June 30, 2008

It's Year 4 of the Zook era at Illinois, and the building process continues to go full tilt this summer. People driving by Memorial Stadium can see the incredible progress taking place on all sides of the historic venue as the Illinois Renaissance project enters its home stretch.

What's much less obvious is the work that the Fighting Illini players are putting in to get ready for the 2008 season. It's a little like building infrastructure-it's crucial to the end product, but most people haven't had the opportunity to see what all goes in, behind walls, below ground and above the ceilings.

The precision of the offense, defense and special teams schemes will be refined during Camp Rantoul in August, and of course, all season long during daily practice sessions. That's like the finish work on a building. But right now, the team is putting in what might be compared to the foundation, the heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical systems. The architect of this phase of Illinois Football is Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Lou Hernandez.

Hernandez came to Illinois from Florida with Zook prior to the 2005 season, and it was obvious from the beginning that the two were on the same page.

"The biggest thing we wanted to do when we got here was to implement Coach Zook's intensity and his expectations for the work ethic in the weight room," said Hernandez.

To do that, Hernandez enlisted the help of Zach Womack and Troy Hatton, both of whom joined the staff very soon after he arrived.

"Zach and I go back to our days together at Florida," said Hernandez. When I had the opportunity to bring him here, I did so immediately. And we were very impressed with what Troy had done with the Illini wrestling team. They had won the Big Ten that year, and we felt he could help us with his winning attitude, dedication, and everything that's important about being a champion.

"The three of us being together all this time has made things a lot easier. We all know what each other is looking for, what we're thinking about, the modifications we need to make, and when we need to push on the gas vs. when we need to pull back on the throttle."

With Camp Rantoul just five weeks away, they're certainly pushing on the gas pedal.

Almost every single Illini player is on campus this summer, and since almost all of them are enrolled and are nearly at the mid-point of summer school, they have precious little time to kick back and relax. Besides their academic responsibilities, some of them have part-time summer jobs, and all of them are working their tails off to become better football players.

Which is where Hernandez and his staff come in.

Since the football coaches are not permitted by NCAA rules to work the players out at this time of year, the strength and conditioning staff, and to some extent, the athletic training staff, have, by far the most contact with the student-athletes right now. And Coach Lou and his assistant are making the most of it.

"After that first year when we laid the groundwork, we started to see some great improvement in overall strength gains. We went from having one player bench pressing 405 pounds to 10 players, and we went from having one 300-pound power clean guy to 39. It showed on the field. Then last year, we improved some more, and we really ended up being above and beyond where we thought we'd be at that point."

Now, in this the fourth year, Hernandez and his crew are taking more steps with the players. They feel there is always room for improvement in overall strength, and will maintain their efforts to make sure that takes place. But there are some added dimensions to their overall program this season.

"In evaluating where we are, we have determined, for example, that our offensive line needs to work on its flexibility. For the most part, the strength, mobility and endurance have been what we expected. But Coach Wolford stresses with his players the need to bend down and get low when they play. So to improve their flexibility, we have started holding some yoga sessions for those guys," Hernandez said.

That's an example of what he refers to as specificity training, i.e., drills and exercises tailored to the needs of players at certain positions.

Hernandez and his staff have also "ramped up" what they're doing with respect to speed training for the entire team. He learned long ago, when he was on the staff of the University of Houston with one of the world's most renowned sprint coaches, the kinds of techniques he's applying today with the Illini gridders.

"The things we do with speed development are the same things that some of the world's fastest men, guys like Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell, have done. We always work on the mechanics of running--the arm stroke, the foot placement and the leg drive, as well is the other components-the stride length, push and power from the ground and turnover, the frequency of the leg exchange. We have systematic drills that help to improve all these aspects of running, including squats, Olympic movements, plyometrics and resistance training with sleds and bungees.

One of the most effective training methods for speed, however, doesn't take any equipment at all--just the proper location. Hernandez says it's hard to beat just running up the bleachers at the stadium.

"We've been running the bleachers ever since Day 1," he explained. "Our guys know it's coming. Some look forward to it, and others really want nothing to do with it (but they do it)."

As far as speed training is concerned, Hernandez and his staff divide the summer into two segments, the first of which is just about over. That's the time during which they work on sprints as well as running the bleachers.

"We usually start with about eight reps on the bleachers," he said. "Then we work our way up to 12-14 reps. It's physically demanding, but, more than that, it takes tremendous discipline and concentration to keep going and fight through the physical discomfort and pain."

In the next few days, the players will move into the second phase of their summer program, where they emphasize not only the speed improvement, but also lateral movement, agility and first-step quickness, all of which are key elements for a successful football team.

How does Hernandez gauge Illinois' progress in the realm of strength and conditioning?

The longer he's in the business, the more relationships with other strength coaches seem to be factors.

"From talking with them, I have some general ideas about what kind of results they're getting, but there's really no data out there. It's pretty much like a playbook. Most strength coaches, and I include myself, are not too anxious to talk about where their teams are in terms of numbers and results."

Hernandez does pay close attention to how the Illini compare physically when they face their opponents.

"I'm not so much looking at the X's and O's of the football execution, but I'm concerned about the movement and strength and conditioning levels of our team vs. the opponents. We felt really good about where we had progressed last season in relation to the goals we had set," he said. "Then, when you face a team like USC (in the Rose Bowl), it gives you a different perspective about where you would like to be as a complete team. Their strength and conditioning are certainly big factors in why they're in the upper echelon of college football, year in and year out. They deserve a lot of credit for being where they are."

Coming off the Rose Bowl season, excitement is certainly high for Fighting Illini Football 2008. The completion of the Illinois Renaissance project will certainly contribute to that feeling, not only for fans, but for the players and staff as well.

Hernandez acknowledged, "It's going to be tremendous for everyone, but I'm particularly excited about our new weight training facility under the north stands that is expected to be complete by the time we return from Camp Rantoul. We have some great equipment right now, but we will be using the same equipment that the best players in the world will be using at the Olympics in Beijing. The only difference will be that ours will be custom-made for us and will bear the ILLINOIS name. So we'll have the best equipment and facility will be very impressive as well. It will be our job to make sure the players take full advantage of it, and I'm sure they will."