Ask any competitive athlete what the key component is in gaining the competitive edge in sports, and the answer will most likely fall along the lines of strength and staying injury-free.
That’s precisely the philosophy that head strength and conditioning coach Ryan Horton is implementing for Elon University athletes.
Horton is in the midst of his first season as the head of the strength and conditioning program at Elon. Along with assistant coaches Joe Baranello and Christian Gangitano, Horton has ambitious goals in place for all Elon teams.
“The main goal is that they’re injury free, that they’re strong enough to compete and that they are the best-conditioned teams in the country,” Baranello said. “I want to make sure that they’re the safest team in the country.”
Horton took the reins this past summer, replacing Ted Perlak, who left Elon in May after one year for the same position with the University of Delaware.
Before coming to Elon, Horton was at Florida International University and the University of Tennessee.
While at Tennessee, Horton was a part of two Southeastern Conference football championship teams and helped coach five future first-round picks in the NFL Draft.
Most recently, Horton worked at Elkin Sports Performance in Richmond, Virginia.
Horton attributes much of his knowledge and success to his experience at Tennessee.
“I learned more than I ever thought I could possibly learn in this profession.” he said. “I learned more at Tennessee in the first month than I did in four years of college. When I got to Tennessee, I learned how to actually implement strategy in a collegiate setting.”
Since starting at Elon, Horton has introduced an Olympic style of lifting weights to all athletes. This involves numerous exercises focusing on getting faster and stronger.
“We’re using anything we can do to improve the amount of power an athlete can generate from their hips, their knees and ankles,” Horton said. “It will help them run faster, jump higher and improve their performance on the field.”
This Olympic style of weightlifting has proven vital in the development of athletes. Large athletic programs all over the country use this method of training, which is designed to increase strength and power to translate onto the playing field.
Horton also takes into account and values the ambitions most college athletes have while competing at a high level.
Horton prides himself on helping athletes accomplish their dreams.
“I love the chance to help athletes be successful and to reach their goals,” he said. “This is a dream for a lot of our athletes, and to be able to make an impact on them is something truly special.”
More than anything, Horton wants to help instill values that athletes can carry on and implement in all aspects of their lives beyond athletics.
These core values, Horton said, make up the most important teaching method of what he does as a coach of young athletes.
The discipline and responsibilities taken from strength and conditioning expand beyond the playing field.
Horton wants to ensure his athletes practice these values, so their futures will be strong regardless of whether they pursue athletics after college.
“Our philosophy is trying to instill values and mold young men and women to go on and be successful beyond their athletic career and beyond Elon,” he said. “My big three philosophies are accountability, attitude and effort.”