After Ryan Filo, UTSA Director of Strength and Endurance, energizes UTSA’s morning soccer practice and breaks the post-stretch group with his loudest, Ric Flair-inspired “woo”, he can spend up to four hours doing analysis comb through.
Behind Filos Lärm there is a calculated and data-driven approach. Filo monitors weight room performance and GPS tracking data for each athlete, measuring when to push harder and when to pull back.
He also uses the metrics to mark season-to-season progress – a development process that was threatened last year when the COVID-19 pandemic dispersed roadrunners for much of spring and summer.
Coach Jeff Traylor said the players were “chubby” when they returned to pre-season camp. Although a 12-game campaign offered some room for improvement, Traylor and Filo decided to postpone the start of spring training until the end of March to allow more time for strength and conditioning.
The results are clear in the data, Filo said. On average, UTSA’s offensive linemen gained 30 pounds on the clean, 27 pounds on the bench press, and 47 pounds on the squat. The line of defense has shown similar progress, with the entire squad going through a transition that Filo calls “day and night”.
“Across the board with all position groups, it is statistically exponential,” said Filo. “There is nothing comparable from the past or from my previous stops.”
Traylor studied the 2019 roster film prior to his first season last year and discovered at the start of the 2020 preseason that “for some reason their bellies had protruded further than their chests”.
UTSA turned to an application called TeamBuildr to program workouts at home after the pandemic shut down personal activities. The routine, however, allowed for some shortcomings in the absence of proper equipment and an environment of accountability. Traylor was able to tell some of its players that they “ate fried steak and fried chicken instead of grilled steak and grilled chicken”.
UTSA took a safety-oriented approach to the first training sessions on campus and structured the activities as if the players themselves had only had minimal training.
Some of the roadrunners returned up to 35 pounds of excess weight, Traylor said, and Filo said a pound a week was the best employees could do without losing energy or strength.
“We had guys who played 15 to 20 pounds overweight all season,” said Traylor. “Body fat through the roof, that’s our percentage. Just too much. It’s a wonder we didn’t hurt ourselves any more than we did. “
After UTSA ended its season in the First Responder Bowl on December 26, the Roadrunners took about a month off before meeting again in late January. Filo aimed for an eight-week strength program. When the winter storm stopped activity for a few days in February, Traylor and Filo agreed to postpone spring training to make up for lost time in the weight room.
Each player posed shirtless for photos before spring training began. Traylor said the starting point is motivation and evidence of progress.
Lucas Dean, UTSA’s punter, added 40 pounds to his clean, 40 pounds to his bench press, and 80 pounds to his squat from a year earlier, Filo said. Kicker Everett Ornstein sends kickoffs 8 meters into the end zone after “he barely got into the end zone last year,” said Traylor.
Traylor also highlighted receiver Zakhari Franklin and linebacker Jamal Ligon who are muscle-focused, while linebacker Charles Wiley and quarterback Josh Adkins are part of a group that has downsized.
“We just look a lot faster. We’re so much leaner, ”said Traylor. “I can pick so many different players to talk about, their bodies transforming right before my eyes.”
Sincere McCormick said he “felt like a fat guy” at the start of the 2020 season and opened the year at about £ 215. UTSA started the season on a “lack of stamina”, Traylor said, and “almost collapsed” in the heat of a double overtime opener in Texas.
McCormick played himself down to a more comfortable 210 and continued to work on losing weight through spring, believing the elite’s speed will maximize his shot as he hits the NFL.
He said part of the process is changing his diet to add “more greens” – a rust-wide emphasis that is easier to achieve with players on a team on campus.
“There’s nothing like being in this environment and it’s structured and you are with your colleagues,” said Filo. “It’s not just the training aspect. It’s the diet. It is sleep. It is the constant training to do so. “
Action Spencer Burford said Filo and his staff maintain an “electrifying” atmosphere in the weight room.
Defense attorney Lorenzo Dantzler said that constant energy made Filo one of the first guys I began to love at UTSA. After struggling to find exercise opportunities and lose muscle mass last off-season, Dantzler credits Filo for helping him get back on track with exercise and nutrition.
Filo understands that for many players, the Force staff feels like an uncle or older brother – someone the Roadrunners can rely on for advice or inspiration. Filo said the staff wants to use this position to be “the most enduring piece our athletes interact with” and a “driving force” who cultivates energy when the players are not alone.
“There is not a day that this guy is not juicy,” said Oscar Cardenas. “He is unbelievable. The guy passes out almost every day just with stretching. He’s just an amazing guy and a huge impact on this team. “
greg.luca@express-news.net
