ST. MARYS — St. Marys Area High School will host a National High School Strength Coaches Association Pennsylvania State Clinic on March 12.

Mike Kunes, a physical education teacher and head strength coach at St. Marys, is also the Pennsylvania state director for the NHSSCA. He said the clinic is geared toward people who work with high school and youth athletes.

The NHSSCA’s mission is to “educate, equip and empower coaches to make a positive impact in the lives of student athletes,” according to its website.

To Kunes’ knowledge, this is the first clinic of this kind — a strength-conditioning, high school-based program — to be hosted in the area.

Kunes, who became involved in the NHSSCA around four years ago, said he decided this was the year to have St. Marys host the state clinic, which starts at 7:30 a.m. and lasts until 3 p.m.

In larger areas, there are frequent clinics that teach and coach proper training protocol, Kunes said. This clinic is to educate coaches, so they can, therefore, be the best coaches possible, and pass that knowledge and skill onto the student athletes.

This is Kunes’ fifth year with St. Marys Area School District, but he has been coaching for around 18 years.

“The organization, and the clinic itself, is going to be a good thing for our area overall,” he said.

Coaches will participate in several segments, such as “Olympic lifting in the high-school setting,” or “Altoona speed and strength, building an empire” and “Squat progressions, regressions and variations,” according to the clinic’s flyer.

Another ultimate goal is that the clinic will have a regional draw, Kunes said.

“It’s my hope that more local coaches will be educated through the clinic, and take proper training practices back to local schools,” he said.

The process will include seven presenters, said Kunes, who are all certified, qualified strength-conditioning coaches.

For more information or to register, visit www.nhssca32.wildapricot.org/event-4669287. For more on the NHSSCA, visit https://nhssca.us.