Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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10 APRIL 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME At times, head coach Brian Kelly admits he feels that he is more like in his second year at Notre Dame than his ninth. A main reason is that follow‑ ing the 4‑8 meltdown in 2016 that required a bulldozing of the in‑ frastructure with six new on‑field coaching hires and the introduc‑ tion of a new strength and con‑ ditioning staff, the operation has been uplifted, beginning with a 10‑3 outcome and No. 11 finish last season. While every coach in the coun‑ try lauds how the team has be‑ come "bigger, faster, stronger and closer knit" following winter and summer conditioning, Kelly said he can appreciate the continuing strides under second‑year strength and conditioning coach Matt Balis because of using last winter as context. The contrast in how much more the Fighting Irish players are able to handle in volume is what stood out to Kelly this winter. "We weren't able to sustain the kind of workload with our run‑ ning and strength training last year that we can this year," he said. "The easiest ones would be the ability for our players to bounce back after a really difficult workout and come back and run the next day at a high level. "We weren't able to make some of those timed runs last year. We're not in that position this year." A "speed school" was added to augment endurance, highlighted by measuring the initial 10‑yard burst. "One of the most important pieces is not continuously running 40s, but your change of direction, that burst," Kelly said. "An outstanding 10 [‑yard burst] is sub‑1.5. When we started our speed school, we had only one player that was sub‑1.5, and that was Troy Pride — as you can imagine." By the end of winter workouts, that number had expanded to eight, including 6‑4, 227‑pound wideout Miles Boykin, the MVP of the Citrus Bowl. "The strength gains for our football team have been clear and across the board," Kelly said. "We've seen the kind of physical development that you want as we develop our football team in this second year of our conditioning and weight training." The physical is only one part of "training." The mental is equally important, specifically dealing with distrac‑ tions and playing in hostile environments. A prime example last season was when the 8‑1 and No. 3 Irish visited Miami last year. It's unfair to say it affected the entire team, but it became clear the Irish became overwhelmed by the moment, and the avalanche couldn't be stemmed in the 41‑8 loss. Thus, some winter workouts also were intended to be "distracting." "We had strobe lights and things that distract you during your workout, loud noises to simulate the at‑ mosphere we had at Miami," Kelly said. "They had to watch a video, and they saw 'The Turnover Chain' quite a bit — it was not a pleasant experience for our guys. "Handling that kind of scenario and that situation re‑ ally comes down to fight or flight, and we want to fight. Our guys got the message." A successful 2018 begins by winning the Sept. 1 opener against a wounded Michigan team that likely will be as eager to put 2017 behind them as Notre Dame was with 2016. Then the Irish need to hold serve at home and fi‑ nally not collapse in November, where the Irish are 9‑12 the past five seasons. Both winter and summer conditioning programs have a particular goal in mind. "We want to be a better football in November," Kelly summarized. — Lou Somogyi Speed Work … And Strobe Lights The Irish have continued to make physical gains with their winter strength and conditioning program, but also have focused on refining their mental focus after struggling in hostile environments like the 41-8 loss at Miami last November. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA