We all know how many incompetent S&C coaches are getting paid to “develop” FB players across the country. Let’s say your favorite program is in the process of hiring a new S&C coach and you were the decision maker. Who would you hire and why?
The UF Gators have a great strength coach that implements strongman training as well as Olympic lifts, basic stuff and individualized stuff for each player/position. His name is Mickey-something. They had a good strength coach prior to that (Rob Glass) who utilized similar stuff (but no strongman training).
I’m looking forward to seeing how much bigger, stronger and faster they are for this season. GO GATORS!
Boyd Epley or Dr. Ken Leistner
Nate:
Don’t forget the addition of Urban Myer as Head Coach!
In answer to the question…I think that the great S&C coaches are usually “diamonds-in-the-ruff” who are mostly unknown except at their school and/or within their VERY small circle.
I would probably BEGIN my search in the ranks of S&C assistants in the Pro’s…
Mufasa
Chris Doyle (Iowa Hawkeyes) comes to mind. They are looking lean and mean every year now.
[quote]Jimmy the Saint wrote:
Chris Doyle (Iowa Hawkeyes) comes to mind. They are looking lean and mean every year now.[/quote]
Good call on Iowa’s S&C coach. Mike Gentry at VT is another good one. Not sure what to think of Mike Kent - the guy in charge at Pitt (my favorite college team, go figure). The S&C coach we used to have there, Buddy Morris, was known for doing a lot of strong man drills too.
When i think of college strength coaches the first to come to mind is “Mad Dog” Madden from the University of Texas. The guys of UT are always huge fast and great athletes and ive watch guys throw on 40 pounds of muscle from there feshman year to senoir years and get faster. its pretty amazing.
now if he can get that to translate to being badasses on the field they maybe could beat OU but all that comes down to coaching. Madden gives you the beast, the coaches just have to organize it
[quote]BigCorey75 wrote:
When i think of college strength coaches the first to come to mind is “Mad Dog” Madden from the University of Texas. The guys of UT are always huge fast and great athletes and ive watch guys throw on 40 pounds of muscle from there feshman year to senoir years and get faster. its pretty amazing.
now if he can get that to translate to being badasses on the field they maybe could beat OU but all that comes down to coaching. Madden gives you the beast, the coaches just have to organize it[/quote]
I think Texas’s success is due more to the sheer talent that they bring in than anything else. Madden’s linemen are notorious for being pudgy and overweight when entering the NFL draft. Maybe he’s a good S&C coach, I don’t know. But I don’t think he ranks among the elite. Now Mike Gentry, who I mentioned earlier. That guy is one of the biggest reasons VT went from a nobody to a top 20 program. He doesn’t have the overall talent of a Michigan, USC, Texas or OU to work with, but the talent he’s got is maximized to near full potential. The players he gets drafted are always physically ready for the NFL.
Yeah Texas has some big strong players. They just need to be coached a shade better and I think they WILL beat OU often. Morris was real good; he teamed with former Steeler, Tom Myslinski, to form a great tandem at Cleveland. I heard Myslinski is very good. Pitt too, may come up a little with their better staff; I don’t know of Kent but I’m sure he’s the equal of the prior guy, now I think at Nebraska.
[quote]Scipio wrote:
Yeah Texas has some big strong players. They just need to be coached a shade better and I think they WILL beat OU often. Morris was real good; he teamed with former Steeler, Tom Myslinski, to form a great tandem at Cleveland. I heard Myslinski is very good. Pitt too, may come up a little with their better staff; I don’t know of Kent but I’m sure he’s the equal of the prior guy, now I think at Nebraska.[/quote]
The S&C coach that used to be at Pitt and is currently at Nebraska is Dave Kennedy. I think he fits the profile of “coach with a huge ego” that Joe DeFranco often refers to. I know he’s a Boyd Epley disciple, but some of the stuff he incorporates in his workouts are known to be non-FB-specific and in some cases total BS by T-Nation writers. For example (at least from what I know he did at Pitt), he used parachutes, has players use leg presses and does linear periodization instead of conjugate periodization (which makes a lot more sense for FB, IMO). He also focuses his attention only on guys with elite talent to make himself look good. This is all what I’ve been told by some former players and people I know within the program
Regarding Wannstedt and the new Pitt staff, I’m confident that they’ll elevate Pitt from a top 35/40 type program to a top 20 program and maybe higher (hopefully) in time.
I could post what I know about Kent’s workout program if you’re interested, but I’d rather not bore you unless you actually do want to know :-).
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
Nate:
Don’t forget the addition of Urban Myer as Head Coach!
In answer to the question…I think that the great S&C coaches are usually “diamonds-in-the-ruff” who are mostly unknown except at their school and/or within their VERY small circle.
I would probably BEGIN my search in the ranks of S&C assistants in the Pro’s…
Mufasa[/quote]
Who ever Coach Meyer had at Utah did a great job. I hope Urban didn’t take him/her to Florida.
[quote]Panther1015 wrote:
BigCorey75 wrote:
When i think of college strength coaches the first to come to mind is “Mad Dog” Madden from the University of Texas. The guys of UT are always huge fast and great athletes and ive watch guys throw on 40 pounds of muscle from there feshman year to senoir years and get faster. its pretty amazing.
now if he can get that to translate to being badasses on the field they maybe could beat OU but all that comes down to coaching. Madden gives you the beast, the coaches just have to organize it
I think Texas’s success is due more to the sheer talent that they bring in than anything else. Madden’s linemen are notorious for being pudgy and overweight when entering the NFL draft. Maybe he’s a good S&C coach, I don’t know. But I don’t think he ranks among the elite. Now Mike Gentry, who I mentioned earlier. That guy is one of the biggest reasons VT went from a nobody to a top 20 program. He doesn’t have the overall talent of a Michigan, USC, Texas or OU to work with, but the talent he’s got is maximized to near full potential. The players he gets drafted are always physically ready for the NFL.
[/quote]
doesn’t have sheer talent along with michigan and all that? He had little impact on first year players Eddie Royal and Mike Imoh, those guys are sheer talent (before he got his hands on them for a full year). Then there are the vick brothers, who I think are two of the best athletes to come along in the game in a long time. Not to mention their incoming class, including tight end Ed Wang (who along with his little bro I’ve been training in conjunction with some other college football players this summer) and you are trying to tell me that they don’t have the sheer talent. The reason they’ve turned into a powerhouse is because they got lucky landing Vick 1.0 and have since been able to recruit more of their in-state talent instead of watching them go south like they did in years past. Props to gentry, I think he is a first rate S&C coach, but you are giving him a little too much credit bud.
More of their success comes from improved recruiting and an ever constant emphasis on special teams, not just gentry.
As for my pick, I’ve always been a big fan of buddy morris’s training methods, but i’d like for someone like Mike Robertson to get his hands on an entire football team and see what he could do.
[quote]hoosierdaddy wrote:
Panther1015 wrote:
BigCorey75 wrote:
When i think of college strength coaches the first to come to mind is “Mad Dog” Madden from the University of Texas. The guys of UT are always huge fast and great athletes and ive watch guys throw on 40 pounds of muscle from there feshman year to senoir years and get faster. its pretty amazing.
now if he can get that to translate to being badasses on the field they maybe could beat OU but all that comes down to coaching. Madden gives you the beast, the coaches just have to organize it
I think Texas’s success is due more to the sheer talent that they bring in than anything else. Madden’s linemen are notorious for being pudgy and overweight when entering the NFL draft. Maybe he’s a good S&C coach, I don’t know. But I don’t think he ranks among the elite. Now Mike Gentry, who I mentioned earlier. That guy is one of the biggest reasons VT went from a nobody to a top 20 program. He doesn’t have the overall talent of a Michigan, USC, Texas or OU to work with, but the talent he’s got is maximized to near full potential. The players he gets drafted are always physically ready for the NFL.
doesn’t have sheer talent along with michigan and all that? He had little impact on first year players Eddie Royal and Mike Imoh, those guys are sheer talent (before he got his hands on them for a full year). Then there are the vick brothers, who I think are two of the best athletes to come along in the game in a long time. Not to mention their incoming class, including tight end Ed Wang (who along with his little bro I’ve been training in conjunction with some other college football players this summer) and you are trying to tell me that they don’t have the sheer talent. The reason they’ve turned into a powerhouse is because they got lucky landing Vick 1.0 and have since been able to recruit more of their in-state talent instead of watching them go south like they did in years past. Props to gentry, I think he is a first rate S&C coach, but you are giving him a little too much credit bud.
More of their success comes from improved recruiting and an ever constant emphasis on special teams, not just gentry.
As for my pick, I’ve always been a big fan of buddy morris’s training methods, but i’d like for someone like Mike Robertson to get his hands on an entire football team and see what he could do.
[/quote]
First off, I never said VT’s talent was lacking, but don’t tell me they have the overall talent of a Texas, USC, OU, etc. That’s simply NOT true. If you want proof, look no further than the NFL. Yes, having a phenominal talent like Vick helped put VT on the map, but VT was a solid program before Mike Vick’s arrival.
If you want proof of Gentry’s abilities, look no further than VT’s OL and DL - particularly the OL. That’s one area where development can play a larger role than pure talent. Do you think the linemen VT’s recruited stack up with the aforementioned programs? Hell no! Yet they perform at a high enough level to win their fair share of games.
Regarding Ed Wang, I’m curious how a guy from Indiana trains a HS kid in Cetreville, VA? Do you travel a lot to set up programs for your clients or did you recently move to NoVA?
I’d like to know who was S & C at Nebraska in the 90’s. They had exceptional talent of course just as Texas/OU/USC, etc have right now. But holy cow. The condtioning especially showed through in the Orange Bowl against Miami. After an entire season, they won the game in the 4th quarter because they were in better condition.
Boyd Epley assisted by Mike Arthur
[quote]Keith Wassung wrote:
Boyd Epley assisted by Mike Arthur[/quote]
Isn’t Mike Arthur at OU now? Man, that '95 NU team was the epitome of sheer talent, excellent coaching and cutting edge S&C all rolled in one.
he is still at NU, I knew Mike pretty well as I am from Lincoln, though I have not seen him in several years.
[quote]Panther1015 wrote:
hoosierdaddy wrote:
Panther1015 wrote:
BigCorey75 wrote:
When i think of college strength coaches the first to come to mind is “Mad Dog” Madden from the University of Texas. The guys of UT are always huge fast and great athletes and ive watch guys throw on 40 pounds of muscle from there feshman year to senoir years and get faster. its pretty amazing.
now if he can get that to translate to being badasses on the field they maybe could beat OU but all that comes down to coaching. Madden gives you the beast, the coaches just have to organize it
I think Texas’s success is due more to the sheer talent that they bring in than anything else. Madden’s linemen are notorious for being pudgy and overweight when entering the NFL draft. Maybe he’s a good S&C coach, I don’t know. But I don’t think he ranks among the elite. Now Mike Gentry, who I mentioned earlier. That guy is one of the biggest reasons VT went from a nobody to a top 20 program. He doesn’t have the overall talent of a Michigan, USC, Texas or OU to work with, but the talent he’s got is maximized to near full potential. The players he gets drafted are always physically ready for the NFL.
doesn’t have sheer talent along with michigan and all that? He had little impact on first year players Eddie Royal and Mike Imoh, those guys are sheer talent (before he got his hands on them for a full year). Then there are the vick brothers, who I think are two of the best athletes to come along in the game in a long time. Not to mention their incoming class, including tight end Ed Wang (who along with his little bro I’ve been training in conjunction with some other college football players this summer) and you are trying to tell me that they don’t have the sheer talent. The reason they’ve turned into a powerhouse is because they got lucky landing Vick 1.0 and have since been able to recruit more of their in-state talent instead of watching them go south like they did in years past. Props to gentry, I think he is a first rate S&C coach, but you are giving him a little too much credit bud.
More of their success comes from improved recruiting and an ever constant emphasis on special teams, not just gentry.
As for my pick, I’ve always been a big fan of buddy morris’s training methods, but i’d like for someone like Mike Robertson to get his hands on an entire football team and see what he could do.
First off, I never said VT’s talent was lacking, but don’t tell me they have the overall talent of a Texas, USC, OU, etc. That’s simply NOT true. If you want proof, look no further than the NFL. Yes, having a phenominal talent like Vick helped put VT on the map, but VT was a solid program before Mike Vick’s arrival.
If you want proof of Gentry’s abilities, look no further than VT’s OL and DL - particularly the OL. That’s one area where development can play a larger role than pure talent. Do you think the linemen VT’s recruited stack up with the aforementioned programs? Hell no! Yet they perform at a high enough level to win their fair share of games.
Regarding Ed Wang, I’m curious how a guy from Indiana trains a HS kid in Cetreville, VA? Do you travel a lot to set up programs for your clients or did you recently move to NoVA?[/quote]
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Background on me: I play Big 10 football (ok, i’m on a big ten football team, slightly different) I’m also a Sport Specific Trainer. I’ve lived in Herndon for a majority of my life and went away to college. I’m still a trainer here in the summer. No need to be a smart-ass.
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On any given day that Ed or some of the other athletes we train, I in conjunction with my boss implement the training and come up with a program design. Sometimes he writes the program, sometimes I do, but we follow and overall periodization created together in the begining.
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If VT didn’t have the sheer talent of the other schools, then they wouldn’t be able to compete with them like they do. Texas, OU, etc… are notorious for signing great in-state and regional talent. VT and UVA and to an extent UMD used to be notorious for losing in-state and regional talent. Does the state of Texas have a larger talent pool then the state of Virginia? Absolutely. Does the U of T team have much more talent then VT? I don’t know about that one. With the exception of Carlos Rogers, I can’t think of another corner that was able to shut Eddie down last year (a true freshman at receiver). Imoh can be an amazing back (already is but he can be incredible, he just needs his had on state. Those two are phenominal talents. VT has done a much better job of recruiting overall talent, especially regional talent, and keeping their in-state stars at home. Again I credit this to Vick putting them solidly on the map.
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I don’t want you to think I am bashing Gentry, because I am not. I’ve oberserved from afar the work he has done on Danny McGrath and were he has taken Danny from his senior year of highschool to now. I’m not saying he’s not good, just that you are giving him alot more credit then he is due. You are also forgetting that Beamer is a heck of a coach.
Where was I being a smartass? I was asking a sincere question.
Are you interning at the Merryman Athletic Center this summer or is this a gym in Herndon?
I’ll say this again, I am not dissing VT’s talent at all. In fact, they’re probably top 20 in terms of talent out of what, 117 D1-A programs? It’s simply not comparable to many of those other programs across the board. Talented skill position players are easier to come by. The difference between VT and many of these other programs is the quality of their depth along the LOS. It may be subjective, but that’s what I believe to be true.
I don’t think that, just as I don’t want you to think that I’m diminishing the job Beamer’s done. He’s significantly upgraded the talent at VT, but Gentry was developing solid NFL guys even before VT’s talent was where it is now. It’s that consistency over the last decade, regardless of talent, that makes me credit Gentry’s S&C program.
Just compare him to the HIT guys at Michigan and PSU, who continually underachieve with their talent (obviously PSU moreso than Michigan). I’m convinced S&C is a major contributor to that.