Beyond the Obligatory Conditioning Story

4 comments so far March 26, 2008 by Darren K. Carlson

We heard rumblings of more intense conditioning and read stories about the new strength coach and his techniques. Now, we've seen some of the results. Okay, Matt Slauson has dropped some pounds and Andy Potter found an abdominal muscle. (Maybe those guys stand to lose a little weight...) The coach is on the record as saying the team is more fit, more athletic. Frankly, we've heard that all before, both at NU and around the country. The same "good talk" follows the winter conditioning period of the season. Personally, I'm listening and looking for something more. The good news is that I'm starting to hear some of the right things coming from the Huskers.

"Never Worked Harder"
NU fans are confirmed strength and conditioning junkies. We always want to hear about how great Husker Power is. I don't deny falling in to that crowd. And, total disclosure, I have a personal trainer who helps me with my fitness. I believe winter condition is important. It's the "story" I'm tired of.

Every year at the end of winter conditioning, you hear players talk about how they have never worked harder. You can only hear that for a few years before you realize it can't always be true. It's easy for these very young men to be telling the truth (maybe they really never have worked that hard) and the story to still be tired and trite. If every team always worked their hardest, that would be something wouldn't it?

Inevitably, some teams are going to win ball games late in the 4th quarter next season. And, predictably, everyone will ask what is different this year, and the players and coaches will talk about the great training regimen in the off season. ESPN will do a big package on it and Chris Connolly will narrate it. Oh, it will be THE story for about a week. The reality is that other teams worked out in the winter too. And, that team just had a little more in the tank that game, or some depth, or maybe just a playmaker or two more at the end. But its not just workout routines. It's not.

The New Guy Effect
The other thing that bothers me is that these strength and conditioning stories always center on the newest drill sergeant, guru, or wise man to enter the building. The new guy is always smarter or better. At NU, whether it is Boyd Epley or Brian Bailey or Dave Kennedy, the new guy was always thought of somehow superior to the person before him. That's how things go in life. Of course this new fella for the Huskers - James Dobson - sure looks the part. I wouldn't mess with him. And, I agree with his basic principles for football training. It's a ground based sport that depends on explosive movements. It's not like training for track.

But seriously, it's not as if this guy has some amazing secret knowledge that all other programs lack. Sports conditioning is a pretty open field of study, with lots of emphasis on publication and sharing techniques and results. It just boils back down to personal relationships and if the players buy in to what the strength people are selling them. Maybe they are throwing tires in Texas, or pushing cars around in California, or chasing chickens in Florida. The gist is still the same - take great athletes and get them in shape. That's it. Winning or losing ball games requires something more.

Morale - The Big Intangible
Since so much of the recent Osborne revival has folks wanting to "rewind the 90s", I think it is good to revisit another element that made the 1994 and 1997 title teams so special. They dominated games late. They physically wore opponents out. Why? Were they more physically fit? Sure they were. They were also deep along both lines. And, maybe most importantly, they played and trained with serious purpose.

Does anybody need a refresher course on how the 1993 Orange Bowl loss created the "unfinished business" for the 1994 squad? I hope not. (Just in case, here's a fairly good source). That group had mission, drive and a sense of team morale for a whole year. It was the fuel. It was the glue, and the mission got accomplished.

Also consider the 1997 season. It would have been easy for the squad to rest on the laurals of being one of the dominant programs of the decade. Except for the 1996 losses to Arizona State and Texas. That Texas loss cost NU a conference crown and another shot at the title. It prompted an NFL-draft-ready Grant Wistrom to return to NU. And, he told Sports Illustrated 1997 preview issue "Every time I go into the weight room I think about that loss."

Wistom and Jason Peter stoked the fire and set the bar for the rest of their squad. If this doesn't get you pumped, nothing will.

So, where does that leave the 2008 Huskers? My hope is that the shot to redeem themselves after last season and a very fired up Head Coach ("We won't be playing tag..."), will get the emotional ship pointed in a direction more akin to how NU prepared in the 1990s.

So, this excerpt from an Omaha World-Herald story caught my attention.

The right thing happened, Slauson said. Players rallied around each other and finished strong. Slauson had never seen anything like it in his three previous years in the program.

"I think that message he sent across right then was, 'Listen, if you're tired, leave, but this is my way,' and we all came together as a team," Slauson said.

That kind of thing means more to me than 40-yard dash times, shrinking waist lines, or bench press records any day.

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