Brian Thompson is currently the Director of Strength and Conditioning/Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, a Professor of Exercise Science, and the Graduate Strength and Conditioning Program Director at Springfield College. Thompson has worked at the college since 1998, and recently announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year. The Student sat down with Thompson to discuss his time at Springfield and the impact strength and conditioning has on student-athletes.
The Student: What got you into strength and conditioning?
Thompson: “The field didn’t really exist, or was just beginning when I was in high school in college. In high school, I had a really good strength coach, and then when I got to college, I played football and wrestled in college, and the strength coach there was very good. Originally, I wanted to be a high school math teacher, or a wrestling and football coach. I kind of got an athletic training and then really just happened into strength and conditioning. I was a power lifter, and at the time if you were a big, strong guy you could be a strength coach. I had the resume and then ended up at University of Illinois, where I did my Master’s of doctorate and worked as a strength coach and an athletic trainer there.”
The Student: Why Springfield College?
Thompson: “My girlfriend at the time, who now we’ve been married for 27 years, got a job at Springfield, so I came out, and they gave me the opportunity to come in, and I didn’t come in really working in strength and conditioning. At first, I worked as director of research for the US Sports and Fitness Center for the Disabled. So I did that for a while. Then I got into athletic training, and after my third year here, they created a spot in strength and conditioning, and that’s where I’ve been ever since.”
The Student: Why is strength and conditioning so important to life?
Thompson: “I feel like what we try to do here, and what I’ve always tried to do as a coach, is create a positive culture, build character and really life lessons of teamwork, working hard, holding yourself accountable. We have a lot of fun down there. I make sure it’s a positive environment. I know not every person will love lifting weights but I want it to be a place where everybody really looks forward to going. So I think it’s just important in the development of our athletes, getting that camaraderie, being able to take pride in what they’re doing, seeing how they develop, seeing themselves develop over the years. I think just gaining that confidence in themselves is really important.”
The Student: What goals do you try to instill in the students and athletes here?
Thompson: “If you have a good work ethic, great character and hold yourself accountable, you’re going to go really far in life. We try to give athletes some autonomy so they feel like they have a little bit of a role in what they’re doing as well in the weight room, take into account what they like and just really try to be positive role models for them in the way we treat people. There’s a Bobby Bowden book I read years ago, and the quote in there is, ‘everyone is someone’s son or daughter’. Ever since I read that, I’ve coached that way.”
The Student: What is the highlight of your career?
Thompson: “It’s watching how students develop over their time here. It’s really cool seeing students that have their dream jobs, you know? I see them work through and then all of a sudden they’re in that dream job, that type of thing as a professor seeing people reach their goals, start families, things like that… It’s really cool. I have former students calling me all the time saying, I have a job opening. I want a Springfield person. And yes, you, if you look out all over the country in strength and conditioning, you see several Springfield people all at the same place, and it’ll be multi generational. So it’s really cool when just that continued development. When the announcement came out on social media that I was retiring, my phone just started going crazy and everybody reached out to me. It’s really fun to kind of see the community we’ve built, and the support Springfield students have for each other through the years.”