Brian Johnson is playing a game of tag at a time when people are supposed to stay at least 6 feet apart from one another.
In his Instagram stories, the 蜜柚直播 Wildcats鈥 director of strength and conditioning for football posts workout videos and tips 鈥 and 鈥渢agging鈥 players and fellow coaches. He鈥檚 using peer pressure to navigate uncharted territory: how to keep 100-plus football players in shape while most of them don鈥檛 have access to a weight room.
Everyone is facing challenges and changes because of the coronavirus pandemic. Johnson and his fellow strength coaches have a distinct predicament: Under normal circumstances, they鈥檙e the most hands-on coaches on campus. So how do they do their jobs when they can鈥檛 go anywhere near the athletes they鈥檙e supposed to be training?
Johnson turned to Instagram and Twitter. 鈥淭his generation,鈥 he noted, 鈥渋t鈥檚 all about social media.鈥
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Johnson started tagging players in his IG Story posts, and the players started tagging one another.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just another culture-building piece,鈥 Johnson said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e challenging each other with pushups, they鈥檙e doing bench press, whatever resources they have. If they鈥檙e running out on a field, they鈥檙e tagging Coach (Kevin) Sumlin, they鈥檙e tagging myself, they鈥檙e tagging other teammates, and they鈥檙e saying, 鈥楬ey, where are you? I haven鈥檛 seen you working out today.鈥 鈥
Jim Krumpos also is embracing technology during this peculiar time. 蜜柚直播鈥檚 associate athletic director of sports performance 鈥 who works with the Wildcats鈥 baseball, diving, soccer and volleyball programs 鈥 has been conducting Zoom meetings with other strength coaches, trainers and nutritionists. They鈥檝e spent recent days determining the resources each athlete has available at home 鈥 then tailoring hundreds of individual workout regimens.
Additionally, Krumpos has made liberal use of BridgeAthletic鈥檚 BridgeTracker app, which provides athletes with sport-specific programs and enables them to log their training data.
The technology to train athletes remotely is better than it鈥檚 ever been. But it has its limits.
鈥淓verything right now is totally voluntary,鈥 Krumpos said. 鈥淲e just have to rely on them more than anything. Even though they might be checking the box on the platform, that doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean that they鈥檙e doing it.鈥
The present situation 鈥 strongly recommended social distancing; closed campuses; limited, if any, access to gyms 鈥 has created new challenges for strength-and-conditioning staffs across the country. How do you help athletes maintain muscle mass if they can鈥檛 lift weights? How do you keep them focused and motivated? How do you make sure they鈥檙e doing what they鈥檙e supposed to do?
Meeting everyone鈥檚 needs
It鈥檚 10:15 a.m. on Friday, and Johnson and Krumpos are speaking to a reporter. Johnson is in his garage. Krumpos is in his guest bedroom, which has become his home office. Everyone is communicating via Zoom video conferencing. Such is the world at the moment.
Johnson and Krumpos don鈥檛 have all the answers. They鈥檙e learning as they go, like all of us, and altering plans as needed. But they have a job to do, and they鈥檙e coming up with innovative ways to do it.
Everything has come at them in waves 鈥 different stages, ever evolving. When the crisis first began to escalate about 2陆 weeks ago, the UA鈥檚 weight rooms were still open. Johnson and Krumpos spent several days figuring out safety protocols.
鈥淎nd then,鈥 Krumpos said, 鈥渓iterally as we were starting to implement that plan, it went to, now we鈥檙e not going to train; now everybody go home.鈥
鈥淥ur messaging to the athletes is changing week to week,鈥 he added. 鈥淥ne thing I鈥檓 trying to wrap my mind around is to make sure that we are allowing them to deal with the situation, but also stay physically prepared.鈥
As athletes scattered about the country, the focus shifted to making sure they got home safely. Once they were situated, the strength coaches offered simple but needed support: 鈥淲e鈥檙e here for you. We鈥檙e going to provide stuff to you.鈥
Then came figuring out what the athletes have access to and what they don鈥檛. Quarterback Grant Gunnell鈥檚 family has a home gym setup. Defensive end JB Brown鈥檚 family 鈥 which includes older brother Jayon, a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans 鈥 has a VertiMax Platform. The VertiMax V8 lists for $3,495.
Others don鈥檛 even have dumbbells. Krumpos said most of the members of the diving team currently don鈥檛 have access to a pool.
鈥淲e have some athletes that are sitting in a room,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey aren鈥檛 allowed to leave their apartment.
鈥淪ome 鈥 still have access to full gym equipment, or they may have a gym at their house. So how do you meet the needs of all those different athletes?鈥
The coaches and their staffs reached out to every athlete to take inventory. They devised three basic workout structures: One that鈥檚 movement-and-body-weight-based for athletes who don鈥檛 have any equipment; one for those who have limited equipment such as dumbbells or a medicine ball; and one for those who still have access to full gyms.
鈥淏ut that number is declining rapidly,鈥 Krumpos said. 鈥淓ven this week, I鈥檝e had athletes say, 鈥業 still have access to a gym.鈥 The next day they text me, 鈥業 don鈥檛 have access to a gym anymore; (we) need to change this.鈥 鈥
The situation has forced coaches and athletes to become creative. The Twitter feeds of special-teams coach Jeremy Springer and assistant strength coach Dylan Furrier are filled with backyard videos showing exercises that can be done with bricks, chairs, coolers and other items that can be found around the house.
鈥淚 have an assistant (Furrier) who鈥檚 on social media doing workouts with a loaded duffel bag and a backpack that we鈥檙e blasting so the players can see those things,鈥 Johnson said. 鈥淓ach coach has programmed a different workout.鈥
Rediscovering a routine
Keeping a consistent home workout schedule requires discipline many of us don鈥檛 have. Raise your hand if you鈥檝e had a treadmill or exercise bike that eventually turned into a convenient place to hang your clothes.
The vast majority of Division I athletes are highly motivated and competitive; they wouldn鈥檛 be where they are otherwise. But the pandemic has thrown their world out of whack. It has disrupted the daily routines they have relied upon for years to help manage their myriad responsibilities.
鈥淭he athletes are struggling with the routine part of it, like we all are,鈥 Krumpos said. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the new normal? What鈥檚 the purpose? Why am I training right now?
鈥淭hese athletes are used to having everything dictated them. This is when your class is going to be, this when your study hall is going to be, this is your tutoring, this is your film session, this is your practice, this is your lifting. And now there鈥檚 none of it.
鈥淭hat seems to be the biggest obstacle. So 鈥 that鈥檚 really a message across the board right now: You make it easy on yourself by getting into a routine.鈥
Johnson and Krumpos have been urging athletes to follow a schedule that includes regular meals, workouts, schoolwork (all of which is being done online) and communication with coaches. It鈥檚 a slightly easier task for the football team, which didn鈥檛 have its season disrupted. The team lost about three-fourths of spring practice, but even during spring ball the squad is in offseason training mode. Johnson and the other football coaches constantly harp on proper nutrition, hydration and sleep.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we preach every day,鈥 Johnson said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a big routine guy. I think that鈥檚 just what performance is, period. My time as a professional athlete and dealing with professional athletes, some of the guys who last the longest are the ones who have routines, who stick to those routines; they know what works for them.鈥
As everyone settles into their new routines, the emphasis can shift more toward performance. The coaches can start delivering what Krumpos calls the 鈥渂e-ready message.鈥 No one knows when the pandemic will dissipate and society will return to normal, and that can be unnerving. But Johnson and Krumpos are determined to make sure their athletes are prepared when that day comes.
鈥淲hoever takes advantage of this time the most right now is going to come out the best when this thing does clear,鈥 Krumpos said. 鈥淭he kids that haven鈥檛 done anything, that don鈥檛 do anything for whatever this is, weeks or months, man, they鈥檙e gonna be in a much different boat than the kids who continue to train.鈥
