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University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: Football Mocs start personalized work

By: John Frierson
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Scott Brincks

Blue Cooper had a smile on his face Monday as he went out into the hallway outside the weight room in McKenzie Arena. The wide receiver was following University of Tennessee at Chattanooga strength and conditioning coach Scott Brincks, who was carrying what appeared to be a plastic bucket full of kitty litter.

Judging by the quizzical look on the faces of the people watching, only Cooper and Brincks knew what was going to happen next. There was nothing sinister in the offing, however. The bucket was filled halfway with sand, and Cooper spent the next 10 minutes opening and closing his fists inside it.

“You do that to build your forearm grip,” Cooper said, “so when you catch that ball it’s more likely that you’re going to hold onto it.”

Just as he does for Cooper, who is still trying to regain the strength he lost following offseason shoulder surgery, Brincks has a plan for every Mocs football player. He knows who needs to bulk up and who needs to slim down, and he has a strategy for achieving those goals.

“Each player gets their own individualized workout based on their strengths — upper-body, lower-body and Olympic lift wise,” Brincks said. “Everything’s tailored toward that. If they have a weakness area, then it’s adjusted within their workout.”

The UTC football team began its voluntary summer workout program Monday. The players come in and work out in waves, depending on the class and work schedules. During the next three weeks the players will lift weights four days a week and run three times. The following four weeks, it will be three days of lifting and four days of running.

In the final weeks leading up to preseason camp, the players will lift three days a week and run five days a week.

“By the end, they’ll be ready to go,” Brincks said. The team reports for camp on July 30.

Among the players hitting the weights in the 10 a.m. session were Cooper, running back Erroll Wynn, backup quarterback Sloan Allison, punter Jeff Lloyd and linebacker Steven Smigelsky — all moving from station to station as outlined by Brincks on a white piece of paper they carried with them.

Brincks said he began putting together the detailed summer workout strategies in March, and during spring practice he watched the players closely to see where they needed improvement.

Some of the bigger projects for the summer, Brincks said, are the offensive and defensive linemen. The big guys on offense all need to get bigger, while the defensive linemen are split between those who have to drop some pounds and those who need to get stronger.

About 20-25 players are expected to participate in the program the next few weeks, Brincks said. That number will grow to include nearly all of the scholarship players in June and July as they gear up for the start of preseason camp.

“If they’re here, they come in and work out,” Brincks said. “It’s up to them; right now the ball’s in their court. The program’s set; it’s ready to go.”

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