CHAPTER 35

The next day I began my new training program, it was completely reversed from anything that I had ever done before. Instead of low reps with massive amounts of weight, I was using a lot less weight but doing dozens of reps during each set. By the time I had concluded a body part, the muscles were burning beyond belief, I had virtually no strength left. I would go home, take a shower, eat a meal then meet Coach Jerry on the track that evening. He had multiple cones set up in various sequences waiting on me. I would run multiple sets of what he called the shuttle drill, the three cone drill and 40 yard dash. He would then have me do a series of what he called "blast" drills which basically had me starting a dash out of the starting blocks that track athletes used. The whole purpose of these drills was to increase my overall speed, agility and quickness. I would finish off every practice with either a mile run or dashes with the parachute harness strapped on. A typical practice would be about two to three hours long. By the time I got home that night, I was basically useless.

On my third practice he finally timed me in the various drills. I ran a 4.96 forty yard dash, a 7.81 three cone drill and a 4.88 shuttle drill. These times he told me were completely unacceptable if I ever expected to play at the next level. He also told me that I was too heavy at two hundred ninety pounds to be a factor at defensive end. My weight was more suitable to play inside at defensive tackle, but at 6 '6", I was entirely too tall to control a center or guard. They would use my height against me and push me all over the field. So I had no choice, in his mind, but to drop the weight and get faster.

I was relentless working out every day, even hitting the track on the days when Coach Jerry was not there. It took about two months but the results were beginning to show. I had dropped close to fifteen pounds so far, all of my times were beginning to fall. By the time I was ready to leave for school, I weighed in at two hundred sixty nine pounds. On my last workout with Coach Jerry he had timed me at 4.59 seconds in the forty, 6.88 seconds in the three cone drill and 4.12 in the shuttle drill. My leg strength was up as well , I had increased my vertical leap from 29 to 35 inches. There was no doubt, I was coming off the ball twice as fast as ever before.

Three days later I reported to school, then made my way to the first team meeting of the year. We split up in groups and met with our position coaches for evaluation. Coach Ray took one look at me and erupted in one of his famous tantrums.

"Son of a fucking bitch Stevens, what the fuck have you been doing ?", he screamed.

"Training Coach, why ?", I asked.

"Get your fucking ass on that scale", he said, pointing to the device.

I moved over to the scale, climbed on and watched the digits roll, finally stopping at two hundred sixty eight pounds. He looked at the numbers, then looked at me, I could tell he was pissed.

"What the fuck is this ?", he growled, pointing to the readout on the scale.

"It's ok Coach, trust me.", I said quietly.

"No it's not fucking ok, there's no way you're going to start for me at this weight.", he said, slamming his hand on the table and walking away.

Several minutes later I was singled out and called in the head strength coach's office where my chart was out on the table. He was scanning over it when I walked in.

"Hey Brian, what's up ? You're down close to thirty pounds, why ?", he asked.

"I was too slow, I couldn't play at that weight.", I answered.

"So in addition to being a student / athlete, you're now a trainer as well ?", he snapped, "Just whose fucking idea was this anyway ?'

I thought for a second before answering, the last thing I wanted to do was cause problems for either Carl or Coach Jerry. They were both only trying to help me, I was not going to throw anyone under the bus.

"It was my idea, no one else's.", I replied.

"Bullshit Stevens, no kid makes this shit up.", he screamed, "Get the fuck out of here, report to the gym in the morning at six, but just so we're clear here, your scholarship is in jeopardy son. Now get the fuck out."

I turned and left his office, closing the door gently behind me. I wasn't worried. I had lost virtually no strength during my training, I was leaner, quicker and faster. I was in warm-ups so no one actually saw the definition and muscularity of my body. I went back to the dorm, climbed into bed and got ready for the new season.

The following morning, the entire training facility was waiting for us in the gym. As I peeled off my warm-ups, I could tell from everyone's reaction they were shocked. No one said anything, but I was certainly the main topic of the workout. In almost every exercise I did that morning, I was right at the weight I was pushing before I had left for the summer. You could tell they were all shocked to say the least. I was close to thirty pounds lighter, but had not lost any strength at all.

We were not scheduled to hit the field for ten days, so each day I worked out with the team, then ran at night on the track on my own. One night I was wrapping up my sprints when I looked up and saw Coach Ray leaning against the tunnel wall. Obviously he had been watching for a while.