Aaron Wellman and IU's Strength Staff See Opportunity Amid Uncertainty

Written by Juliet Gahan

IU senior assistant athletic director for football performance Aaron Wellman spoke Wednesday morning on what lies ahead for the Hoosier’s for the next eight weeks. 

Fans and players across the country are saddened by the postponement of the Big Ten’s football season, but IU will make the most of their unexpected offseason by hitting the gym. 

“We look at it, I think the team looks at it as a great opportunity. Certainly, would they much rather be playing the game? Absolutely. But it is a great opportunity for us to grow as a team and to really hone in on where our deficiencies lie and correct those things in the next eight weeks.“ Wellman said. Players had very little time to prepare this summer. This “bonus” time will allow players to prepare physically for what’s to come. 

“We are looking to make a lot of progress in our strength, our speed, our explosive power and really lock in on some body composition changes we need to be making.“ Wellman said. Currently players are training four days a week. That gives them time to balance their workouts and classes. “We lift, we run and we do speed improvement work. The focus for now, look the game was taken away from them for now and we have the opportunity to become faster, to become a little bit stronger.“ Wellman said. 

Typically, teams have a season looming, this year it’s a whole new ballgame. Everyone is in the dark for what is to come. 

“What we do know is that the focus right now is to see how strong we can get, see how fast we can get and make improvements on all of these physical qualities that a lot of guys, for no better reason than they were not able to because they could not train the way they wanted to, missed out on these last four or five months.” Wellman said. He doesn’t want to overload players with workouts to avoid injuries, but he strives to push them to reach their goals. 

Dates for the upcoming season could be announced soon. Until then, players and coaches are rolling with the punches on the new and interesting season that lies ahead.