Ed Williams joins Anthony in this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective! Ed is a Strength Coach and Educator who has trained athletes and consulted with coaches in the industry for 22 years.
Ed reflects on the time he spent training under Charles Poliquin, what it means to be truly resilient, fast twitch vs. slow twitch muscles and the way he trains them, in addition to the impact that he is trying to provide in the current strength and conditioning industry by coaching coaches. Enjoy!
Episode overview
Edward Williams reflects on more than two decades of training athletes and consulting with coaches. The conversation covers his time learning under Charles Poliquin, the meaning of resilience, fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle qualities, and his current effort to improve the field by coaching coaches. The conversation gives strength and conditioning professionals a practical way to think about coaching beyond sets and repetitions. It connects day-to-day training decisions with communication, leadership, athlete development, and the realities of working inside a larger organization.
Key themes from the conversation
Learning through mentorship
Williams’ time with Charles Poliquin provides a lens for thinking about mentorship, technical education, and the responsibility to evaluate what a coach learns. Strong mentorship should sharpen judgment, not replace it. As you listen, pay attention to the decisions behind the approach: what problem the coach is trying to solve, what information matters most, and how the idea can be adapted to a different team, age group, or training environment. That context is more useful than copying a drill or program without understanding why it was selected.
Resilience as a professional quality
The episode looks beyond motivational language and asks what resilience requires in real coaching work. Adaptation, honest self-review, patience, and continued effort are essential when outcomes or career paths do not follow a simple plan. As you listen, pay attention to the decisions behind the approach: what problem the coach is trying to solve, what information matters most, and how the idea can be adapted to a different team, age group, or training environment. That context is more useful than copying a drill or program without understanding why it was selected.
Training muscle qualities with purpose
The discussion of fast-twitch and slow-twitch characteristics emphasizes the relationship between physiology and program design. Training choices should reflect the quality being developed, the athlete’s needs, and the larger plan rather than chasing novelty. As you listen, pay attention to the decisions behind the approach: what problem the coach is trying to solve, what information matters most, and how the idea can be adapted to a different team, age group, or training environment. That context is more useful than copying a drill or program without understanding why it was selected.
Why this episode matters
Edward Williams’s perspective is useful because the role of a performance coach is never limited to writing a program. Coaches must earn trust, explain expectations, adjust to the people in front of them, and keep training aligned with the competitive calendar. This episode invites listeners to examine how professional growth and better athlete outcomes often come from the same habits: asking better questions, communicating clearly, reviewing results honestly, and staying willing to refine an approach.
For head coaches and administrators, the discussion also offers a window into the responsibilities carried by a strength staff. A successful program depends on shared standards, useful feedback, and collaboration across sport coaches, athletic trainers, medical staff, and performance specialists. The details will look different in every setting, but the need for alignment remains constant.
Who should listen
This episode is especially relevant for experienced strength coaches, coach educators, consultants, and practitioners interested in training theory and professional resilience. It is also a strong professional-development resource for interns and graduate assistants who want to understand how experienced practitioners evaluate problems, build relationships, and grow into greater responsibility. Listen once for the story, then return to the sections that connect most directly to the challenges in your own program.
Turn the conversation into action
After listening, write down one idea that confirms your current practice, one idea that challenges it, and one question you want to discuss with your staff. Choose a small action that can be tested without disrupting the entire program, define what improvement would look like, and review the result after an appropriate training block. That simple process turns a podcast insight into a useful coaching experiment while keeping the athlete and the program’s goals at the center of the decision.
Explore more interviews on the Samson Strength Coach Collective, where coaches and performance leaders share the experiences, systems, and lessons shaping their work.
