Longtime Northfield Strength and Conditioning Coach Sahli To Take Over In Burnsville

After 33 years at Northfield High School, strength and conditioning coach Scott Sahli will step down at the end of the school year to take over as strength and conditioning coordinator at Burnsville High School. 

Sahli, who led NHS to its seventh consecutive Olympics-style weightlifting state championship this year, has helped groom the Raiders athletic department into a perennial football contender through his rigorous workout plans.

He will be tasked with starting up an Olympic-style weightlifting program at Burnsville as well as revamping the way the Blaze train in other sports.

“Some great opportunities presented themselves, and I’m kind of foolish not to take them,” Sahli said. “The tough part was two-fold. Great coaches and athletic directors that I’ve worked with. Just some excellent coaches on staff, and the athletes I have (are) some of the best I’ve ever had.”

Sahli lives in Burnsville, and his daughter currently goes to BHS.

Sahli’s key to success has been keeping a constant eye on the evolution of strength training. He said he has worked with scientists, olympic team coaches and others that have kept him learning through the years.

He said he will also begin research on two books about weightlifting and high school sports—one of which will be alongside University of Minnesota associate director of conditioning Cal Dietz.

Northfield activities director Tom Graupmann said there are three key factors in Sahli’s success over the years: He cares for the kids, has a love for teaching and has built a vast knowledge of strength and conditioning.

“He has a real passion for what he does,” Graupmann said. “It’s almost unparalleled I think by almost anybody. He’s been national coach of the year, and he’s earned that for many reasons.”

Through learning the trade of strength and conditioning, Sahli has become responsible for training 19 athletic teams at NHS. He was named the .

Graupmann said Sahli’s influence in the Raiders athletic department is vast, ranging well beyond his success as the weightlifting head coach. 

“I don’t have a formula, but I think you’ve just got to keep in mind that the people and the process is the most important thing,” Sahli said. "If you do the process right and you treat the people well, the other stuff just kind of takes care of itself."

One of the biggest testaments to Sahli’s work as a strength and conditioning coordinator is his help with the football program, Graupmann said.

Along with head coach Bubba Sullivan, Graupmann said Sahli has helped Raiders athletes make a significant jump in strength from freshman to sophomore year.

Sullivan has worked with Sahli since 1989. He said Sahli is a great technician when it comes to weightlifting and his knowledge has helped build his program into a consistent state competitor.

The Raiders have been to the state tournament in 12 of the past 20 years.

“He was instrumental in getting the program going, turning it around and getting it on the successful track,” Sullivan said. “Then keeping it there, which I think has been just as tough. Our kids have really bought into the need to lift weights. His expertise, his motivation, has been tremendous for our kids.”

Sullivan said the next challenge is finding a way to replace a conditioning coach who has been, by and large, irreplaceable.

“I think he’s laid a great foundation. He hasn’t just worked with the kids, he’s worked with us,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think we can replace an individual like Scott with all the knowledge and all the time he’s put in. It’s going to take a team of us to sustain where we’ve been.”

Sahli said the new challenge is exciting, but leaving Northfield was a difficult decision to make.

“Just a lot of really positives—the stars just kind of aligned,” Sahli said. “The tough part is saying goodbye to the people I really care about.”