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Maximum Focus Maximum Results

Carolina\'s Jerry Simmons is the 2003 Samson Pro Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year
by: David Purdum
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Directly after Super Bowl XXXVIII, six parked buses sat out in front of the locker room area outside Reliant Stadium. Three for New England, three for Carolina. The Patriots had just won their second Super Bowl in three years. Adam Vinaterri’s 41-yard game-winning field goal capped off an exhausting fourth quarter that saw 37 points scored, 18 in the last three minutes. Carolina strength and conditioning coach Jerry Simmons, dejected, wandered outside. Slowly, the teams started to filter out and into the waiting buses.

“I watched (the Patriots’) players start to get on their bus,” remembered Simmons. “There was not a lot of talking and laughing and having a good time. They were exhausted. I think both teams left it out there on the field. Both teams played their hearts out.”

The Panthers exhausted a lot of teams this year. They won four games in overtime and eight by three points or less. But why were the Panthers so tough? They had stars, but not superstars. They were good at everything, but not dynamic at anything.

“I’ve tried to look back see what different things we did,” said Simmons, AFM’s Samson Pro Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year. “We changed a few things, but we really didn’t do too many things different.” Yet there were some obvious differences between the 2003-04 Panthers and the Panthers of old.

“I’ve always been around hard working teams, but it seemed like at the start of this year, there was real focus and sense of dedication with this group. I felt like we had one of the better off-seasons that I’ve had in a long time.”

The benefits from the off-season coupled with the Panthers’ undefeated preseason started to show earlier in the year that even Simmons, an NFL veteran of 16 years, expected.

“The way I judge our conditioning is when we get our strength back after the season starts,” he said. “We usually start getting it back and taking off with it around the sixth and eight week. This year we started in Week 5 ... I really started seeing the guys take off then. And what that told me is that we were in good shape and guys were starting come around a little quicker than in the past.

“I also thought it showed up in some of the overtimes that we were in. Guys really took off in the fourth quarter. Plus they were able to come in on Monday after an overtime game and still get a good workout in. They were bouncing back earlier.”

Simmons started his professional career in New England under then Patriot coach Raymond Berry. He worked in New England for three seasons, before moving to Cleveland in 1991. He would spend eight years with the Browns/Ravens, where he would coach under current Patriots coach Bill Belichick, before becoming the Panthers’ strength and conditioning coach in 1999.

“Coaching with Belichick for four years in Cleveland, I knew we were going to be in for a real physical game,” Simmons said. “Where I felt like we had the upper hand with some other teams, being in better condition, I knew that (the Patriots) would be in just as good of condition. So I knew it was going to be a hard fought game.”

After 16 years in the league, Super Bowl XXXVIII was Simmons’ first.

“It was unbelievable. It has always been a dream of mine, going to the Super Bowl and winning it,” he said. “There’s so much going on, so much happening, and you try and stay as focused as you can. It was a wonderful experience. Something I’ll never forget.”

Although the offseason provided a solid foundation for the Panthers’ success, it was not without its difficulties. During training camp, linebacker Mark Fields and linebackers coach Sam Mills were both diagnosed with cancer.

“Those things really helped us see how unimportant all this is in comparison to fighting for your life,” Simmons explained. “I think our guys became a lot closer through all that. We understood that we have a very special opportunity to be a part of professional football, and we better not take it for granted, because it might not be there.

“You better take advantage of every opportunity you get. I think that’s the thing Sam and Mark tried to teach us. They’re fighters, and I think our team adopted their role. Those guys wanted us to go out and fight as hard as we could play, just like those guys were fighting as hard as they can to beat cancer.”

Under Simmons’ fierce direction, the Panthers worked from a base strength and conditioning program that adapts to an individual player’s needs. “I believe you have to have overall body strength and balance, upper body, lower body and strength in all the different areas,” he said.

“I really care about our players and listen to what they say. I’m a little hard-headed. The players will probably say the same thing. I’m not much of a ‘babier.’ I stay after them pretty hard. My main thing is if you work hard then we’ll be fine. If you don’t, then we’ll have problems ... If you’re lazy, then we’ll have problems.” While some players may find Simmons demanding, he’s always willing to listen and learn.

“I’ve been able to learn a lot each year from players ... What you can and can’t do. You have to listen to guys, decide whether he’s full of bologna or if there’s something really there. I think they appreciate that aspect of it. I’m not easy, but on the flip side of it, I’ll listen to what they have to say.

“It’s not me. It’s our guys,” he added. “It’s the effort they put into their workouts. I try to have a program that I feel very strong about and that I feel that works. My philosophy is to better conditioned and stronger than the other teams we play.”

Clearly, Simmons is one of the major reasons for the Panthers’ toughness. During his playing days at Fort Hayes State (Kan.), Simmons, a native of Elkhart, Kan., injured his knee. Over the years, the inside of his knee deteriorated to where it was “bone on bone for quite awhile.” He had already gone through one osteotomy on his injured knee. The doctors cut his tibia almost in two, then moved it out to make room for a plate and screws. Over time, the plates and screws in his knee broke, and he was forced to undergo a second surgery in February.

Simmons was contacted about doing this article on Feb. 12, one day before he was to go under the knife. He said no problem, but it would have to wait a couple days. He needed a day of rest. Actually, he didn’t. Simmons called hours after surgery, ready and willing to do the interview. Still wonder why the Panthers were so tough?

SIMMON’S TRAINING PHILOSOPHY

With over 20 years of experience in both the collegiate and professional football ranks, my philosophy has been developed to provide football players a coordinated, step-by-step off-season, as well as in-season, strength and conditioning program to achieve maximum results both in the weight room as well as on the practice and game field. Used in conjunction with our in-season program, our off-season program will give the final step to year-round training. If year-round programs are not enforced the strength, endurance, agility, speed and flexibility gained during training period will be lost. There is no such thing as a maintenance phase in training. We strive to constantly improve in all areas but we also shift our training focus in certain areas at specific times in our program. We believe in developing sound techniques in the weight room, which are a continuation of those we expect on the field. Our goal is not to develop great weightlifters, but to help develop great football players.

The objectives of our strength and conditioning program are to:
• Balance nutrition and maintain proper weight and body fat
• Increase strength and flexibility
• Increase power and speed
• Increase agility and quickness
• Increase mental toughness
a. Discipline
b. Competitiveness
c. Confidence levels
d. Mental stamina
• Increase overall conditioning
• Prepare to win!






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