Phil Sabatini is an Olympic Weightlifting athlete, head coach, and president of East Coast Gold Weightlifting (ECGW), coaching one of the USA’s greatest, largest, and most successful weightlifting teams! Amongst several positions, he’s also a 3x Member of Team USA, 3x National Champion, a former D-1 professional strength coach, and holds over 50 National Medals over 16 years of competing. When Phil isn’t ripping the bar or throwing weights on the podium, off the podium, he’s a father, a husband, a Professor of Kinesiology, and one of the best instructors in ODU’s Exercise Science Program. With my interest and passion for lifting, making the connection with Phil was effortless. Under the Master’s Program of Exercise Science, I created the connection through my advisor, seeking to meet someone to help me turn a dream into a reality. Through my advisor, a connection was made via Telecomms “word of mouth,” and he said, “Here’s someone I can put in touch with you!” After numerous chats about shared interests and backgrounds, Phil agreed to be my pen pal! By far, this connection will be one of the greatest stepping stones to further advance into a career or professional development.