☕️ S&C Daily — There's Value in the Grind

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In a new Skyline Sports profile, Montana State strength coach Sean Herrin lays out how a Big Sky program turns in-state kids into NFL prospects. His players do not hedge. "I think he's the greatest strength coach in America," said Titan Fleishmann, a two-time All-Big Sky pick and captain. Head coach Brent Vigen was not far behind him. "I'm not going to say this lightly: he's the most important piece. He is," Vigen said days before the Bobcats beat Illinois State 35-34 for their first national title in 41 years.

The pro day file is the argument. Tommy Mellott ran in the 4.3s and jumped 42 inches, Brody Grebe ran 4.54 at 245 pounds and repped 225 pounds 25 times, and a 300-pound offensive lineman hit 34 inches on the vertical. Herrin has clocked Mellott and running back Adam Jones above 22 mph in games on GPS. Paul Brott gained 90 pounds over five years to anchor the interior at 305, eating six to seven meals a day and close to 7,000 calories the winter before his final spring.

The methods are older than the numbers. At Carroll College, where Herrin was part of three NAIA national titles, Mike Van Diest ran the "Saint 600" - 300 yards on the clock, one minute of rest, 300 more. "If you didn't average a certain time, you didn't get your pads," Herrin said. His own version is Peet's Hill, run two or three times a summer.

"There's value in the grind," Herrin said. "I know for a fact that our guys can't stand running Peet's Hill two or three times in a summer, but I know they are never going to forget it. It's like a badge of honor you get to wear for the rest of your life."

The company behind the force plates and testing software in many weight rooms is now valued at more than $1B. VALD told Sports Business Journal it cleared that mark after buying BridgeAthletic, the strength coaching software platform, less than two weeks after buying velocity-based training company GymAware. Terms were not disclosed on either deal.

What the money bought is the whole loop. VALD's hardware runs the assessment, GymAware measures bar speed on the lift and BridgeAthletic is where the program gets written and tracked, so a prescription can come off the numbers without leaving one company. Co-founder and chief strategy officer Sam James said the growth is coming from two directions at once, sports teams on one side and physical therapy, hospitals and general health on the other. "You've seen the lines blur between physical therapy and strength and conditioning these days," James said.

North Carolina promoted Erik Hernandez to director of sports performance for Olympic sports, athletics director Steve Newmark announced. Hernandez joined the department in 2010 as a strength and conditioning intern and had been associate director of sports performance. He will run the strength and conditioning department across the Olympic programs and carry the school's broader sport science strategy, moving into the role over the coming weeks.

"Erik has demonstrated the leadership, expertise and collaborative approach necessary to successfully lead our Olympic Sports Performance program," senior associate athletic director Dwight Hollier said.

Missouri women's basketball hired Brandon Joyner as director of athletic performance. He spent five years with the Dallas Mavericks, four as a performance coach before a promotion to director of G League health and performance, and a season with the Sacramento Kings before that. His NBA run started in 2018 as head strength and conditioning coach of the Canton Charge, and from 2014 to 2018 he was an assistant at Florida State, where he coached 16 athletes who qualified for the 2016 Olympics.

App State named Logan Jones director of Olympic athletic performance. He arrives from the Chicago White Sox, where he spent nearly four years as a strength and conditioning coach after four with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is a North Carolina native who captained the baseball team at Guilford College.

UC San Diego

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