Who is Coach Ed?
Last Updated on Thursday, 09 July 2009 12:47 Written by Brandon Nash Thursday, 02 July 2009 12:46
Football Articles - Football General
Excelling in football is not just about executing X’s and O’s. It takes a much bigger commitment than that. The Arizona coaching staff is a collection of outstanding tacticians and instructors, and one of the most unheralded has proven to be Arizona’s secret weapon. Looking at the numbers, it’s safe to say the 2003 season had to be the lowest point for the Arizona Football program in recent memory. There was “mutiny” within the team that led to the mid-season firing of John Mackovic. Not only did the Cats finish the season 2-10 (1-7 Pac-10), but the way they lost was the most glaring. 
My fellow alumni endured an eight-game losing streak, their losses were by an average score of 40-11, and they allowed 40 or more points seven times (including 50-plus three times).
What has stayed in my mind from that season over the last five and a half years was Arizona’s 59-13 loss to the LSU Tigers. I’m not just talking about the score. Unfortunately for my Arizona brethren, it was the simple fact that they were PHYSICALLY out-matched at every position. It was pretty much men vs. boys for 60 minutes and I’m sure everyone in Arizona Stadium thought the same.
That was the year before Mike Stoops came to the desert, and before he brought arguably the most integral person to the Arizona Football coaching staff. Enter Corey Edmund.
When I played for Arizona, Coach Edmund’s title would have fallen under “Strength and Conditioning.” Now that position is called Director of Performance Enhancement because it encompasses that very title – to direct how the players enhance their physical performance.
Known by the players as Coach Ed, Corey has used his training regimen to develop a program that once resembled adolescence in 2003 to a group of guys that can realistically compete with any team in the NCAA. One could argue that this transformation basically happened overnight because starting in the fall of 2004 (Coach Ed’s first year) the Cats began closing the gap in point differential for games they lost. In fact Arizona has only allowed 50+ points once since then (2008: 55-45L @ Ore), and allowed 40+ points just 5 times.
Why is Coach Ed so important to all these numbers?
About two weeks after Spring Practice the real training begins; it does not stop until the very end of the season, and it quickly picks back up shortly after the final game. It’s a year round process that challenges a player’s physical limits on a daily basis, combined with proper recovery and healthy eating habits.
There’s a structure for strength so the guys can strike opponents viciously and break tackles with authority. The conditioning is vital in order to avoid long term injury during a 13 game season (bowl game included).
Of course foot work and speed development are equally critical so the Cats can always be a step faster at every position. Arizona’s domination of BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl was a prime example of how far the program has come under the training of Coach Ed. That’s not a knock on Brad Arnett (Edmund’s predecessor) because the players are also doing their part. Maybe there was too much unrest going into the 2003 season. The players may have already lost faith in Mackovic before the off-season began.
That was then, and this is now.
Today, the players know what is at stake when they step on the field on Saturdays in the fall. It’s not just about winning; it’s about making the opponent quit. In order to do that you have to move him to places he does not want to go, you have to stop him in his tracks when he wants to go forward. The only way to accomplish those things is to get bigger, faster, and stronger.
Coach Ed makes Arizona’s players capable of doing such things.
Coach Ed is more vital than one may think because he lives and breathes the development of athletes. A team that gets moved around on the field is a direct reflection of his coaching in the weight room. Just like Sonny Dykes getting the quarterbacks to understand why certain decisions have to be made during specific plays, Corey has to make sure players understand why they do certain lifts and sprints during different parts of their workout.
Corey’s in the trenches of every workout alongside the players, directing them on foot position in the squat rack, getting proper knee lift during sprints, and anything else that requires his attention. He even challenges his staff to perform the exercises, so they know exactly what the players are going through at the toughest times.
Coach Ed doesn’t expect his players to do anything he’s not prepared to do if called upon. When players see that, they know they have a leader who wants them to succeed. If you don’t see results, you don’t believe in what you’re doing.
Arizona has tangible results.
Not just because they had a winning season and went to a bowl game.
They hung with the best in the conference (17-10 Loss to USC), they dominated a weaker opponent in every facet of the game (70-0 Win vs Idaho), and they went right back to work two weeks after the season so they can do even better in 2009. I
t’s not rocket science… it’s WANT TO SCIENCE.
Coach Ed keeps it simple when it comes to getting bigger, faster, and stronger… just read the slogan in the Arizona weight room: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
-B. Nash
Brandon Nash is a former Arizona Wildcat football letterman, having played under Dick Tomey and John Mackovic. He is currently a Tucson sports television personality and regular contributor to WildcatSportsReport.com
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Smooty
said:
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... B. Nash, Have you noticed a decided difference in the team's dedication to off-season training as an entire team? Clearly, some work harder and are more commmitted than others, but from the outside it seems as if the team attitude and willingness to buy into Stoops' program is light years away from what it was like under Mackovic. Great insight on Coach Ed. Any insight a former player can provide to what goes on inside the program is extremely interesting. |
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