The Strength Report: Wide Receivers Part II

by: Yancy McKnight
Strength & Conditioning Coach, Rice University
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Our next three phases are the Pre-Season Camp, Fall In-Season, and Bowl Preparation or Transition. During the Pre-Season Camp we will utilize different circuits in the strength program. The wide receivers will lift two to three times weekly for about 30-40 minutes. The volume of lower body strength training is decreased significantly, due to the demands that are being placed on the position group on the field during practice in camp. This is a time we focus on recovery and injury prevention with the wide receiver group. The Hammer Ground Based Push-Pull circuit is one circuit that is used throughout Pre-Season Camp and the fall In-Season strength training program. It is a great circuit because it is ground based; the athletes will push and pull simultaneously using three different angles of movement. Being aware of injuries at this time we will do several different dumbbell and barbell Olympic complexes with lower intensity and volume. The wide receivers will still perform multi-joint strength movements, but that will either be single leg movements or lower intensity and volume box front squats. During Pre-Season Camp, conditioning is minimal due to the fact the players are going through two-a-day practices and the climate in Houston is very hot and humid. Our conditioning is done in the Summer Pre-Season Program.

During the Fall In-Season program the wide receivers that are on the two deep roster will lift three days weekly for about 45-60 minutes each session. The strength training model is very similar to our spring development phase I, except we will complete three four-week developmental strength cycles. Sunday is a total body lifting day and light aerobic conditioning, Tuesday is a lower body emphasis and Wednesday is an Olympic / upper body emphasis. We want our two deep players to have at least 72 hours rest from the weight room before competition. Our only conditioning day during the season will be on Sunday. The goals during the in-season program are to keep our players healthy and at the same time we are trying to improve their overall strength. During the Bowl Preparation phase we will keep the wide receivers on a three-day strength program but the days will move to Monday, Wednesday and Friday and they will perform total body lifting on these days. The speed program will consist of metabolic and position specific conditioning for this phase two to three times weekly.

As a staff we try to create an intense and competitive atmosphere in the speed, strength and conditioning program for our football team throughout the year. Each coach on our strength and conditioning staff, which includes Adam Beauchamp, Clayton Oyster, and Scott McLafferty, are committed to upholding these high expectations for each of our football players. We feel this will help not just the physical side of their game but the mental side as well. The day-to-day mental toughness and intensity will be stressed and they can approach their workouts like it’s a game situation. We want our athletes to stay fresh and be both prepared physically and mentally for competition. As a strength and conditioning staff, we want to be on the cutting edge of ways to improve our players performance while always placing a major emphasis on their health.

Yancy McKnight is entering his second year as director of Rice’s strength and conditioning program. He came to Rice after two years as head strength and conditioning coach at Louisiana Tech and was previously associate head strength coach at Oklahoma State. A 2001 graduate of Missouri Southern, McKnight earned NCAA Division II honors as an offensive lineman.

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