Vital part of program
Lobe works to make Owls stronger, fulfill Partridge’s vision
BOCA RATON — The man entrusted with helping strengthen Florida Atlantic’s football team wakes up before sunrise. He spends his days in a modest weight room. He ar- rived at FAU three years ago with a mustache and a buzz cut. Now, he has a beard and long, black hair.
Chuck Lobe, the team’s strength and conditioning coach, is head coach Charlie Partridge’s partner in building the Owls into winners, his top lieutenant in making them stronger. That was Partridge’s biggest priority after his first season.
No one in the program has spent more time with the play- ers than Lobe has this summer.
At 42, Lobe is intense, feisty and pure energy. However, he is more than the typical strength coach. He is knowledgeable about nutrition but is also a seasoned communicator who can make the players laugh — both with him and at him.
When the entire team began summer workouts two weeks ago, Lobe had several goals for the players to reach before fall camp begins Aug. 4. Yet there was none bigger than what Lobe said that week.
“We’re trying to get their egos as big as possible,” Lobe shouted during a weightlifting session. “The athletes have to see the results. I’m trying to fulfill Charlie’s vision. I have to try my best to make sure it happens.”
For so long, FAU has lacked the confidence needed to become a formidable program. Lobe, along with Partridge, wants the Owls to be a mean,
gritty, resourceful group. He expects the players’ confidence will increase as much as their strength does during the offseason program.
Last year, Lobe was promoted to director of strength and conditioning, which allowed him to focus solely on the football team. Partridge said the move is critical to the team’s development and helps legitimize the program.
“There’s times when the strength coach needs to have the acceleration and be all over the floor in terms of his intensity,” Partridge said. “There’s times where he needs to get a laugh out of the kids and make sure they remember how much they enjoy this game they love. His ability to do both has been beneficial.”
Lobe has strengthened his relationships with quarterback Jaquez Johnson, defensive tackle Trevon Coley and receiver Jenson Stoshak, who are all expected to lead for the Owls.
Lobe is particularly close with Stoshak. Both arrived on campus in 2012. Stoshak was relatively unknown, a walk-on from Jacksonville who has since become one of Lobe’s greatest success stories. Stoshak has improved every season and become stronger and faster.
“He’s tough,” Lobe said of Stoshak. “He doesn’t talk smack. He shows it. He wants the challenge. He is a great example of what the process can do if you have a little bite in the dog.”
During one weightlifting session, Lobe wanted to see the maximum weight each player could squat. Stoshak, a senior, impressed his teammates when he continued to put more weights on the bar. With Lobe, Partridge and teammates watching, Stoshak lifted and then squatted 485 pounds, a personal best. Two years ago, Stoshak would never have fathomed he could do that.
“It’s cool to see,” said Stoshak, who at 6 foot 1 and 205 pounds has gained 30 pounds in his collegiate career. He added of Lobe: “He’s the best strength coach I’ve ever had. He does his job very well.”
Lobe was similar to Stoshak back when he was an athlete. Growing up in Northern Minnesota, he learned from several talented figure skaters and hockey players in his family. But Lobe’s favorite sport was football.
Looking back, Lobe said he was fortunate to play as a wide receiver at Northern State, a Division II school in South Dakota. An undersized player, Lobe realized he needed to learn proper weightlifting techniques to keep up with his teammates. His life changed when he was introduced to exercise science. After his playing career, he moved to Minneapolis and began an internship with Minnesota’s football program. He graduated from Minnesota in 2002 with a degree in kinesiology and sports studies.
From there, success followed Lobe. He trained eight Minnesota teams to national championships. At Minnesota State, the women’s basketball team won the national title. Many of the hockey players Lobe trained entered the NHL — and so did he. He became the strength coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2009. Two years later, the Lightning advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.
“The goal wasn’t to get in the NHL,” Lobe said. “The opportunity was there and I took advantage of it. I don’t know if I would be here if I didn’t have that experience. I got lucky.”
Lobe returned to college football in 2011 with Denver, but was intrigued when FAU hired Carl Pelini. For the first time, FAU provided Lobe the opportunity to start and build a football program from almost scratch.
“The enjoyment of developing is a lot more fun than, ‘Don’t rock the boat,’ ” he said.
Lobe’s tenure at FAU, however, almost ended before he could make significant strides. The 2013 season was a disaster. The Owls began poorly and Pelini resigned in the middle the season — and was later terminated — after he was accused of drug use, which he denied.
Lobe, like many assistants, thought his job was in jeopardy. In a players-only meeting, Pat Chun, the athletic director, told the players he was unsure if Lobe would stay. The players, though, did not want that.
Johnson, the starting quarterback, told Chun that Lobe had to stay.
“As the players, we felt like we did have a part in keeping him here,” Johnson said.
Several other players voiced the same message to Chun.
“I don’t think anybody wanted Chuck to leave,” Coley said. “His workouts are great. Putting together a new workout plan is like putting together a new defense. It takes time to learn.”
When Partridge was hired in December 2013, one of his first conversations was with Lobe. At the time, Lobe had to interview to keep his job. Yet the two did not talk about weightlifting strategies. Partridge was impressed with how much of an expert Lobe was with nutrition and recovery.
“When I knew we were in that same mindset, I knew we could find a program that we could both agree with it,” Partridge said. “His ability to adapt and adjust is one of the things I love.”
Since then, Partridge said the players’ growth has changed dramatically. Lobe has a meeting with the team every Tuesday and Thursday and nutrition is the only topic.
With the NCAA last year lifting it restrictions on the amount of food schools can provide to athletes, Lobe has instructed most players to eat six meals a day to build muscle and replenish their bodies. Each player needs to meet his suggested weight goal every Wednesday. Lobe has a plan for each player. He has made diet plans for the season and the offseason.
How did Coley build strength? Grilled chicken, steak, potatoes and no McDonalds. How did John- son lose excess weight? Stay away from candy. How did Stoshak gain weight? Eat, eat, eat.
“We were a little undersize at a lot of positions last year,” Stoshak said. “Now, that we have all this food — again, the food is a huge thing — that is going to help us get better, faster, stronger.”
Lobe said players respect him after they learn of his NHL experience — and realize his regimen makes them feel better.
One story he tells players: A former player with 4.4-second speed in the 40-yard dash ate McDonalds four times a day for three straight days and wondered why he was not improving. Another story comes from his time in the NHL. All the veteran players — the ones who had already proven their worth — focused on nutrition. It was the young, inexperienced players who Lobe saw become slaves to the weight room.
“It’s frustrating because nutrition is long-term, and not many want to make that commitment,” Lobe said. “But those that do rave about it.”
The trend is changing this summer. Other players are following Johnson, Coley and Stoshak both with their food and in their concentration in the weight room.
What will be most gratifying for Lobe is if Johnson drags two defenders into the end zone, if Coley leads the defense to a goal-line stand or if Stoshak wrestles a pass away from a defender’s hands. The ultimate goal is more wins in the upcoming season and a first bowl appearance since 2008.
“If we do make it, he’s going to be a big reason,” Johnson said of Lobe. “We’ve put a lot of effort into that weight room with him.”
Two weeks ago, one weightlifting session ended with everyone huddled around Stoshak as he attempted to squat 500 pounds. Partridge clapped his hands and yelled as Stoshak took the weight off the rack. Lobe, saying nothing, watched Stoshak’s form.
The weight, eventually, was too much for Stoshak.
After taking a few deep breaths of oxygen, Stoshak was frustrated, but not disappointed.
Lobe, though, knew it was OK. He grinned. He knows the process of building the Owls is working.