Cardinals' football team beefing up

[bullwark]

The University of Louisville football players will kick their strength and conditioning regimen into a higher gear in July.

And when they say higher gear, that's exactly what they mean. New strength coach Jason Veltkamp, hired away from Utah in January, has no problem parking a pickup truck at the bottom of a hill and telling his offensive or defensive line to push it to the top. Don't be surprised to see players dragging tractor tires or any number of unorthodox pieces of "resistance."

It's all part of a new mindset around the weight room these days. More accurately, it's part of the old mindset that head coach Bobby Petrino began to impose on the rest of the program last season. Veltkamp's arrival was designed to bring the conditioning program into the same disciplinary line as the rest of the program.

Veltkamp played for Bob Petrino Sr. at Carroll College in Montana and got his first coaching job there. So he didn't have to think too hard about joining Bobby Petrino's staff when UofL contacted him the day after he had helped Utah win the Liberty Bowl last season.

"Coach Petrino (Sr.) definitely shaped my coaching philosophy and a lot of the things I believe about discipline," Veltkamp said. "He's an old-school guy. He wasn't one of these newwave players' coaches, that's for sure. He was a straight-line, old-school guy, and I definitely lean that way."

When he got the first contact from UofL offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, Veltkamp said he was immediately interested. He knew the family and felt he was a kindred spirit. Bobby and Paul Petrino felt the same way.

"I know for a fact that the first thing they said to me on the phone was that they wanted the things they were implementing on the field from a discipline standpoint to be the same in the weight room," Veltkamp said.

"They didn't want kids working hard and finishing every drill on the field and then not be pushed the exact same way in the weight room. From touching the line to running through the line to wearing the same shoes, shorts and shirts and no jewelry and stuff like that in the weight room, they wanted them to be identical in this room to where they are everywhere else in the program. Now the discipline is exact in all phases of the program."

Veltkamp said that the team's January workouts provided a bit of a wake-up to the players, in that he pushed them to be more competitive. Fridays were "mental toughness" days when, he said, "we got to find out who our tough guys were. We asked them to open up and find a new side of themselves that they hadn't found in here. And they did a nice job."

But he brought more than style changes. The biggest change Veltkamp has thrown at the Cardinals is a new emphasis on "core stabilization," a battery of abdominal work aimed at not only preventing injury but at adding to the players' base strength in the torso and abdomen. To do that, Veltkamp brought in large exercise balls.

"Some of the guys looked at us like we were crazy at first," he said.

But now every workout begins on the balls, with players doing bridgework or balancing exercises. Sometimes they'll balance on the balls with their elbows while coaches kick the balls to try to upset their balance.

"It's been a change," offensive lineman Reynardo Foster said. "They really push us, but we're used to it from practice and everything else. If you get into this program, you're going to get pushed. So I think it's a good thing."

One of Veltkamp's biggest and most consistent challenges is adding bulk to players. Petrino has emphasized speed in recruiting, and in some instances that has meant taking a defensive back with great athletic ability in the hopes of perhaps making him a linebacker.

Sophomore Abe Brown is one such example, having moved from safety to linebacker last spring. And Veltkamp thinks he could be a success story.

"Abe was at 205 or 210 when he got here," he said. "Now we're looking at getting the kid to 230 for the season, and he'll still be running with great speed.

"Brandon Johnson played linebacker at 198 pounds last season. He's at about 210 right now, with our goal being 220. And if he doesn't get to 220, he may not find the field this year, because guys like Abe will take it from him because they're committed to gaining weight. . . . With Abe, you'll see a kid who will come up and hit you, and there's a difference hitting people at 230 and hitting people when you're 207."

Veltkamp said there's a group of players on the "X-list," players such as Johnson and Brown who need to gain weight more than others. During school months, those players all sit at the same training table with a coach or trainer and aren't allowed to leave until the trainer says they have eaten enough.

Even for players who aren't in dire need of more weight, additional muscle is a must, particularly for a defense that wore down as last season wore on.

"If you're undersized your body is going to wear down," Veltkamp said. "(Defensive end) Marcus Jones is a great player, but at 225 pounds, it's tough. Our goal for him is 250. Fans will see a different player on the field if we get him there, and he's at 240 now."

While the "X-list" might be a good one to stay off of, there's another list that is becoming more important. Veltkamp and his strength staff put out a periodic newsletter for the players, and in that is a "grinder list."

"A grinder is a kid that gives everything he's got every rep of every set and pushes himself to new levels while helping other guys get to that same level," he said. "We've been putting out a performance newsletter every couple of weeks, and when that list comes out we've always got kids in our office that are upset that they weren't on the `grinder list.' They'll come in and say, `Coach, I thought I was a grinder.' And then we'll give them a little goal for getting there."

When the training begins to drag as July gets hotter, Veltkamp plans to bring out the heavy equipment. He said pushing the trucks is something the whole team can get into.

"Some of it is just motivational, but you go park a truck on a hill and say, `Push it up the hill'  that's different than anything a kid has ever seen before," he said. "It's something new; it's a challenge; it's entertaining."

Veltkamp came from a Utah team that finished the season nationally ranked with a Liberty Bowl championship. But he said he was surprised to get to Louisville and find that the work ethic and player approach to the game was far superior.

"I was a little shocked at first at how good it is here, how committed the kids are," he said. "The effort is outstanding. We are very, very excited about what is to come, just because of the attitude. These kids have something burning inside them. They want to be good. They don't want to be fourth. They don't want to be third. There's a lot of desire there  now we just have to turn it into something."

[smazza]

usf could stand to improve conditioning

[bullwark]

Smazza

usf could stand to improve conditioning

 I think you will see a better conditioned team due to the new facility.

[smazza]

interesting

we will see

[bulls96go]

Smazza

 I think you will see a better conditioned team due to the new facility.

hope so!

[cygnus34]

One of the main reasons MIAMI out performs other teams is the weight program, NO IFS ands or BUTS.

Swasey - NFL Draft Success

By Christopher Stock

Last month the University of Miami set an NFL record with six first-round

draft picks. It was quite a feat, but what makes it even more amazing is

that no other university even had two players drafted by the time the

Hurricanes sent their sixth to the league. How do they do it? Strength and

conditioning coach Andreu Swasey explains.

There are weight rooms all across the country. There is talent at every

college. So why is Miami doing things that no other school has ever done?

By chance?

Not quite, think again.

Sean Taylor and Kellen Winslow were selected in the first ten by the

Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns respectively, followed by Jonathan

Vilma, D.J. Williams, Vernon Carey, and Vince Wilfork.

Not all of the six players were considered 'can't miss' prospects coming out

of high school. Carey developed slowly and came to Miami at 375 pounds.

Wilfork showed up at 365 pounds. Vilma was in the 190-pound range and Taylor

had a hard time staying healthy in high school.

"Getting drafted in the first round has been something those guys have

worked towards," Swasey said. "I hate to say work towards because they work

together so good. It is a good feeling as a coach to see them actually reach

their dream. It is good to see people put in work and see a reward."

In the past four years 19 Hurricanes have been selected in the first round.

There is no school that can come close to the recent success that Miami has

had in the draft. Throw in a 46-4 record in the 2000's, four straight BCS

bowls, a national championship and playing for another, you've got yourself

the best collegiate program in the nation.

"I think the NFL is catching on to what we are doing here. I tell the guys

not to grow weary of doing good and there are no shortcuts in life. The

process learned is a mentality. People in the NFL are drawn to the mentality

developed here at Miami. If you learn to work and put in your time it will

work out."

The players that were drafted in the first round did not show up at UM Pro

Day and have great numbers. Working hard leading up to Pro Day begins the

moment players step on campus as freshmen. They don't show up in the weight

room after their final bowl game hoping for good numbers in front of scouts.

It is a process.

The process begins with the right mentality. A mentality force upon them by

the coaching staff and in particular, coach Swasey. He shows the players

tough love and the good players strive in the system.

"Being hard on them helps their development as a player. Great players won't

be driven out, I haven't seen one that has. It usually means you aren't that

good. The great ones want to be driven. They know there is no easy way out.

If you come here, they know what they will get."

The current players have seen their peers drafted in the first round. The

freshmen just saw six of their peers become instant millionaires. When

people try to obtain success they want to see results. Why work hard if

there is no reward? Why is this the right way? At Miami, they see results.

Plain and simple.

Edgerrin James, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, and some members of the 2001

National Championship team come back to visit the university and to work out

in the weight room. Most of the players on the team did not play with those

guys and it is hard to relate with them even though they see their success

in the NFL. Seeing their peers and guys they line up next to every day in

practice have success gives them more inspiration to work even harder.

Swasey, in his seventh year as a strength and conditioning coach, stresses

the coaching staff to coach their actions, not the player. He tries to push

the walk-ons as hard as the starters despite their obvious numbers in the

weight room.

"My job is to make these guys well prepared by the time they get back to the

coaches so the coaches can do what they do best, coach. I am the one that

needs to teach the players both mentally and physically. I teach them about

hustle, working hard in the weight room, listening, and communicating. That

is my job. If the coaches have to coach them how to do those things then

they are a step behind where they need to be."

The coaching staff at Miami features four former Hurricane players and has

developed a strong chemistry under head coach Larry Coker. Coker has a great

ability manage the coaching staff and to oversee the players. His

personality reflects amongst the staff and players.

"The staff all works together creating a balance," Swasey said. "What we

have here that has helped us with the success is a continuity, chemistry,

and working relations with coaches. An example is that we can't have

everyone ripping on a kid if he messes up. In the weight room I talk to

coaches about being hard on the guys. I also talk to them about not

compounding it. If I am ripping him, they can't rip him too. We don't want

to compound it."

Swasey maintains a tough mentality in the weight room and throughout running

drills. He wants them to work hard with him so the game is fun. He reminds

them that football is a game and it is meant to be fun. The practice field

is their games. When they get to the practice field he wants them to enjoy

the game and have fun playing.

He is quick to get on them if they are not working hard and reminds them,

"Bad news travels fast. Good news travels slow."