NSCA

We are finally back from Las Vegas and the NSCA National Conference. It was a busy weekend for me, as Iron Maven shared a booth in the exhibit hall with Hitechplates, had a research poster and spoke. Overall, it was a challenging, but invigorating experience. Kevin came with me and was a rock of support throughout the conference. I cannot thank him enough for being there.



It was great to exhibit with Mercedes Dickerson. Her Hitechplates were a highlight of the show and I'm so happy for her success. There is no one more deserving. The Hexlite bar received good reviews from people in the school and adult/occupational health settings in the US, Canada and Ireland. It was gratifying to hear people say they had been looking for a light hex training bar.



The talk? Well, that was a trip! I've never been so nervous. Usually I'm just fine and have a great time. But this room was huge--there were more people than I expected--and had multiple screens, with a big video camera right out in front. The tech guys would switch from the slide to video of the speaker after only 15 seconds of the slide on the screen--that was a little annoying if you were trying to make a point with an image. Expressive aphasia? Frog in the throat? At one point, all I could think of was the Brady Bunch episode where Cindy Brady went into a catatonic state and stared blankly into the red light of the tv camera. Hey, you can only learn and improve by doing.

Evidently I was able to speak somewhat coherently. People took notes and there was good group of people with questions for me at the end, along with many compliments. I definitely stuttered and stammered a bit, read my slides a bit too much, failed to reference a couple of good studies and make a few points I wanted to make. But I can honestly say I went up on that stage to share concepts and ideas that I think will help people better understand the impact personal mechanics (lifting and squatting) have on back health. No infomercial for me. I signed an agreement that said I would not self-promote during the talk. There were no references to my business website or the Hexlite bar during the presentation. Instead, I paid for the opportunity to exhibit and spent roughly 16 hours in the booth.

All in all, it was a great trip. Got to see many friends and colleagues. Watched Buddy Lee do his thing in his booth behind ours. Had a blast watching various people train at the Dynamic Eleiko booth across from us. Had some great conversations with Jerry Mayhew, Vern Gambetta and Lou DeMarco--guys who know how to teach, and who make it their personal mission to mentor others, while being lifelong learners themselves. And that, my friends, when it comes down to it, is really what it is all about.

Comments

Patrick Ward said…
Just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your lecture on Satuday!

Patrick
Anonymous said…
Tracy,

You did a great job with the presentation. Congrats!

Alex
Mark Watts said…
Tracy,
You had a great presentation. It was very informative and thanks for talking the time to answer questions afterwards.

Mark
Anonymous said…
I was at your presentation as well and agree with the others. Great job.

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