Interesting read on conditioning

[PonyPride]

By Ivan Maisel /CNNSI.com

The biggest change in elevation in this country can't be found in the Rockies. It occurs annually during the first week of August when incoming freshmen report to their new teams. For at least two years, the players have been lauded for their talent, hounded for their opinions and placed upon the pedestal that media attention provides. They are told that they are a gift to football from the good Lord above.

During the first week of August, however, they learn that they are not. Dave Van Halanger was the strength and conditioning coach for 18 seasons at Florida State (1983-2000). It's no coincidence that his tenure in Tallahassee coincided with the Seminoles' run of 14 consecutive years with a top-five finish, the highest level of sustained success in the history of college football. "I remember years ago, taking a freshman out onto the field with Derrick Brooks and Derrick Alexander," said Van Halanger, who left Florida State last year to serve in the same capacity at Georgia for Mark Richt, his close friend and the former Florida State offensive coordinator.

"I had them run gassers, up and back," Van Halanger remembered. "He ran one and looked pretty good. He ran another one and came over to me and said, 'Coach, I'm feeling faint.'" Van Halanger sent the freshman off the field to find some shade. The next thing the coach knew, "I heard my 3-year-old screaming. The freshman went over and passed out on top of my son. From that time on, I never had a freshman do a whole lot."

As talented as they might be, freshmen are rarely in good enough shape to compete with the varsity come August. That's not all that surprising: An 18-year-old is less physically mature than a 21-year-old. Also, a just-graduated high school senior has no idea of how to work out. When he arrives at practice, he discovers what good shape is. By that time, there is little that he can contribute to the team.

Up until now, freshmen who attempted to get a head start by going to summer school before their first seasons were limited to the unofficial workouts led by their upperclassmen teammates. NCAA rules prevented them from being coached, even in the matter of conditioning, which could be construed as a health issue. The better shape a player is in, the better chance he has of not getting injured.

In a remarkable seizure of common sense, the NCAA announced in late April that a freshman who enters summer school this year may train with the team's strength and conditioning coach. "To not allow the freshman to come in early doesn't allow the kid to reach his full potential," Van Halanger said. "If you haven't tested them, you don't know what will happen during two-a-days. When they start practicing, it's full speed."

Once a recruit signs with a school in February, the strength and conditioning coach sends him a workout regimen complete with recommended diet. In the best-case scenario, the recruit follows the workout and the diet and begins to add the muscle he will need to compete at the collegiate level. But consider this real-life example: A few years ago an Alabama recruit received his program and read that he should eat chicken. Every day, he ate his mama's chicken -- fried. He came in 30 pounds overweight.

Van Halanger doesn't throw his freshmen into the deep end of the conditioning pool. If the upperclassmen run five sets of stadium stairs, the freshmen run three. When the upperclassmen run 10 gassers, the freshmen run four. As the freshmen prove they can handle the work, they get more of it. Van Halanger said he doesn't believe that his early work with freshmen will allow more of them to play in their first fall on campus; however, he does think they will benefit from this extra added instruction.

Those of us who blame the NCAA for everything short of world hunger should trumpet the moments when the rulesmakers get it right. Allowing freshmen to work out under supervision is a no-brainer.

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Sports Illustrated senior writer Ivan Maisel covers college football for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.

[Fresh]

Interesting stuff. Does Coach Faucette tailor his conditioning work differently for freshmen?