Dear Mark, I apologize.

[Jeff Leonard]

Coach,
I sincerely offer up my apologies for arguing with you online (forum) as well as disagreeing with you at the Kratos seminar in Chicago concerning HS strength programs. I argued that they aren't all useless and all coaches aren't the dopes you make them out to be. I also said most are intelligent and open to reason concerning the strength field. I now concede and give up trying to stick up for the HS coach (of which I used to be a member of that profession). I offer up the following Twitter conversation I had with a HC at a large school in Ohio:

Original Tweet from him: Can we prevent ACL tears? No. Can we significantly reduce them with proper training? Yes. Deceleration, landing mechanics, change of direction and 1-leg strength are all key.
ME: Why "1" leg strength?
Him: Removing the second leg removes the crutch that aids balance. Loss of the crutch forces you to strengthen muscles, tendons, ligaments associated with the joint that maintain balance.
ME:But can't you move more weight, therefore gaining more strength, with 2 leg vs 1? A stronger posterior chain and "leg" musculature will certainly lead to better strengthening of all of the parts you listed, as well as improve balance.
Him:Focusing on force production and neglecting balance and joint health is like having a Lambo engine with Craigslist brakes. Not saying 2 leg squat should be replaced, its an amazing lift, but 1 leg and balance movements should play huge part in what you do.
ME:As the muscle grows and strengthens, so do all associated connective tissue. Single leg movements at sub maximal weights will not improve as much as reg squat. Also, in 90% of programs time is an issue. Time spent on force prod will have better ROI (imo)
Him:it's your world man, you can do whatever you want. I've spent my career researching this and this is what I believe in
At which point I inserted the GIF of Will Ferrell from Anchorman "Well, that escalated quickly"

Sorry, it won't happen again.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Yeah, it's pointless. The argument he believes is too seductive, and he can't reason his way around it. Use your time more wisely.

[Daniel Cavallari]

I suppose this ties in with the recent peer-review thread. This one-legged stuff is particularly problematic because it makes sense, despite being false. Like the "ingesting fat raises lipids in your blood" narrative.
Sometimes reality is a bit more enigmatic.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

Like Deshaun Watson (Houston Texans QB) doing his ACL rehab on an "anti-gravity" treadmill. As one trainer put it "strengthening the knee without stressing it." A clear ignorance of the basics of the SRA Cycle is at the heart of most of this stuff.

[Mark Rippetoe]

This one-legged stuff is particularly problematic because it makes sense, despite being false.

Let's start a list.

[CKehoe]

Let's start a list.

Gun control.

Welfare (ducks).

"Free" healthcare.

[MarinePMI]

Government Employee Unions

[mike]

Welfare (ducks).

ducking won't be enough - you're going to get carpet bombed :-)

[Sean Herbison]

Him:[I] Removing the second leg removes the crutch that aids balance.

While I wouldn't say single-leg training is always useless, saying the second leg is a crutch strikes me as very odd. Does your sport not use both legs? Because if it does, then you'll have that "crutch" while you're performing whatever you're training for, so why would you need to take it away in training?

[hollowpond]

I'm a high school coach and the amount of silly BS that goes on in our weight room is maddening. I was able to work with a few of our kids who actually stuck to LP and were responsive to form coaching AND actually ate like they should. Guess what? They got significantly stronger.

(As a side note, I work with many more than just a few kids but the vast majority are uncoachable and/or won't eat)

Just yesterday our football coach stopped me to tell me that HE got one of MY kid's bench up to 275 (because that's all they worry about...who cares about squat numbers). HE was shocked that HE got that result because, as a general rule, he's not used to seeing results.

It wasn't even worth the conversation. I just said, "Good job coach." The kid knows what got him there

I have been asked to be our HS strength coach and I have seriously thought about getting SS certified and taking that job, but I don't know if I can take the fight against the ignorance out there...