Happy Sunday Ya’ll,
I know a lot of you coaches and fans on the board love these in-depth posts that offer a peak behind the curtain of what a D1, Championship level strength program looks like. So here we go…. Feel free to ask questions in your posts!
#1. Spring was only a taste of what is to come:
I brought this up many times on the board but without having any internal knowledge of what Coach Schmidt’s program was going to look like, I knew he would not be cutting loose on this team like they’re the 2003 Sooners of yester-year. This was going to be a shock to the system of every player on that roster, save a few of the SEC transfers and big-Texas-school HS football athletes. To any coach, before your players want to do the work, you have to create buy-in.
The program simply won’t work if the coach desires success more than the player. The player must want it. That’s created through team-building activities and building personal bonds with each player. Finding out why each guy is there and what he wants to get out of his time at Oklahoma.
This is why spring, although more difficult than the previous staff’s program, was still mild.
#2 Spring Training Laid the Foundation for Movement:
To continue about spring, it was a time for players to learn and be taught the technique as Coach Schmidt wants it done. Just because a player knows how to perform a clean or a bench press does t necessarily mean he’s performing it how the staff wants it done. There were many times throughout early spring where things were scaled back in order to teach. Teaching is the most important piece of the equation. Once the players know, the leaders can teach others.
This leads us into what’s to come this summer.
#3. The Work WILL Get REAL:
As Downs said, players are aiming for massive gains on strength and explosiveness. When I was coaching S&C at the HS level, I emphasized that your effort in the summer will dictate how you perform in the fall. It is the last time you get to put your body through such intense processes until next season. The coaches will try to create urgency and intensity for the upcoming season.
#4. What Will The Program Look Like?:
First off, I’m working on it but currently don’t have the insight into this program quite like I did with the previous staff and Coach Schmidt keeps his formula will hidden from the masses.
However, I have been able to gleam a few things in order to give you guys some insight.
➡️ Testing
Each player will have their anthropometric measurements taken such as height, weight, body fat,
- This will obviously take place first. Players are going to be tested in areas such as…
40 Yard Dash
Vertical Jump
Broad Jump
Clean Max (Using 3RM- 6RM)
Bench Max (Using 3RM-6RM)
Squat Max (Using 3RM-6RM)
Flexibility will be assessed with movements like couch stretch, sit and reach, 90-90’s and other modalities.
➡️ Program:
Based on the data above, players will be given individualized goals and with help from the nutrition staff, a plan will be created for players to prepare themselves to be optimal this fall.
Offensive linemen who leaned down over the spring will use this as a time to put on much better weight that they will work to hold on to in-season.
WR’s or RB’s who put on some weight might use the first half of the summer to continue these gains only to start tapering off and leaning down, getting faster and more agile later in the summer, closer to fall.
➡️ How the Sessions Differ From Previous Staff
The previous staff used percentages and bar speed to dictate what weight would be used for lifts during sessions. Every week, there was a designated percentage of 1RM that players were trying to hit at a certain speed and if that speed was hit, awesome, good work.
This staff does things a little differently. Progressive Overload is a mofo with Coach Schmidt. If a player knocks out easy reps with the designated starting weight? Increase the weight. If it happens again? Increase the weight.
Warm-Ups will continue to feel like workouts and the conditioning will look and feel impossible. It’s supposed to. You’re a D1 athlete at Oklahoma. You do things different. That’s what separates the champions from the runners-up. But what wasn’t possible in week 1 will be possible by week 3 and 4. It’s designed that way.
There is an urgency for strength, power, and conditioning that has not been existent in this program in 4 years.
➡️ Mindset and Leadership
This summer will decide who this OU team will be this fall. The Strength Staff and position coaches will push to instill a mindset that has been different up until now.
Through this process, this is where you find your leaders if they haven’t already emerged. As much as the field work matters, leaders are developed in the team-style training that Coach Schmidt deploys. I imagine we’ll hear things about this as the summer months pass.
As a coach, I’m excited to see a change in philosophy that believes these athletes are capable of doing far more than they were before. Being pushed in their speed and strength work like they haven’t been since they arrived at OU.
As a fan, I’m excited to see a change in mindset. A team that doesn’t quit at the first sight of trouble. A team that is together and plays for each other. These team attributes are created in the off-season.
To put it clearly, this is the most important off-season in the BV Era.
Hope you all enjoyed!
Please feel free to add or ask questions!
- Spacemon
I know a lot of you coaches and fans on the board love these in-depth posts that offer a peak behind the curtain of what a D1, Championship level strength program looks like. So here we go…. Feel free to ask questions in your posts!
#1. Spring was only a taste of what is to come:
I brought this up many times on the board but without having any internal knowledge of what Coach Schmidt’s program was going to look like, I knew he would not be cutting loose on this team like they’re the 2003 Sooners of yester-year. This was going to be a shock to the system of every player on that roster, save a few of the SEC transfers and big-Texas-school HS football athletes. To any coach, before your players want to do the work, you have to create buy-in.
The program simply won’t work if the coach desires success more than the player. The player must want it. That’s created through team-building activities and building personal bonds with each player. Finding out why each guy is there and what he wants to get out of his time at Oklahoma.
This is why spring, although more difficult than the previous staff’s program, was still mild.
#2 Spring Training Laid the Foundation for Movement:
To continue about spring, it was a time for players to learn and be taught the technique as Coach Schmidt wants it done. Just because a player knows how to perform a clean or a bench press does t necessarily mean he’s performing it how the staff wants it done. There were many times throughout early spring where things were scaled back in order to teach. Teaching is the most important piece of the equation. Once the players know, the leaders can teach others.
This leads us into what’s to come this summer.
#3. The Work WILL Get REAL:
As Downs said, players are aiming for massive gains on strength and explosiveness. When I was coaching S&C at the HS level, I emphasized that your effort in the summer will dictate how you perform in the fall. It is the last time you get to put your body through such intense processes until next season. The coaches will try to create urgency and intensity for the upcoming season.
#4. What Will The Program Look Like?:
First off, I’m working on it but currently don’t have the insight into this program quite like I did with the previous staff and Coach Schmidt keeps his formula will hidden from the masses.
However, I have been able to gleam a few things in order to give you guys some insight.
➡️ Testing
Each player will have their anthropometric measurements taken such as height, weight, body fat,
- This will obviously take place first. Players are going to be tested in areas such as…
40 Yard Dash
Vertical Jump
Broad Jump
Clean Max (Using 3RM- 6RM)
Bench Max (Using 3RM-6RM)
Squat Max (Using 3RM-6RM)
Flexibility will be assessed with movements like couch stretch, sit and reach, 90-90’s and other modalities.
➡️ Program:
Based on the data above, players will be given individualized goals and with help from the nutrition staff, a plan will be created for players to prepare themselves to be optimal this fall.
Offensive linemen who leaned down over the spring will use this as a time to put on much better weight that they will work to hold on to in-season.
WR’s or RB’s who put on some weight might use the first half of the summer to continue these gains only to start tapering off and leaning down, getting faster and more agile later in the summer, closer to fall.
➡️ How the Sessions Differ From Previous Staff
The previous staff used percentages and bar speed to dictate what weight would be used for lifts during sessions. Every week, there was a designated percentage of 1RM that players were trying to hit at a certain speed and if that speed was hit, awesome, good work.
This staff does things a little differently. Progressive Overload is a mofo with Coach Schmidt. If a player knocks out easy reps with the designated starting weight? Increase the weight. If it happens again? Increase the weight.
Warm-Ups will continue to feel like workouts and the conditioning will look and feel impossible. It’s supposed to. You’re a D1 athlete at Oklahoma. You do things different. That’s what separates the champions from the runners-up. But what wasn’t possible in week 1 will be possible by week 3 and 4. It’s designed that way.
There is an urgency for strength, power, and conditioning that has not been existent in this program in 4 years.
➡️ Mindset and Leadership
This summer will decide who this OU team will be this fall. The Strength Staff and position coaches will push to instill a mindset that has been different up until now.
Through this process, this is where you find your leaders if they haven’t already emerged. As much as the field work matters, leaders are developed in the team-style training that Coach Schmidt deploys. I imagine we’ll hear things about this as the summer months pass.
As a coach, I’m excited to see a change in philosophy that believes these athletes are capable of doing far more than they were before. Being pushed in their speed and strength work like they haven’t been since they arrived at OU.
As a fan, I’m excited to see a change in mindset. A team that doesn’t quit at the first sight of trouble. A team that is together and plays for each other. These team attributes are created in the off-season.
To put it clearly, this is the most important off-season in the BV Era.
Hope you all enjoyed!
Please feel free to add or ask questions!
- Spacemon
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