Special Episode | Scott Caulfield | Growing with the Profession

When collegiate athletes are also cadets, coaching requires adaptability and flexibility at its finest. In this Gatorade Performance Partner Special Episode, Scott Caulfield shares his coaching philosophy as the first Director of Strength and Conditioning at Norwich University, a senior military college. Coach Caulfield oversees 23 varsity teams and over 600 student-athletes — including Corps of Cadets members and civilians — while also serving as a campuswide resource and adjunct instructor. With field training taking precedence, he describes adapting to varying student needs, goals, and readiness levels. As a veteran and Vermont native, he reflects on returning home and the higher service component of preparing students for careers beyond sport. Coach Caulfield also brings his certified therapy dogs into the weight room, creating an “immediate barrier breakdown” that helps students feel at ease. He calls on coaches to get involved, take advantage of NSCA Foundation opportunities, and keep pushing the profession forward.

Reach out to Coach Caulfield on Instagram at: @coachcaulfield, and see his weight room therapy dogs at: @atm_riv_g_therapydogs. Explore the latest from the Norwich weight room at: @norwichsc | Email Jon at: jonathan.jost@pepsico.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs.

Explore scholarships, grants, and assistantships at NSCA.com/Foundation. Apply for volunteer leadership opportunities by December 15 at NSCA.com/Volunteer.

Read the free TSAC Report article on coaching philosophy to enhance communication between strength and conditioning professionals and firefighters, co-authored by Scott Caulfield.

This special episode is brought to you in part by Gatorade Performance Partner. Learn more and join their community at GatoradePerformancePartner.com.

“I say we have everything we need, just not everything we want. But we can get the job done. And so you have to be adaptable and flexible-- again, I go back to those two words-- with your philosophy because those things change as your resources change, as your setting changes, as your weight room size or differentials change. So it's been a super cool evolution to just, again, continually think about, all right, what do I stand for? What do I want these students to stand for?” 12:40
“Both of them (Alfie and River) have gone through a certified therapy dog program, […] but it's a game-changer. Not everybody loves lifting weights. A lot of people are scared by it. […] It's an immediate barrier breakdown in the weight room that just kind of gives people a sense of calmness.” 17:00
“We also have increased and are increasing the amount of funding between research and coaching advancement. So we look at the numbers, the percentages of what goes to research grants, which goes to grants for coaches. And we're pushing that level more toward the coaching side to make it more balanced.” 20:38
“Volunteer applications open every fall for the NSCA and foundation. The foundation is an exciting area if you're a young or aspiring strength and conditioning coach to find funding opportunities. But more than that, you can build really strong connections through mentorship, internships, and other programs that come out of the NSCA foundation.” 22:50

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[00:00:02.57] Welcome to the NSCA Coaching Podcast, special episode.
[00:00:07.91] I know I say we have everything we need, just not everything we want, but we can get the job done. And so you have to be adaptable and flexible-- again, I go back to those two words-- with your philosophy because those things change as your resources change, as your setting changes, as your weight room size or differentials change.
[00:00:30.81] So it's been a super cool evolution to just, again, continually think about, all right, what do I stand for? What do I want these students to stand for?
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[00:00:41.96] 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.
[00:00:52.44] This is the NSCA Coaching Podcast. I'm Eric McMahon. Today's episode is a special collaboration with Gatorade Performance Partner, and I'm joined once again by veteran coach and Gatorade team sport manager, Jon Jost. Jon, these episodes are always fun for us.
[00:01:10.93] It's great to be on. Great to join you on this beautiful fall day. And it's great to team up, and especially today, especially with this episode with a long friend, a long colleague, somebody that was in your chair and spent, I think, around nine years with the NSCA, and has made a huge impact on the NSCA and the strength and conditioning profession and just represents us really, really well as our profession. So it's awesome to be on here with Scott Caufield.
[00:01:53.35] That's right. Scott is joining us today from Norwich University, where he is the Director of Strength and Conditioning. He's also the original host of this podcast, as you mentioned, if you go back to the early seasons. And now we are over 200 episodes in. Scott, welcome back.
[00:02:09.21] Thanks, guys. Really appreciate the opportunity and to talk shop with you anytime is awesome. So yeah, it's cool to think that I hosted the-- started and hosted it for three seasons and to see where you guys have taken it. It's just impressive. So continuing to push the envelope. But again, that was definitely one of my favorite parts of the job when I was at HQ for sure.
[00:02:33.00] Yeah, it's a lot of fun hosting the podcast. Lots of great conversations coming from all areas of the field. You're at a historic military school now. What's that environment like for you from a strength and conditioning perspective?
[00:02:47.01] Yeah, Norwich University is a senior military college. So again, for listeners, there's federal service academies-- West Point, Naval Academy, the other Air Force Academy, and then their senior military colleges. So we have a Corps of Cadets, where you can be in the military lifestyle. And then we have civilians as well. And so it's a very unique place and a unique setting.
[00:03:12.13] You can be in the Corps of Cadets and not end up going into military service. You can just do it for the discipline and regimented lifestyle. Or again, we have a lot of students who commission into one of the major branches and go into careers as military, as well as a ton of law enforcement, first responders, the three-letter agencies.
[00:03:33.14] It's really impressed me here that the undergrads come out of this university really prepared for the workforce with an undergraduate degree in a lot of those areas. So it's super cool.
[00:03:45.61] That is really cool. If I'm not mistaken, you were the first director of strength and conditioning hired at Norwich. Can you tell us a little bit about what-- you've had the opportunity to build a program from the ground up. If you can tell us a little bit about that process and how strength and conditioning in your program really fits into the culture of Norwich and adds to the culture of the school.
[00:04:18.06] For sure. I love the quote that "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." Because I always like to also say that it's better to be lucky than good. And when I look at that-- again, I grew up here. So I'm from Central Vermont. I learned how to ski in third grade on the ski hill that actually was across the street. The mountain is still there. Went to basketball camp here at Norwich every summer when I was in junior high.
[00:04:45.84] And so, historically, I knew a couple of the first string coaches that ever worked here. I always kept in touch, would visit people when I was home. And so I never thought that they would invest in this position and our profession really because I watched it from afar.
[00:05:05.06] But all of that changed. In the spring of '21, a coach who I had known literally since she was in high school, athlete, reached out. And one thing led to another, and it ended up in this opportunity. And since I got here, they changed the position and it made it director-level. Gave me more help with an assistant at that time.
[00:05:28.41] And then that kind of, I think-- obviously, my experience in education that I had done prior at the NSCA, prior to the NSCA, the connections I had made really set me up to come into a setting. But granted, I was also now better supported by the administration. And then we've really just run with it.
[00:05:50.87] I went from one full-time assistant to now I have a part-time assistant and a GA. And then we have another assistant who helps-- who's our lab coordinator for Health and Human Performance and CSCS. She helps me coach our basketball teams. And I have another volunteer that helps us with football. So just through my network and reaching out to other people, I've created a much bigger staff than a typical small, rural Division III might have.
[00:06:20.09] And again, it's kind of cool here too, and I think the setting has to be unique for things like that to happen. But I'm really viewed as the subject matter expert on physical preparation and human performance across the entire school.
[00:06:35.50] People from the Corps of Cadets leadership, the highest level at our commandant and president will reach out to me. We have company mentors that oversee our companies. They all have their kids that are leading their PT plans and overseeing physical training for the cadets come and meet with me about their programs.
[00:06:55.57] So it's been really cool to have my hands into that side of things, even though that's not truly part of my job, really. My main job is just overseeing the 23 varsity teams and a little over 600 athletes that we have. But again, it's bled over.
[00:07:11.23] But I've made efforts to reach out to Health and Human Performance, where Exercise Science lives, when I got here and said, hey, I taught a class in the advanced master's program at UCCS in Colorado Springs. Love to help.
[00:07:26.92] And I started my first year here just teaching a lab. And then now that's grown into I teach every fall. I teach our HHPR 401, Applications in Strength and Conditioning, which is the last class you'd take before you sit for the CSCS. And then every other semester I'll teach Tactical Strength and Conditioning, which again, being here, being a veteran, working with kids that are going to go into the service or some other type of really important job like that, it's just been incredible.
[00:07:56.12] But I think if I had just sat in my office and complained about what I didn't have, then there would be-- no one would know who I was and what I did. So obviously, that's helped tremendous amount to be able to be a resource to everybody else and just try and get people to know what we do here and why we do it, which has been huge.
[00:08:17.65] That's really awesome. It's really cool to hear how you're really integrated, even if it's not formally, but within the culture throughout the university and how you've been able to have an impact. And there's quite a lesson in that for other young strength coaches to not be afraid to get outside of either the sport that you're working with and help with others, or outside the athletic department and get to know-- reach across the aisle, so to speak, and get to know people throughout the university or the institution.
[00:08:56.13] Scott, we know that being a collegiate strength and conditioning coach is already a huge job. It's encouraging for the field to hear that your role has expanded to almost being an advisor or expert across campus in the area of physical training. On that military topic, how do you adapt your training plans around military obligations, like field training drills or ROTC commitments?
[00:09:19.71] Yeah, I mean, it's being as flexible and adaptable as a strength and conditioning coach as it gets. And my fellow senior military college strength coaches and Federal Service Academy coaches know it as well. But they're here to prepare for a career in the military. And a lot of times, that may dictate that their training takes precedence over our strength and conditioning. So a lot of-- it's being adaptable.
[00:09:47.80] It's really knowing the athletes who are in the Corps of Cadets. A lot of them are super high performers running at 100 miles an hour all the time. So being able to scale back maybe what I'm doing with them if needed or just advise their training. A lot of them will reach out too to help with their military preparation training, whether that's preparing to go to BUD/S or Ranger School or whatever that might be, or just improve their fitness to pass their PT test.
[00:10:19.05] We have a lot of kids who come in and aren't super fit to start with. So then we'll-- a lot of them, yeah, they're super focused and excited to be here in a strength and conditioning program for volleyball or hockey. But they have additional goals, and maybe they have areas of weakness that we really need to dive into.
[00:10:36.60] So yeah, it's flexibility and adaptability at its finest. I was just actually mentioning that to one of our sport coaches the other day about how when they change plans, we're the ones that adjust and whatnot. And he was like, oh my God. I couldn't do your job. I'm too A-type, like rigid. He's like, there's no way I could do your job. And it was a funny moment, but it just shows you within your coaching philosophy what you're able to adapt and mold to and do the things that you need to do in the situation that you're at.
[00:11:11.17] As you started to touch on, you're big on coaching philosophy from your work at the NSCA, DU, and Colorado College. How has Norwich impacted the coaching philosophy you have today?
[00:11:22.21] Yeah, and we've got a new article that's coming out in the TSAC Journal on coaching philosophy, working with firefighters as well. So I haven't gotten off my soapbox yet. But I think, again, for me initially, it was looking at it, that everybody was talking about it. You were being asked this question in interviews, but nobody really knew what necessarily we were alluding to.
[00:11:44.75] And a lot of the times, when you look through the literature and what people are asking when they're asking that question is they're really just asking your opinion on it. There's no philosophical undertones or underpinning in what we're asking about your coaching philosophy. So again, it was for me and Dr. G, it was digging deeper and just getting people to think a little more critically.
[00:12:07.50] And again, as I proposed, I think it's your training program, which is how you do the things you do, and then your coaching philosophy, which is the why you do the things you do. And totally, that changes as you gain more experience as a coach. You become more comfortable with different training methodologies. You utilize different things. Maybe you try different things that you wouldn't have when you're younger.
[00:12:30.46] But also, your setting dictates that. So, I don't have the same size weight room here as I did at Colorado College. I have a much smaller varsity weight room. I say we have everything we need, just not everything we want. But we can get the job done.
[00:12:48.17] And so you have to be adaptable and flexible-- again, I go back to those two words-- with your philosophy because those things change as your resources change, as your setting changes, as your weight room size or differentials change.
[00:13:05.33] So it's been a super cool evolution to just, again, continually think about, all right, what do I stand for? What do I want these students to stand for? And like I said, again, kind of going back to being at a military school, there's a higher calling in play here for a lot of our students.
[00:13:23.36] So being involved with young people that really have this-- maybe they're not preparing for careers in pro sports, but they're preparing for life-changing careers that are going to help people all over the world. So it's cool when there's this kind of higher service component to it.
[00:13:42.76] Yeah, that's awesome. Speaking of change, hope you don't mind me going personal here, but congratulations. Yeah, you're married now and tied the knot. And I don't know if there's a bigger change when that happens in life, but congratulations.
[00:14:01.42] And could you share just a little bit about how that change has had an impact on you as a coach? And everyone talks about work-life balance. And there's a lot more to consider when you have a loved one that is factored into all of your decisions and your career. Would you mind sharing a little bit about that change and how that's shaping you now?
[00:14:33.27] Sure. Yeah, I mean, it's been really cool to connect with someone back here. I mean, I would-- I'd probably tell you one of my biggest concerns with moving back to rural Vermont was find dating, the dating scene. So I somehow lucked out and found somebody that loves to do the same things I do. I got another dog out of it, and it's been incredible.
[00:15:00.06] But, I mean, she's my biggest supporter. She's my biggest cheerleader, the biggest supporter, the most support I've ever had from a significant other in any relationship and in all levels. And so she helps build me up. A lot of people that might be listening to this, including Eric, have met her at the conferences. She's been coming along too with me.
[00:15:22.91] She's a nurse. She's into healthy lifestyle. She and I have the same goals of longevity and raising her son, who's a freshman in high school this year, which has been awesome. He's an athlete. He's bought in to lifting, nutrition. I mean, this kid is more dialed in than I am right now, honestly.
[00:15:45.29] And so it's been so fun to be able to guide his pathway and just see him run with it and have this family support system. And yeah, now I'm kind of thinking more I need to be more flexible and adapt for high school basketball games and soccer games.
[00:16:03.08] But again, Norwich is a super, super supportive family-oriented university. And so again, it's how we kind of know I know I'm in the right place because of all these things coming together.
[00:16:17.53] That's so awesome. That's so cool. So I have to also go here. You mentioned your canine assistant. Could you share a little bit about how did that come to be? And how has it changed the dynamic in the weight room?
[00:16:35.68] Yeah, I mean, most of the-- any of the OG podcast listeners or people that knew me at NSCA know Alfie the Mini, the little round, furry, fluffy one. And now we've added to the pack with my wife's dog, River, who's a Golden Retriever, who is now technically my dog. Because once I started bringing her to work, she kind of was like, no, I don't want to stay with mom anymore. So now we have two.
[00:17:04.18] But both of them have gone through a certified therapy dog program with a company called-- organization called the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. But it's a game-changer. And I realized that at Colorado College when I was bringing Alfie to work just-- and again, what I'll say is these kids aren't coming to college necessarily and most of the time to lift weights.
[00:17:27.55] They're coming there to play a sport. Lifting weights is part of that. Not everybody loves lifting weights. A lot of people are scared by it. And so a lot of people are away from home, and especially being here in Norwich, we have people from all over the world attending school here. Kids miss their pets.
[00:17:42.62] It's an immediate barrier breakdown in the weight room that just kind of gives people a sense of calmness. Again, these two dogs could care nothing else about except being pet by humans. So they'll lay down on the floor with the kids there in between sets. If people are sitting on benches, they're rubbing up next to them. So it's just been awesome.
[00:18:05.81] And again, like I said, being here, it's a special place. And why I know it's the right place, we've really helped, I think, make this place even more dog-friendly than it already was. But Alfie and River are literally talked about on campus tours. There's little trading cards of them in our admissions office that they hand out to people.
[00:18:28.58] And so, all of our coaches stop by my office first on the way with their tours with prospective students to talk about the dogs, and me sometimes, too. But mostly, it's probably the dogs. And so it's just been incredible to--
[00:18:43.79] Like I said in my Coach of the Year speech, if you told me in high school that I could wear sweatpants every day, bring my dog to work, and coach people lifting weights and conditioning, I would have said, there's no way that's a possibility. But it's really neat.
[00:18:59.76] Well, it really sounds like a special place. The fact that you've had an opportunity to go back home, but also to enhance the culture is really special. And I hope that someday I have a chance to come up there and visit. It's a little bit out of the way-- hard place to get to.
[00:19:20.71] Yeah. Well, it's literally the geographic center of Vermont. There's a little Google Maps icon that'll tell you we're smack dab in the middle. So if you're ever going north in Vermont, you're going to pass our exit. So everybody, if you're coming by, stop by and say hello.
[00:19:37.08] Yeah, thank you.
[00:19:38.34] So Scott, can we expect a future SCJ or NSCA Coach article on therapy dogs in the weight room from you?
[00:19:45.39] I think I probably need to start working on that. I would say that's definitely probably a good start. Yeah.
[00:19:53.21] I like it. You're a trend setter in that department. Some other big topics for you, the NSCA Foundation-- I know you're a huge proponent of getting involved to make a difference in the profession. What is some of the work you're doing with the foundation and other NSCA committees?
[00:20:08.81] Yeah, it's been super cool to be the-- I'm on my second term as president of the board of directors for the foundation. And again, we give away about $300,000 worth of grants and scholarships every year. We've worked hard this past year. We did some strategic planning, and we're working on a lot of cool things, something that you're involved with the internship manual. That will be a resource for all coaches with a standardized template to use.
[00:20:38.92] We also have increased and are increasing the amount of funding between research and coaching advancement. So we look at the numbers, the percentages of what goes to research grants, which goes to grants for coaches. And we're pushing that level more toward the coaching side to make it more balanced.
[00:21:03.11] So I think more opportunities for coaches. We've got some cool ideas about supporting our RSCCs. Obviously, the assistantship program has been around for a long time, but a lot of coaches still don't know about it. But that's a great program, where if you're an RSCC coach, that you can mentor an upcoming student and/or coach, and the NSCA pays for them for those five months, $2,000 a month, to work under your tutelage.
[00:21:33.20] So there's a lot of things we have with so many different opportunities. I think if you're not familiar with the foundation, just go on the website and look at all the different opportunities. There's literally grants and scholarships for every demographic that you could imagine within our membership. And so, I don't think a lot of people take advantage of those.
[00:21:53.08] So for me, it's also building awareness to tell people about that, but also for coaches. We need more coaches involved in these board of directors and these committees. And I know it's hard. I know it's a lot of time. And I feel like-- I truly feel that.
[00:22:11.64] I'm a D3 strength coach. I teach a class here. I'm the president of the board. I'm on the executive council for the college coaches group. I'm the Vermont State Director of the NSCA. So I'm able to juggle all these things and still feel like I'm really helping push the profession forward.
[00:22:29.53] We've got great coaches involved with our coaching advancement committee and on the board. Kevin Schultz, director at Wisconsin, is also on the board with the foundation. So we're definitely getting more coaches involved, but we need to keep pushing that message and having our strength coaches get more involved on committees and state directors and boards.
[00:22:53.50] I agree. Volunteer applications open every fall for the NSCA and foundation. The foundation is an exciting area if you're a young or aspiring strength and conditioning coach to find funding opportunities. But more than that, you can build really strong connections through mentorship, internships, and other programs that come out of the NSCA foundation.
[00:23:17.27] Great conversation, as always. We will add Scott's tags, including his dogs, to the episode on social media so that you, our listeners, can reach out and get connected. This has been another NSCA Coaching Podcast collaboration with Gatorade Performance Partner. Learn more about the Gatorade Field House and how Gatorade Performance Partner fuels important conversations across the industry at GatoradePerformancePartner.com. Special thanks to Sorinex exercise equipment, a regular sponsor on the NSCA Coaching Podcast.
[00:23:49.22] Hey, guys. It's Dr. Bryan Mann coming at you from Texas A&M University. Hey, this is a call to arms. If you feel like there's something that needs to be done, something that needs to be changed, this is your call to go ahead and sign up for the volunteer opportunities within the SIGs, the different committees, or just to get involved in your local chapter. Please go to the website for more details.
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[00:24:12.73] 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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