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Friday, December 3, 2010

Tereshinski speaks on 'different direction' of strength program

For those who thought Georgia should have brought in new blood to oversee the strength and conditioning program, Joe Tereshinski disagrees.

“First of all, I have a pretty fresh perspective of our strength program,” said Tereshinski, who on Thursday was put in charge of the program, but has worked at Georgia since 1982. “When you know what’s going on, when you know your kids, you know the SEC … you know what it’s gonna take.”

During a teleconference with reporters on Friday, Tereshinski made clear that changes will be made in how Georgia’s much-maligned strength program will be run.

There will be an emphasis on nutrition, and new ways to evaluate the players’ performance in the weight room.

“Everybody realizes we have to go in a different direction and become stronger, become quicker and turn this program around,” said Tereshinski, who met with players at 6 a.m. on Friday.

Tereshinski thanked the Bulldog position coaches “who have called me to support this decision.” He also thanked Dave Van Halanger, and praised his work through the years. Van Halanger was shifted from strength coordinator to administrative assistant to head coach Mark Richt.

Some fans have complained that Richt didn’t hire someone from outside. Tereshinski has been assistant strength coach and video coordinator, but Van Halanger was clearly in charge of the program.

There could still be new additions: Tereshinski said he’s talking to “some other individuals” that may join the staff. That will happen after the bowl. He said he’s “considering” talking with John Kasay Sr. about coming back on board in a role. Kasay Sr. oversaw the strength program under Vince Dooley.

“He is a tough, knowledgable, unforgiving, disciplined man that loves to train kids,” Tereshinski said. “I will visit with John Kasay.”

In the meantime, Tereshinski said the three assistants on the strength staff would work with players in the weeks before Georgia's bowl game. Tereshinski pointed out that was a repeat from last year, when Van Halanger had a heart attack after the regular season ended.

As for the future, Tereshinski detailed his philosophy:

- Asked what the culture of his program would be, Tereshinski said it would be about being at the top of their game in the fourth quarter.

“Georgia used to be known that in the fourth quarter, they won,” Tereshinski said. “We’re going to press and challenge these kids every day to overcome. They’re going to have to overcome.”

- What the players eat “will be closely-monitored,” he said. The staff will have graduate assistants at meals, and will record what players are eating. They’ll weigh players every day, and test their body fat.

- Tereshinski, who has been the video coordinator, said they’ll start recording the player’s weight room work, and using that to help improve their performance.

“It’s all really positive reinforcement. But there’s no waiting. The moment somebody misses, they’re going to sit in front of the TV monitors, and I’m going to ask them: What is your goal here? Is it to start? Is it to play in the league?”

MY TAKE: All this sounds great, obviously, and Tereshinski didn't mince many words about there being a new sheriff in the weight room. But I also didn't expect him to announce that players would be allowed to wear flip flops and eat Doritos. Whether the change will have the desired effect will have to be best measured when the 2011 season starts.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this. Of all the things that a program can do to effect change, S&C seems to be the thing that can have the most immediate impact. Being able to physically assert their will against someone will go a long way to fixing some on-field issues.

As far as nutrition goes, that's a great thing to see. After some wayward tweets about McDonald's and Waffle House (which we all know isn't good for you in the first place), it's good to see that coaches realize nutrition is a huge deal here.

Ben

j.leonardjr said...

I am sure the players eating at Waffle House were ordering eggs and chicken breasts.

Anonymous said...

I feel a little better and hope this move pans out but still have doubts.

Chris said...

I used to see Thomas Brown in the dining hall. All I ever saw him eat was Pizza. I also had to wait in line for Andy Bailey to load up on cookies. I know that doesn't matter as much since he was just a kicker. But, having two dietitians in the family, I realize how important nutrition is and I think this is a very positive change.

Eating my oatmeal said...

I'm on the other side of the country and this man has got me fired up. What's your goal son? Hell yeah.

OZAM said...

As much as I want to be excited a change was made, I just do not understand why a school with Georgia's resources refuses to reach out and hire proven commodities.

Tereshinski may work out great, but unlike the SEC schools with whom we compete, no one is beating down the doors to hire our staff. This fact alone shows the lack of respect for our program.

Anonymous said...

Not knocking the hire, but this sounds like a McGarity move.He grew up in Athens and probably knows and trusts these guys, they've been around forever.Now let's dominate recruiting.That was always Bear Bryant's formula that was so successful.Get the best players and make them work harder than everybody else equals championships.

Muckbeast said...

If we stop seeing tweets from players eating most of their meals at Burger King and McDonalds, that alone will be a huge step forward.

I remember one epic tweet from David Pollack to Jeff Owens that was something close to "eat a salad bro. sheesh"

Muckbeast said...

Btw, speaking of David Pollack tweets:

"Coach Tereshinski is awesome. Fiery, passionate and will bust those kids booties. Everyone respects T"

"Coach T is old school, he was always one of my favorite ppl at Georgia. He is a great choice."

and best of all:

"Coach T is the 100% opposite of CVH. He is old school, great fit 4 young kids who think they know it all."

If David Pollack calls him fiery, I think that's a very good sign.

Anonymous said...

6 A.M. on Friday. Great way to get the message across.

Paul said...

I have always thought that other teams interest in your coaches is a pretty good barometer of how good they are. However, there are other points to consider. All of us who have been lucky enough to live in Athens know what a wonderful place it is and just how hard it is to leave. And how could you possibly work for a better man than Mark Richt? Heck, Richt isn't even interested in leaving to coach his alma mater. I think folks realize it's hard to pry people out of Athens. In the current environment, where coaches are often hired guns that few expect to stay for long, loyalty and longevity can be a good thing. Joe T deserves a chance to prove what he can do.

CSA said...

Thanks for the article, Seth. These quotes have me feeling a tiny bit more optimistic in regards to the future of the program. A great recruiting class would go a long way too. Hopefully Richt, Grantham, and the coaches will put it together.

Anonymous said...

Does this mean that we won't see so many shoulder surgeries next year? I can't even count how many guys have missed camp, practice or games b/c of shoulder surgeries...Just a casual observation. Go Dawgs!

Robert said...

As a UGA student who's seen how the football players eat in the "all-you-can-eat-whenever-you-want" meal plan, the food monitoring thing will be huge. Haha. Those guys eat terribly.

Joeski said...

This makes me feel even better than I did yesterday. I knew that Richt wasn't just going for more of the same under a different name, and I'm sure Coach Tereshinski has a clear vision and direction he wants to take the program.

We're just gonna have to wait and see how successful it is, like Seth said.

G'ville Dawg said...

For fellow alumni, did Tereshinski teach weight training at the old Stegman Gym? I can't remember if that was him or some other old coach I took for P.E. credit.....

Anonymous said...

G'ville, I think my dad said that he took PE from Joe Tereshinski, Sr., this guy's father. Not 100% sure but I think that's what he said back in 2006 (when JT3 was playing).

Willb said...

For everyone complaining about this, what did you want? We have a new s&c coach who will run everything in a different way. Is it because he was already employed at UGA? Is it his age? This guy has been around the UGA football program forever and he knows SEC football. This move will bring about a change in phylosophy in the s&c program without creating an enormous of change in the program. Too much change is never a good thing for any sports team. I think this is a brilliant move.

I just don't understand what you guys want. We have a new s&c guy and former players are all saying this was a great hire. Did you expect some kind of flashy hire at the s&c position?

If I am the assistant manager where I work and the head man in charge thinks the manager is not doing a good enough job and promotes me to manager I will not do things the same way the original manager who got fired did things. Considering that I was the assistant manager I already know everyone so there will be a smooth transition yet changes will be made and I am the best one to know what changes need to be made since I have been around.

If at all possible in business and sports you try to promote from within. Sometimes the right man for the job is not already on the staff so you have to look elsewhere but Richt and company have reason to believe Tereshinski is the right man for this position. We are not there, they are.

Anonymous said...

better talented football players will cure the "strength & conditioning problem" at UGA. Van Halenger won Nat'l titles at FSU and 2 SEC Titles at UGA as head of strength program.

If we really want to look as big as Bama & Florida and sign kids like Nesbitt that mysteriously put on 60 lbs of muscle in college, we will have to start feeding our kids human growth hormones like some of our competition. I'm all against it.

We need more talent not strength. Van Halenger didn't forget how to direct a weight room.

Anonymous said...

Coach Sam Mrvos taught weight training at Stegeman Hall for years (1970's and 1980's).

Anonymous said...

Sounds like the country club is closing.

Good.

Thank you Greg McGarity.

Anonymous said...

Not trying to be pessimistic, but Grantham said all the right things last year when hired. Still, I like what Pollack said, so hopefully things will get better.

Willb said...

Anon 4:33 what did you expect from Grantham in his first year?

When Nick Saban was hired at Alabama he was given a defense that held it's opponents to 19.2 points per game the previous year before he was hired. In Sabans first his newly installed defense allowed 22 points per game. Technically Bamas defense got worse in Sabans first year. His second year his defense allowed 14.2 points. Also Nick Sabans first Alabama team won seven games.

I think everyone here would agree that Saban is an amazing defensive coach and it took him a year for things to get rolling. Also Nick Saban is basically the def coordinator at Bama.

Todd Grantham inherited a defense that allowed 25.9 points per game the year before he was hired. His first year his defense holds opponents to 23.1 points per game. Actually an improvement and very similar to Nick Sabans first year at Alabama.

Give Grantham a chance.

Unknown said...

Coach Mrvos was our teacher in the early 80's in the old gym. I thought he was great. To this day, the concept of strong abdominals, to keep the back healthy and pain free, has stuck with me.

Anonymous said...

One reason our opponents seem bigger could be they're taking steroids.I mean if programs are paying players, don't you think they cut other corners.There's not a test that I'm aware of to detectT HGH and I don't think the SEC tests anyway.

Anonymous said...

Willb, where did I ever say I wasn't giving Grantham a chance? My point is that fans easily get fired up if a new coach sounds like they want him to sound, or says what they want him to say. Then the results come the next year, and everyone gets frustrated if there isn't drastic improvement.

As for Saban's defense, I think you are way off in thinking Grantham's results are comparable. Bama only gave up over 30 points in two games. Grantham's defense gave up over 30 points 5 times, including 4 of the last 5 games, with the only exception being Idaho State. When facing a decent offense, our defense often folded. We cleaned up against weak offenses. Also, Grantham's defense benefited from an offense that didn't turn the ball over as often as last year. Had he had to deal with that, his defense would surely have given up much more points per game.

I'm willing to give him a chance, but I wasn't impressed with our defense as much as I thought I would be, especially with their performance down the stretch.

Mike said...

I'm betting that some of you brilliant arm chair coaches probably don't always have the best year at your jobs either. But I bet you want the chance to make changes and improve before other people who don't really know anything about the everyday part of your job start calling for your heads! New defensive coaches last year, new S&C this year, with maybe some more changes to come.All the while trying to maintain some consistency for our recruits. I am disappointed too but lets see what happens between now and next year. We might just be pleasantly surprised!