Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Open Fall Camp Thursday Morning
8/1/2019 3:06:00 PM | Football
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The concept and operation of football preseason camp has evolved greatly over the years. From a time some 50 years ago when a college football team might practice from dawn to dusk without water breaks, football coaches and sports scientists have developed state-of-the-art training methods that put the welfare of the student-athlete at the forefront.
Wake Forest is one of those national leaders. And head coach Dave Clawson is one of those thought-leaders.
"For years, at the start of camp, that first week the whole mindset was break them in and then you get your recovery," said Clawson following Thursday's first practice of the 2019 camp. "When it's all done, we will have the same amount of reps that we had a year ago. Just how we get there is a little different."
During the offseason, Clawson did a deep dive into the science of practice, how best to structure each practice session to try and prevent the number of injuries that devastated the Demon Deacons in 2018. Nearly 200 player-games were missed due to injury with more than a dozen players suffering season-ending injuries. Now, many of the Deacons have a wearable device under their uniform that tracks a multitude of data during each practice.
"Looking at injuries from a year ago, what we can do to prevent them, how we can keep our kids healthy (that was the goal)," said Clawson. "It's also about trying to get the (right) quality of practice. We've had these devices on fewer kids and we've noticed their top speeds and their loads were drifting. We want to be hitting our stride by the time we get to game preparation week."
During each practice, members of Wake Forest's Sports Performance Team, which includes athletic trainers and strength and conditioning coaches, monitor the system that measures the players' intensity and volume of work, their speed, yards covered, even the number of times a player changes direction. The sum of those figures is considered the 'work load'. Clawson and his staff have set baseline figures for each team member and the goal is to increase each player's work load during camp and have them hit their maximum peak come the season opener against Utah State on August 30.
"Our approach is we're going shorter, we're not going as long, we're not getting as many reps (as in the past)," said Clawson. "We just want to get through this first week without soft tissue injuries, without hamstring (injuries), without groin (injuries), and build up to a game load. We probably went 20 to 25 minutes less than we normally do on a day one. It's hard to get better if they're not getting reps. We got (good work) out of it, probably a little less physically, a little more mentally, but we'll build up to that load in the next two weeks.
"Most of the ones got 22 reps," continued Clawson. "(In the past), the load would have been closer to 32 to 34 (reps). We're just reversing the order of camp a little bit. The goal for the ones was 22 reps, that was the cap. Tomorrow we'll increase that to 26 and keep it at 26 on Day 3 when we put the pads on. Then when we get into next week, those loads will get into the 30s."
Breaking down the reason for past injuries and developing a model that gives the Demon Deacons the best possible student-athlete experience was a work of passion for Clawson.
"Part of it is fun," said Clawson. "It's how as a coach you grow and learn and you keep it fresh. Doing the deep dive on it this year and looking at what we've done in the past. Talking to the sport scientists we have, talking to other schools, whether it be NFL programs or other head coaches I'm friends with, that went to this model a year ago. This is still a relatively new concept. It was fun talking to them and what they thought about it. A good friend of mine who's a head coach said 'you know, the first week was weird. Practice is over already? What do we do?' But when he saw the health benefit of his team week 2 and week 3 and how much shorter the injury report was, he said if he had to do it again, he would do it again and he is doing it again."
The Demon Deacons will continue to look to stay healthy and build to a maximum load as they continue preseason camp this week at the Doc Martin Football Practice field and McCreary Football Field House.
The Opening Night game with Utah State is set for Friday, August 30 at BB&T Field. Season tickets for the 2019 season are available HERE.
Wake Forest is one of those national leaders. And head coach Dave Clawson is one of those thought-leaders.
"For years, at the start of camp, that first week the whole mindset was break them in and then you get your recovery," said Clawson following Thursday's first practice of the 2019 camp. "When it's all done, we will have the same amount of reps that we had a year ago. Just how we get there is a little different."
During the offseason, Clawson did a deep dive into the science of practice, how best to structure each practice session to try and prevent the number of injuries that devastated the Demon Deacons in 2018. Nearly 200 player-games were missed due to injury with more than a dozen players suffering season-ending injuries. Now, many of the Deacons have a wearable device under their uniform that tracks a multitude of data during each practice.
"Looking at injuries from a year ago, what we can do to prevent them, how we can keep our kids healthy (that was the goal)," said Clawson. "It's also about trying to get the (right) quality of practice. We've had these devices on fewer kids and we've noticed their top speeds and their loads were drifting. We want to be hitting our stride by the time we get to game preparation week."
During each practice, members of Wake Forest's Sports Performance Team, which includes athletic trainers and strength and conditioning coaches, monitor the system that measures the players' intensity and volume of work, their speed, yards covered, even the number of times a player changes direction. The sum of those figures is considered the 'work load'. Clawson and his staff have set baseline figures for each team member and the goal is to increase each player's work load during camp and have them hit their maximum peak come the season opener against Utah State on August 30.
"Our approach is we're going shorter, we're not going as long, we're not getting as many reps (as in the past)," said Clawson. "We just want to get through this first week without soft tissue injuries, without hamstring (injuries), without groin (injuries), and build up to a game load. We probably went 20 to 25 minutes less than we normally do on a day one. It's hard to get better if they're not getting reps. We got (good work) out of it, probably a little less physically, a little more mentally, but we'll build up to that load in the next two weeks.
"Most of the ones got 22 reps," continued Clawson. "(In the past), the load would have been closer to 32 to 34 (reps). We're just reversing the order of camp a little bit. The goal for the ones was 22 reps, that was the cap. Tomorrow we'll increase that to 26 and keep it at 26 on Day 3 when we put the pads on. Then when we get into next week, those loads will get into the 30s."
Breaking down the reason for past injuries and developing a model that gives the Demon Deacons the best possible student-athlete experience was a work of passion for Clawson.
"Part of it is fun," said Clawson. "It's how as a coach you grow and learn and you keep it fresh. Doing the deep dive on it this year and looking at what we've done in the past. Talking to the sport scientists we have, talking to other schools, whether it be NFL programs or other head coaches I'm friends with, that went to this model a year ago. This is still a relatively new concept. It was fun talking to them and what they thought about it. A good friend of mine who's a head coach said 'you know, the first week was weird. Practice is over already? What do we do?' But when he saw the health benefit of his team week 2 and week 3 and how much shorter the injury report was, he said if he had to do it again, he would do it again and he is doing it again."
The Demon Deacons will continue to look to stay healthy and build to a maximum load as they continue preseason camp this week at the Doc Martin Football Practice field and McCreary Football Field House.
The Opening Night game with Utah State is set for Friday, August 30 at BB&T Field. Season tickets for the 2019 season are available HERE.
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