When the players and newcomers reported in early June, Matt Gildersleeve was in charge of getting them going in his strength and conditioning program.
Since the coaching staff did not get hired until late in the spring Gildersleeve missed an opportunity to work them out until they reported for the summer.
When you look back at Gildersleeve’s bio when he was at Buffalo he was also listed as overseeing the nutrition program and training station.
“For 22 hours a day when they are away from us, we can't make them eat well,” Gildersleeve said. “So, we have to make them want to eat well. And that's the secret. That stems through education. It's not what am I putting in, but it's why am I putting this in my body? And how is this going to help me?
Gildersleeve continued: “We’re going to win the two hours a day that they're here with us. From giving them options for good food and good nutrition and supplementation, but it's the education for the 22 hours that they're not here is where we're going to really make some dividends.”
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| Gildersleeve is excited about their plan for nutrition |
He goes beyond the normal resume what is listed for a strength and conditioning coach. Some just focus on getting bigger, faster, and stronger. The cardio and weight part are a key to any program and Gildersleeve takes it a step further.
“That (nutrition) will be one of the more significant changes that we're going to have around here,” he said. “We always talk about muscle moves mass and fat don't fly. And the example that I use is if I were to have a guy run a 40 with a 10-pound plate attached to him, and I took that 10-pound plate off, he's going to be a lot faster the second time around.
“Just looking through our DEXA scans and where we are, body composition is a huge thing that we can clean up. We need to continue to add muscle mass and decrease fat mass and we're going to work through that with all of our positions. A big piece of that is nutrition.”
Gildersleeve is certified by the NCSA for strength and conditioning, and he is also Precision Nutrition Level One certified.
He will get a later start working with his players than any other strength coach in the country, but it is a challenge he is looking forward to.
“We understand that we can't squeeze six months of work into eight weeks,” he said. “So, we've got to be deliberate. We've got to be very intelligent about what we do and how we do it. We've got to be very intentional and purposeful on what we do moving forward.
“We have a very strict plan of what we're trying to implement. We have a cultural installment plan. We have an offensive and defensive installment plan. When you install culture normally you do that in the earlier months of the off season. And at the same time, get guys ready to play the sport that they need to play. It's going to be a juggling act, but we have a really good plan. I'm excited to execute it.”
