Yolanda Berryhill, On Strength & Never Being Satisfied
Although Yolanda Berryhill realizes that the field of strength and conditioning is particularly male-driven, this has yet to stop her from showing her strength identity and strong presence every day.
“Ultimately, you have two choices each day,” Berryhill explained. “You can choose to wake up and attack the day, or you can choose to wake up and let the day attack you. It’s up to you.”
When given the opportunity to come to Appalachian State in July 2014, Berryhill accepted as she felt that everything led her in that direction. Originally in charge of strength and conditioning for Volleyball, Softball and Men’s Golf, the athletics department moved her within the first month to being the head strength coach for Women’s Basketball and overseeing all other Olympic sports.
Having a strong athletic background, Berryhill spent four years at Georgia State University competing in the Track and Field events of shot put, hammer, discus and weight throws. She won a conference championship in the discus event as a freshman, but says sophomore year wasn’t so glorious.
“I definitely had a year of the ‘sophomore slump’,” said Berryhill, recollecting this period of her collegiate career. But that didn’t stop her from working hard and coming back stronger than ever.
The following junior and senior years, she showed this strength and fought back to win two more individual conference championships in both shot put and discus along with a team conference championship. Berryhill still holds the school record at GSU in discus (48.78m), shot put (14.49m) and hammer throw (49.89m).
Known as “Coach Yo” by her athletes and colleagues, Berryhill is the only female strength coach on the roster at Appalachian State. The main sport she covers is Women’s Basketball, but she also oversees all other Olympic sports.
“Previously the women’s basketball team had two male strength and conditioning coaches,” said Jimmy Edel, strength and conditioning coach alongside Berryhill. “Now that these ladies have a prominent female coach, the dynamic in the locker room has changed for the better. Coach Yo gives an impact in a way no other male coach could give. She knows females are rare in our field and makes the best out of her opportunity.”
Not only are these women affected by Berryhill’s impact regarding their physical strength performance, but the relationships she builds with them and drive she ignites within them has also had a powerful impact on the team. With a new set of coaches, the team has had to adjust to many changes and Berryhill has been a powerful source of support and inspiration to keep them going.
“Coach Yo has impacted my life by teaching me how to show strength, but not in just a physical way as her professional title holds,” said Farrahn Wood, a senior on the Women’s Basketball team. “She teaches us how to show toughness in times when we feel most exposed.”
In addition to training her athletes, Berryhill has a very regimented schedule of her own. Waking up every morning at 4:30 a.m., she cooks breakfast for herself, takes her dog out for a walk and is in the weight room by 5 a.m. She trains herself at least 6 days per week on top of team lifts. Unlike her athletes, Berryhill doesn’t know an off-season as she is always traveling with or training the next team in season.
Despite her busy schedule, players see her as a solution-focused individual in that she doesn’t want to spend time talking about a problem, but instead using that time to decide on an action and solution.
“I want my demeanor and personality to be strong,” said Berryhill. “I want my words and actions to be strong. I want the atmosphere around me to be strong, so that when my athletes need anything they know where they can come to have a strong shoulder and guidance in all aspects of their lives.”
According to her players and colleagues, these wishes hold true as Berryhill demands attention—but not in a way that she is trying to mimic male coaches. She simply never looks intimidated or out of place and her presence fills the room no matter what environment she’s in or who is around.
Berryhill believes that today women are empowered by seeing other women display their unique strengths on a daily basis. To her, empowerment comes from being unapologetic about what you do and who you are. It’s about not being ashamed; not having excuses and staying steadfast in your beliefs are quality traits she wants to instill in the women she trains.
“I make my voice heard by doing what I say and saying what I do,” said Berryhill. “I want to empower the young women around me through my actions and inspire them by showing them that being content is believing you are less than excellent.”
