Goodbye Larry

I started this blog on January 5th as a way to track Larry Beard’s progress. It turned into a story about everyone in camp. I have been tremendously honored by have all the guys here in camp. The are a unique group of athletes that will all go far in life, whether it be in sports or not. But Larry reminds me of the beginning because he was the first one here. I was very impressed with his attitude, demeanor and work ethic. We had a lot of fun working together and I believe everyone was made better because of him being here. Thank you Larry! May your Pro testing date bring out of you all that you have in store. We will miss you and all our prayers and well wishes go with you. “Kick the damn doors down!’
We had lot’s of fun today working on hip girdle strengthening and flexibility. The funniest part was the warm up drills in preparation for the vertical testing and the standing broad jump. Almost lost a few today and before their testing dates. So I called the platform hops and went right into testing.

Easy Day 02.26.09

Today we will use the pool training for flexibility and just the opportunity to open the guys up. Mike Robinson from the 49’ers stopped in to check us out. We trained a teammate of his a few years back, from Penn State. After the pool we went upstairs and got our abs in they stretched. We worked the treadmills but only a gentle 6 mph to 12 mph. Very easy day!
Especially for Larry Beard, who leaves for his Pro Testing date on Saturday. Great work Larry!

Fire & Speed 02.25.09

Today was our sprinting day and Kenny was every bit of speed that we thought. This kid came in running 4.2, ouch! But I believe he inspired the rest of the group to step it up. Burl ran four forties and everyone was 4.3 and change. Sean went with Kenny and posted his fastest times ever, that’s 4.2. Finally, Demetrius dropped below 4.3 as well. The rest of the guys stayed in their range for last week. It was obvious who had been here throughout the entire training program and who had not. But it was all around a very good day. The guys with the longer foundations were easily ready to better there times. The other guys still have heavy legs and will take another week to get their bounce back. Larry ran so fast he tweaked his hamstring, but Ann took a look and says it was nothing serious. (Better not be!)

Better Late Than Never 02.24.09

The saying goes better late than never. When it comes to our program, I think that is a very appropriate saying. Ask Mika what he thinks about it. He has stepped his game up and is really getting a benefit out of the program. I would have loved to had him here since the 5th of January. Same goes for Brandon, I think he would have been a phenom had he been here that early. Speaking of time here, we have a newcomer in our midst today. His name is Kenny O’Neal from San Jose State. Can you say built for speed? He comes to us fast so I can’t take much credit for his speed, but we will do great things for his agility and balance. If he runs faster than 4.20 I will take some credit.(lol) So meet Kenny O’Neal.....

Rainy Days 02.23.09

Monday’s practice is in the sand though it has been raining for the last two days. We are going strong regardless of the weather. We had the day off Sunday so the guys should be well rested. Wouldn’t you know it the, the rain stopped as soon as practice began and started when it ended. After watching the films on Wednesday sprints, we will emphasize pushing our feet down and back on our starts. Burl understands and is giving me what I want every time. Big Ron is holding a clinic on endurance conditioning and Larry is right behind him. Brings a real smile to my face to see Larry’s change. This will be his last week with us. I believe he is ready to go and turn some heads. He is definitely not the same guy who showed up on our doorstep.



We had fun today even though the weather is bad. It has been gradual so I don't know if the guys are really aware of the fact that we have toned done the workouts alot, getting them ready to peak in the next week or two. Brandon gave us a great demonstration of the perfect three point stance for drills. I just had to point out his strengths.lol

Hop Scotch 02.20.09

Today we will do explosive conditioning. We will hop until we can’t hop no more! (lol) We warmed up and then went right into the hip girdle strengthening, to quick resistance sprints and then to the hops. It got so comical at times I had to stop the drills all together. Some of the guys did well but it was a learning process for most. Afterward I let the guys bench and that was the most impressive part of the workout. Demetrius was very impressive looking today and his 25 reps at the end of practice was very strong! Adam was the best with a total 34 reps but scouts are going to eat up that short stroke. Lock out Adam!

Combine Time 02.19.09

Pool day, including plyo’s and agility drills, then treadmill. The whole crew showed up, you can tell we are getting close to crunch time. The Combine starts this weekend, and for the kids who weren’t invited, this is a very motivating week. In the pool are workouts are more quickness and agility.


The leg work upstairs goes hand in hand, only we compete with each exercise. The treadmill work was awesome. The guys worked from 10 mph to 16 mph. Big Ron did the whole 30 second run at 16 mph. WOW!

Speed Kills 02.18.09

Speed Kills Kings! I couldn’t be more impressed with the athletes today! Damn they all ran well and not only that, they got it! It is so rewarding as a trainer or coach to watch an athlete grasp a concept and then execute it properly. Even better when the athlete makes it his/her own concept. I saw some of that today and I loved it. If the kids run this well at their test they will do very well for themselves. We did abs and as they all finished I screamed, “steps!” You should have seen the looks on their faces, priceless. A job has to have some perks!
This will be Mika’s first day on the steps. I’m really looking forward to that.

Impressive Mika 02.17.09

Love this kid Mika Kane, he is very quick for a big man but the real joy is how relax he does everything. When you are talking about speed, relaxed is very strong attribute. Most football players with no track background have a hard time grasping that concept because the sport itself is about brute strength as well.
Mika has really impressed me, and to think I was sure after the first day we had lost him.(lol)
I will make up for the sprints tomorrow on the indoor turf field. At the end of practice I will tell them all to bring their cleats tomorrow. That should get some surprised looks. ( ain’t that right Ron?)

Rain Again 02.16.09

Still raining like cats and dogs. So we are indoors again. I will try to get as many drills in with resistance to duplicate the sand work.

Circus Indoors 02.15.09

Raining like crazy outside so we won’t be able to do the sprint testing today. We will have to bring the circus indoors. Also the day after Valentines so this will be very interesting. We will see who went out last night and who didn’t. I will make up the sprints sometime this week but will not let the guys know until the last
minute.

New Kid on the Block 02.14.09

I know, it’s Saturday and the day of rest for the combine guys. But it’s not a day of rest for me or Golden State Warrior, Marcus Williams. Marcus and I worked today for about two hours. He is working on shedding some weight, strengthening his hip flexors, adding to his foot speed and overall quickness.
I think he would have made a remarkable football player. His lower body is extremely strong and legs are solid, very large for the rest of his body.
We found some areas we need to adjust and I believe they will make a huge difference in his game. Marcus was acquired from the Nets, where he played for two years. He went to UConn for college and was selected to New Jersey Nets as the 22nd pick in the 2006 NBA draft as a junior.

Friday the 13th 02.13.09

I didn’t even realize it was Friday the 13th today until I walked into practice. Today we worked on our starts and our quick feet agility drills. Brandon was impressive with the resistance agility drills. He is changing everyday, and I have to say faster than most. We didn’t go as hard or as long today which threw them all off. But we are going to sprint more often now and I need the guys to be able to compete.
So they can rest up for Sunday. It’s been raining heavy here so if it’s raining on Sunday we will have practice inside.

Drop, Pop, and Lock 02.13.09

Today we had a newcomer join us, Tashaka Merriweather . Let’s just call him Big T for now. Seeing it was his first day and all, we might want to wait to see if he returns on Sunday. (lol) No, just kidding, he did fantastic for a 280 lb Defensive End. “T” came out of school last year from Arizona State and did not catch on anywhere at the Pro Level, he was very close with Oakland but they signed a kid by the name of Greyson Gunheim.You may have heard that name before, we prepared him for last years draft. (oops) Anyway, we started our “drop, pop, and lock” series of drills today. That was fun and demanding, working first on stabilizing the hip girdle and then explosive pop off the ground, and finally fast twitch training. Keep your eyes out for the film, cause some of it is too funny.

Ascension 02.12.09

Pool today was ginormous! (lol) well compared to other weeks. Almost everyone attended, and that made for a good workout. Welcome back George and Mika. Today is the first day of the “ascension” this is the gradual up hill climb to peak weak! That’s the day that each athlete has to perform.
After pool we have plyo’s and abs, and after that the dreaded treadmill workout. We got a lot accomplished today and even managed to have some fun during the competitive drills upstairs.
We took tons of video but used a new recorder so now I have to figure out the process for downloading them. But stay tune, it will be worth the weight. Until then please sit back and relaxe and enjoy the smooth sounds of Brandon and the fellas doing 200 of the required 2500 ab crunches a day!

Weathered the Storm 02.11.09

So today was supposed to be a hill day at Strawberry canyon in Berkeley but the weather was so bad there we would have to wear galoshes. So we met at Cascade, the steps we do spider mans on instead. Behind the steps are three streets with great hills all different grades. So we choose one with a grade of about 12 percent. Our workout consisted of three 7 minute intervals in which we would run as many hills as we could in that time, with a four minute break in between. The hill was about 150 meters long.
I was so caught up in the guys doing so well I never got a chance to take video.
Thomas stepped into a level of comfort with his long stride that he never has. Ron corrected an imbalance in his stride by focusing on planting his left leg and driving his right. Never has he had that much thigh separation while running hills. Burl tried to stay with Thomas the entire time, though Thomas has marathon endurance. Demetrius ran through his back spasms and was third every time. Adam got 4 hills in seven minutes all three times. Brandon though it was his first time got through all three intervals with no problem. Well maybe just a little problem, we’re not sure if that was a bathroom break or a vomit break. Lol Larry hates hills and he did fantastic! Very impressive for the guys who weathered the storm and came to practice anyway. The rain didn’t effect us at all and it cleared up beautifully by time we got to steps for push ups. 5 sets today for those of you who didn’t make it and it will be six next time.
On the steps the sun eventually came out and warmed up everything. Even though we had more circuits than ever it went easy and smooth. The guys laughed and joked through all of them. We had fun and there was a true sense of peace.


Peace ~authentic self~
It's the ebb of the cause
It's the flow of the effect
It's the state of enlightenment
When in rhythm with God's breath


I think we are ready to start really training now! The next three weeks will be like space mountain!..lol

Puke and Rally 02.10.09

We had a few new visitors today, some I’m sure will be back others I can’t call. Practice was intense but there was nothing new added. Those who have been here training got through it with no problems. Except for Brandon Mosley, who had to “puke and rally.” He did a fine job after returning.





To do that you have to have tremendous courage and a tremendous love for what you are doing. Today’s practice will most definitely show the difference between the love for what you do and the desire to just be in a sport. Most kids that come to us have that kind of love or they just don’t last. Mika Kane, DT from Cal came to visit and George Fa’avae, DL from UNLV. They did very well in a class that was very intense and long. I’m sure something they were just not use to.





Mika had a bit of stiffness in his hips and being 6’3” AND 310 lbs, he had trouble with cramping. So we had him work with our body workers on some very intense muscle realignment and flexibility.



Sean Young was fantastic again today. He put up great numbers in the box test with some very sweet technique. Now there is a real demonstration of Love for what you do. Go Sean!



Love ~vibration~
The living force behind the universe
Keeps the celestial in place
The omnipresence of omnipotence
And truth to the human race

After abs we allowed the children and the high school athletes to leave and then the combine guys finished their training. We finished up with the cleans onto boxes and then the shoulder exercises.

Wisdom 02.09.09

Practice was on the beach today and we had a lot of guys show. That’s saying something after the week we had. As soon as the warm ups were over it was like triage for Ann. The guys were cramping and coming down with muscle spasms all over the place. Sign of the work load all last week. We kept it to short drills for speed, made it a competition, and got whatever was left of the players.



I was really impressed with Sean, he was the fastest in every drill. He and Burl are pushing each other all the time. Sean has been through a great deal of adversity in his college career and I believe he has grown through all of it and come out on the other end with a great deal of Wisdom. He applies himself in every drill but not without thinking the drill through first. I watch him envision the drill in his mind before each turn. He is impressive.





Wisdom ~intuition~
By applying what you’ve learned
It becomes and integral part
It’s the life to every principle
And a matter of the heart


Brandon had another rough day but he worked through it. I love his attitude. “No where to from here but up!” If I was a betting man I would definitely drop major paper on Julian! He’s quite about everything but his times are dropping like crazy and he’s getting that swagger back. (and all with NO STEROIDS!) Big Ron is my idol, I’m sure the rest of the guys would agree. He is going into Sports Management after his career is over. I think I’m going to go to work for him. (lol)

Freight Train 02.08.09

It was rainy and a little cold today but all in all the times were good on the field. We worked the flying forties and sixty yard sprints. The guys had to warm up a little longer today to compensate for the cold. We ran through start drills before actually running.



I think our new nickname for Big Daniel is going to have to be Freight Train! Wait till you get a load of this forty. Lol He really did quite well today, the best yet. Big Ron you got some stiff competition there.




Brandon is behind and that is very obvious after watching his sprints but in two weeks he will be a brand new Brandon. He will just have to devote himself to his potential. So today will be our day of Devotion.

Devotion ~sacredness~
Making sacred the path
That your dreams lie upon
Every step becomes a ritual
For the prayer you’ve become

Presence 02.06.09

If the cause is responsibility then the effect would be your presence, however and whenever you showed up in a given situation. Today we will see how the athletes show up today. Today we will recognize their Presence.


Presence ~effect~
The product of your choices
That determines what you feel
Whether it adds or takes away from you
If it’s false or if it’s real


Brandon Mosley, Safety, from Indiana University arrived today. Reminds me a lot of Eric Coleman, safety for the Atlanta Falcons that I prepared for the draft a few years ago. I love working with safeties because of their intensity. He is a little on the heavy side so I suggested we lose around 5 to 8 pounds.
We have to stretch a little more today because we are not where I’d like us to be in that category. This should be good cause the guys hate working their flexibility. Everyone except Julian, the yoga king. Lol



We worked bands today and poor Brandon, it’s always tough to jump right in on exercises that call for muscle endurance and lateral movement.

The Cause 02.05.09

Yesterday I had a young man try something he probably shouldn’t have while we were on the hill. What I didn’t tell you is how well he accepted the ramifications of his actions. He took full responsibility for his mistake and eventually we all had a good laugh over it. So before we left the hill I stressed the importance of our next principle, Responsibility. I hoped they all would take some and make sure to show up at the pool.

Responsibility ~cause~
The things that happen to you
Do so cause your there
But either way the choice is yours
To stand or move elsewhere


It must have worked because instead of three athletes in the water, we had six today and Demetrius and Sean had responsibilities outside of workouts.
The pool workouts have shifted a bit, to more plyometrics, shoulders and arm work. We move from pool to aerobic room today, skipping the treadmill. We will work a little more on the explosive movement needed at the start of the sprints.



We had a very good competition at jump starts and Big Ron finally got up off his knees.





Lol Thomas had the same problem last week but he was awesome today. That Steve is pressing everyone in practice. Burl responded beautifully to the challenge. During one of the races, Steve yelled across the room at Burl as if they were the only two in the room. I made a point of letting Larry know just how disrespectful that was, shouting over his head as if he wasn’t even competing. Needless to say he won the next race.I reminded them all that, "You" are the "cause" for every effect in your life!

You Gotta Have Faith 02.04.09

When I got to the top of the hill today, the group was already there and waiting. With lot’s of laughter they began telling me of a kind of wager that took place right before I arrived. Seems a relative of Demetrius came with him today but only as transportation. He was dressed in jeans and a shirt and clean kicks so, training was obviously the last thing on his mind. When he saw the connector, after driving up, he made the comment that he could run it easily. Most of the guys tried to talk him out of it. Though I am sure that secretly they all wanted to see him try. Well try he did and from what I hear, looked pretty good in the attempt. He didn’t make it all the way up but the guys seemed to be impressed.
As I walked up he had just finished so he was walking around trying to get his bearings. He dropped to the ground and buried his face in his hands. I was so shocked that anyone would allow him to just run up without any preparation, so when I questioned why, they all began to give me a different answer. It really didn’t matter why, for that young man the damage was already done. I went to see if he was alright and he replied he was fine but, I saw something completely different. He was spinning and nothing he did could stop the inevitable. Needless to say he was the comic relief for the day and the perfect metaphor for today’s principle, Faith.
This young man had complete faith in himself and his ability. So though the group told him it couldn’t be done, he knew it could. Sometimes we catch a little hell for our faith but it should never stop us from believing. Lol

Faith ~belief~
Assures you that you're right
When the whole world thinks you’re wrong
Gives the blind their sight
And the weak it makes them strong



After seeing all that I decided to issue a challenge to the group. One hill sprint and one only, if you make it in less than 50 seconds. Big men have 70 seconds to get it done. If they make the time they will be finished with the hill today. The only one who understood me was Julian. While everyone else got happy he mumbled , “You got to read the fine print, he said if we “ALL” make it!”
And make it they did! “Too easy drill sergeant!” Afterwards I let the guys work on their flying 30 yard sprints with a slight downhill grade. Fast and Fun!

Courage 02.03.09

The workout was full today. Funny how that is - when we are indoors everybody shows up. We had some surprise guests show up today, former Cal Bear Burl Toler. With the full house, we began immediately and didn’t stop for almost three hours. The kids came today as well, and I’m so glad they did. Especially when we worked the ladder. Isaac was remarkable and put a lot of the older guys to shame. He’s featured in one of the videos, so you should be able to see why.


With the size of the group we had, in order to get all of our work done we had to work in circuits. This would take some Courage because each exercise would tax a certain muscle group.


Oh yeah, let me give a shout out to Carolyn for coming back after her first visit last Tuesday. That girl is a glutton for punishment. lol

After the first hour and a half the kids were allowed to go home. After two hours, the high school kids, and then after another 40 minutes, we were done.


Steve Singleton had another impressive day and Demetrius Crawford is really starting to shine. I told Big Ron that after the change in Big Daniel, we are going to have to create his own Big Man Camp. These are two very impressive big men. Daniel has shown tremendous courage in the past weeks and it has paid off.

Courage is the principle today because it’s only through the strength and determination to move past our fears that we overcome.

COURAGE ~ strength
The hero that’s in all of us
Who dares to stand alone
Fights our toughest battle
Returns us safely home

Conviction 02.02.09

CONVICTION ~ will
The strength of your belief
Man could never break
Measured by your work
And the footsteps that you take

At this point in the training we need to recommit ourselves to the endeavor by strengthening our Conviction. If we have done our jobs correctly, then the athletes have seen the possibilities and are on the road to manifesting them. They are closer to realizing their dreams and they absolutely know it. The recommitment will be theirs - not something we ask of them, but a natural process in their growth.

Well, that is what I expect to see, but the old adage is, “Man plans, and God laughs.” We will see what shows up today in the sand.

Big Ron was missing due to car trouble, and Sean had to practice routes this morning with his quarterback. But he did text me and say that he was running routes better than he ever had before, and could see how the work was bringing him to his best. I told him I was a f-g genius, and what did he expect? lol

I won’t say much about the work I saw out there today. I will just give you a glimpse in today's video.

I will say this: their Conviction is intact.

Truth 02.01.09

One month under our belt; well almost... since we started on the 5th of January. This was a very hard week of work. Today we will incorporate bungee cords into our sprinting routine. I will only allow the big guys to pull for now. It was no surprise that Larry pulling Demetrius resulted in a flying 40 time of 3.69! Wow that’s fast. Let me see if I can describe the exercise for you since I didn’t have time to take video.

The two athletes are attached to a 15-foot bungee cord. The cord is attached to the back of a belt around the waist of the man who is pulling, and the front of the man being pulled.

They start at the beginning of the 40 with the second man 15 feet behind the starting line, where he will wait for the front man to take threes steps before sprinting to catch him.

When the front man takes off he stretches the bungee and the rest is like a roadrunner cartoon, with the coyote being snatched across the field by the speed of the roadrunner.

The clock starts when the back man hits the starting line and ends as he crosses the finish of the 40-yard sprint - Flying Forties with bungee!


Most ran forties afterward to work on technique, because that’s all you can do after bungees and this week of work. So needless to say, the times were slower than normal.

For most of the guys, it was an eye opener to the Truth: That they are not sprinters just because they have produced fast times, but that technique is most important.

Sean and Demetrius both went under 4.4, and still neither was excited. How’s that for great expectations?

TRUTH ~ power
No matter what we try
It always comes to light
Like daybreak ends the darkness
And replaces wrong with right

Knowledge 01.30.09

First let me say Happy Birthday to my Dad! One of the strongest influences in my life. Today we will celebrate his birth. Today will be both hard and fun!… I promise, because today we will learn new drills and new things about ourselves as we get through this day.

Everyone must have gotten the message about the celebration early because they were all smiles as they came in. Maybe it was the fact that they have tomorrow off. (lol)

We spent most of the day on explosive agility, with the emphasis on lateral movement. It was a very productive day, 'cause all the drills are timed and we move quickly from one group to the next. In fact at one point, Sean came up to me and said, “This is the hardest day yet!” To which Big Ron replied with a laugh, “Not quite!"

Steve Singleton, baseball player with the Twins organization, was my shock of the day. He is in phenomenal shape and works through the drills with such enthusiasm it’s inspiring. He believes that the last piece he needs to add to his game is speed. So he’s here to learn just how to do that.

When we are trying to transform ourselves, we will need to acquire new Knowledge to do that. Our principle for the day.

KNOWLEDGE ~ understanding
The key to life’s struggles
Infinite source of empowerment
Without it there’s no freedom
From the cage of ignorance