How Louisville Football's strength & conditioning is adapting during COVID-19

The Cardinals might have been thrown a curveball in how they conduct their offseason workouts, but head strength and conditioning coach Mike Sirignano is proud of their resilience.

At this point in the offseason, the repercussions of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are starting to pile up across college football. Spring camps were forced to be cut short, with some programs unable to hold even a single practice. Scheduled prospect visits and recruitment camps had to be suspended, with in-person recruiting not allowed until the end of May at the very least. There has even been speculation that season could be shortened, or even worse cancelled.

No aspect of the gridiron has been left untouched by the effects of the coronavirus, including strength & conditioning. With a nationwide de facto quarantine following as a result of the pandemic, the intensity stemming from motivation by teammates and coaches is now gone and is nearly impossible to replicate.

On top of that, student-athletes now do not have access to the top tier facilities & equipment provided by their schools. With the closure of many gyms due to nationwide social distancing guidelines, some don't have access to equipment at all.

This set of circumstances certainly doesn't exclude the Louisville Cardinals football program. Head strength & conditioning coach Mike Sirignano estimates that about 20% of his players don't have the equipment that is customarily utilized during a normal workout session. But just like on the recruiting front, that has led the Cardinals to get creative in how they conduct their offseason workouts.

"We've manipulated body weight workouts with home equipment [for those without workout equipment]," Sirignano said in a teleconference with reporters on Monday. "Say we implemented a band workout. If a guy doesn't have a training band like we might have in the facility, they'll go get a bungie cord."

While it might not be world-class equipment, Sirignano has applauded his players' creativity and willingness to adapt.

"We've had guys build squat racks and bench presses out of plywood and 2x4's. Other guys have bought gym equipment for their garages and basements."

Manipulating the intensity with a new set of tools has been one of the hardest parts of the new way of going about workouts. An example of this has been upping the amount of reps during back squats when using a backpack or sack of dirt instead of hundreds of pounds in a gym. 

Implementing and enforcing a new schedule is another wrinkle that the staff is having to adjust to. Typically, they have 100% of the team check in by 10:00am breakfast when training in the facility. At that point they have usually competed two trainings groups with only one more remaining for the day. Not having a structured schedule has been something that both players and coaches alike have had to adjust to.

But if there is a silver lining to the restrictions that the program has to abide by, it's the resiliency that they have displayed during these times.

"One of the things we talk about - being a champion and one of the characteristics we need to be a winning program - is resilience. That's resilience through adversity, that's resilience through anything that someone might not deem positive," Sirignano said. "It's just been fun to see how resilient our guys are. Because as coaches we question that every day. We're on them about every little detail throughout the day. Them being at home has really kinda opened our eyes as coaches and we're like 'Man, these kids are way more resilient than we give them credit for.' That's been a big thing that I've been really prideful about."

Nothing surrounding the ongoing pandemic has been convenient by any stretch, but it's refreshing to see that the Louisville Cardinals football program is not letting their circumstances define them.

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