Alabama’s sports performance team of David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea has fans excited for the upcoming season.
After seeing the duo craft success at IMG Academy and Indiana University, Nick Saban hired both guys to Alabama for their expertise in strength training, speed training and injury prevention. Since the hires were made in March, the two have been creating different ways to ensure that the Tide will be elite in the fall.
One scheme that has separated them from Scott Cochran is having tailored made workouts for each player and each positional group.
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While Cochran had more of a “cookie-cutter system,” Ballou and Rhea provide student-athletes with custom workouts that are designed to target specific muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons, etc…
The method behind the process is to strengthen every muscle for maximum performance.
Strength and flexibility are Ballou’s strong points, but speed training is in Rhea’s wheelhouse.
On Thursday, Rhea spoke to 1080 Motion: a company that is revolutionary advanced in training for speed, power, strength and agility. The topic was overspeed, as Rhea broke down a speed testing chart to track the maximum velocity on a weekly basis.
The graphic projects the number of weeks an athlete would spend on an assistant sprint progression and how the workouts would be at an overspeed of five, 10, 15 and 20 percent.
Per a tweet from Ballou, Alabama will attack speed training from every angle and get to where the Tide is operating faster than its opponents.
We will attack speed development from every angle as it’s ingrained into all that we do. Having individualized programming has been a tremendous help to us in addressing asymmetry issues. https://t.co/JFeY246Wi0
— David Ballou (@UA_CoachBallou) May 22, 2020
He and Rhea are about helping Alabama be elite.
If they can have the Tide flying around on offense and defense creating plays, then this fall will be one for the program to contend for a national championship.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
