Interesting Read on Strength Conditioning @ UConn

[Wonkster]

This article is from the Men's Board, but I think it's largely relevant for WBB as well. The guy's wife was a women's track coach and he learned a lot from her that he applied to his male bball players at UConn.

UConn seems to know how to find really competent specialists for their athletic programs.

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn...all-conditioning-0817-20140816,0,841885.story

 

[DaddyChoc]

good stuff... glad the players acknowledge him

 

[CTHUSKY74]

I love that we have this guy and Matt Balis as well because it's very clear that strength and conditioning and nutrition are very key components of these sports. It seems however, that another key and very tricky component is the head coaches buy-in to these components. Kevin Ollie is utilizing the full array of tools having to do with team-building, strength and conditioning, nutrition, foul shooting, etc. to give his teams an edge over the competition. If you look at how many games were won by close margins or those where we had a slim margin and pulled away while the other team could not make headway, it's clear these things won us games on the men's side. I don't know how invested Geno is but frankly he is in a different competitive situation than the other coaches at UCONN because he actually has a good complement of the top rated players on his team vs. what any other team has. For Diaco these things are absolutely essential and he is treating it as such. Unfortunately his predecessor didn't really pay much attention to it and lost a bunch of games that were winnable due to a lack of attention to detail in every aspect that can make a difference. It's not just who you recruit but how you develop them and utilize them. If other teams can go harder in the late stages of a game and your team is gassed it's a serious disadvantage. I feel like Geno's teams are able to give that maximum effort near the end but usually they have put the opposition in such a hole that they expend all their energy climbing out and can't get over the hump. So it's not the same as being in a close game and closing it out by being stronger and fresher. It will be very interesting to see how much difference the approach makes in the football team's success this year. It would be interesting to know if Geno is also using similar techniques to give his team the edge.

 

[UConnCat]

Amanda Kimball is the UConn women's strength and conditioning coach. Geno called her the best in the country after UConn's 2013 championship game.

This is what Sally Jenkins (Washington post) wrote after UConn beat Louisville for the title in 2013:

Even their bodies look superior; they are leaner, and more cut, their biceps and triceps pop, and their calves bulge. Their passes are crisper, their screens are bigger, and their pace is more intense. They are quicker to every loose ball. There is not a single idle moment by any player, on any part of the floor, never a lazy foot or a low hand. They never, ever take a play off and they never get tired. Anyone who wants to beat them needs to start by planting a spy in their training room.

 

[CTHUSKY74]

Thanks! Nice to have that confirmed. It makes it even more criminal how football neglected this. It shows that great coaches do pay attention to the details as part of creating a winning environment.

 

[Icebear]

No one pays better attention to details than Geno and CD.

 

[ChicagoGG]

We are VERY lucky to have Amanda and Rosemary in addition to Geno, CD, Shea & Marissa!

 

[huskeynut]

Watching the replay of the championship win over ND, one notices that even in the first half, ND was huffing and puffing. Uconn was standing up straight and looking just fine. Uconn women have always been better conditioned than their opponents.

 

[Wonkster]

... It would be interesting to know if Geno is also using similar techniques to give his team the edge.

I can't say for sure whether this was a Geno innovation, and it's no longer unique to UConn, but you might be interested to learn that about a half dozen years after he took the HC job at Storrs, Auriemma started using male players (unpaid students) to practice against the women's team. For 2 weeks, the women's team could not get the ball across the centerline on an inbound play. 2 weeks!

Then one day they managed to stave off the guys and successfully bring the ball upcourt. They did it a few times, and after a couple of weeks they could do it pretty much at will.

I don't think it's only a coincidence, but that was just before the UConn women's team began one of the most remarkable streaks in college sports history - they have not lost back-to-back games in more than 21 years!

 

[CTHUSKY74]

I can't say for sure whether this was a Geno innovation, and it's no longer unique to UConn, but you might be interested to learn that about a half dozen years after he took the HC job at Storrs, Auriemma started using male players (unpaid students) to practice against the women's team. For 2 weeks, the women's team could not get the ball across the centerline on an inbound play. 2 weeks!

Then one day they managed to stave off the guys and successfully bring the ball upcourt. They did it a few times, and after a couple of weeks they could do it pretty much at will.

I don't think it's only a coincidence, but that was just before the UConn women's team began one of the most remarkable streaks in college sports history - they have not lost back-to-back games in more than 21 years!

I totally agree with how important this aspect has always been. I really feel that is why our offense seems more fluid. Having to practice against stronger defenders really teaches you how to gain the slight space needed to get the shot off and also to get something even when well covered. It probably is critical to run the sets very precisely to get the desired result. If practicing against second team players on our team, I don't feel that the starters would have as much trouble and could get away with less effort. It would seem that the strength and conditioning training would work hand in hand with this because otherwise they might just be physically overpowered by the male practice players.