Thanks to Guy Hornsby for sending this my way!
If you are reading this, please please please can you comment on the multi-level "thunder dome of power"...
Article courtesy of Yahoo!
When Derek Dooley started molding plans for Tennessee's new football facility to fit what he thought would give the Vols the "Wow" factor, he thought outside the box. And with $45 million and 145,000-square feet at his disposal, it allowed the third-year coach to add the little things every program needs.
Like a mixed martial arts cage.
No, seriously.
Dooley took the Knoxville News Sentinel on an exclusive tour and pointed out all of the wonders of the facility, including the grand team meeting room, hydro therapy room, eating area and, of course, the weight room where the MMA cage is located.
Players will be able to walk straight from the 120-yard practice field into the new weight room — a 22,000 square foot "multilevel thunderdome of power," as it's called in UT's promotional video for the facility. Along with the standard free weights, machines, cardiovascular training equipment — which will be situated on a deck that overlooks the weight room — and a nutrition bar, it will feature a mixed martial arts cage "so we can go in and fight and all that stuff," Dooley said.
If only the weight room had stadium seating, then Tennessee might be able to rent the place out for fight night and filter some money back into the program. Not sure why a coach would want an MMA cage in his football facility. Seems like a recipe for disaster. Maybe there are a lot of disagreements that can only be solved with a rear-naked choke (see photo below). Or perhaps, this is how Dooley is going to determine his depth chart. Position battle? Take it to the cage! Whoever isn't beaten senseless gets to start that week. I think "Take it to the cage" should be the Vols' 2012 rally cry.
But while the MMA cage is designed to bring players closer than they've probably ever been before, Tennessee's new locker room is designed to do the exact opposite. The 7,000-square foot area features 125 lockers that each has a station to charge iPods and cell phones. It's also more spacious than the Vols' current quarters and for good reason.
"When you have 120 guys in a room and half the time they're not dressed, you need a little room so you're not bumping into each other," Dooley told the paper.
I have a feeling the idea for extra locker room space had to do with the staph infection and subsequent hygiene lesson Dooley had to give his players back in 2010.
"We had, I told them, the worst shower discipline of any team I've ever been around," Dooley told the media during his first season. "So we talked a little bit about application of soap to the rag and making sure you hit all your body."
The first move into the new facility is slated for July and the entire place will be full of football players and staff by the end of the year.
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I know that brazilian jiu-jitsu and other 'grappling' fighting styles are being used by rugby teams to increase attacking power/strength and awareness in players when brought to ground. Not sure if that applies to american football however and even so.....it only takes a mat!!
ReplyDeleteI'd just like to say that I really have a problem with the social status assigned to the idea of "thinking outside the box." When your program is designed through the rigorous application of scientific principles, and you just happen to be a genius, a little bit of "out of the box" thinking may give you a slight advantage (although most deep thinkers know that usually, experiments in "out of the box thinking" end up with sub-par results). The surest way to success in ANY field is to think VERY THOROUGHLY INSIDE THE BOX. Once your program or weight room or business plan or whatever is designed according to time tested, industry standard, or scientific principles, THEN, and MAYBE then, can you venture a little bit outside the box. Now, the fact that installing an MMA cage in your football training facility is quite an explicit demonstration of a lack of understanding of "inside the box" thinking, I think it's safe to say that the strength staff at Tennessee should venture back into the box, and really focus on what works. And what works? Getting your players bigger, stronger, more powerful, and faster, in that order, in a periodized manner. And what equipment do you need for that? A power rack, bumper plates, and a bar... and that's just about it.
ReplyDeleteJake & Mike cheers for your comments!
ReplyDeleteThere are arguments for just about any implement or training modality. Whether these arguments are good arguments is another story. What, without a doubt, is most key is how the modality is integrated into the training plan. What purpose is it serving? How does this form relate other areas of training?
Additionally - I am inclined to be with Mike in that creativity is all well and good when the basics are being taken care of. That is an important concept.
I am interested to see how this team does next year. Improvements may well be made in the form of wins and losses on the field, but feel it will be down to coaching, recruiting, and other training rather than the installation of the MMA cage!
Any more comments would be gratefully received!