Health Strategies for the Uniformed Few

Providing Human Performance consulting and solutions in wellness, fitness, physical training programming, injury prevention, longevity, mindset, and life after retirement for the brave men and women that serve and protect. 

Serving FR/FF/EMS/LEO/MIL agencies and entities nationwide

Teaching Philosophy

“Lives are at stake.” This is the most important aspect of why and how I teach and should be the fulcrum for any teaching, instruction, or engagement with the tactical athlete community of emergency medical service personnel, law enforcement personnel, firefighters, and military service members. Some folks teach to promote growth, others teach to spur higher-order thinking, but I approach all instruction and engagement as a matter of life and death for these populations. I wore a uniform for 21 years and fully understand how every aspect of human performance affects mission success, overall physical and mental health, quality of daily living, and familial connections.

My teaching and coaching focus on evidence-based and science-backed practices, meaning that there will be a valid scientific explanation behind each method taught or discussed. It is essential to follow the literature first and maintain close proximity to what right looks like in all things health, wellness, and longevity. Opinions have their place and experience serves to teach and guide us, but just because we’ve always done it this way doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly stupid. Relating the science to job performance, standard operating procedures, and non-linear problem-solving is how we reconcile the differences and deviations from sound science if and when they happen, as a life of selfless service is often wrought with deviations from the norm.

My role as a teacher and coach is to act as a guide in an environment that focuses predominantly on the student. To do this, I engage you, the student, with a high level of passion, commitment, and understanding because, like them, I’ve worked through many sleepless nights and eaten dirt for dinner. I’ve been told that my mannerisms in the classroom create a sense of connection, compassion, and authenticity. I’ve been heard telling a joke or interesting story on several occasions, moving from humor to dark humor to somber recollection. I value realism and honest talk; we have never been able to accommodate “hope-based” courses of action or wishful thinking in our days on the job. Having lived the trials associated with a career as a tactical athlete, I possess a cultural competence that allows me to effectively present relevant information. This knowledge transfer is accomplished by incorporating aspects of cognitive, constructive, and experiential learning theories, where students absorb knowledge they can further examine, relate to, and apply to previous real-world experience. This provides opportunities to construct further meaning behind the lessons and information as it applies to a lived experience. Improving any aspect of work or home life for these brave men and women is a resounding success. This is the core of what you should be able to do when you leave each class; utilize your understanding of how the information applies to career and life longevity, health, and wellness and improve outcomes in any of these.

I evaluate and assess students with verbal feedback, probing questions, and group discussions. Additionally, graded assignments will have accompanying rubrics that explain the different levels of mastery and practical application exercises will be pass or fail. The expectation is that lessons be applied holistically to both work and life and this requires individuals to respond to lines of questioning and explain their thought process at times. I sincerely enjoy a good debate on important topics. I promise to engage with high levels of enthusiasm and caring and if students can bring half of that intensity, we will all have a great time and share a great deal of information.

I create an inclusive environment by acknowledging that every tactical athlete is a human first, but is/was also a rookie/senior leader, novice/expert, subordinate/superior, daughter/son, sister/brother, wife/husband, parent, and/or friend. Rank and time in service do not preclude a student from answering nor do they confer knowledge in all things. All students are highly encouraged to acknowledge and accept these labels during their time in class to gain a better understanding of the tactical athlete’s human condition from a wide variety of perspectives. What we are taught in our initial training so often differs from what ground-level truth reveals. Can we explore together why this is? Could it be our biases based on these labels and maybe how our perspectives change when we shift labels? If we can build a learning bridge wide enough to encompass all these labels, we can all cross it together.  I have served with women and men from all creeds, colors, ages, and backgrounds; each of them has taught me something and in turn, taught their peers something. Learning knows no prejudice.

My goal is to continually create that “aha” moment, the one where you slowly start nodding because dots are connecting and things are making more sense now than at the beginning of class. This is where knowledge transfer matters to you most as it will allow you to construct actions and plans that lead to a long, healthy, and active life while being wildly successful in your tactical profession. Your personal sacrifice demands that we make this an integral part of each learning activity. Together we do this through honesty, objectivity, collaboration, and sharing our lived experiences.