Buffs Summer Workouts Provide Valuable Learning Time
June 08, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — What was once a down time for college football players has become an integral part of player and team development.
In other words, those “lazy days of summer” are long gone.
Now, college football programs can hold organized eight-week summer strength and conditioning sessions that can also include up to two hours per week of film study and classroom work with coaches. Combine those sessions with player-led volunteer workouts, and summers have become an integral bridge between spring ball and fall camp, a time when players not only improve their strength and conditioning, but can also sharpen their knowledge and understanding of the playbook.
“Every summer is critical to a football team,” Colorado defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt said earlier this week. “Offensively, defensively, kicking game, everything.
“One, it's important because of weight training. You want your guys getting stronger and faster. But players can make moves in the summer, too. You can move up the depth chart in the summer because you're there making yourself better. Leadership has to do a good job pushing the envelope, but good teams make progress in the summer.”
Three years ago, the NCAA approved rules that allow college programs to conduct up to eight weeks of summer strength and conditioning sessions. Those sessions can include up to eight hours of work per week, with two of those hours allowed for film room study sessions. Coaches can be present for the conditioning sessions, and can also spend valuable time with players in the film study sessions.
The strength and conditioning sessions can't include footballs, meaning teams can't actually run plays with coaches present.
But there are also voluntary, player-run practices throughout the summer — which coaches can't observe — that allow players to take what they've studied with their coaches and apply it to the field. Those volunteer sessions obviously aren't as rigorous or regimented as organized practices, but they still offer an opportunity for players to stay sharp in a more relaxed atmosphere.
“It's a fine line,” said Buffs co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren. “You get to meet with them and give them information, but at the same time, you don't want them to be burned out when they get to fall camp. We do a good job in allocating just enough time to keep concepts fresh in their minds. They're getting a little bit of football, they're getting stronger and they're improving.
“Then, when they get out to fall camp, they can keep building and not have to start from square one.”
When NCAA officials approved the rule to make the summer sessions required (participants must either be enrolled in summer school or have met predetermined academic standards), they were merely making official what had already become commonplace with most programs, albeit on a volunteer basis.
“What happened in the past was that guys who wanted to be great came in on their own,” Leavitt said. “They worked out, they tracked down coaches and they watched film on their own. Now it's just a little more organized.”
When teams have made changes to their playbook, summers become even more important to the process.
A year ago, Leavitt — who arrived on campus the day before spring ball started — said the summer session was invaluable in teaching his players and coaching staff his defensive concept.
“Summer was probably bigger for us than the spring,” Leavitt said. “We made some improvement over the summer.”
This year, the Buffs spent the spring tweaking their offense with the arrival of co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Darrin Chiaverini.
Now, Chiaverini and Lindgren can spend the summer with their players reviewing film from the spring, refreshing players' minds on the offensive concepts, and providing suggestions and guidance for the volunteer workouts.
“It's a chance to reinstall what we studied in the spring so they can go work on it on their own when they have time with the quarterbacks, receivers and offensive line,” Chiaverini said. “It's productive. You don't want to burn them out, but you give them the tools to understand what we're trying to accomplish over the summer.”
One position that can make great use of the summer is quarterback, and this year will be especially important for Buffs signal callers. It will give three-year starter Sefo Liufau (who missed spring ball with a foot injury) an opportunity to at least get a feel on the field for the offensive changes, while also offering redshirt freshman Steven Montez and senior Jordan Gehrke opportunity to sharpen their skills. Of particular help will be the 7-on-7 player-run drills, when the quarterbacks will have the chance to improve their timing with their receivers.
“It's a very valuable thing for us to meet with the quarterbacks, talk about our fall install and maybe even talk about our first couple opponents of the season,” Lindgren said. “We can keep our offensive scheme fresh in their minds throughout the summer.
“It's also big because they do a lot of practicing on their own, throwing on their own. For that position, the summer is really big. We're not out there when they are throwing, but we are able to sit in a meeting room and teach them how we want a specific concept, how we want a certain thing accomplished. We cover it and they can go out and practice it with good habits and work on the things they need to improve.”
Summer sessions are also especially valuable for young players and newcomers — particularly the handful of junior college transfers who have already enrolled.
“When you get new guys in here like (wide receiver) Juwann Winfrey, who's trying to learn the offense, it's a big help in that process,” Chiaverini said. “We get the chance to spend time with them, go over the install, watch film and talk about fundamentals and techniques they can use. It's a chance to be really productive.”
Defensively, Leavitt said it is the same story. While he's now had a year to install his scheme and philosophy, the classroom time is still invaluable.
“You want to make sure you are communicating with the players,” Leavitt said. “Players will learn from each other, but they need to have direction. They need to have a course of action that they understand and that's delineated to them. That time we have with them is very critical to teach the finer points of specific areas and specific coaching points that you need to be communicating.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
