Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Could This Be UGA's Problem

I have seen a lot of fingers being pointed towards a weakness in UGA's strength and conditioning program headed up by Dave Van Halanger. I tend to agree that we are behind the curve when it comes to development, especially when you take a look at the likes of the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide physically dominating almost every opponent. Not to mention the fact that Colorado just manhandled most of our linemen last week.

Then, I watch videos like the ones below, and I can't help but wonder...do the Gators just simply "bench, squat, and clean" like everyone else; with a little bit of "running and jump roping" mixed in.

Maybe CVH is just not the greatest of PR guys:

14 comments:

  1. my highschool conditioning program seems like its better than this. We did a lot more than just squat, bench, and clean. Yeh our guys might me strong, but is that enough. Everybody we play we look undersized, and out matched. look at alabama's corners. They look huge, then look at brandon smith and see how small he looks. How is a 160lb corner supposed to tackle a 5-11 225lb running back or a 6'6 230ld reciever, they can't. this is why other teams are running through us like a hot knife through butter. We don't match up well with any other team in the SEC. Everybody is bigger than us.

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  2. I'm with you Anon. If bench, clean, and squat is all there is too it, then why have NFL players doubled in size over the past 50 years?

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  3. Any word on coach Garners (both on the defensive line's performance and recruiting) role in the team's issues this year? He did get passed over for the DC job.

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  4. In my personal opinion, Garner simply hangs on because he is a great recruiter. I have heard this from many reliable sources for years.

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  5. I have lifted weights with and spoken to a powerlifter who is a walk-on and plays on the defensive scout team. He busts his ass all the time and he puts up big numbers in the weight room (565 lbs on deadlift last time I checked mostly due to his own knowledge of strength programs.) Anyway, I digress. He's said several times that Dave Van Halanger doesn't grasp even the basic concepts, for example, CDVH had them doing max-effort (1 rep) squats every single day of the week in some instances. If I have to tell you why this is a bad idea, well, you've probably never been in a gym before. There's simply no time for recovery.

    CDVH is hardly an expert, perhaps his techniques were innovative forty years ago, but if you check out the S&C coaches at Alabama, Tennessee, or Florida, it's easy to comprehend why they are man-handling us consistently. Don't even get me started on AJ Green's cramps when he should be the freshest guy out there on the field. These kids want to win the game. They do what the coaches tell them, but unfortunately a few of our coaches aren't fit to lead a pee-wee team.

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  6. Worked under Garner, great recruiter, i bet no matter what happens with coaching changes he will be offered to stay

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  7. You should know better, Andy. DVH didn't say "all we do is bench squat and clean." He said "everybody's doing pretty much the same lifting." This is true. There's no new amazing lift that is creating stronger players anywhere else. It's all very basic. He goes on to tell that we have 60 players powercleaning over 300 lbs. That's pretty tough.

    He also says "we may run a little differently," "it's about how you motivate," etc.

    What he's explaining is that the differences in practices by S&C coaches comes down mostly to their interaction with the players. As for drills and lifting, it's going to be very similar at every University. No one is creating some amazing new tactic of which the rest of the country is unaware.

    AL's Strength and Conditioning coach is a screamer. He yells at folks, gets right up in their faces. DVH takes a senior-leadership approach. Perhaps that tactic doesn't work as well, I don't know.

    It'd certainly be interesting to compare S&C numbers of "top" programs to those at UGA.

    As for Smith being too small, he's actually 175 not 160, and that's a bit smaller than Lakatos likes. He traditionally recruits bigger DBs. Small, fast guys were Martinez's thing.

    As for Garner, you're probably right - he must be terrible. He only put three of his DLs in the league in this past draft. Oh, and Marcus Stroud, Richard Seymour, Jon Sullivan, Kedric Golston, Demetric Evans, Charles Grant, Emarlos Leroy and Corvey Irvin. 11 years at UGA, 11 draft picks. Yeah, he's crap.

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  8. Ben Dukes,

    I'm sure I don't have to tell you there's a lot more to S&C then simply what specific lifts a team does.

    And I am a firm believer that many of Georgia's recent failures can be attributed to poor S&C.

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  9. Dukes, I do know better. That is why I find that interview ridiculous. I've never been in complete set of workouts under VH, although I have seen him workout the team a few times. I know that he has to know more than the video leads on.

    As for me, I am not too far from getting my personal trainers certification, and I have been in some sort of S&C program for the past 18 years. I even did it with the UGA baseball team my freshman year at Georgia.

    I do know, Dukes, that there is a LOT more to a modern S&C program than just squats, cleans, and bench. While they are the core of most programs, times have changed.

    For the record, I never got 300lbs on my clean. I stalled out at 290lbs in high school. Albeit, I weighed in at 148lbs the day I maxed that! :)

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  10. I will tell you this cause I was a S & C Coach for 11 years and trained a Heisman Trophy winner, won a national title and have had several kids go to the NFL. What CDVH is saying is true to an extent. The three basic building blocks for a S & C program should be Squats, Cleans, and Bench (although bench is not as important as the other two). Other things mixed in are important but the real important issue is what kind of athletes are you bringing in to develop and how they grow and mature. Example, you don't bring a Shetland Pony to race in the Kentucky Derby. You go get a Thuroughbred. Same applies here. If you go get a 5'11 kid, you can't expect him to grow to a 6'4 corner. Screaming and yelling at athletes does not make them stronger. There are several ingredients to make a great chilli. Having a cutting edge S & C programs helps but you have to have the kids/athletes to compete.

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  11. I completely agree with you Anon 2:45. But, we do have superior athletes to most teams we play. Especially, Miss. State and Colorado. Other than Alabama, LSU, and Florida, we have the best athletes in the SEC, country even.

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  12. I see what you are saying Andy..and you make a valid point. I really am at a loss for words with what the problem is.

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  13. Ok

    So we FIRED all the Defensive Staff except Rodney Garner

    You'll say fire him

    The entire Offensive Staff has to be fired

    The S & C Coach everyone knows has to go.

    What does this say about CMR's ability to HIRE a coach that in 12 months time, he will have FIRED EVERY coach HE hired himself ?

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