Reflections on great Coaches: Jud Logan and Louie Simmons

The most rewarding thing I have done so far in this life is fostering a child’s love, passion, and appreciation for physical training. I have watched young men and women have a complete personality change for the better. A huge growth in confidence and a desire to improve day to day, training has given many something to strive for. If done properly, strength training not only benefits the individual, but develops a sense of team and community with those around you. 

Outside of weight room specific programming, there are broadly applicable lessons and philosophies around training that have been taught to me by great men. I’m thankful that I listened to them and I hope to keep finding and learning from other great teachers for the rest of my days.

Coach Jud Logan was a Lightgiver. He could see potential in you that you may not have seen in yourself. He illuminated the path before you and showed you what you could be. He did this by kindling your passion into a raging fire. 

When I first met Coach Logan his legacy was already established as one of the greatest Hammer throwers in American history as well as one of the most successful throws coaches in the nation. However, he did not rest in the past. Coach Logan was constantly building towards the future. Developing overlooked Track and Field athletes into National champions and future Olympians. 

I saw a man that could be easily stuck in his ways pay out of pocket to bring in local throwing Olympians like Canada’s Justin Rodhe to help teach the Shotput for a day. Not because Coach Logan couldn’t teach it, but he knew the value of outside voices and exposing his athletes to new language, concepts, and ideas. He commanded the weight room with intelligent and engaging programming, and he had coaches like Louie Simmons and Boris Sheiko come in to teach and help him refine his process. Always learning and experimenting. Coach would say “90% of what we do is set in stone, but it’s that last 10% that we are always searching for.” Always looking to gain a small edge. A new piece of information that will set his team up for success. 

I saw other coaches respect him for his outgoing personality, and extreme passion on competition day. They saw how much he loved his team. And his team was all in. We trusted Coach Logan wholeheartedly, and he led us to many victories. He taught on the importance of buy-in and belief. “A good coach that doesn’t have his team is nothing, a bad coach who is believed in will produce great athletes, a great coach that has his team will produce champions!” 

I met renowned strength coach and owner of Westside Barbell Louie Simmons through Jud Logan. Louie knew of Jud’s success and Jud used to share Soviet training information with Louie. I only trained with Louie at Westside a few times before his passing. Westside had been molded into an environment dense with the aura of strength, strain, and champions. I was 19 when I first went there. I was an absolute nobody and Louie spent many hours talking to and training me. I did my first box squat at Westside. He went over old Soviet strength manuals and even took my friend and I out to the famous Bob Evans breakfast with the morning crew of lifters. 

I majorly adopted Westside style Conjugate training in my own programming and coaching. But I took more than just lifting away from my interaction with Westside. What I saw with Louie was a man that was willing to share his time for free with a passionate youth lifter, a coach that revolutionized strength training through research and trial, and a master craftsman of an environment that broke the most powerlifting world records of all time. Like Coach Logan, Louie was always searching for that extra 10%, and he never stopped learning or experimenting. 

Like these men I aim to live a life of abundant passion. Expressing myself and using my resources in way where I encourage and build those around me. Never stop exploring and keep moving forward!