Basketball, Barwis, et al.
Coach Beilein on Strength & Conditioning (MGoBlue.com): "Mike Barwis' unique concepts and approach to strength training for basketball has been paramount to our success over the past 5-6 years."
However, paraphrasing a recent post at umhoops.com, "...Gibson is still listed at 220 which is the same as last year, so it doesn’t appear he has been Barwis-ized (I know Barwis doesn’t work directly with the hoops team)."
I would tend to think Coach Barwis becomes more involved in basketball S&C based on history and necessity: Beilein coaches a program requiring speed and shooting accuracy, and Barwis knows how to get kids' bodies to respond to fast tempo.
I was curious if anyone had any insight/speculation into Michigan Basket-barwisizing. Also, any thoughts on the coming season. Significant returners: Manny, Sims, Grady, Gibson, Shepherd. Players to watch: all of them (esp Manny, Sims, Grady for improvement in shooting accuracy). Storylines: how Lucas-Perry gets involved, improvements on last year (behind the arc accuracy and ball control/ turnovers). Moving forward: we got Darius Morris (now we need combo/PFs, CRUMP!).
August 20th, 2008 at 9:21 AM ^
I don't know his name and it's not Gittleson, but I do know that he's working on learning Barwis's ways and applying them to the other teams. So my guess is you'll get all of the methods and workout routines similar to what Barwis would prescribe, but you won't have him standing over you ready to punch you in the groin if you don't do 3 more.
I went to the S+C clinic, and I think that if I worked for Barwis for a while that I could implement his routines, and Barwis has like 10 people on his staff, maybethey'll help
August 20th, 2008 at 9:25 AM ^
Considering approx 10000 S&C coaches around the country in programs from freshman football all the way to the NFL (number may be made up) already use the same basic programs and philosophy as Barwis, I'd say a trained chimp could implement "his" routines.
The guy isn't a fucking shaman, people.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:28 AM ^
he's obviously better than a shaman, being half man and half beast.
wait, what? he raised wolves, and wasn't raised *by* wolves? oh, never mind. still, he's at least a shaman. i bet he could move move move any mountain.
August 20th, 2008 at 1:32 PM ^
Barwis spends a good 10-20 hours devising a workout routine for each individual athlete on top of implentation, motivation, instruction and so forth.
Everyone uses parts of his program, but to really implement it in his fashion is a commitment few would take. I wouldn't spend that kind of time on my track team and realistically I couldn't.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:00 PM ^
As a well compensated professional strength coach at the University of Michigan, I would certainly hope his job entails more than standing around screaming about the law of the wolf while guys lift.
Do you think other S&C coaches at, say, Florida, don't also personalize their programs?
August 20th, 2008 at 2:04 PM ^
that they do, but I don't think you'll find more than 2-3 s+c coaches that are more impressive than Mike.
I think you underestimate how well copying Barwis works, check into the high schools in west virginia that his old interns went to work, and you'll find schools that won state championships that weren't that good to start.
August 20th, 2008 at 10:52 AM ^
I agree with Dex that anyone can implement the workout program that Barwis has developed. It's not that he is some other-worldly figure, all he did was bring Michigan's S&C program out of the darkness.
What may or may not separate Barwis from anyone else is his ability to motivate. If he has an ability to find the button to push on athletes and drive them to higher levels of effort than someone else, that is a differentiating point.
Look at sales people, some are great, some are not, even though they are selling the same widgets. Is coffee for Barwis? We'll see in a few years.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:11 PM ^
August 20th, 2008 at 2:28 PM ^
Dex, my comment about motivtion was not that he wells at them while they struggle through a rep, rather that the coach makes a personal connection and finds a way to motivate the player.
The article that describe Taylor's new found dedication and how Barwis confronted him about not being the player that couldn't complete the task is more along the lines of what I am describing. Barwis, on this occasion found a method to connect with a player to extract greater effort from him.
Am I saying that Barwis is going to be able to push everyone to something greater? No. I have no knowledge, other than the Taylor article, that he has any ability to motivate.
The crafting individual workouts is just a skill anyone can probably pickup. Being a leader and having the requisite charisma to push people without making them quit is something is likely to separate college S&C coaches.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:41 PM ^
Sorry mjvancam - I wasn't trying to disagree with your post. I agree with the type of motivation you are talking about, and I'll agree it seems to be an area Barwis excels in. All the fancy training shit doesn't mean anything if the guys don't work, and he seems to get them to work.
I don't hate Barwis or anything, and he's a positive for the program, but this hype is just nuts. The actual tenets of his program, from what I've seen/read, aren't that revolutionary. His persona is great, though, so he is getting tons of pub for it.
Final thing - just because I don't believe he is a revolutionary trainer doesn't mean I don't agree with his principles, as I find his methodology to be much better than the older school Gitt style.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:46 PM ^
I got to meet him at a coaches clinic, and so you can count me in the WAY overhyped on Barwis group. the guy was phenomenal. I was surprised though because when I was talking to my wife about stuff he does, she was like oh yeah we do those too.
But there was more too it than the type of workouts, otherwise my wife would be benching 120 more pounds than a year ago.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:17 PM ^
August 20th, 2008 at 3:23 PM ^
I was one of the overly excited about Barwis when he joined the AD. My excitement was probably more along the lines of "we were good with Gitt, we may be able to be great again with someone who is caught up with the times."
So he owns wolves or f-lions, or whatever. It makes for a cool story, but that doesn't make him the single greatest S&C guy out there. I want to believe that he is the next Chuck Norris, but I'm keeping expectations in line.
He isn't going to be turning every 3* into a 5*, but I'll be happy if he replaces the Gitt routine of turning 4* into 3* or worse. Now if he can turn the Morales' of the world into Jake Longs, the hype may be justified. (ok, that might be too much to hope for.)