Episode #171: Kenna Smoak-Minnici

Kenna Smoak-Minnici is the Director of Sports Performance at Army West Point. Smoak-Minnici i is going into her 10^th year at the United States Military Academy. First arriving in 2017 as an assistant strength and conditioning coach, she became an associate strength and conditioning coach in 2019 and was again promoted to her new title as the director of sports performance in 2024, working with the Black Knights baseball, and women’s basketball programs. However, over her almost decade at West Point she has also coached wrestling, sprint football, volleyball, women’s rugby, and men’s soccer. Prior to West Point, Smoak-Minnici was the associate director of Olympic strength and conditioning at Marshall University for the 2016-2017 season. She spent the 2015-2016 season at Southern Methodist University after a year as an assistant strength coach at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Smoak-Minnici began her career as a student intern coach at her alma mater, the University of Alabama, from spring 2009 to summer of 2011. She completed an internship program at Georgia Institute of Technology in 2011 before serving as a graduate assistant coach at Gardner-Webb University from 2011-2014.

Smoak-Minnici has spoken internationally with the ASCA Brisbane, Australia and at the CSCCa and NSCA national conferences, in addition to being featured on numerous podcasts over the course of her career. In 2024 she was the recipient of the NSCA Assistant College Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year award.

Outside of West Point Coach Smoak-Minnici also is a coach for Action Plan Coaching. She offers pregnancy and postpartum training plans. She is a certified Prenatal Corrective Exercise Specialist (PCES). She is passionate about coaching women in the military, athletics, and physical jobs through this chapter. She also offers active duty training plans with Action Plan.

A firm believer in learning “under the bar” Smoak-Minnici has been a National Level NPC Figure/Physique competitor since 2009, a pro-total powerlifter and a two-time Boston Marathon qualifier. Still an avid lifter, Smoak-Minnici enjoys being with her husband and two children when she is not training in the weight room.