Boyd Epley grew up in Phoenix, Arizona where he attended school all the way through Phoenix Junior College, in which he earned his Associates of Arts degree. From Pheonix JC, Epley attended the University of Nebraska where he became the school record holder for pole vault in his junior year. Early in his senior year, the sport in which he loved so much caused him to suffer a serious back injury which ended his career (NSCA Journal 2009). In order to rehab his back, Epley spent a significant amount of time in the university’s weight room. He soon had a group of injured football players join him during his workouts and the football coaches noticed that these injured players were returning to the field much faster than ever before.
The coaches soon approached Epley about working with the entire football team. On September 15, 1969 Epley began his new career as a strength coach when head coach Bob Devaney agreed to give him a one semester trial period(www.cornnation.com/2009). This made Nebraska the first university with a paid strength and conditioning coach and changed college athletics as a whole forever. His ideas were revolutionary, and through his vision of creating stronger athletes Nebraska went on to win back to back national football titles in 1970-71.
Boyd Epley opened the door for others aspiring to be a strength and conditioning coach. He was the first to prove the importance of physical preparation. His value of the importance of a well-educated strength staff lead him to start the National Strength and Conditioning Association, which was the first professional organization for anyone pursuing a career in strength and conditioning and is still a leading organization in the field today.
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