The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
JCU logs Rocky-style workouts
Eat your heart out, Rocky Balboa. It’s not quite “Rocky IV,” but it’s in the ballpark.
It was 24 degrees at Don Shula Stadium the early morning of Jan. 15. The backdrop wasn’t the snowy mountains of Russia, where Rocky trained during the iconic film for the iconic movie villain Ivan Drago. Instead, it was the metal stands, where a fan wouldn’t dare sit on this morning.
On the field, John Carroll strength coach Tim Robertson was shouting instructions to bundledup football players. Players’ breath filled the air. Cheeks were red. It was a morning better suited for coffee and a warm blanket.
Robertson had other ideas with the 100 or so JCU players at the first of 6:30 a.m. workouts. The morning sessions of sprints and agility drills have been going on for a while at the campus, but the last three winters there’s been a twist: The great outdoors.
When Coach Rick Finotti arrived at JCU in early 2017, Robertson approached him with an idea.
“I said, ‘What do you think of moving everything outside?’ ” said Robertson. “He was like, ‘Absolutely.’ ”
So instead of cramming 100 football players inside JCU’s DeCarlo Athletic Center, workouts were shifted to Shula Stadium. On Jan. 15, the field was cleared of snow but the frigid conditions were enough to test any athlete’s mental capacity.
“No one wants to come out here and run in snow,” said defensive tackle Conner Bogard of Benedictine, who will be a senior next fall. “But you see your boys, your brothers out here running, and you want to compete against them.”
Every Tuesday and Thursday until early March drills begin at 6:30 a.m. under the guidance of Robertson. Finotti and his staff aren’t permitted to be involved, per NCAA rules. Of emphasis are speed mechanics, efficiency of running, acceleration and deceleration, but most important is a mindset, said Robertson.
“I think the goal of this with Coach Finotti and the staff is to increase the mental toughness,” said Robertson. “This isn’t easy. There aren’t many teams doing this. We want to have tough guys, tough athletes.
“I think more than the physical and mental is the kids’ bond. They challenge each other. … I think they cherish this because this is a unique training method. It’s like that Rocky Balboa mentality of using the environment to help you get better. They know this is part of what we do, and it helps them grow as a group.”
Bogard was a third-team D3football.com All-America selection in 2018, and will be counted on as a senior leader during 2019. For him and the other seniors, it’s important to show the way — even when the conditions aren’t ideal.
“This is where mental toughness is built,” he said.
A year ago at this time, Mayfield grad Michael Canganelli was a relative unknown to those outside the program but had a breakout sophomore season with nearly 2,000 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns during JCU’s 9-2 season that included a Division III playoff berth. The running back laid the groundwork for his standout 2018 campaign during early morning workouts in the cold and snow, and is hoping others follow his lead.
“It’s great,” said Canganelli. “We definitely see some players working hard that can play a big role for next year.”
Lake Catholic graduate Chad Stalnaker, the team’s leading tackler in 2018 and middle linebacker, smiled when asked if the elements bother him.
“It’s cold when you get out there, but once you started running you get pretty hot,” said Stalnaker, who went without a hat or gloves during the Jan. 15 workout.
The elements don’t seem to bother Stalnaker but he knows the value in what the outdoor workouts provide to the program.
“The teams that work the hardest in January are the ones who make the (playoff runs) in December,” he said. “I think it’s great all these players are held to one standard. I look forward to it. For us seniors, it’s our last time. It’s fun to wake up early, work hard and start the day right.”