to expect, but just having to buckle in and take it for its ride. You're going to be out of your element at first and that's where I really believe that true growth happens. You just focus on the fundamentals. Movement is movement, you understand the key principles, and you can adapt your programs to almost any sport.” 21:30
“I think it's really empowering for coaches to challenge themselves, go somewhere maybe unfamiliar, work with an unfamiliar sport, learn a new sport, learn a new language, a new culture, whatever it may be.” 22:50

[00:00:00.00] [MUSIC PLAYING]
[00:00:02.60] Welcome to the NSCA Coaching Podcast, season 8, episode 15.
[00:00:08.39] Get comfortable getting uncomfortable. Get outside of your bubble and same people that you see every day and same people that you train. And it's not easy moving to the other side of the world, not knowing anyone, not speaking the same language or really not knowing what to expect, but just having to buckle in and take it for its ride.
[00:00:28.53] But yeah, you're going to be out of your element at first. And that's where I really believe that true growth happens. And you focus on the fundamentals. Movement is movements. You understand the key principles. And you can adapt your programs to almost any sport.
[00:00:49.34] This is the NSCA's Coaching Podcast, where we talk to strength and conditioning coaches about what you really need to know but probably didn't learn in school. There's strength and conditioning, and then there's everything else.
[00:00:59.88] This is the NSCA Coaching Podcast. I'm Eric McMahon. She's coached around the world, worked with all kinds of athletes, and now she's making an impact at the University of Oregon. Brittany Wiebe brings a little bit of everywhere into the weight room. And today, we get to know her. Brittany, thanks for coming on the podcast.
[00:01:16.63] Eric, thanks so much for having me. I'm fired up to be here.
[00:01:20.39] Gosh, I've followed you from the Dominican Republic when you were with the Astros, you were in Dubai, Kenya, all over the world. I know you got started, you're originally from Canada. What sparked your interest in strength and conditioning?
[00:01:35.89] Yeah so I'm originally from Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. I played everything and anything growing up. All sports across the board, my first love was ice hockey. Played with the boys until I was 16. Switched to hoops full time by grade 10. Locked down a full-ride scholi to go play hoops in the States by my senior year.
[00:01:58.94] So played at North Dakota State University. And that's really where I was first introduced to strength and conditioning and just absolutely fell in love with it. So the electric environment, and the confidence that it built in me, and the feeling of getting stronger and improving alongside my teammates, and just the feeling of just grinding it out in there with them, I was just addicted.
[00:02:22.20] So I was very fortunate that NDSU had such a strong S&C program and foundation of principles for me to learn off of because that was really my first exposure in the world of S&C. So Jason Miller, who was the ollie director and is still to this day at NDSU, he was my first mentor and really pointed me in the right direction, helped me land my first big-time internship at Clemson, where I was able to meet Rick Franzblau, who also really helped me grow in the field and pointed me towards my GA position at Mizzou, where I was able to work with both Olympic sports and football, which then led me to my first full time role with the Houston Astros.
[00:03:09.11] Dylan Lawson, he was a baseball coach at Mizzou, also going back to the Astros. So he was my link there, amazing guy. So then, yeah, once I had my full time gig with the Astros, throughout my four years there, worked from a strength coach down in the Dominican with our DSL league, and worked my way up to being our Latin American coordinator.
[00:03:31.97] After that, I took some time off to travel, landed my next gig in Dubai, where I was reconnected with our previous GM and head of sports science with the Astros, who were starting this startup in Dubai with a pro football club and Blue Crow Sports Science. So they reached out to me and asked if I was interested in doing that and helping them build their strength and conditioning program. And I said, full send, let's go.
[00:03:59.84] So I was their strength and conditioning coordinator, head of our club in Dubai and then also overseeing our club in Kenya. So then I was there for two years. Felt like I really made my mark and built something special there. And again, just took some time off to travel the world. And then when it was time to find my next adventure again, I just found myself now back here in Oregon wanting to make my impact.
[00:04:27.64] Wow, so Kenya, Dubai, Dominican Republic, different sports in there, baseball, soccer, building programs. Now you're working with acrobatics, and tumbling, and beach volleyball. Is that right?
[00:04:43.34] Yep, yep.
[00:04:44.90] That's awesome. And it looks like you're on to women's basketball as well. How do you adapt your approach when you're taking on a new sport or going to a new environment?
[00:04:56.38] Yeah, so I truly value having worked with so many different sports and training ages and really appreciate that experience more than anything. I never want to be boxed as a baseball coach or a soccer coach. So I constantly look to take on new roles and challenges.
[00:05:14.65] So for me, whether that's been a new sport, a new country, a new language, I completely dive into what it is that I'm doing. And I find it so fun learning all over again about a new sport, their positions, their demands, their movements, and so on.
[00:05:32.82] So when I do take on a new position, my core philosophy remains consistent. I want to maximize those performance outcomes, minimize risk, and positively impact each individual that I do come across. So to do this, I always utilize a people first and evidence-based approach.
[00:05:53.61] But it all comes down to reverse engineering. So what are the demands of the sport? What are the positional differences? What energy system are we working with? What's the risk of injury? What are the main movements and actions in their sport that they need to be able to perform at a very high level to be successful?
[00:06:13.14] So looking at anything from a baseball swing versus a kick in football versus a tumbling pass or pyramid in acro. They're all very different movements, but very specific to their sport. So knowing that these have these differences, I always like to stick to my fundamental principles.
[00:06:33.39] So starting with that needs analysis, so what I was saying earlier about being sport specific, position specific, and individual specific, and then making sure that when I'm first creating that program, that I'm hitting my big seven movements throughout the week with technical excellence, so doing that push, pull, squat, hinge, single leg, core, and jump landing, making sure that we're touching on all of those and just really promoting movement excellence on those big movement patterns.
[00:07:06.12] So really, the goal is to build a strong and resilient base, and then to build sport specific qualities off of that. So with all that in mind, just truly valuing progressive overload, so increasing the intensity over time to ensure the progression of my athletes, session to session, week to week, block to block.
[00:07:30.29] So yeah, knowing that those are my principles and how I program, how I monitor that is with both objective and subjective feedback. So I love to utilize our force plates. I have my athletes jump at the beginning of the week, five counter movement jumps and provide a player readiness report to my sport coaches, just based off of their RSI mods, so the metric that's flight time divided by contraction time.
[00:07:58.10] And I like to teach my athletes that's their twitch or readiness metric. So we base it off of that a lot, but then also not losing sight of our subjective feedback. So just ultimately coming up to my athletes and having a conversation with them, hey, how are you feeling this week? How are you doing? Yesterday's practice was tough. How's the bod?
[00:08:22.01] I feel like we tend to lose sight of that with all the tech and advanced methods that we have now to monitor athletes. And I really love combining the two and just bringing it back to a simple conversation and understanding how my athletes are doing.
[00:08:39.85] So that's how I program. But then so each of my programs are ultimately going to be rooted by these principles, but then shaped by the athlete in front of me. So I've worked with a wide range of athletes. So working with anything from a 16-year-old in the Dominican who just signed on for $4 million to a promising Kenyan football player who's never stepped foot in a weight room to one of our highest profile athlete guys with the Astros at a big league camp, who you're just trying to squeeze any additional performance outcome out of them, but they've already been in the game for so long, so just a wide range of different abilities, and backgrounds, and all of that.
[00:09:26.95] So knowing that I have that vast experience, it also just comes down to being relatable, being real, and forming that relationship with these athletes. Yeah, and I found the easiest way to do that is just to show up.
[00:09:44.77] Show you're interested. Show that you care. Show your eagerness to learn about their sport. And then, yeah, just asking them questions and bringing the energy. I want to show them that, hey, I freaking love what I do. I want to share that excitement and passion with them. And I'm so stoked that you showed up today, and you want to get better, and let's get after it.
[00:10:06.89] I like that.
[00:10:08.27] And then the days stack, the results. They start to feel them. Hey, I felt stronger on that tackle. Hey, I jumped higher on that block. Hey, I just hit an absolute bomb, I felt so strong. And it's like, then you build that beautiful thing called buy-in.
[00:10:23.58] They start to feel the results. And that's just how I approach kind of every new team and org I work with is just reverse engineering and then building that relationship and showing that I care.
[00:10:36.92] That's awesome. Obviously, it's an educated approach coming through. I saw you had two master's degrees in the mix, one in human performance. And a lot of that, those foundations of human performance that you were talking about in your programming, your second master's degree, positive psychology related to education and connecting with your athletes.
[00:10:57.44] And a lot of that comes through in what you said as well, taking in the subjective and just being present, showing up, being there with them. So you're experiencing that team environment. You're part of it. You're pushing them, but you're also taking that feedback as well.
[00:11:14.68] Yeah, absolutely. So it's definitely provided me useful tools for depicting different types of personalities with my psych background as well, and then just kind of learning what motivates different people, how to best communicate.
[00:11:32.20] But I will say, a lot of what I do comes from real world experience and from coaching a wide range of athletes across different sports and cultures. So rather than traditional psych methods that I've learned in school, I feel like my real world experience is where I gather a lot of my valuable tools from.
[00:11:54.42] But yeah, I've always had a good feel for people and connecting with them straight away. So no matter who I'm working with, whether it's different personalities, backgrounds, or cultures, I've always found it very natural to build trust and rapport with my athletes and come to a common ground pretty quickly with them.
[00:12:13.38] Yeah, I think sometimes the education, and education is a huge part of our field, we just saw some data from the NSCA, the majority of strength and conditioning coaches out there have graduate degrees. We're around colleges and universities.
[00:12:28.99] We have opportunities, GA positions, whatever it may be, to go and get educated. Sometimes that knowledge gives us just validation of what we naturally do well as communicators and coaches. And that's OK too.
[00:12:44.74] We do get new skills from our education. But on the other side, like you're saying, you're getting a lot from just getting out there in different communities of athletes, different teams, different sports, different environments.
[00:12:58.35] Let's go on that culture kick right now. I follow you on Instagram, you're huge on building a strong team culture, making training fun for your teams. What are some of your go to strategies? How do you keep it high energy when you're training?
[00:13:15.59] Yeah, so I am a true believer that it starts from the moment you walk in the weight room. 6:00 AM group or not, greeting everyone with high fives, woo, fired up you're here. How's it going? What'd you have for breakfast? Are you ready to go today?
[00:13:29.85] What music do you want me to toss on? What's going to fire you guys up today. It starts immediately right when they walk through the door right. So energy, positive vibes from the hop, continue that into our warm up, keeping it fun and engaging, so mixing it up with new and challenging movements, whether we're doing handstands, crawls, front rolls, cartwheels, incorporating a tennis ball while we're doing our movements, working on eye hand coordination there, doing a little reactive game, keep everyone engaged that way.
[00:14:01.66] Then go through what we're going to do for our lift today. Have a break. Go back downstairs because we have a mezzanine that we warm up on. And then every compound movement in our first block is going to be every set on the whistle. So everything we do, we move together as a team, we support each other.
[00:14:20.45] And then we move through the workout superset by superset and then always encouraging each other, high fives around the weight room. Hey, we see that someone's finishing up their last set, they're going to have a big push here. Whistle everyone up, gather around the rack, have that extra little boost from your teammates. And we make it hype.
[00:14:40.25] We move as a team, each block together. And it's just like these-- I tell them that, your workouts are going to be tough. I'm going to challenge you because I know that you're capable. And it's up to you guys to support each other and get through this.
[00:14:53.65] And we're going to attack it and get better together. So that's just always the environment that I've always wanted to foster and make it positive, make it welcoming, but also very high standards and intense environment. So yeah, I'm--
[00:15:09.66] What's cool about that is we love the hype. We love the energy of the weight room. But how do you facilitate that? How do you facilitate that as the coach? And you gave some good strategies there of bringing the team together, even leading them through some team things, and then pulling them back to get in and rally for an athlete that might be hitting a big set, whatever it is. I think it's something that those are huge strategies.
[00:15:37.68] We always go into other weight rooms and see how teams train. And some weight rooms are exciting and there's huge energy. And other times, you don't see that. But if you have it in your coaching repertoire to bring a group up, bring a group up, you're going to get more out of that group. I mean, it's huge.
[00:15:58.37] I think the environment that you foster is ultimately going to determine the intent that you get out of your athletes. And you can have the best program in the world, but unless there's intent behind it, you're not going to see results. So yeah, I'm very active when I'm coaching.
[00:16:15.93] I coach my - off every single day. And my players know that. They know I'm going to bring it. And I expect the exact same from them.
[00:16:24.02] Right, you're bringing it every day, I know with some of your international travel. And just seeing some of the facilities out there, that you've probably had some logistical challenges, maybe some cultural challenges from what you were used to. How did those experience shape your adaptability as a coach?
[00:16:41.57] Yeah, absolutely, so I've had to get very creative. It's made me very adaptable. And it's taught me a lot of patience, first and foremost, I'd say. But number one thing that comes to mind is not speaking the same language.
[00:16:56.36] So spending two years down in the Dominican, being only Spanish speaking, I TIRED to do my groundwork out front, learning the basics I could, but being immersed in it, one month in, I'm coaching in Spanish, talking with the guys, full buy-in there.
[00:17:12.64] Same thing in Dubai, 70% of my team was only French speaking, from all over Africa. So I had a little bit of a tougher time with the French aspect, but same thing, they can really feel you putting in an effort and trying to learn their language. And then they get to teach you their language. You're also working with them on their English. And that's also a good relationship builder. And they can really sense that you're trying and that you care.
[00:17:40.78] Another big, big thing was obviously having limited resources in foreign countries. So having to get creative with setups, utilizing what you have, having some daily surprises. So when I was in the dr, coming across a tarantula in the weight room when you're moving a plyo box, large leaks and floods once a month, or having the electricity cut off every day in the middle of your work day.
[00:18:07.60] Or you're in the middle of a shower and the water cutting off. Or not having AC on a hot summer day, having a 2:00 AM practice in Dubai during Ramadan. And just the cultural shock of not having a female leader or seeing a female in a place of authority and just having that strong female figure where, hey, guys, I can outlift you, what are we doing here? Just providing them that different outlook as well that they might not have necessarily had with their normal environment.
[00:18:44.92] But it just comes down to understanding and respecting these different communication styles, and work ethics, and attitudes towards training. So yeah, you just tailor your leadership style towards what specific group and culture you're working with. And it always comes down to building trust, building relationships, and connecting with them on a personal level and just understanding the environment that you're in.
[00:19:11.90] So yeah, like I said, it really, really taught me patience, and how to think critically and adjust on the fly, especially with those unexpected moments. But it's always how close can I keep plan B to plan A, so that we're still seeking the same outcome and adaptation? So I wouldn't be the coach I am today without any of those crazy experiences. And I'm so, so thankful for all of them.
[00:19:37.72] Yeah, patience, overcoming challenges. I mean, in some way, shape, or form, we all have tarantulas in our weight room at times. And it's one that you're going to be faced with a challenge or something you don't like, something you have to deal with, whether you're the assistant of the program or the director of the program, we all have different challenges.
[00:19:59.04] And so it's something that taking that mindset of I'm going to overcome this, this is no big deal. I got this. And you're bringing your athletes up with you to overcome whatever those challenges are. So I mean, you said it early on, you've intentionally broadened your experiences in coaching to different sports, different cultures.
[00:20:19.19] One thing I hear from some coaches is that they are a little afraid to leave a really good position to go do something else they might be interested in, because maybe that feeling of they're losing their spot in line, or they're not going to move up. What's your advice to someone going out there that wants to broaden their experiences and experience different areas of the field?
[00:20:44.48] Yeah, I say do it. Take that jump. Say yes to opportunities, even ones that don't necessarily look perfect on paper. I do my best not to base decisions solely based on the logo or job title. And I just really ask myself, what do I want out of it? And what value can I bring to that organization?
[00:21:06.56] So I've left some really good experiences, positions, colleagues, relationships behind because I just felt like I left my mark and really did what I wanted to do there. And then I'm just always chasing like a new experience. I never want to feel stagnant. I always want to seek new information and opportunities.
[00:21:29.96] So if you're similar to that, do it. Get comfortable getting uncomfortable, get outside of your bubble, and same people that you see every day, and same people that you train. And it's not easy moving to the other side of the world, not knowing anyone, not speaking the same language, or really not knowing what to expect, but just having to buckle in and take it for its ride.
[00:21:53.86] But yeah, you're going to be out of your element at first. And that's where I really believe that true growth happens. And you just, yeah, you focus on the fundamentals. Movement is movements. You understand the key principles. And you can adapt your programs to almost any sport. And yeah, it's just developed me so much as a coach, putting myself out there, and taking these opportunities. And I have no regrets.
[00:22:19.75] And one really cool thing, and I've had some similar experience of going to international places where they really haven't had strength and conditioning, as we think of it here. And when you get there, you're the best they've seen. You're what they've got.
[00:22:36.16] And that's empowering. There's a lot of coaches that may feel some imposter syndrome of oh, I'm certified now, but can I really do the job? You get out there, and you show your skills, that's a confidence builder. It can be early in your career too.
[00:22:51.48] I think it's really empowering for coaches to challenge themselves, go somewhere maybe unfamiliar, work with an unfamiliar sport, learn a new sport, learn a new language, a new culture, whatever it may be. That is really cool. It's cool that you've been really forward thinking about that and where it can take you.
[00:23:13.16] I know people are going to want to reach out and catch some of that energy from you. What's the best way for them to reach out? Is it your Instagram? Or what's the best way to do that?
[00:23:22.05] Yeah, absolutely. So I am definitely most active on my Instagram @coach.bWiebees. I post something almost daily on there. Nice little look into my athletes' training, my training, and just snippets of us having fun and getting after it. I'm also on LinkedIn, but definitely most active on my Instagram if you want to check that out.
[00:23:44.96] That's awesome. Thanks, Brittany. So many positive takeaways for coaches. My biggest takeaway, make the weight room fun. And your athletes will keep wanting to come back and give you their best effort. Everyone, thanks for tuning in to the NSCA Coaching Podcast.
[00:23:59.90] Want to take your coaching to the next level? Join us in person at an upcoming NSCA conference or event. Connect with top professionals, gain cutting edge insights, and grow your network. Visit nsca.com/events and find out where we're going next. Also, a big thanks to Sorinex exercise equipment for supporting the NSCA Coaching Podcast. We appreciate their support.
[00:24:25.45] This was the NSCA's Coaching Podcast. The National Strength and Conditioning Association was founded in 1978 by strength and conditioning coaches to share information, resources, and help advance the profession. Serving coaches for over 40 years, the NSCA is the trusted source for strength and conditioning professionals. Be sure to join us next time.
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