Coach David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea Are Using 3-D Technology to Help Hoosiers Find 'Peak Power'
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Indiana's new strength and conditioning program uses 3-D technology to get the most from every player Image: Rylie Kyhn Hoosier Huddle
Written By Rylie Kyhn
'Breakthrough' might have been the word for the 2017 season, but in 2018 it's all about 'Finish'. The entire program seems to have shifted this off-season and winter workouts have been harder than ever. This is due to the new training program that came along with the hiring of new strength and conditioning coach, David Ballou, a former fullback for the Hoosiers. They have taken an advanced approach to training with the 3-D technology and sensors they have implemented in the weight room. Coach Ballou, and the implementation of 3-D technology, has transformed the Indiana Football workouts to push the players to higher levels in order to reach their full potential and be able to be on the field at the end of the season.
The 3-D camera system is a complex one with advanced technology that allows the coaches to
get measurements for each player. It is an Elite Form system with two cameras and a laser that
comes out and tracks onto the bar that a player is lifting in order to measure the speed in which
it is moving. It measures not only the distance covered by the bar but also how fast the bar is
moving. The coaches then input the load into the system, how fast the bar is moving and the
distance covered and this gives a peak power number. The concept of peak power is a number
that both Coach Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea, IU football athletic performance coach, stressed in
the conference.
To be specific, peak power is “a combination of how much weight you’re moving and how fast
you’re moving it,” said Dr. Rhea.
This peak power number is measured in watts and there are ranges that they want the players
to be in. Due to Coach Ballou’s previous work at other programs and IMG (International
Management Group), which is a global sports and talent management company, he is
knowledgeable about where those numbers and ranges should be.
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Ballou stated, “I know what a high power offensive lineman at the collegiate level is supposed to
put out and I know what a linebacker is supposed to put out and I’ve had NFL guys at IMG and I
know what those levels are. So you can help set gauges for the guys and say so here’s where
you’re at, here’s where you need to be if you want to be good and here’s where you need to be
if you want to be special.”
At each lifting station there are iPads and all that the players have to do is touch the screen and
his individual workout load is preprogrammed by the coaches. All the players have to do is load
the weight onto the bar and then perform. They program the system on a day-to-day basis and
input the amount of weight each player should be lifting based on what the numbers are
showing.
Ballou made it clear that no two players are the same which means they will not be treated the
same and they will not have the same workouts.
He said, “The days where I just throw a blanket program out for everyone to do are gone.
Should be gone.”
Everyone’s workout should be designed to push them to their own levels in order for them to
personally perform at their best. He not only stressed how much they are going to tailor
workouts for each player but also how much they want to target single-leg work.
“We’re targeting (it) at a high rate right now because single leg exercises are the highest
transfer out to the football field not just for sprinting or changing direction but also in keeping
guys healthy. There’s a huge correlation,” said Ballou.
Ballou’s focus has been working with the offensive and defensive lines because that is the
foundation of both sides of the ball.
He stated, “Our guys up front on both sides of the ball-offensive and defensive line-have been
awesome. I was around a good group of guys last year, a really good group and our group here
reminds me of them a lot in mentality the way they attack the weight room every day. You can
tell they want to be good and they’re hungry and they’re absorbing the things we’re giving
them.”
Rising junior defensive lineman, Jacob Robinson reiterated this idea just a few minutes later saying, “We like to think of ourselves as some dogs going into each workout. We really bring the
intensity and it is something that I think really helps guys get through workouts.”
This advanced system of technology and numbers “takes competition to another level,” stated
Robinson. “At every rack we usually have about three guys and everyone’s competing. It’s
either red which means you didn’t get it, green which is good and gold if it’s the new standard at
your position. It breathes competition and we all love it.”
All of this seems like advanced technology and an incredible concept but players may have
been a bit skeptical at first. That is the case with the implementation of just about any new
program but it seems they are adjusting well. Both Coach Ballou and Dr. Rhea praised the
athletes for how well they have adjusted and their tremendous work ethic and desire to strive for
success.
Rising freshman wide receiver Whop Philyor stated, “I was kind of skeptical, thinking you don’t
need all this for football. It didn’t make sense to me but then they started showing me more and
more and I started researching stuff too, and it made more sense and then I started to feel like I
was actually getting faster.”
While these programs push the players to maximum effort because they are tough and
competitive, Dr. Rhea praised coach Ballou for not pushing injury prevention out of the picture.
“To Coach Ballou’s credit, a lot of sports science gets left to the sidelines because strengths and
conditioning coaches aren’t willing to alter their training programs based on the data they are
getting so I was ecstatic when he and I started working together and he takes everything we see
and study and analyzes and uses it to alter the training program for a particular athlete,” stated
Dr. Rhea.
The new workout program is intense and a definite step up from previous seasons. They want
the players to be prepared for game situations and they want to see progress in the upcoming
spring and 2018 seasons. They are focusing on turning strength into power and using that to
transfer into how a player plays in games.
Dr. Rhea said, “We have to take that strength and turn it into power otherwise you see big
strong football players struggle in a football setting because the pace is so fast they just don’t
have enough time to exert maximum force. We take that strength and force and we turn it into
power through a variety of different exercises.”
The Hoosiers are working harder than ever during these winter workouts to come back fighting
and hungry for the season. The work a team puts in throughout the offseason always translates
to strength in the season, it’s just a matter of pushing to all the limits and trusting the process.
“We got 93 guys right now and every single day those guys come in and they work their butts
off. It’s been a really good environment. Everybody trains to sweat and they walk out of here
and some days they limp out of here and some days they crawl out of here but today they
walked out and it was good work,” said Ballou.
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