Making \"Quality\" a Priority
Sioux Falls\' secrets on making every minute count in the weight room
Head Coach, University of Sioux Falls©
More from this issue
If you liked this article, here are three others just like
it: |
It is a
pleasure to share with the American Football Monthly readers
some areas that we have added quality to our football program at
the University of Sioux Falls. The main emphasis will be given to
our off-season program with some mention of other areas that I believe
we have improved our quality.
I learned a valuable concept a few years back while teaching a summer
course in Statistics for a local company in Sioux Falls, about managing
for quality. What I found was an interesting theory for management
by W. Edward Deming. His theory emphasized that managing for quality
would increase productivity and more profit would be the result.
He emphasized getting employees to buy into quality and to use statistical
tools such as quality control charts to monitor the quality. Every
employee could visually see when something was out of control and
work collectively to do something to correct the situation. “Ownership”
in the company and the product produced in a higher quality product.
More loyalty to the company would develop, and productivity, as
well as wages, would increase. The old philosophy of “parking
your brain at the door when you go to work” changed to getting
employees to think creatively while they work. This would not only
increase productivity but also increase the quality of the product.
The need for everyone to punch a time clock diminished.
This philosophy was basically what helped Japan recover economically
after World War II. Many large companies in the United States at
the same time elected to manage for product and quantity at the
expense of quality. Obviously, large profits were made but quality
suffered. There was more loyalty to labor unions than to the company.
Today, as we build quality football programs I believe that we must
get our athletes to take ownership in our programs. A quick fix
to win is not going to result in consistently high performing programs.
Continue to work to manage for quality and the wins will come.
We have done a number of things to add better quality to our program
as we have looked for ways to work more efficiently and smarter,
as well as creating a better environment for our athletes:
1. We are doing a much better job of teaching from the video taping
of our practices. This cuts down on the repetition in practice and
improves the quality of teaching in our meetings for all three phases
of the game. Making video playbooks for our offense and defense
has also been very valuable.
2. Our offensive coordinator, Kalen DeBoer, and defensive coordinator,
Chuck Morrell, do a great job of scripting the practices. This has
really increased the tempo and efficiency of our practices and increased
the number of reps as well as the quality of the reps. This also
gives better organization to our practices and utilization of our
part-time coaches who are not available during the day for practice
preparation.
3. We have also added a community service emphasis to our program,
which I believe has added a lot of quality to the lives of our athletes.
I like the concept that “Success Starts With Service.”
Learning about serving others gives endless results in the area
of building a caring family environment and team unity. We do most
of our community service in areas involving children that have physical
and emotional needs. Habitat for Humanity is also an area that always
seems to need our service.
4. The area that we have probably improved in quality the most is
in developing our athletes in our off-season program. The rest of
this article pertains to this aspect of our program.
In 1994, the Avera McKennan Acceleration program started in Sioux
Falls. We had a few athletes go through the program the first year,
with good results. This program definitely opened our eyes to a
new level of training and has influenced our athletes tremendously
since that time. At first, only a few went through the program,
but gradually the numbers grew and the level of off-season training
continued to grow. It is quite apparent our higher level of consistency
in performance and success coincided with the introduction of the
Avera McKennan program. Our record over the eight seasons since
1994 is 77 wins and 18 losses with seven conference titles, six
years of national playoffs, a national championship and national
championship runner-up. Recruiting good athletes is still the key,
but how we develop the average and above-average players gives consistency
to our program.
In smaller college programs, we have to be creative to overcome
the obvious obstacles of staff sizes, smaller budgets and inadequate
facilities. Recently adding a new weight room with new equipment
has certainly been a big asset for our program. We do have to seek
out ways to overcome obstacles, and some of these come from outside
resources in our communities such as the Avera McKennan Acceleration
program.
Avera McKennan Acceleration of Sioux Falls, S.D., is one of over
90 facilities in North America that belongs to the Frappier Acceleration
Sports Training Network. The Frappier Acceleration program is a
science-based speed and power enhancement program developed in Fargo,
N.D., by Exercise Physiologist John Frappier. Program participants
average improvements of .10 seconds in the 10-yard dash, .15 seconds
in the Pro-Agility Run, and 3 inches in the vertical jump. A number
of past and current NFL players have trained with the program while
in high school or college and many continue to return to Sioux Falls
during the off-season for additional training. Brian Hansen, Punter,
New York Jets (University of Sioux Falls); Bryan Schwartz, Linebacker,
Jacksonville Jaguars (Augustana College); Adam Timmerman, Offensive
Line, St. Louis Rams (South Dakota State University); Steve Heiden,
Tight End, San Diego Chargers (South Dakota State University); Kyle
VandenBosch, Defensive End, Arizona Cardinals (Nebraska); LeVar
Woods, Linebacker, Arizona Cardinals (Iowa); and Kevin Kaesviharn,
Cornerback, Cincinnati Bengals (Augustana College) all credit the
program with improving their athletic ability to allow them to compete
in the NFL.
The Frappier Acceleration Program integrates include treadmill,
plyometric and strength training. The area where it differs the
most from traditional ground-based training is in its use of incline
treadmill training to develop speed (Photo 1). A Super Treadmill
with a top speed of 28 mph and include capability of 40 percent
is used to provide an optimal sprint-training environment. Research
has demonstrated that incline treadmill training results in neuromuscular
and biomechanical improvements conducive to the development of muscular
power and improved running mechanics. Speed, duration and rest intervals
are all manipulated to provide sport specific training effects.
A typical treadmill session lasts one hour and contains 15 to 30
sets ranging from 4 to 60 seconds per set. The majority of sets
are 10 seconds or less in order to utilize the ATP-PC and Lactic
Acid energy systems. Athletes perform two treadmill-training sessions
per week.
The Frappier Acceleration plyometric training utilizes a variety
of footwork drills to improve quickness, proprioception and vertical
jump (Photos 2 & 3). An emphasis is placed on teaching the athlete
to maintain the position of the center of gravity while moving the
feet rapidly in different directions. A typical plyometric session
lasts 45 tgo 60 minutes and contains 25 to 40 sets ranging from
5 to 20 seconds per set. Athletes perform one plyometric session
per week.
The strength training utilized with the program is very functional
in nature. Equipment designed specifically for the program is used
in conjunction with other selectorized machines and free weights.
The Plyo Press machine is designed for both explosive power and
slower speed lower strength training (Photo 4). The Pro Multi-Hip
machine allows athletes to strengthen the hip extensors, flexors,
abductors, and adductors in functional positions.
College football players with professional potential train with
the program for approximately eight weeks during the winter to prepare
for the NFL scouting combine and scout testing at their school.
High school and college football players typically utilize the programs
for six to eight weeks of pre-season training in the summer. Beginning
in 1994, several USF football players began participation in the
program each summer. In 1998-2000, approximately 20 players utilized
the program each year for off-season training in February and March.
February of 2001 saw the USF football program officially begin to
coordinate their off-season training to include the Acceleration
training for the majority of the players. Sixty-five players were
pre-tested for 10-yard dash, Pro-Agility Run and vertical jump prior
to beginning the program. USF players ran treadmill workouts on
Mondays and Thursdays, with plytometric training on Tuesdays. The
usual off-season strength-training program was modified to fit with
the Acceleration training schedule (Table 1). Proper integration
of Acceleration with the traditional strength program is a vital
key to success. Treadmill training places intense demands on the
lower body and trunk and caution must be used to insure that over-training
does not occur. In particular, major lower body exercises such as
squats and cleans should be performed only one day per week and
must not be done the day before a treadmill session. Players did
their treadmill, plyometric and Acceleration lower body strength
training sessions at the Avera McKennan Acceleration facility during
the school day when they had openings in their class schedules.
No USF players trained after 3:30 p.m. due to the large number of
high school track and soccer athletes training with Avera McKennan
Acceleration during the winter months. Capacity of the program was
10 USF players per hour. Strength training was done at the USF weight
room following the Acceleration workouts or later in the day. Following
completion of the six-week program, a week of rest for Spring Break
occurred and players were then post-tested prior to beginning Spring
Drills.
Our coaching staff at USF becomes excited at the conclusion of the
off-season program. Spring practices give us the opportunity to
get back on the field to review old schemes and implement new ideas.
Importantly, this is the time when we see the results of our off-season
workouts (and there will be results). We get the chance to see how
much better past contributors are, and who we can expect our new
ones to be.
When USF football players initially started training through Avera
McKennan Acceleration, the sole purpose was to become quicker, faster
and stronger. While gains in these areas continue to increase our
athleticism on the field, we have seen benefits that go beyond physical
testing results. I would like to explain what we have observed and
how it has brought our football program to a higher level.
We start by testing our players in early February, just prior to
beginning the six-week acceleration/strength program. When post-testing
is done in late March we will see increases in the 10-yard dash,
pro-agility, and vertical similar to what Dick mentioned earlier.
Most first and second year players going through the program will
experience even larger increases. These results are great, and are
even more impressive when we see that players have usually gained
some weight. (During a one-year span, almost all of our players
will gain between 10 and 30 pounds and still improve their testing
times, vertical jump and weight maximums.
The workouts through Avera McKennan Acceleration have pushed our
athletes to a new level of training. One can witness how this happens
by watching just one set of runs during a normal treadmill workout.
When training on the treadmill, there is no slowing down. No matter
how tired the athlete is he must keep running, with possible assistance
from a spotter. We have also seen this heightened intensity brought
into the weight room. In the past it generally seemed that when
our athletes were active in the Acceleration program, our strength
program suffered but now we feel that we have blended the programs
together in a way to achieve good results in both.
Using the Acceleration staff along with the coaching staff benefits
the players by giving them input from a variety of people. Our program
schedule allows them to be somewhat free from coaches until spring
practices begin in early April. We use this time as an opportunity
to encourage and guide players with other issues concerning football,
school, and their lives. We leave it up to Dick and his staff to
do the motivating. As a result, I think players and coaches both
look forward to spring practices and are excited to begin preparing
for the next season.
During the summer most of the players stay in Sioux Falls, working
and preparing for the fall. A few will do the Avera McKennan Acceleration
program once again during this time, while others will do agility
and conditioning drills as groups or individually. We, of course,
continue to lift on a four-day a week program, designed a little
different than what was used in March. Players have been shown to
at least maintain their progresses made during the six-week conditioning
session.
Any successful team must, of course, have great athletes. If these
athletes are not on the field, though, they are of no value. We
feel our lack of injuries is a direct result of our training schedule
and system. This year we were fortunate enough to play 14 games
and end the season with the same players we started with. It is
no coincidence that, like 2001, USF’s best seasons were virtually
injury-free seasons.
About the author
Bob Young
Bob Young finished his 20th season as head coach at
The University of Sioux Falls with his career record standing at 149-67-3.
Young is the winningest coach in the school's history with a .68 winning
percentage. His 20 years of service make him the most experienced
coach in the Great Plains Athletic Conference and he has the longest
tenure of any coach at USF.
This season, Young led the Cougars to a 12-1 record. The Cougars finished
10-0 in the conference, to claim the conference title. The Cougars
went on to win two playoff games before falling in the National Semifinals
to the eventual champion Carroll College, 20-17. Young guided USF
to nine South Dakota-Iowa Conference crowns before the school joined
the GPAC two years ago, where they have tied for one championship
and won another.