McCullough Using CrossFit Football Trainning Program
For about 30 young men and one woman, summer break rigors of school didn’t start by staying in bed late and lounging by the pool.
For about 30 young men and one young woman, summer break from the rigors of school didn’t start by staying in bed late and lounging by the pool the rest of the day.
Instead, for this group of dedicated athletes from McDonald County High School, summer “break” began with a 7 a.m. weightlifting and fitness program under the tutelage of Sean McCullough, defensive coordinator for the 2016 Mustang football team and assistant coach for the Lady Mustang basketball team.
The summer program is in reality an extension of the weight program that McCullough instituted when he switched from Southwest City Elementary School to MCHS following the Christmas break during last school year.
McCullough said the kids are working hard and the results show they are getting stronger.
“We started with an eight-week program and then transitioned into a month-of-May program and then did a final testing,” McCullough said. “Out of 28 kids that tested, we had 14 power clean 205 to 265. Anything over 200, you are starting to develop some pretty good strength for a high school kid. We had 21 out of 28 kids dead lift 315 to 425. Back squatting was really good – 13 out of 28 back-squatted 305 to 525. ‘Tinker’ (Bronnie Kinser) hit 525 legit. Jake Will hit 425 and Jaime Hanke did 400. Those numbers are really good.”
McCullough said the program he is using, CrossFit Football, is a comprehensive strength and conditioning program designed by 10-year NFL player John Welbourn. The program is designed for participants in contact sports requiring speed, strength and capacity. He said this is not the same thing that you see in CrossFit competition shown on ESPN.
“We use multi-plane, compound movements to simulate the demands placed on an athlete during their sport,” McCullough said. “Football, like most field sports, is a game of seconds and inches. CrossFit Football knows the demands placed on players during the game and the distances they will have to travel. With this in mind, it’s designed to replicate the stresses and situations a player will face on the field. By combining high intensity movements with a comprehensive strength and speed program, the result is a training program that is unparalleled in the industry.”
McCullough said though the program is called CrossFit Football, it is appropriate for all sports, which explains why Megan Mills from the Lady Mustang basketball team is following the program.
“The loads, distances, times, intensity, and programming can be scaled, and the program has been designed to meet the needs of athletes at all levels of training advancement,” McCullough. “Every athlete needs to be strong in mind, heart and body. He or she needs to be fast and explosive and be able to perform when tired and exhausted.”
Kinser said he believes his and his teammates’ efforts will be evident when the Mustang football team begins play in August.
“Everyone is getting a lot stronger,” Kinser said. “I am seeing a lot more progress than we had last year. I just feel good about this season. Everybody is working hard because you can’t really slack off this year. Hopefully, Coach Diehl’s prediction (first-year MCHS football coach John Diehl predicted McDonald County will be 5-0 when it faces defending state champion Lamar on Sept. 23 at MCHS) that we will be 5-0 when we go up against Lamar.”
Another starter back from last year off the offensive line is Will Dean.
“We have all had personal maxes, especially me, that I thought I would never see,” Dean said. “Everything is going amazing. I am excited to see what we can do this year.”
Running behind Kinser and Dean will be Izzy De Santiago, a starter at running back as a freshman and sophomore, who is returning for his junior year.
“We have a huge schedule this summer,” De Santiago said. “We are working hard on the weights and we are going to a lot of camps
“We use multi-plane, compound movements to simulate the demands placed on an athlete during their sport.”
Sean McCullough
Defensive Coordinator
and have a lot of teams coming over. I am very excited about this year. I feel like there are going to be a lot of good things this year.”
McCullough said he will adjust the program to fit the needs and capabilities of the individual athlete.
“We are going into an 11-week preseason program,” McCullough said. “Some of our younger kids who need a little bit more development, especially the incoming freshman, will do a more linear workout. The older kids who are stronger will transition into a field-strong program.”
McCullough said the goal is to get stronger, so that strength will translate into the kids being better football players.
“The kids are really doing well,” McCullough said. “We are working on sprinting as well as power and strength. Power is the key. You can be strong, but if you can’t move dynamically with loads of weight, you aren’t doing much good. This is a core-to-extremity training instead of an extremity-to-core. That’s the difference between this and bodybuilding - that’s not want we want.”