In this episode of the Athletic Performance Podcast, Coach Ryan Patrick sits down with Sara MacKenzie, Director of Strength & Conditioning at Cal Poly.
Sara shares her journey from a $0/hour intern at Arizona State to running a full department at Cal Poly, the challenges of coaching 500+ athletes solo, and how parenting reshaped her coaching philosophy.
We cover everything from building systems under resource constraints to balancing toughness and empathy in the weight room — and why durability, not numbers, is the ultimate metric of success.
📌 What You’ll Learn
How Sara broke into strength & conditioning when few women had a seat at the table
Why her Arizona State internship became the turning point in her career
The systems she uses to manage programming for hundreds of athletes
How COVID forced Cal Poly into a “wedding tent weight room”
Balancing parenthood, leadership, and athlete development without burning out
Why Sara chose legacy and community over chasing jobs across the country
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