FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Xtremetrainer]

College stats is not why any DIII player gets signed.  Pagel is a prime example and he got signed because he was an athlete.  I am Ryan's brother Cory, and I own a training business called Xtreme Training Systems located here in Southeastern Wisconsin.  I train Ryan, Jesse, and about 400 other athletes throughout the United States, including The University of Wisconsin Stevens Point baseball team.  I trained Matt Pagel from just out of high school leading up to his workout with the Destroyers.  That is a sad story.  Matt was ready, he would have tore it up in AFL.
Anyway, if Ryan were to get 40+ carries a game behind the UW-Whitewater offensive line he would have had the so called stats that all these scouts are supposedly looking for.  When he did have a good offensive line and when Stout ran out of the I formation his freshman year he carved up every team he played against, including UW-Whitewater.  You have got to remember, Ryan and Jesse are two exceptional athletes that were on a very below average team.  When they play a great team like UWW or even a good team they got crushed and there was nothing 2 guys could do about it.  Every time Ryan touched the ball against UWW there were 5 defenders in the backfield waiting to knock his head off.  To be a great team like UWW is you have to be solid everywhere.  Stout didn't have that and hasn't had that since Ryan's freshman year. Yeah, he got in the accident since then, but to be honest with everyone here on this forum, I work real close with him, and he is still the same athlete he was before the accident.  He is going to have some hip problems when he gets to be in his 50's, but until then he will be fine.  If you analyze his game tape and look back at what he did before the accident and what he did early this year before his coaches went pass and option crazy, he looks the exact same, and has the exact same burst.  His feet are even better now than they were before the accident.  I speak with his agent so I know what is really going on and how the scouts really feel about him.  The accident was serious, and it did set him back for a period of about 2 years, but it doesn't affect his athleticism or on field abilities now.  Yeah, the hip may be sore after a game, but everyone has aches and pains after a football game, that is the nature of the sport. 
Now to the pro day numbers, 23, 27 reps, what ever it is I didn't even count.  This total means nothing to me because Ryan lifted through a torn labrum that he suffered mid way through last season and had to bench press with a close grip.  Athletes at the NFL combine with torn labrums don't even participate, that just shows how much heart the kid has.  If any of you know anything about anatomy a torn labrum makes it impossible to lockout on the bench press and in his case also made it very painful at the bottom.  Also, you forgot to mention that 5 of his reps hit the rack on the way up because he was on an adjustable bench in a squat rack that was sliding when he lifted.  By hitting the pins on the squat rack it takes you out of your groove.  You can talk with any reputable sports performance enhancement coach or scout and they will all tell you the same, once you are out of your groove the whole test is over.  Because of the labrum issue, Ryan couldn't perform any maximal strength work, thus everything was repetition work in training.  All of our rep work was performed in this small range where he could perform pain free movement, basically 2 inches short of lockout and about 2-3 inches off his chest.  Repetition work only does not cut it when training for this test, you have to get stronger maximally so the weight is a lower percentage of your maximum. 
Last spring (06') I was working with Ryan, Jesse, Tre Bell, and Kyle Mayhugh both former UWW grads at UWW's facility.  I was getting Ryan and Jesse ready for their junior pro day.  After we got done running 40's I recall going into the weight room and in front of a host of UWW football players Ryan bench pressed 455 lbs for an easy single, and then followed that up with 39 reps at 225 lbs while everyone looked on in awe.  That is how strong Ryan is, it is unfortunate that he wasn't at his best for the pro day, but again he put his senior season before his pro day training and fought through injuries that would have sidelined most athletes.  By doing this it dramatically affected the way he had to prepare for his pro day because we were doing rehabilitation the entire time instead of actually practicing the tests and getting strong and explosive.   This is also the reason his 40 was down from last year.  He played through a high ankle sprain and deep bone bruise for the last 3 games of the season and it hurt him until late February.  We did no jump training and were very limited in what we could do speed wise, so it really took away from his explosiveness.  He was basically stuck in the squat rack and on the Glute Ham bench, that is all he could do.  Also, you were there and you saw how the pro day was run.  The guys warmed up, and then basically sat around for a while doing goofy static stretching tests and other measurements before they ran their 40 yard dash.  You being an athlete know that when you cool down for a long period of time you aren't the same as when you first get warm.  Also, static stretching prior to any speed or power movement takes away from your performance (except the vertical jump where stretching the hip flexors prior will help you because they inhibit you on the way up).  It basically puts the muscles to sleep, thus the reason athletes perform dynamic warm-up routines these days instead of the old school static stretching routines prior to workouts.  At the NFL combine guys get warmed up dynamically and go right into the test, they know what is coming.  At this pro day that wasn't the case and it not only affected Ryan's time, but it also affected Jesse's, Pete's, and Derek's.  Last year Derek ran a 4.34 for the Jets scout, this year he ran in the mid to low 4.5's.  Last year Jesse and Ryan were both in the low 4.3's, this year Jesse was mid 4.4 and Ryan was a low 4.5.  I spoke with Pete prior to his 40 and he said he was consistently in the mid 4.6 range during training, he went in the low 4.8's at this pro day.  On to the agility tests, it was performed on a slick court surface and even the scouts said they weren't going to take the numbers real seriously.  Any athlete given the conditions these guys were tested in would have tested less than their best also. 
Anyhow, Ryan and Jesse are now still working out in hopes of getting a personal workout with a team or getting invited to a camp.  There training is a little different right now, with Jesse basically doing more maintenance work than anything just staying where he is at size wise, he doesn't need to get any bigger than the 230 lbs he is at right now.  Ryan is doing the opposite, trying to put on some size.  Since the pro day he is already up to 223 lbs, a 9 pound gain.  We are going to try to get up to around 232.  To play at the next level he needs to be a little heavier than he played at his senior year in college.  He is doing an intense concentrated loading scheme of a lot of high volume strength work.  This will be followed up with a power concentrated scheme where we will do a lower volume but very high intensity work and he will get a nice slingshot effect out of it strength and power wise.  This is the kind of stuff I wanted to do with him prior to the pro day, but we couldn't because of his injuries.  I am also implementing some new mitochondria splitting recovery workouts which build tremendous work capacity and also produce large amounts of energy at the same time.  This is something I picked up on a recent visit to Portland, Oregon by my friend Mark McLaughlin, the trainer of NFL tight end prospect Kevin Boss and running back prospect Eliot Vinzant.  While on my visit I had the pleasure to speak with Val Nesedkin a former track athlete from the Ukraine and now one of the top performance coaches in our country and Val taught me this and a host of other great things that will help my athletes.
In closing, I don't mean to start any arguments with anybody here.  Honestly, I don't even have time to post on this site.  The only reason I joined this forum is because I was pointed out to it by one of my associates.  I have never really read this forum in the past, and after reading what was being said about my brother Ryan and the other athletes here I just wanted to let everyone know the entire story about what went on at the pro day and update you on what my athletes are currently doing to get prepared if they do get a call from a team.  I know Ryan and Jesse both have great agents that will get them a shot.  I wish the best to all 4 of these gifted athletes, they all deserve it.  If you (forum members) want, I will keep updating you on the training progress of Ryan and Jesse.  Just let me know and I can post a brief weekly summary. 
One other note, I have been working with wide receiver Brian Gallick who just finished his senior season at The University of Wisconsin Platteville.  Brian signed with a team in Germany and will be leaving in late April.  Keep your eyes on this guy, he has made some amazing strides since November.  Brian has gone from 205 lbs to 226 lbs in this period of time.  He is about the same size as Jesse Wendt.  He has also gotten a lot faster and stronger.  When I began working with him he ran a 2.81 20 yard sprint, and now it is down to 2.57.  To put that into perspective, Jesse's 20 time at the pro day was 2.54.  Once he gets back in late September we are going to hit it hard again and he will do some great things.  Stay Tuned!

[razor_ramone]

Thanks for the updates,and the actual happenigns at the pro day. It is good to hear the truth and not a bias report which was also tearing downa non UW-Whitewater athlete, which is what a fellow poster was doing which is ashame.
Please keep us updated. It sounds like Ryan has a lot of heart and has gone through a lot to get to this point.
Good luck to him

[footballfan413]

Xtremetrainer,
          Let me be the first to give you a + Karma hit!  Thought your comments were really informative and very interesting and I would love you to continue with updates if you find the time.  The best of luck to your brother Ryan, Jesse, Pete and Derek!   

[Goo 62]

Thanks for all the info Xtremetrainer, Im glad you took time out of your busy day to write a book and your stout boys life.  At your training facility do you teach your players how to make excuses?  Because yours are off the charts.
Thanks for the compliment on the OL for UWW.  We were pretty good.  As to compare Beaver and Englebert thats not fair.  Beaver has had many injuries and not lost a step or stats.  He is by far the best back in the WIAC.  Englebert isnt even in the top 2 (beaver and childs).  I dont know it but I would love to see those stats your claiming the Englebert ran all over us.

Gotta love the family support its really cute.

[Warhawk 96]

Ryan is doing the opposite, trying to put on some size.  Since the pro day he is already up to 223 lbs, a 9 pound gain.

I appreciate your insights also, Ryan's story is inspiring. I don't know how to say this without coming off as a jerk but 9 pounds in 9 days over a week that includes a gluttonous holiday with an athlete that has already been training for quite some time at a high level? Part of me says, "Wow that is amazing. What kind of work was he doing this past week to do that? I have never heard of a weight gain like that happen so quickly."
My skeptical side says, "something isn't right there."

[Pat Coleman]

Gotta love the family support its really cute.

Works for you.

[Xtremetrainer]

Ryan was on a low calorie diet because he was trying to keep his weight down since he couldn't perform much speed work.  His natural weight is about 225 so as soon as he started to eat normal again he gained the weight back, it is that simple.

As to Goo 62's post, I see we have someone who is very bitter that his playing days are over.  With your attitude I see why you are finished.  You aren't going to go to far in life with an attitude like that, best of luck to you son.

[Warhawk 96]

I can't help but look at that baseball headline and cringe........I remember losing a  football game 60-30 in college and even 58-0 in high school. That felt pretty bad to recieve those butt whoopins but man, I can only imagine how horrible it feels to lose 57-1 in baseball. Ouch!

105-0 in football or 57-1 in baseball, which is worse?

[bobhawk]

Thank Xtremetrainer, I too found your post to be informative and very interesting.  I would love to hear more about the style of training you do with those guys.  Sounds off the charts.  And to Max, once again there is a difference between somebody making excuses and somebody that states the facts.. To everyone on here except yourself, the xtremetrainer was simply stating the facts.  Still the same old Max, someday you will get off your high horse and realize that you don't think too much before you speak.  And your RB comparisons are hilarious!! Keep it up Mr. Max we are all enjoying your biased uneducated comments!!

[BoBo]

My hands are pretty small, 7 3/4 inches.  I doubt I could get a tryout for anything other than waterboy.  Or maybe one of those sideline guys who holds onto the extra footballs.   

If I were a coach, badgerwarhawk, I'd let you be the guy who holds my headset cord! You don't need big hands for that.

[theoptimist]

Will Engelbert still be on the board when the Packers pick 16th?

[Madhawk]

Goo 62, Childs is also better than Englebert in your opinion?  When did he workout for the scouts this spring?  What sports agent is representing him?  As for Beaver being the next Barry Sanders, if he was on UW-Stouts team he wouldn't have had any more yards than Englebert or Reese had.  They both got every yard this season by breaking tackles.  Beaver got every yard this season by running through holes that you could drive a truck through.  Brady Pittz must be better than Englebert too since he had about 200 yards against Stout.  Any running back would succeed at Whitewater.  Your arguments make no sense what so ever, and you are embarassing fellow UWW grads like myself.

[janesvilleflash]

Link for new Z\River Falls article.
http://www.riverfallsjournal.com/articles/index.cfm?id=82193&section=sports

[Warhawk 96]

Goo 62, Childs is also better than Englebert in your opinion?  When did he workout for the scouts this spring?  What sports agent is representing him?  As for Beaver being the next Barry Sanders, if he was on UW-Stouts team he wouldn't have had any more yards than Englebert or Reese had.  They both got every yard this season by breaking tackles.  Beaver got every yard this season by running through holes that you could drive a truck through.  Brady Pittz must be better than Englebert too since he had about 200 yards against Stout.  Any running back would succeed at Whitewater.  Your arguments make no sense what so ever, and you are embarassing fellow UWW grads like myself.

I'm gonna have to disagree with that one.  I think that if not the best Beaver is one of  the best running backs in the division. The only other people that I have personally seen who are comparable are Nate Kmic of Mount Union and Jarvis Thrasher of Mary-Hardin Baylor.

Obviously I cannot say what it's like to compete against Beaver because we were on the same team but to say that all of Beav's yards came from having massive holes is spoken out of complete and utter ignorance. Did you see all of the times he broke tackles in the backfield and still found a way to get four yards out of it? Or how about all of the times in the open field where he'd make defenders look stupid as they fell over their own feet trying to catch him? Or the times where he'd run through tackles at the linebacker level like they were little D-backs and keep running like nothing happened? How about the infamous pic of him stiff arming the LAX linebacker into the dirt and continuing to run? Don't downplay one player to make another look better, especially your own.

On another note, I bet if Cody Childs wanted an agent and wanted to workout with scouts he would be able to do it. I think that he is just as good as Englebert and their O-lines are comparable. Maybe the difference between Childs having an agent and Englebert having an agent is simply will to go against the odds, not everyone is willing to take the gamble and sacrifice the time it requires to make that jump. To judge him based on agents and scouting workouts is also unfair to him. While we're talking fairness of judging, I wouldn't judge either of those backs based on what they did against us. Barely anyone did anything effective on the ground on us all year to be honest

[Warhawk 96]

Hey I moved up to second string with that post this means that I can send private messages and things like that what happens when I'm a starter? At this rate I'd say................look for me to finally be a starter by Fall of 2008..............Which I am predicting will be John Clay's first Big Ten Rushing title year. You heard it here first