Member Spotlight: Sarah Stack
“I love being able to impact our youth. I love watching these kids grow as athletes and as individuals. They impress me every day with their dedication and enthusiasm.”
Sarah Stack, a passionate advocate for youth fitness and empowerment, joined IDEA in July 2021. Her journey in the fitness world has been driven by a deep desire to transform the lives of young athletes, specifically teenage girls, through holistic training approaches.
Residing in New Orleans, Stack was blessed to have been a stay-at-home mother for nine years. Once her youngest child entered preschool, she felt the pull to nurture her own interests and desires and joined a bootcamp gym. Less than a year into her membership journey, she felt the pull to become a trainer, and the rest is history.
What began as coaching a few large classes weekly turned into adding one-on-one clients into her own small group workouts. She was consistently drawn to the world of athletic training and found, in learning some alarming information regarding female athletes, a calling.
“One day a lightbulb went off when I discovered that young female athletes were quitting their sports in large numbers around the age of fourteen,” she states. “Knowing how many important life lessons are learned through playing sports, I found myself on a mission to change the way we coach and train girls in hopes of keeping them involved.”
Determined to make a difference, Sarah dove into athletic training headfirst with the goal to revolutionize how teenage girls are coached and trained. Her dedication led her to become the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Southshore Performance Training, where she spearheads a program integrating physical therapy techniques for optimal athletic development and injury prevention.
Sarah’s credentials speak volumes about her expertise: she holds certifications from ACE and NASM, specializing in personal training, fitness nutrition, sports performance enhancement, and stretch and flexibility coaching. Her role as a strength and conditioning coach allows her to mentor young athletes, instilling in them not just physical benefits, but also invaluable life lessons.
What sets Sarah apart is her unwavering commitment to empowering youth beyond the gym. Her upcoming book, The Teenage Athletes’ Nutrition Journal, is a testament to her dedication. It equips young athletes and their parents with essential nutritional knowledge, ensuring they make informed choices to fuel their athletic endeavors.
“How we train female teenage athletes is critical to the growth and future of our society and the expansion of women’s professional sports,” she says.
Sarah’s impact extends beyond her coaching sessions; she’s a published author, blogger, and sought-after speaker, advocating for a paradigm shift in how we train and mentor teenage athletes. Her involvement in Todd Durkin’s Mastermind reflects her dedication to advancing the fitness industry’s conversation on training teen girls.
Sarah’s vision aligns seamlessly with IDEA’s mission to uplift and empower fitness professionals. Her call for comprehensive education on training teenage athletes resonates with IDEA’s commitment to fostering a supportive environment for personal and professional growth.
In Sarah, IDEA finds a champion whose tireless efforts are reshaping the landscape of youth fitness, one empowered athlete at a time.
