Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2017 81 While working as head coach Urban Meyer's assistant strength coach at Utah in 2003, as his head strength coach during the 12-0 season with the Utes in 2004 and then mov- ing with him to Florida as an assistant strength coach that was highlighted by the 2006 national title, Balis honed his understanding of how the 60-75 minutes spent in the weight room is not merely about checking a "to do" box while fin- ishing the minimum requirements. "It's not what you do, it's how you do it," said Balis, who was hired by Meyer disciple Dan Mullen at Mississippi State (2009-13) before taking over the entire athletics depart- ment's physical performance operation at Connecticut from 2014-16, where 2010-13 Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Bob Diaco was hired as head coach. "You can do the most basic things [in the weight room]," he explained. "It doesn't have to be super complicated, but if you do them as hard as humanly possible with detail and precision, you have a better chance. … It's not a guarantee, but there's a better chance when everyone is going as hard as they can and they love each other, because you revert back to training. That's why it's such a big deal for us to try to create those habits. It's effort based, it's how hard guys are actually going, not cruising." Balis said he runs a "principle-based program" that in- corporates various philosophies — plyometrics, Olympic, power lifting conjugate, etc. — into the workouts, with an emphasis on explosive/speed movements. "We're not training them to be Olympic lifters, we're not training them to be power lifters," Balis said. "We're going to use velocity training, bar speed, all parts to the whole — and the whole is the mental and physical effort at which you do it." Injury prevention, although impossible to avoid com- pletely in the violent world of football, is always a priority and requires balanced, detailed training. "You don't want to be overdeveloped in the front and not the back," Balis said. "You don't want to overdevelop the quads compared to hamstrings. You don't want to un- dertrain groin, glutes or adductors. In the training itself, it's prevention. "We train the neck year-round twice a week because we want to do as much there to prevent injuries. And then of course flexibility and movement aspect." Balis notes that if nutrition, recovery and sleep are not part of the formula for the athlete, then the training in the weight room and on the track will be compromised. "If you lack in one of those three, you're not going to get the full injury prevention that you're talking about," Balis said. "All three of those things have to be constantly coached and evaluated. … With the recovery time — you and me are partners. I do my work, you do your work." He has not come across a better nutrition program than the one he has seen assembled at Notre Dame. "I've never seen three full-time nutritionists [at a school], and the ability to have training table [specialized to] indi- vidual needs," said Balis, whose job will be complemented by David Ballou, the former physical instructor at heralded IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. "It's an area I've always placed a heavy emphasis on. You'll be missing something if you don't [follow nutrition plans], because most kids don't get up and eat breakfast," Balis said. "They want to sleep until the last possible second and then go. We have to make sure if that is happening, we have something for them to eat. "We have to educate them and make sure that they're increasing lean body mass and they're still making strength gains and they're staying hydrated. We have great re- sources." It begins with Balis. ✦ MATT BALIS Intensity Within Parameters There is sometimes a popular perception to the uninformed that a strength and conditioning coach's "effectiveness" in college football is measured by how many athletes he can get to puke during workouts, or how borderline psychotic/sadistic he can get while pushing them beyond their limits. This January, the University of Oregon suspended football strength and conditioning coach Irele Oderinde one month without pay after three play- ers were hospitalized following a series of intense workouts, while many others also were injured. Make no mistake, Balis knows a huge part of his job is to challenge his athletes, but within balanced parameters. "We're not going to go over those parameters," Balis said. "We will pro- gressively overload those parameters to the point where they will get in better and better shape and improving more capacity as we go. But we're not going to in week one come in and expect something that they might not be ready for until week four or five. It's a progression. "We're careful no one gets hurt. Sometimes things happen, but we want to protect the guys in their ability to adapt to the work slowly. It's a day- by-day, week-by-week evaluation." Balis detailed his expectations from day one to the team, and one area in particular is non-negotiable for him or anyone else. "If you don't come in excited, jacked, ready to go, you're not going to get the day back," Balis said. "That's part of what we do, and we really stress that in our preparation with the guys. And as they come in, as we're coach- ing them, we give them every ounce of energy that we have." — Lou Somogyi Balis' goal is to balance training, nutrition, recovery and sleep for his athletes. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND