I have never heard about or seen anything like this. The energy, the passion, the delegation. Nothing like it. Maybe you have - you be the judge…

It is 6am and everyone has gone through the car-wash. Not the one that actually cleans your car. This version of the car wash is what TCU Football Human Performance calls their slow tempo dynamic warm up. The only difference is how they set it up. Every 10 yards there is a cone telling the players a different movement to perform for 10 yards. 40 yards down, and 40 yards back the athletes have 80 yards of movement for their hips, hamstring, feet, back, and most importantly - their mind.

Before they went through the car wash they hit their PAP. No, not post-activation potentiation. This PAP stands for pre-activity preparation. What does this PAP include? All soft tissue mobilization that you can think of: foam rollers, lax balls, bands for stretching/activation, pso-rite, or body tempering. As someone who went through through PAP and the car wash - I felt fantastic and felt ready to train. The warm up does not stop there - that is just what they do BEFORE they warm up as a team. 

Each “assistant” coach is really a head coach

Once the players have been through their PAP and car wash they get called up by Head S&C Coach Kay Kazadi and his staff of: Ryan “RJ” Jackson, Tyrell “TB” Brown, Chris Dawson, Charles “Rev” Simmons III, and Shauna Boles. Not only does Kaz talk to the whole team - his “assistants” will call up the players and instruct them during various parts of training sessions. I put assistants in quotations because the coaches working on Kaz’s staff are FAR from assistants; more on this later.

After each assistant coach shows the team EXACTLY what they will do during the run - now it is time for the team warm up. This is your “typical” fast tempo warm up of various drills preparing the athletes for the training session. Like all great programs the warm up ramps up into more specific running drills towards the end of the warm up - getting the team ready for the session. One of the most impressive aspects of the warm up is how much attention to detail is required from these young men.

Kaz does not miss a thing when he is leading his warm ups. He is demanding but not demeaning. He has high expectations of the team, he holds the standard, and he treats them like young men during the whole process. If the rep was not good enough he simply blows his whistle and that specific position group goes to the end of the line and will re-do the rep. No drama, no non-sense, just attention to detail and high levels of accountability. 

Way around mat drills 

Now it is time for the team training session. Rather than using the “old school” method of team training sessions with mat drills - the team will go through a series of 4 exercises that actually improve speed, power, and change of direction (COD). Competition is king with the staff so in every one of these drills the team has to compete. The players go from a heavy sled push, to heavy sled sprint, to a chain sprint, and end with a cone COD drill. The level of detail here on the field is incredible (and this is coming from someone who worked for Chris Doyle where we made sure all foam rollers were 3 steps from one another, and the cones for the speed warm up were 3 yards off the hash).

There where 17 lanes set up on the field. This mean there was 17 sets of prowlers, sleds, and chains. There were cones set up on every yard line keeping the equipment in the respective lane. The prowler was the first movement for the team and there was even a printed off sheet placed on the prowler indicating which athletes would be on the prowler. They would then travel together up the field to the next exercise.

At each new exercise a different coach lead the drill. This allowed for all of the coaches on staff to be the ones leading the groups. Each coach has a different tone of voice and way of communicating - and the players all got to be lead by the coaches. This helps enforce the notion that they are not assistants, rather they are head S&C coaches working together for the benefit of TCU football. 

Details matter - everywhere 

The level of detail does not stop on the field. Over my days at TCU I witnessed multiple team lifts. Each level coach, as they are called, would bring his group into the weight room, instruct the group on the day’s training, and then start the lift. The level coaches also had their own card templates where they would design and print themselves. The staff would meet MULTIPLE times per day to ensure everyone was on the same page with the run, lifts, lift cards, etc…

This was one of the most remarkable things to see. As you read this you might be saying to yourself that you have different cards for different athletes based on position or training age. Well do you let your assistants truly program the training for their level group? Or are they doing what you, the head S&C coach, tells them to do - and they simply are responsible for printing off the cards. This is what I was used to with my time at Harvard, Maryland, Iowa, and Towson.

So to see these level coaches run their own groups was impressive. I told the staff that it was like watching 4 different teams all share a weight room at one time. I am not sure what picture you have in your head - maybe you think this doesn’t work, or won’t work - but as someone who has seen it live, this does work. There is no chaos at all. Sure all football weight rooms are controlled chaos to some degree. All of this is all calculated. As I said, these guys meet multiple times during the day to ensure everyone knows what each position group is doing during the lift or run. NOTHING is left to chance and NOTHING is random. It is all calculated. 

Black shirts - staff and interns 

Part of the reason that this can happen is because of the black shirts. Who are they? Great question. Technically all the coaches are black shirts. They all wear team issued black gear only. From top to bottom it is TCU team issued black gear only. This way the volunteer coaches/interns who may or may not have received gear can look just like the staff. The interns, who are truly the black shirts on Kaz’s staff, dress just like the coaches and are respected by the team just like the level coaches.

The black shirts help run the show. They are the ones getting in early helping set up, break down, organize, and coach. This is not for the faint of heart. I have been a black shirt myself (we were not actually called that at Iowa or Harvard) but I know that feeling of full time work with no pay. It is a right of passage that ALL S&C coaches go through. These aspiring coaches worked their tail off and as all coaches on staff will say - are a HUGE part of the team success. 

Coach Kaz leadership style

There are many wise things that Kaz tells his team before, during, and after a training session. He will pull out articles from the Harvard Business Review and educate the team on leadership. One of the best saying he has is “I will never have a bad day in America. Maybe a bad moment, but never a full 24 hours.” When you think about this he is 1,000% right. Kaz has this perspective (which more of us - myself included) need to have in our lives because of his upbringing. He is from the DRC Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.

As he explains - life in America is a blessing and he reminds the players this each day. He also has a special way of communicating and showing his love for the team. Not a set or rep (in the weight room or on the field) that Coach Kaz is not giving feedback to someone. If the rep was good or if the rep was bad - Kaz is there letting the athlete know so they can continue or correct the next rep. 

What comes next

I had no clue what to expect as I boarded my flight from Iowa to TCU. RJ and I have been tight for a while now and have been talking about me coming down to visit for sometime. Being out of high level football since Iowa 2018 I did not know what to expect. All I was looking for was to learn from one of the most respected coaches/staffs in S&C. I had somewhere to sleep (RJ’s house), somewhere to learn (the weight room), and something to think about (this blog).

All in all this trip will stick with me for sometime. I have learned a lot of new exercises both in the weight room and on the field. I have learned new logistical elements that I will be able to use in my life as a private sector S&C coach at Goldfinch. I have learned communication, leadership, and culture from Kaz that I will never forget. Chances are you will read and or see more content from this trip.

I did not take a picture or video at all while I was down there. What I did do was write down lots of notes in my note pad. As I write this I am at the airport waiting for my flight to go back home. I will revisit my notes over the next days, weeks, and months - and you will see more of this TCU Football Human Performance thoughts pop up.

To Kaz and his staff - thank you for the hospitality. Y’all were EXTREMELY welcoming and made me feel at home. RJ - thanks for inviting me to learn and allowing me to be your shadow for a few days. TB, Dawson, Rev, Shauna, and Jack - thank you too for letting me ask all my questions and learn from you all. Finally to Coach Kaz - your passion and energy is contagious. I am a better coach and man from being at TCU for a period of time in the summer of 2024, thank you.