If you ask CSU-Pueblo head football coach, John Wristen, one of the main reasons the CSU-Pueblo football program was able to rise from a lowly upstart to the No. 1 team in the nation had less to do with coaching and more to do with the players’ dedication to the stellar, world-class strength and conditioning program laid out by former U.S. Olympic Training Center and Air Force Academy strength and conditioning coach, Allen Hedrick.
Hedrick heads a program that is beyond reproach – not only in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, but all of NCAA Division II.
Named the first ever Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at CSU-Pueblo in 2009, Hedrick boasts a wealth of experience that CSU-Pueblo student-athletes soak up like a sponge. A former strength and conditioning coach at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for three years, Hedrick spent 12 years at the United States Air Force Academy – three as an assistant strength and conditioning coach before moving into the head strength coach role, a position he held for nine years.
At the Air Force Academy, he was personally responsible for the strength and conditioning programs for football and volleyball while overseeing the entire strength and conditioning program.
Most recently, Hedrick was at the National Strength and Conditioning Association headquarters in Colorado Springs, where he first served as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, then into the education department as the NSCA Education Coordinator until 2009.
During his career Hedrick has worked with a variety of athletes, from elementary school age athletes to athletes at the professional and Olympic level, including athletes who have medaled in the Olympic games (Bonnie Blair, speed skating and Matt Ghaffari, Greco-Roman Wrestling).
A frequent writer, Hedrick has been published over 100 times in a variety of publications on a variety of topics related to strength and conditioning and has published a book on strength and conditioning for football along with numerous DVD’s on a variety of topics related to strength and conditioning. In addition, Hedrick has spoken at numerous conferences and clinics, both nationally and internationally, including Guatemala, Japan, Australia, and China.
In 2003, Hedrick was selected by his peers as the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year.
Hedrick, a graduate of Cal State-Chico in 1989, who earned his Master’s from Cal State-Fresno, is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist of Distinction (CSCS*D) a Fellow of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (FNSCA) and a Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC). He and his wife Stephanie reside in Pueblo and have two children, Lindsey and Brandon.
In addition to coaching, Hedrick also competes in the sport of weightlifting and finished third at the National Masters Weightlifting Championships in 2009.
