PERKINSTON — Fresh off a season working as a player performance coach for all eight teams in the USFL, Larry Howard joins the Gulf Coast Family as the school’s first strength and conditioning coach.

 

“Gulf Coast has very, very competitive programs,” he said. “Being able to work with athletes at the junior college level who are trying to get to the Next Level definitely intrigued me. I want to help them develop and realize their dreams. That’s what brought me here.”

 

The nationally certified coach worked with the military and a variety of fitness regimens before being part of the strength and conditioning team in Birmingham for the spring football league. The USFL is approaching double digits of players signing with the NFL, and Howard facilitated warmups and workouts, as well as pre-game routines. He worked with individual players on body composition and core development and as part of a team producing training materials, providing supplements and managing rosters.

 

“Athletes don’t care what you know until they know that you care,” Howard said. “It’s very important to lead with the athletes’ best interests at heart. Our programs are based on helping them better their movement so they can be more effective in their sports and mitigate injuries.”

 

Howard has had his own personal fitness training and coaching business in Chicago since 2010, and has experience in F45 Training and Spartan Race coaching. He also served as a strength and conditioning coach at the University of Illinois in 2017.

 

For four years starting in 2012, Howard was a PT Readiness Trainer for the National Guard.

 

“From a coaching perspective, I like to educate, and then I like to empower,” Howard said. “You educate them on what they need to do to take care of their bodies, and then empower them to take ownership over that.”

 

He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and has a USA Weightlifting Level 1 certification. Howard has TRX Level 1, Spartan Race Level 1, Power Plate and Insanity certifications, as well as being certified in CPR/AED.

 

Howard has a bachelor’s degree in communication with undergraduate coursework in exercise science from DePauw University. Has a master’s degree in urban ministry from Trinity International University and a master’s in exercise science with a sports performance concentration from Northeastern Illinois University.

 

“I’m super excited to be here,” he said. “I’m looking to bring Division I attention to detail and programming to this athletic department so all these athletes will leave here and go to the Next Level, they’ll be fully equipped to compete there.”

 

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