Colorado University Athletics
Offseason Workouts Key for Buffs
April 26, 2019 | Women's Basketball
CU women's basketball continues to improve in the weight room
BOULDER – On March 8, one day after the Colorado women's basketball team's season ended, the work began for next season.
The team's coaching staff, players and training staff all started to prepare for what will hopefully be a successful foray in the rigorous Pac-12 Conference.
The offseason is a crucial time for the Buffs as they look to get stronger, faster and in better condition. Adam Ringler, the assistant director of strength and conditioning for the women's basketball team, is in charge of making sure the student-athletes have a productive offseason.
The offseason program, which spans from the spring semester through the months right before the 2019-2020 season begins, is focused on preparing the athletes' bodies to thrive during the season.
"Basketball is a very long season," Ringler said. "What we try to do is correct some of the asymmetries and dysfunctions that our athletes have through the season. We're really trying to get them stronger, more mobile and more flexible. But we're also shaping the identity of what we want next year's team to be."
The offseason program is more intense than in-season training, as the athletes can train five days a week rather than just two or three. The increased frequency allows both the athletes and strength coaches such as Ringler to ramp up every aspect of strength and conditioning.
"Right now, when we're not on the basketball court preparing for Stanford or Oregon or any other team, we can invest more of that time into strength and conditioning," he said. "To get these athletes stronger, more physical. To add muscle mass to change your body composition. I expect them to be sore, I expect them to learn how to manage that soreness and take advantage of the resources that we have here. We want to make sure we're teaching recovery and how to mitigate and manage some of that soreness."
While soreness does matter, it is less of a worry in the offseason, as both the athletes and coaches know it won't negatively impact their game-day performance.
The offseason training does come with its obstacles, such as the incoming freshmen not being in the gym at CU. Ringler and the other staff members make sure to give incoming players a blueprint of what to expect. They try to make sure incoming players are training well and arrive in Boulder ready to work.
"The freshmen come in, they have to adapt to a faster-paced game, a stronger more physical game," Ringler said. "They obviously have to navigate academics and being away from home for the first time and actually training year-round with collegiate basketball, it's a little bit more challenging for them."
Although an incoming freshman's task is difficult, CU is regularly seeing its incoming athletes coming into the collegiate system more prepared than ever, regardless of their sport. For the basketball team, these athletes know they might be counted on for considerable minutes during the season, making the offseason training a key component to the basketball program.
Charlotte Whittaker, one of the incoming freshmen, was fortunate to be able to arrive in January and begin her training. Whittaker, from New Zealand, was able to come to Boulder early due to the finish of New Zealand's academic year. She has gotten a major jump start on both her academics and preparation for next season. Ringler loves the work she has done so far and has high expectations for her in the future.
"She's an athlete that has really invested in our weight room and loves to work and I can't be more thrilled about the progress that she's made," he said. "While the team in January was preparing for Pac-12 play, Charlotte was in here working her tail off and has had the strength, power and body composition changes to show the hard work that she's done."
Quinessa Caylao-Do, the lone senior on next year's roster, has been one of the athletes leading the way for the rest, and Ringler said she's made significant strides in the weight room and is one of the strongest players on the team. Ringler and the staff are counting on athletes like Caylao-Do to set the tone and shape the identity, culture and environment for the team as well as mentoring the incoming class.
Ringler emphasizes communication in the offseason program and makes sure the athletes are aware of the high standards of Colorado basketball. When athletes are away for the summer, he expects them to maintain that standard.
"There's an expectation to come back and make sure that you're ready to compete and be prepared at the level that we've communicated for," Ringler said. "I think when athletes leave, they have that expectation."
A process of the offseason program is keeping the athletes accountable when they're both in and out of Boulder. When athletes return in July for their summer session, they will be tested to see the improvement they have made while away.
"They know they're being held accountable and when they arrive, it's black and white," Ringler said. "They're going to see it. When athletes arrive, we have stopwatches and electric timers and we're going to go through a very thorough assessment and evaluation. That sort of test-retest illustrates whether these athletes have done what they've needed to do when they're home."
The Buffs know the importance of the strength and conditioning during the summer and how it will lead to success during the season. Some of the work has already been accomplished, but much of it remains.
"Our athletes are thrilled to come in here, they're excited about getting stronger and changing their bodies," Ringler said. "I think we have a great group of young women that want to invest in getting better and getting stronger and getting more physical and change the outcomes of what we had this last season."
