[Russelldad]

I agree with many of the things that have been said on here. One of the biggest changes over the last 2 years is how our Off and Def lines have gotten so much smaller. Weight lifting and cardio. is very important, but if you do not have size to go with it (esp of the line) it puts you at a disadvantage. You can be 6'1" or 6'2" but if your max body weight is 180 - 190 lbs, no matter how strong you get in the weight room, you shouldn't be having to put those boys on the Off and Def Lines to go against the Ironton's Ashlands and Mason and from my observation that is what we've had to do the last couple of years. Now from what I've read, we have some Freshman and sophomore lineman that seem to have some size and potential. If I was the coach in charge of the offen. linemen, I would be making sure those gentlemen made it to the weight room and track on a regular basis this offseason.

Now onto my second thought. According to a source close to the program (former player living in my house-lol) off season weightlifting and conditioning was never made mandatory until around March, and then even if you didn't come during that time, he told me the coaches never followed through with any punishments. IMO, If you are going to make something 'mandatory' then you also need to attach some consequences if not followed.

One last thought for now. I do not know if they do this now, but I would separate my lifting and conditioning into positional categories and make those coaches responsible for that group on certain days. For example, take your (QB, RB, WR, TE and possibly DB) and do specific weight training for them 2 days a week and then 1 day a week of cardio. Then take your (Off Line, Def Line, DE and LB) and do specific weight training for them as well. Then if you had enough position coaches that were willing to come, you could even break out those combinations into individal drills just for that position.

Just some thoughts from a father turned fan.