WFCA | COACH KEVIN "YOX" YOXALL

By Joe “Big House” Kenn

This year’s Wisconsin Football Coaches Association annual clinic once again put a Dynamic Fitness and Strength coach on the main stage, and that’s something I don’t take lightly. I want to start by thanking Coach Joe Labuda for continuing to put us in position. Last year he recommended me, and this year he made sure one of the best to ever do it—Coach Kevin “YOX” Yoxall—had the platform he deserves.

Friday started the right way. Early morning training session at Madtown Fitness, then it was clean up, get dressed, and head over for his 9 AM kickoff presentation. Nothing overcomplicated. Just two coaches who have been around this long enough, getting ready to talk shop. And that’s exactly what this was—real coaching, real experience, and real application.

I’ve known Yox since 1990. Over 30 years of conversations, lessons, and mutual respect. In May of 2020, we finally became teammates under Dynamic Fitness and Strength, and that meant something to me. Because when you’ve been in this profession as long as we have, you learn who is real and who isn’t. Yox is as real as it gets. He’s a mentor, he’s a friend, and he’s lived this profession at every level you can imagine.

The first part of his presentation walked through his journey, and this is where a lot of young coaches in the room needed to pay attention. From 1986 through 2020, his career wasn’t a straight line—it was a climb. Starting at TCU as a graduate assistant and working his way into a head strength coach role, then moving through Minnesota, UCLA, Auburn—where he was part of a national championship program—and finishing his collegiate career at Rice. From there, he transitioned into the high school setting, spending time at Strake Jesuit, East Central, and Midway, before wrapping things up professionally with the XFL.

What stood out to me, and what should stand out to anyone paying attention, is how this all started. Yox didn’t come into strength and conditioning through theory. He came through it as a powerlifter. He lived it before he coached it. That matters. There’s a difference between knowing and doing, and he’s done it at a high level for a long time.

The second part of his presentation is where he really drove his message home, and it couldn’t have been more aligned with what I believe. It doesn’t have to be complicated. That was the tone, and it’s a message that too many people miss in today’s world. We’ve created a culture where complexity gets attention, but simplicity is what drives results. He made it clear that accessory work should never outclass the basic fundamentals. If your program is built around the extras instead of the essentials, you’ve already lost direction. The basic compound lifts—squats, hinges, presses, pulls—those are still the foundation. They always have been, and they always will be.

Where I thought Yox was at his best was when he started talking about the high school environment. That’s where coaching truly becomes coaching. Not theory. Not research. Reality. At Strake Jesuit, he had to work within a rigid academic structure, which meant he was limited to 20-minute strength circuits. Instead of fighting it, he adapted to it. Later, at East Central and Midway, he had the ability to run 45-minute athletic strength classes. Different environment, different approach. That’s the lesson. You don’t force your system onto the environment. You adjust your system to fit the environment you’re in.

One of the most important takeaways from his entire talk was the standard he holds himself to as a coach. Be extremely persistent. Be consistent. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. Worry about what you’re doing, and do it correctly. That hit home. Too many coaches spend time looking sideways, comparing, chasing what others are doing. The best coaches stay locked in on their athletes, their room, and their standards.

He also addressed testing, and once again, it was simple and to the point. Testing should be done twice a year, and realistically, it should begin during the junior year of high school. Not every week, not every cycle, and not for the purpose of chasing numbers. Testing is about evaluation, not ego. It’s about understanding what you have, not trying to prove something. When you do test, it should center around qualities that matter—speed, change of direction, vertical and horizontal outputs, and strength, all within the right context. You test to learn, not to show off.

What I appreciated most about Yox’s presentation is that it was grounded. No fluff. No unnecessary complexity. No chasing trends. Just decades of real coaching experience delivered in a way that coaches could take back and apply immediately. That’s what this profession needs more of. Not more information—better application.

Coach Kevin “YOX” Yoxall is a coach’s coach. And if you were in that room on Friday morning, you didn’t just sit through a presentation—you got over 35 years of lessons, experience, and perspective delivered the right way.

Absorb it. Modify it. Apply it.

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