Really cool upcoming stuff for me at Defranco’s!

Coach CJ got his old high school football team to sign up for 6 months of training up until their preseason in August.  There are about 45 kids who will be training with us, so he asked me if I'd be able to help him out with coaching the team.  Super psyched at the opportunity! First full team I'll be able to really work with.  I really enjoyed the experience with the Islanders but I wasn't really with them long enough like I will be with the high school team.  On top of that, these kids need A LOT of help.  Coach CJ and I saw the results from their testing (bench, pull ups, 40, etc) and were less than impressed with the results, even for high school kids.  The cool part is though the coach is completely turning the reigns over to us (huge benefit for us) so these kids are ours to mold into monsters!  We'll be throwing together their programming over the next week and will be starting them on their new program in about a week and a half.

The program itself will incorporate everything I've been learning at Defranco’s; a proper warm up, power development drills, movement drills, speed and acceleration drills, mb/jump/plyos, teaching of a main lift, and some accessory and core movements to finish up the day (vertical integration).  The thing we have to be wary of is getting all these guys in and out of the gym in a timely fashion.  We want to split the groups into two groups, each with an hour-long session.  So, we will be moving 20-25 guys through all this each session, while keeping the guys moving and giving everyone enough space.  Thankfully, Coach CJ has experience at a high D1 school's football preparation program.  The biggest thing is as long as we have equipment, weights, percentages, and the program all set each day for the guys, things will flow smoothly.  Organization is key!

I'm also excited because this is the first time I get to work with one of the coaches on program design.  I understand each coach’s philosophy in general but I have never been able to see the program design process from the beginning, as well as being able to provide my own input into the program. Obviously I have written my own programs for friends and myself but I have never had such an awesome facility to work in or another great coach to bounce ideas off of.  To assist me with the program design, Coach CJ gave me access to a MASSIVE library he has of books, articles, interviews, etc.  I never have to buy another book again haha… Between him and the other coaches this internship has more than paid for itself just with all the material they've provided to me. Super grateful to all the guys for being so generous.

As far as the day to day, NFL guys still filing in.  Got another 3 guys starting up now the Superbowl has passed (one of the guys just won a ring tonight!).  Great atmosphere and I expect the guys to turn it up another notch once the new guys come in and start training.

NFL combine are still getting after it as well.  One of the guys has a regional combine in a few weeks.  These usually aren't as big of a deal as the Pro Day's a bigger D1 schools, but scouts will be there so it could be a good first impression for him.  The plan is to have him treat it as a "test day" to see where his numbers are really at in preparation for the Pro Day he will be have in a few months.  The great thing is the guys are all strong and fast, but since working more on their technique they are really starting to surprise us with how fast their times are starting to be.  We are looking for great numbers coming up for all the guys.

Trying to add some more personal stuff to the blog.  One of my professors brought up career moves and what's down the line for me.  I honestly hadn't had much time to think about it, but graduation is starting to look a lot closer this half of the year.  Pretty exciting and nerve racking all at the same time.  I enjoy the program and going to class because we always have great discussions and it has helped me out tremendously, but I have to admit not worrying about presentations or homework for the first time in God knows how long would be great!  Also would be great to be my own coach with my own athletes, but not having anything secured at the moment is making me kind of think about money issues that are going to start popping up real shortly.  I have got a few things in the works, but not having anything guaranteed is not settling for me. I guess the only thing to do is be proactive and keep working hard, can't worry too much about the future only what I can control in the now.

Also, thought I'd share a pic from my other job when I'm not at Defranco's, pretty cool pic think you guys might enjoy it.  We got a 1200 lb steel beam about 20 ft up in the air off a forklift.  Trying to fit it in a real tight space without killing anyone.  Unfortunately for us the guy who contracted us decided to wait all year to have us work outside during the polar vortex, so as you can imagine I really like when I'm at Defranco’s haha.

Start to another busy week tomorrow, I'll be updating soon.