B-RadHoops - August 2007August 26, 2007The first week of school is over and while professors probably haven't give any exams, Radford basketball players had two heavy duty ones - fitness tests that we will repeat during the course of pre-season workouts. The Yo Yo Beep Endurance Test measures stamina and gives the coaching staff a feel for the mental toughness of players. It is a series of 20 meter runs with a very short rest in between each interval. And the time to complete the interval decreases as the test progresses. The Cooper Run is a test that measures distance covered in exactly 12 minutes. Unfortunately for the team, we chose one of the hottest afternoons of the year to administer this on the track of Cupp Stadium. While the temperature reached record highs over 100 degrees, it didn't deter Cole Wilder from lapping the field and completing 2 miles in the allotted 12 minutes. Cole, a walk-on from George Wythe HS in Wytheville, VA also had the best Yo Yo Beep performance. An outstanding scholar-athlete with close to a 4.0 gpa, he is one tough cookie with all the intangibles any coach would want in a player. Team exercises like the Yo Yo Beep and Cooper give coaches data to compare performance and rank results. It also gives us insight into the competitive nature of our guys. One of our players met a different type of competitor this summer -- himself. Remember the egg shaped vessel from the opening scene of Mork and Mindy? "Nano nano". That capsule transported Mork to Earth, and has an eerie resemblance to the Bod Pod-a life-size replica of a jelly bean with a window. Our players with help from Dr. Kathleen Poole, a professor in our School of Exercise Science and Health Education, sit inside this thing to get an accurate read on their weight and body fat composition. Which brings me to the "Colby Challenge." What's the easiest way to lose some weight and get into great shape? Don't ask any of the Radford basketball coaches; ask senior center, Colby Trent! In late May, Colby weighed in at 314 pounds with body fat at 30%. So the not too svelte coaching staff challenged him to a weight loss contest with a scheduled weigh in when school resumed in August. This week, all the coaches weighed in and not a single one registered any weight loss-too many extra orders of noodles at the Thai restaurant across the river. But, Colby hit the Toledos at 278.6 pounds-a whopping 35 pound loss- with only 23 % body fat. Now the jealous coaches are eating Lean Cuisine for lunch and taking weight loss and fitness tips from Colby! One thing Radford coaches know how to do is take advice from experts. And this week we had the honor and privilege of having one of the winningest coaches in Virginia high school football speak to the team in our opening meeting. Norm Lineburg, former Radford Bobcat, has been at his game for 47 years, coached more games than anyone in state history and ranks #2 on the state's career win list. He's touched more kid's lives in our community than probably anyone else. His love of sport and young athletes is legend as is his appetite for tomato sandwiches. This 70 year young, fit as a fiddle, nicer than nice, wise man impressed the group with his stories about teamwork, commitment, attitude, and love. It's not often that 19 or 20 year-olds get their lessons in love from a grandpa. VT football coach Frank Beamer, who spent two seasons as Coach Lineburg's backfield coach once said, "What I learned from Norm is that the players really do come first," Beamer said. "As long as you're talking about their welfare and what's right for them, usually that's the right thing to do." And as Radford's new basketball coach, I don't think there is any better philosophy we can practice. Brad August 19, 2007Fever pitch energy .... there is no other way to describe the feel of a college campus when students return and a new school year begins. |
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