The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/873137
58 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2017 player," Stauskas said. "We set goals together and he pushed me to my limits to achieve them. I wouldn't be where I am today without his guid- ance and coaching." ANSWERING A CALLING Sanderson, affectionately called "Sandman" by his players, has done it humbly, a behind-the-scenes guy whose exploits you can't help but no- tice by the product on the floor — or in the occasional tweet in which he's praising his players for their progress. Among this year's crop was a pic- ture of sophomore guard Ibi Watson posting an amazing 44.5-inch ver- tical jump, a Michigan record, and another showing sophomore point guard Xavier Simpson right behind his classmate, at 42.5. Sanderson gets paid to be among the best in his profession, of course, but watching his kids develop is re- ward in itself. "That's my favorite part of the job," he explained. "I love seeing guys de- velop, the progress … I love when parents will call or text me, excited about the progress their son has made. It's a lot of fun. Obviously, so is win- ning and being part of something big. "Two things — physical develop- ment and team development — are the things that really drive me." They were the same motivating factors that transformed him from a 6-4, 165-pound high school freshman at Lexington High School in north central Ohio to a 6-7, 220-pound frosh at Ohio State, ready to contrib- ute in the physical Big Ten. Sanderson transferred from OSU to Ohio University after two years, fin- ishing his career as a Bobcat. He knew he wanted to stay in basketball as a profession once his playing days were over, but he wasn't certain in which capacity, dabbling in both coaching and conditioning as an intern at the University of North Carolina (2002-03) and as a volunteer assistant at Barton College in the same time period. "I fell in love with the weight room and training in my experience at Lexington High School," he said. "I didn't know I wanted to be a profes- sional in this area back then, but I fell in love with it, went through college. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a bas- ketball coach or a strength and con- ditioning coach, but that year, 2002- 03, was when I fell in love with the development and the [strength and conditioning] side of things. "I was like a lot of kids going to college and not really sure what I wanted to do. But you get a little life experience, and then I thankfully went to grad school to be a strength coach because that was what I felt like I was going to end up doing. Then I fell in love with it." He started his professional career as the head strength and conditioning coach for Olympic sports at Marshall University in 2003, and then moved on to become assistant strength and conditioning coach/head basketball strength and conditioning coach at Clemson from 2006-09 before join- ing head coach John Beilein's staff at U-M. His professional certifications are too long to list, and they include a Mas- ter Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCCa) certification in 2016. But he's never satisfied, constantly looking for ways to improve and evolve. "I'm always trying to find a way to learn new things," he said. "I speak at conferences annually, at least one or two, but usually two or three a year," he said. "I also go to several conferences on my own, national conferences, and read on my own." H i s d e d i c a t i o n e a r n e d h i m Beilein's trust, and the two have be- come friends beyond the typical head coach/employee relationship. "Like any other relationship, in year one he had to figure out what I'm about … to buy into my methodolo- gies and what we do," Sanderson said. "It's different now going into year nine, closing in on a decade. It's fun because I just can feel his trust level. He trusts me, and I can tell he values my opinion on a lot of things, not just what we do in the weight room. "It's fun to be involved in every as- pect of what we do. Obviously, my role is different than an assistant coach or director of operations, but it's fun to be part of the team, provide insight on the big picture of Michigan basketball." THOUGHTS INTO WORDS For years, Sanderson has known he wanted to share some of those insights by writing a book. As it is with many endeavors, starting was the hardest part. While walking through the Blevins Tunnel at the William Davidson Player Development Center a few years back, though, he got the moti- vation he needed from Davidson him- self in the form of a quote on the wall. "'Just start,'" Sanderson recalled. "I'd probably seen it a million times waking down the tunnel. I remember seeing that, and it was too simple … I'd wanted to do it for so long. The hardest part is just to take the first step and start. I did that the fall of 2015, and once I got going I had so much fun writing it. I enjoyed it. "Writing the book was one of my career goals, and I had talked about it for easily a decade, wanting to put down everything I've learned and kind of my philosophy on how ath- letes — specifically basketball play- ers — should be trained." The book is written in extreme detail, but it's not a tough read. From his over- all philosophy to movement screening, athletic intelligence screening and much more, Sanderson has got it all covered. The back-cover endorsements include everyone from former Michigan big man standout Terry Mills to Texas head coach Shaka Smart, who acknowledged he learned a great deal from Sanderson during their time together at Clemson, where Smart was an assistant. In the past, Sanderson would spend his down time on planes, buses, etc., reading and gathering in- formation. For several months start- Sanderson is the only strength coach in the nation to have played and coached in an NCAA Final Four. He played college basketball at Ohio State (1997-99) and Ohio (2000-02), start- ing on the Buckeyes' 1999 Final Four squad. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS