Reddit mentions of Special Strength Training: Manual for Coaches

>What are some of your favorite books?

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Sure, some of it may be "outdated" or whatever. But honestly, programming for strength is relatively easy versus programming for sport. The big things to control are training stress (essentially time under tension), general fatigue (from both training, work, life, etc.), and recovery (uh, sleep, food, sex?). From there... it gets a bit more complex, but honestly, it's not hard to learn.

Lots of questions on this but I'll try to tackle them in order.

1. Throughout the year, I keep track on a few Key Performance Indicators in the weight room and chart them against their sport performance markers. It's an imperfect system but it does allow for me to see trends i.e. if their max vertical jump decreased in week 14 and their sleep quality also decreased - and the last time those indicators decreased the athlete had a poor performance - then we can use that information to make appropriate changes.
   
   
2. I typically 1RM test in a formal setting at the beginning/end of pre-season and beginning/end of off-season. We take a full session and run through a battery of different lifts and performance indicators. I also program "open sets" to failure at the end of each 3-4 week training phase to eyeball whether they are increasing. For an example I may program the last set of bench press at 95% of their 1RM and they manage to get 6 repetitions rather than 2 than I will use that data to increase their bench 1RM for the next 3-4 week phase.
   
   
3. I don't do any isokinetic strength testing with my teams. I do obsess over quad-hamstring ratios (and our athletic trainers do a good job formally measuring the two). Hip-dominant movements always are programmed 2:1 over our knee-dominant movements as most athletes enter college with an overabundance of knee-dominance and a general weakness in their posterior chain.
   
   
4. Hypermobility in overhead athletes is a big deal and I generally spend a lot of time teaching shoulder stabilization strategies. With this population, like Cressey, I spend less time static stretching and more time focusing on teaching them how to apply stiffness, i.e. activating their glutes, core and teaching them to stabilize and scapula control. Once athletes have the prerequisite strength and ability to fire the right muscles it often comes down to a timing issue. I'm a big proponent of using perturbations during movements to provide athletes with opportunities to stabilize.
   
   
5. GPP first and than SPP later. Yuri Verkhoshansky has a some really good resources on prioritization that I've applied in a block periodization fashion. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Special-Strength-Training-Manual-Coaches/dp/8890403829
   
   
6. I think Rippetoe and Kilgore are phenomenal. I REALLY enjoy "Thoughts from Thirty Years of Barbell Training" as well as his Practical Programming.