We had the good fortune of connecting with Walton High School’s Strength & Conditioning Coach, Chris Romano. Coach Romano is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist with Distinction (CSCS*D) and a Registered Strength & Conditioning Coach (RSCC) through the National Strength & Conditioning Association, as well as a Certified Sports Nutritionist and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I really believe that you have to take calculated risks in order to be rewarded in the sports performance field. For example, I closed my business, which was a private fitness gym in order to volunteer full time as Walton High School’s Strength & Conditioning Coach. Closing a business that I had owned for 3 1/2 years with a family including two young kids in order to work as a volunteer was a substantial financial risk. I knew I wanted to work with athletes full time, it’s a step that even with almost a decade of experience was necessary. Most people probably don’t realize it, but most public high schools do not have certified strength and conditioning coaches on staff, and it’s really a new field for schools in Georgia. I’m hoping the work I do at Walton gets noticed at the county and state level at some point so school district officials see the benefit of creating a new position in order to help prevent injuries, lower liability, and help their athletes maximize their athletic potential. I also graduated from Walton in 1999, so it is a great opportunity for me to give back to the school where I learned to love the weight room.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Coaching was always the career I wanted to have, however, it is not easy to get started in the field. After college in 2003, I decided to peruse a career in the financial sector. I traveled a lot and got to live in some really great places. However, I did not enjoy the work at all. I went to the gym before and after work every day and sometimes over lunch as well and was really thinking about a career change into personal training. In 2012 when I got married and moved to Atlanta for my wife’s job, I was able to make that career change and got a job at a local gym. I eventually became head coach there, and after 3 years I decided to open my own gym with the intent to focus mainly on athletes but also have group fitness classes. The gym was Atlanta Strength & Conditioning. While owning the gym, I was able to train myself a lot and ended up competing on Team USA in Olympic Weightlifting winning 3 silver medals in Pan Ams and finishing 22nd and 9th at Worlds (in my age/weight class). I enjoyed coaching the general fitness classes but once I got the opportunity to work with Walton High School’s Football Team on their Olympic lifts, I quickly realized that I wanted to get back into the team environment. After talking it over with my wife and with Walton’s football coach, I began to coach more days at the school. During that time I also was fortunate and got to work with Kennesaw State’s Football team (thanks to Coach Jim Kirtisy) and with the Atlanta Braves AAA affiliate Gwinnett Stripers as an intern (thanks to Coach Paul Howey). So last summer, my wife and I decided to close the gym so I could volunteer my time to coaching at Walton daily as well as finish up my masters degree in strength & conditioning/ exercise science. At that point I began working with other Walton sports in the weight room and supported the teams by being on the sidelines for Football Basketball and Baseball games. This season I also was the pitching coach for our JV baseball team, which was a lot of fun since I am a former pitcher. Being able to use my biomechanics knowledge to help our pitchers seemed to be really beneficial for them.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well for starters, when I have friends come into town, they usually end up at one of our varsity games for whatever sports are in season at that time. Other than that, let’s say on a weekend, my number one spot would be the Battery. I’m Italian, and Antico’s is the closest to real pizza that I have had in the US. If the Braves are home, that’s a no brainer. But even when they aren’t, you can’t beat a night out at the Battery. Most of my friends have kids, so we also generally end up playing wiffel ball in my yard as no one can come by the house when my sons are home and leave without at least playing an inning.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My wife and kids, I spend a LOT of time away coaching and a lot of time at home communicating with my athletes. I also want to thank the Walton coaches, in particular, Coach Brunner, Coach Abney, and Coach Amos for trusting me to work with their teams.

Instagram: @CoachCris_
Linkedin: CoachChrisRomano
Twitter: @CoachCris_