Chargers kickoff offseason program

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Monday, Mar 24, 2008
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

Chargers Strength and Conditioning Coach Jeff Hurd contends that the most important element for a successful offseason program is having a group of players who want to work hard, and fortunately for Hurd, that’s just what the Bolts have.

“It’s easy to identify how hard these guys worked during the offseason to the amount of wins we had last year,” Hurd said. “I’ve got to give the credit to the people upstairs who have brought these guys in. They look at not just what kind of talent he has but how he’s going to fit into the whole thing. We’ve got a bunch of guys who want to work hard in the season and the offseason and that’s translated into a lot of wins.”

Eight weeks after their 2007 season ended, Chargers players were ready to get back to work and they did so Monday as they officially kicked off their 2008 offseason program. The 14-week voluntary program is a crucial period that helps players physically and mentally prepare for the upcoming season.

Because the Bolts advanced all the way to the AFC Championship Game in late January, Hurd and Head Coach Norv Turner decided to start the offseason program a little later this year. Teams were allowed to start formally training on March 17. Certain Chargers, mostly younger players, were asked to begin on Monday. All second-year players were asked to begin Monday as well as select second-, third- and fourth-year guys. The rest of their veteran teammates will join them April 7.

“The guys we asked to come in early wasn’t based so much on them being young as it was them being players who could benefit from a head start,” Hurd said. “It was, ‘You’re looked upon as a guy we’re going to have to count on, so we want you in here. Maybe you haven’t gotten to play as much, but we’ll need you.’ It’s a positive thing if you were asked to come in. We had a great first day.”

Hurd and Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Vernon Stephens have a program that gives players an opportunity to physically improve in a variety of areas.

“Football is so many things,” Hurd said. “You can have a guy in great shape, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to play football. I look at our offseason program as, ‘What can I do to get guys ready to help us win football games?’”

Each day players begin their workouts outside on the turf field at Chargers Park. On Mondays, their focus is lineal speed. Tuesdays are aimed at change of direction. Wednesday is a day of rest and recovery, a crucial element of the program.

“I encourage them to take care of themselves,” Hurd said. “Go out and break a sweat, stretch, see your massage therapist, but (take time to) recover. It’s critical. Guys that try to train all out every day, eventually hit a wall. If you take that Wednesday and recover, Thursday and Friday become better training days for you. You’re not just getting through them, you’re making gains.”

On Thursday, Hurd and Stephens run the players through drills that will improve their explosion, power and conditioning. The week concludes with interval-type conditioning training on Friday.

“At the end of the week, we’re going to get out and run, blow their lungs up and do activities that, from a cardiovascular standpoint, help them to go all out, recover, all out and recover again in a little bit of a longer distance,” Hurd said.

Hurd believes the Chargers’ commitment in the weight room, both in season and off, was evident at numerous stages throughout the 2007 season.

“We played pretty well late in games and late in the season,” Hurd said. “Norv and our coaches have done a great job of instilling that attitude, and a lot of that is the players relying on the fact that they’ve put their time in. It’s mental and physical. They know we’re always going to be in the game late or we’re going to be able to finish people off. When all else fails, it still comes down to you against that guy across from you and can you beat him? They put the time in and understand how important that is.”

Beyond the general group work, Hurd places a big emphasis on catering a player’s individual workout to his specific needs. He and Stephens regularly visit with Turner, the coordinators and position coaches to find areas where they may be able to help a player’s on-field performance.

“Each guy will have a little different tweak to his program once we get a base level of strength and conditioning established,” Hurd said. “Maybe a guy needs to work on opening his hips better or needs to develop a quicker first step. We don’t take over their field drills, but we try to do things to get them ready to do that better. If they tell me a guy needs to get better at something, I can give them exercises that help them get better.”

Another area Hurd and Stephens focus on is what they call “prehab,” work that is done in hopes of helping prevent injuries during the season.

“We have a tremendously talented athletic training staff, and they deserve a lot of the credit for getting guys back on the field,” Hurd said. “We had some freaky things happen towards the end of the season, but we stayed pretty healthy most of last year. That’s partially another testament to how hard our guys worked in the offseason.”

Many of the conditioning drills also help players bounce back quicker when they do encounter the bumps and bruises that come with playing in the NFL.

“You’re going to get nicked up no matter what kind of shape you’re in, but being in great shape lessens the length of the injury a lot of times,” Hurd said. “You can come back quicker if you’re in great shape.”

Hurd and Stephens are entering their second season with the Chargers, and they believe having a year under their belts will make this spring’s program an even more productive one.

“I’ve gotten to know the players a lot better,” Hurd said. “Maybe a guy has had a history of something bothering him year after year that I wasn’t aware of this time last year. Now we can focus on some things that the coaches want and that would help the athletic trainers out.

“There are things we can do to lessen the amount of things that occur with a player, especially if it’s something that has been chronic. Maybe we can add some things into his program to help that not be as big an issue.”

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