Wilson Smerconish ’16: If you see Steve Musacchio working out and wonder what music is pumping through his headphones, chances are he’s listening to Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Three Days Grace, or Chevelle.
“I like hard rock and stuff from my high school and college days from late 90‘s and early 2000‘s,” explained EA’s strength and conditioning coach.
Mussachio came to EA after his time at Summit Sports Training Center in Villanova. Summit was under contract to help EA with its fitness program. With a Masters of Science in Exercise and Sport Physiology from West Chester University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Behavior Management from the University of Delaware, Mussachio had already embarked on his career as a trainer. Prior to Episcopal, Mussachio consulted for various coaches at the Division II level as well as members of the Philadelphia Eagles during his time as assistant Strength and Conditioning coach for the team.
“One of the coolest and most memorable times at the Eagles, where hard work and discipline was so obvious, was a day when I was able to coach Brian Dawkins through an upper-body strength workout. He walked into the gym, and the first thing he did was walk up to a few Pro-Bowl-quality players and tell them to add more weight and do more reps and that ‘everything is too light in here.’ He clearly had a leadership presence and EVERYONE looked up to him. When it was time for him to lift, there was no weight that was heavy enough for him, and he could never ‘do enough.’ He worked harder than anyone, with 100% attention to detail. I will always remember how seriously he took his workouts, and it is obvious that his dedication to his craft has allowed him to have such a long and successful career.”
Musacchio’s bio also includes his title as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and a designation as a Certified Sports Performance Coach through the United States Olympic Weightlifting Committee (USAW).
One of the keys, he will tell you, to a good fitness regimen is diet. “I myself try to get the majority of my protein through real food sources such as eggs, chicken, Greek style yogurt, fish, grass fed organic beef, and pork. Always try to go organic when you can.” Musacchio stressed that real food sources should come before protein powder to get better results. If one does use protein however, he suggests using hormone free milk, especially with whey. Surprisingly, Musacchio has not always been as fit as he is now. “I was chubby in high school. I had always wished I’d known how to eat better. I got into nutrition and exercise more so in college. I learned how to eat better and lost a lot of weight and got fit. I achieved goals I didn’t think I could and realized that if you have a system that works, you can do more than you think if you’re patient and systematic in your approach.” He arrives at EA close to sunrise and stays until late in the day. But Musacchio says he saves his own workoutforlast. “I get here at 6 a.m. and open the gym.
There are usually a handful of teachers and parents who come to work out. I train lots of adults in the community as a side job. I do that until about 2 or 3 p.m. Then students come in and I help out athletes. After that I do my own workout for about a half hour. And at about 6 p.m., I either go home or work out lacrosse guys. Then I go home, take a bath, and get ready to do it again.”
On top of his busy workday schedule, Steve finds time to design workouts that will best benefit the student and teams as a whole. When designing these workouts for student athletes, Steve focuses on the skill of the student, their age, the sport that they’re training for and how demanding that particular sport may be. He also takes into account the time frame of how long they’re able to work out. When you combine Steve’s workout routines with a goal oriented, patient, and disciplined student athlete, they are set up for success both in the weight room and on the field.