Unless I missed something I don't believe we have hired a S&C guy yet.
Well it looks like one guy just lost his job.
http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/miami-hurricanes-andreu-...
#Miami strength coach Andreu Swasey helped develop a RIDICULOUS amount of NFL talent. He will be missed at UM: https://t.co/rENzXy8gd6— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 1, 2016
If what Feldman says is true and the guy has put a ridiculous amount of players in the NFL maybe we should go after him? It could be one of those help yourself and hurt you enemy type situations.
Thoughts?
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Wonder why Richt didn't retain him? Loyalty to coaches closer to him I suppose?
He turns that tiny bird into a duck, seems like a good pick up if Whit does not have someone else in mind...
I guess strength wasn't a condition....
If you're hiring a strength coach, they have to understand nutrition. Lotsa these old school guys think its about calories in calories out. Timing and control are essential. Look at Bosa. You can look like a normal guy, be strong as an ox, mobile, and nasty as hell. No need to have tons of fat on your guys anymore. Here is a 10,000 calorie diet so you can weight 320 ... not that those days are gone, but there is the possibility that they are. Certainly for your less than 260 pound guys the game has completely changed in terms of training and nutrition. Sorry I don't buy for a second VT S&C had any of these nutrition principles under control. Way too many guys packing on too much weight one summer then losing that weight the next summer. You pack on blubber then lose muscle mass and destroy NFL opportunities in the process. There are much better ways to get that done these days.
Very good post right here.
I agree with the premise of your post. I do want to add that Tech has a separate staff position for nutrition. The S&C staff and nutrition staff need to work together in order to build effective, individual nutrition plans that complement the player's S&C plan.
You are right. Most of the best football players dont look like football players anymore. I saw Chris Long in a bar a while back and I didnt recognize him for the longest time, didnt even think of him as playing football, much less being an NFL defensive lineman. But what a powerful athlete
"Sorry I don't buy for a second VT S&C had any of these nutrition principles under control. "
To me, this whole post appears to be an effort to throw Dr. Mike Gentry under the bus, simply because he was not retained/retired. I sure hope that isn't the case. Gentry was a cutting edge guy that broke ground bringing plyometrics and flexibility into the mix, among other things. I have his book, and read it over a decade ago, and found it very insightful in molding football players into athletes that would excel. The idea that he knows nothing about nutrition, if that is what is being implied, is way off base. "Old School" (or even just "old") is often equated with stupidity, which is laughable and insulting. The irony of that notion, and how the irony is lost on those that think it, is amusing, actually.
As for players putting on weight, then losing weight, or not responding to the conditioning, as was mentioned, and in a way that implied the S&C coach had no idea what he was doing...
I can tell you that maybe the players aren't all that into doing all the things that they are asked to do. Some will eat whatever they want, despite strict diet instructions, skip workouts - or do them half-heartedly, etc. Vince Hall told me he couldn't stand Gentry always getting in his face in the weight room, and really butted heads with him. You can lead a horse to water...
Bottom line: the S&C coach can know all there is to know, and not get 100% of the players to buy into it.
Not all good football players are workout warriors, and all workout warriors are not good football players. I also agree that, as was said, the latest craze of high paid S&C guys is an over-reaction/arms race type of thing, much like practice facilities, and the playground at Clemson.
Nice post. I would say that given the setup where Nutrition information is available, S&C is available, food is available, and football is available, it is difficult to pin blame on why and where certain outcomes were not achieved. Not an ideal structure, IMHO.
You are correct that Gentry has a great reputation in the industry, and likely gets nutrition as well as anyone. He has also had some good kids come out of our program who are doing really good things in the industry.
Again the outcomes were not great in certain cases. Whether that falls to Gentry, Beamer, nutrition assistants, players, or other I'll leave for those who would know better. Suffice to say that when you are part of a system that is underperforming, it eventually catches up to you.
VH is certainly one of the "hoped for better" outcomes. Your anecdote is interesting, disappointing. Whether its his fault or Gentry's I dunno. Today's generation doesn't seem to respond the way prior generations did. Shame the kid didn't see how S&C could have vaulted him up to a higher plain in football. Will be interesting to see how Dadi does getting after a professional career. Certainly one of a series of DEs I had high hopes for playing professionally... now I'm just hoping someone takes a flyer on the kid. It certainly worked out for JW, hopefully it works for DN as well.
We're just in the beginning phases of S&C gains. Customized everything based on genetics other advances in technology is in its infancy. Shortened recovery times, maximized gains, reduced fat accumulation (if desired), etc, etc. Join the revolution or get left behind. Nothing wrong with being a fast follower, but you're pretty much gotta acknowledge it, execute against it, and pitch it. Three to five years maybe not much changes but by year 10 I think we'll look back and say, "oh wow". Not sure performance with be much better, but I think more guys who want to play will have the opportunity to play at a high level. JMHO
That's a very good point about, despite having all the nutrition and S&C information available, players not "doing all the things that they are asked to do". It happens in the professional ranks as well. As a Red Sox fan, think Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. Sheesh...
I know nothing about Swasey, but if the the idea of strength and conditioning is to develop athletes and prepare them for games, I wouldn't look too hard at a guy who was fired from a program famous for wasting top talent and being unprepared.
^ Bingo! I still remember one NFL Scout talk about the talent at Miami and how he couldn't understand how this team underperformed so badly. I believe it was 2014 or 2013 at the NFL combine.
This was my opinion when we hired loeffler and searels
I don't think it was the S&C guys holding Miami back considering how many of their players seem to turn a corner in the NFL. It's got to be scheme and technique which is also fairly easy to see in their W-L record. I would argue that their raw talent has been the biggest reason for the few wins they have.
Perhaps the guy has put a tremendous amount of talent into the NFL talent because he also was given a tremendous amount of talent to work with.
I'm skeptical that, short of PEDs, an individual S&C coach makes that much of a difference.
Actually, I think that sometimes that S&C coach can make a difference. Back in the day, we sent our staff to Nebraska to get some pointers as we were striving to become more relevant on the football scene, and adopted some of their methods, which, if I recall correctly, included an emphasis on strength and conditioning. I think it paid off for us then. Like most things, however, I believe you need to keep up with the times and cutting edges of all things coaching to stay relevant. I think it was time for VT to move on, and I look forward to seeing what new blood will do for us on this front.
As you said, that was back in the day. S&C was barely a consideration then. All other things being equal (same eqpt and resources), it's a pretty level playing field now.
The other thing is that don't think PEDs aren't part of the competitive edge of some S&C programs.
Some schools are putting big $ down to get top S&C coaches to try and gain an edge.
ESPN ranking top paid S&C coaches.
ESPN: Alabama S&C coach in high demand.
The hire may not be official but Fuente is bringing his guy from Memphis. That is why Gentry is retiring; he was not retained in an administrative capacity and does not want to leave the area.
Pretty sure the Memohis S&C guy went to Missouri, did he not?
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/arti...
Yes.
It's really too bad... Dude's got a badass name.
Well shows you how much I've been in the loop recently. Been working way too much, that was just the last I had heard.
Above my technical knowledge of biology, but I thought an interesting read:
injury prevention & nutrition in football
This guy got his start at McComas.
http://www.gostanford.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=208167726
I've posted on this topic before.
Rippetoe's article on this is a good summary on pervasiveness of poor S&C training in high level sports
https://www.t-nation.com/training/current-state-of-sc-coaching
Just take a look at all of the training videos posted on Youtube. Knowledgeable lifters can easily pick out horrible form, poor lifting mechanics, and idiotic programming that if rife in those videos.
I have heard the new S&C coach is Corey Edmond currently at UK. Would be a great get. He has been up for national awards and is very highly respected.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0HvpQ78JHY
I:H
would be awesome if true. Have anything actually to go on other than Fuente followed him on twitter a while back?