Kyle Southall

Kyle Southall, Director of Sports Sciences and Performance, Briarwood Christian School

Beyond Athletic Training To Mentoring Young People

“I joke that I digressed professionally,” said Kyle Southall, PhD, LAT, ATC, PES, CSCS, Director of Sports Sciences and Performance at Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, Alabama. “Most students start out with the goal of working in professional athletics. I actually started in professional athletics, then worked with the Power Five conferences, then Division III. From there, I went to academia, got my PhD, and now I’m working at a high school. I’ve done the exact opposite of most career trajectories I absolutely love it. If you had told me 15 years ago I’d be working at a high school in Birmingham, Alabama, and loving it, I would have called you crazy.”

Southall explained he’s originally from Southeastern Ohio and received his undergraduate degree in Athletic Training from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and his Master's Degree in Athletic Training from West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. While at West Virginia University, he had several opportunities “pop up,” and the one he took was with Birmingham Southern College, which brought him to Birmingham. “My wife and I thought we’d stay a few years and then return up north, but we’re happy here with jobs we love and have no plans to leave.”

While in Birmingham, Southall completed his Ph.D. at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In addition to the more specific education and training he received, he said he “learned the scientific process and how to apply it. At Briarwood, we’re taking a more scientific approach to athletics.”

“Our Sports Science and Performance system combines qualified professionals, research, technology, and resources to build a comprehensive, school-based approach to physicaleducation, health education, strength/conditioning programs, athletic evaluation, and treatment,” he said.

“We’re trying to get away from the traditional athletics model and move toward a performance model,” he explained. “We’re doing this through a bi-modal approach through athletics and academic channels.” For example, he said, in addition to overseeing the school’s conditioning coaches and athletic trainers, he also teaches anatomy in the science department as well as physiology and sports science classes. He also said his work goes beyond student athletes and extends to the entire school population.

In the student-athlete realm, he and his staff leverage technology to support his innovative performance-based model.

“In the weight room, we’ve gotten away from one-rep maxes and are using velocity-based training,” he explained. “It’s basically a box attached to the bar that tells us how fast the bar is moving, how much weight is on the bar, tonnage, wattage, power... lots of different metrics we look at to build a workout, not just one-rep maxes.”

He also relies on GPS technology when a student-athlete returns from an injury. “Historically, someone gets injured, and when their doctor says they are good to go, they go back and play.”Instead, Southall and his staff use GPS technology to collect data that allows us to determine if the athlete is ready to return to play. “We have an additional layer of what I call protection,” he said. “We know you feel good, but show us you’re good. Show us you can get up to previous workout levels. It’s an objective measurement that helps us help the student athletes.”

Because, ultimately, he explained, his job, passion, and priorities are to ensure the students have a good experience.

“Every resource we put in goes back to the experience of the students. Remember, all the students here are minors, and I want them to have a positive experience. While they are here, they are growing personally and spiritually. I want to help them go from a 12-or 13-year-oldchild to a young adult ready to take on the world and be a leader. I also want them to adopt a healthy lifestyle. When they leave Briarwood, we want them to know about nutrition, how to make and attain wellness goals, and how to have a positive impact on the community.”

“It’s my ability to connect with students as they are developing and trying to figure out what the world means to them that I enjoy so much,” Southall said. “In college, kids pretty much have a set perspective and construct about the world and how it works. Here, I love the ability not just to teach but to mentor young developing adults.”

He added he also loves the community aspect of being in the high school setting. “When I was at West Virginia, I had 30 athletes and staff I interacted with, and that was it. Here, I deal with parents, teachers, grandparents, and the community, and the community includes the church. It's a whole different intersection of community. It’s all encompassing and I enjoy that.”

He added that working in a high-school environment also allows him to pursue other career-related interests and passions. For example, he is a member of the volunteer Athletic Trainer pool for USA Wrestling and has traveled to Mexico, El Salvador, and Colorado Springs with the team. He serves as the president of the Alabama Athletic Trainers Association and traveled to Paris last year to work at the Paralympic Games.

“College and pro staff are so busy and immersed,” he said. “This setting allows me to do so many things I couldn’t do in college or pro. Briarwood values that. We also have a great staff here. I can go away for five days and work with world-class athletes and learn from them, and they don’t miss a beat when I’m gone.”

Written by Amy Wright