May: Easiest/Hardest month in CFB
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Charlie Strong (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)[/caption]
AUSTIN -- I can still remember the thick spiral bound workout guides handed out to us by our strength staff.
It would have a newly designed cover with that year’s seniors on the front (Coach Madden was always on point with things like that) and it would be just before spring semester exams. All team workouts would be over with until June. This yearly ritual always signified a milestone in the college football calendar for me. I recall thinking every single time it happened, “Wow… Spring is really over.”
Technically, the summer strength and conditioning program is voluntary; but if a player has any hopes of seeing playing time in the fall (or ever in his career) he’ll most certainly be attending. Summer workouts are anything but optional for the athletes and teams that want to win. What precedes those “non-required” summer sessions, however, can simultaneously be the easiest and hardest month in a college football player’s year.
The “m” in May stands for “month off.”
College football players have the entire month of May to themselves. And yes, in some ways it’s both the best and worst thing that could happen to a 20-year old.
That’s what the books were for; Coach Madden was giving us a daily workout regimen for the entire month of May – to be carried out on our own. (Well, it was actually for the entire summer. But like I said earlier, if a guy planned on playing he’d be grinding with the team through June and July.)
If you’ve ever trained professionally – and yes, working out is a collegiate athlete’s job – you know how hard it is to maintain the same level of strain when nobody is watching. It’s nearly impossible to push yourself the same way teammates and coaching supervision do. That’s the unique problem every college football player finds himself dealing with at this particular time of the year.
Unless, of course, the school is on the quarters system. That means the entire university is still in session throughout the month of May (sorry, Stanford). Also, if a team doesn’t make a bowl game their players are responsible for staying in shape throughout the holidays of winter break – a “reward” nobody wants.
Maybe it was just me, but whenever I’d go home in May to visit family, I’d find myself conflicted. Was I on break? Yes. Was I relaxing at home? Yes.
But, could I altogether relax? No.
I had to grind 2-4 hours a day, five days a week, lest I come back to Austin and the coaches find me pudgy and unready to win. I much preferred being required to show up at a certain time, with certain people, and be ordered to do certain exercises. That was just easier psychologically.
Pictures like the one below should excite the Longhorn fanbase:
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Texas players workout with Jeremy Hills. (courtesy of Hill)[/caption]
I know it looks like a bunch of sweaty dudes with a 100 emoji plastered on top, but there’s much more going on here. This is Deshon Elliott, Charles Omenihu, Davante Davis, PJ Locke, Malik Jefferson, DeAndre McNeal (and now former Longhorn center Jake Raulerson) getting work in -- on May 3rd.
This picture was posted by Omenihu on twitter earlier this month. While the coaches weren’t watching, when they players weren’t required to be there, and after they’ve already been released for finals, these six were making gains as they should be. I’ll highlight three aspects in play here I like:
Together
Together is better. I’ll never forget the analogy my 9th grade football coach told us before we played Duncanville: “Two horses. One can pull 6,000 lbs. and the other can pull 4,000 lbs. How much can they pull together? … 12,000 lbs. – because they feed off each other.”
That might sound like coach speak, but he dropped the mic after he said it and we played way over our heads to defeat the undefeated Panthers. The point is, having the right partner(s) can elevate you to a whole other level of performance. It’s difficult to manufacture that synergistic intensity when training by yourself. I love the fact that these were together grinding when they didn’t have to be. That’s a team.
Not at Home
I realize they probably weren’t done with finals when this picture was taken. That being said, I still love the fact it was May and they weren’t at home. Something about being in my hometown messed with my workout routine while in college.
It was probably all in my head – being at home made me want to sleep in, eat pie, etc. – but there was also dealing with lesser facilities and constantly finding out when my high school’s weight room would be open. When I was in Austin none of those things were a factor. The weight room was pretty much always available and being on campus meant “time to work.”
I’m all for quality time with family, but it’s important to keep your eyes on the prize as a player. If time at home only means time on the couch, it’s wise to strategically plan an early return back to school.
Jeremy Hills
My former teammate, Jeremy Hills, is at the center of the picture above. J-Hills is founder and CEO of The Factory here in Austin where he trains athletes going to the next level. His client list is pretty impressive: Earl Thomas, Marquise Goodwin, Jalen Ramsey, Jordan Hicks, Keenan Robinson, and whole bunch of others.
I don’t know why, but still to this day I have trouble coming up with my own workouts. I’m guessing it was all those years of walking into the weight room and being told what to do. I still want somebody to do that for me. I’m glad these young bucks got some time in with Jeremy. The man surely knows what he’s doing, and having somebody like that to coach, direct, and push you through the “down time” of May will only help them get ready for the fall.
Charlie Strong (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)[/caption]
AUSTIN -- I can still remember the thick spiral bound workout guides handed out to us by our strength staff.
It would have a newly designed cover with that year’s seniors on the front (Coach Madden was always on point with things like that) and it would be just before spring semester exams. All team workouts would be over with until June. This yearly ritual always signified a milestone in the college football calendar for me. I recall thinking every single time it happened, “Wow… Spring is really over.”
Technically, the summer strength and conditioning program is voluntary; but if a player has any hopes of seeing playing time in the fall (or ever in his career) he’ll most certainly be attending. Summer workouts are anything but optional for the athletes and teams that want to win. What precedes those “non-required” summer sessions, however, can simultaneously be the easiest and hardest month in a college football player’s year.
The “m” in May stands for “month off.”
College football players have the entire month of May to themselves. And yes, in some ways it’s both the best and worst thing that could happen to a 20-year old.
That’s what the books were for; Coach Madden was giving us a daily workout regimen for the entire month of May – to be carried out on our own. (Well, it was actually for the entire summer. But like I said earlier, if a guy planned on playing he’d be grinding with the team through June and July.)
If you’ve ever trained professionally – and yes, working out is a collegiate athlete’s job – you know how hard it is to maintain the same level of strain when nobody is watching. It’s nearly impossible to push yourself the same way teammates and coaching supervision do. That’s the unique problem every college football player finds himself dealing with at this particular time of the year.
Unless, of course, the school is on the quarters system. That means the entire university is still in session throughout the month of May (sorry, Stanford). Also, if a team doesn’t make a bowl game their players are responsible for staying in shape throughout the holidays of winter break – a “reward” nobody wants.
Maybe it was just me, but whenever I’d go home in May to visit family, I’d find myself conflicted. Was I on break? Yes. Was I relaxing at home? Yes.
But, could I altogether relax? No.
I had to grind 2-4 hours a day, five days a week, lest I come back to Austin and the coaches find me pudgy and unready to win. I much preferred being required to show up at a certain time, with certain people, and be ordered to do certain exercises. That was just easier psychologically.
Pictures like the one below should excite the Longhorn fanbase:
[caption id="attachment_32042" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Texas players workout with Jeremy Hills. (courtesy of Hill)[/caption]
I know it looks like a bunch of sweaty dudes with a 100 emoji plastered on top, but there’s much more going on here. This is Deshon Elliott, Charles Omenihu, Davante Davis, PJ Locke, Malik Jefferson, DeAndre McNeal (and now former Longhorn center Jake Raulerson) getting work in -- on May 3rd.
This picture was posted by Omenihu on twitter earlier this month. While the coaches weren’t watching, when they players weren’t required to be there, and after they’ve already been released for finals, these six were making gains as they should be. I’ll highlight three aspects in play here I like:
Together
Together is better. I’ll never forget the analogy my 9th grade football coach told us before we played Duncanville: “Two horses. One can pull 6,000 lbs. and the other can pull 4,000 lbs. How much can they pull together? … 12,000 lbs. – because they feed off each other.”
That might sound like coach speak, but he dropped the mic after he said it and we played way over our heads to defeat the undefeated Panthers. The point is, having the right partner(s) can elevate you to a whole other level of performance. It’s difficult to manufacture that synergistic intensity when training by yourself. I love the fact that these were together grinding when they didn’t have to be. That’s a team.
Not at Home
I realize they probably weren’t done with finals when this picture was taken. That being said, I still love the fact it was May and they weren’t at home. Something about being in my hometown messed with my workout routine while in college.
It was probably all in my head – being at home made me want to sleep in, eat pie, etc. – but there was also dealing with lesser facilities and constantly finding out when my high school’s weight room would be open. When I was in Austin none of those things were a factor. The weight room was pretty much always available and being on campus meant “time to work.”
I’m all for quality time with family, but it’s important to keep your eyes on the prize as a player. If time at home only means time on the couch, it’s wise to strategically plan an early return back to school.
Jeremy Hills
My former teammate, Jeremy Hills, is at the center of the picture above. J-Hills is founder and CEO of The Factory here in Austin where he trains athletes going to the next level. His client list is pretty impressive: Earl Thomas, Marquise Goodwin, Jalen Ramsey, Jordan Hicks, Keenan Robinson, and whole bunch of others.
I don’t know why, but still to this day I have trouble coming up with my own workouts. I’m guessing it was all those years of walking into the weight room and being told what to do. I still want somebody to do that for me. I’m glad these young bucks got some time in with Jeremy. The man surely knows what he’s doing, and having somebody like that to coach, direct, and push you through the “down time” of May will only help them get ready for the fall.
