fir Pressure

• Shannon Harrington

Withallthe hooplaofcompetition — games, conference standings and championships — many people tend to forget about one of the most fundamental aspects thatboosts LU athletics to itshigh level ofcompetition — conditioning Itis not the most glamorous part ofathletics It iscertainly not directly noticeable on the playing surfaces But it is amajor part ofLU athletics

"Conditioning is the complete package," LU Strength andConditioning Coordinator Dave Williams said "Weare not out tomake just Olympic weight-lifters. We aretrying to develop the whole,complete athlete."

Williams, who was nominated as oneofthe top-five strength coaches inthe nation atthecollegiate level, said that this complete athlete which hereferred to includes a bigger, faster andstrongerathlete.

Along with Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coaches Barry Rice andCharles Anderson,Williams coordinates a conditioning program that isinvaluable to the LU athletic program. Their goal, Williams said, isto improve athletic performance and preventinjuries

The program islimited by NCAA regulations toeight hoursper week of sole conditioning. But, Williams said, the athletes havethe option tocondition for aslongas they want on their owntime

"After the conditioning sessions, we tellthe athletes they are free to go. But alot of guys stay just because they want to get better," Williams said

Although conditioning is amajor part of all L U athletic programs, it has not always been that way Just ask Lady Flames Basketball Head Coach Rick Reeves. "When I came here there wasno conditioning for women's basketball,"hesaid. "But I talked toDave Williams and Mike Cargill (LUAthletic Trainer), and they were very enthusiastic about working with the team andsince we initiated conditioning,it has become abig part of our program."

Reeves attributes the increased importance ofconditioning inhis program to the Lady Flames'productiveseason in 1992-93

He also attributes the honorof his BigSouth Conference Co-Coach ofthe Year award tothe improved conditioning program.

Shortly after the initiation of a conditioning program into the women's basketball program,Rice took over the conditioning programs forboth men's andwomen's basketball.

Also, Anderson heads up the conditioning for the women's volleyball team andthe baseball team

A SeniorJames McKnightparticipatesina specialized testingexperiment Strengthcoachesare constantly keepingtrackofcurrenttrends, experimentsand state-ofthe-arttechnologiesto improvethe conditioningprogram.

But, asa unit,the three coaches work together toturn allLU athletes into acomplete athlete.

"We try totailorto the needs of the individual coaches," Williams said

-*AssistantStrength and Conditioning

Coach Charles Anderson workswith thewomen ssoftball team Thiswasthe firsttimeforthe team,makingit necessarytodesign an entirely new program forthem

•*\n his 10th year as head strength coach, Dave Williams demonstrates proper weight-lifting techniques Williams was nominatedfor thenationalStrength Coach oftheYearin 1993

-* Freshman athletesspenda greatamount oftime buildingstrength theirfirstyearof play Basketball playersPeterAluma and Dominique Okon,both freshmen,put in timeintheweight room. Strength building helps preventinjuries duringtheathletes collegiatecareer

Getting it "just right." Being very, very carefuland going very very slow ...orsometimes very, very fast. Taking time topracticeperfection so you make it every time. Getting down to the nitty gritty and notbeing afraid to get your knees dirty. Determining to cross every t and dot every i. Swishing every basket, deliberatelyplanning every move. Cooperating with everyone so the team achieves excellenceineverything. Walking the straightand narrow path and never being carelessinany partofthe game. Playing forexactness inevery putt, every set, every slam, every play.