ASAP continued its Summer 2014 Road Show and we set our sites on Lexington, Kentucky.....home to the winningest basketball program anywhere: The Kentucky Wildcats. And with this premier program comes huge expectations. They have an incredible fan base that expects one basic thing: victories.... and championships...as in National Championships.
So, as I left my very comfy confines and suite at The Campbell House Lexington, I made the quick drive to the University of Kentucky Basketball's Joe Craft Center. basically the headquarters of this basketball juggernaut. You know it when you walk through the doors. The basketball office is on the left and then it requires coded entry for access to the rest of the facility. Once downstairs, I'm just a few yards from Head Strength Coach Ray "ROCK" Oliver's office within the basketball strength training center. Key code access required here, too. Finally inside, there's some of the top players of the college game going through some intense training using some med balls. Assistant Strength Coach Robert Harris also led a specialized core workout routine as Rock kept watch with a look of "unsatisfied" on his face.
Rock Oliver knows no complacency. He's not giddy over last season's NCAA National Runner-up "Final Four" appearance. In fact, quite the opposite. Like the Head Coach, John Calipari, and the #BBN.... Big Blue Nation- Oliver expects championships, too. And he's is on a mission to have his trainees prepared to make another run for a national championship. That would, no doubt, return the gleaming smile.
On this day, I witnessed the players finishing up strength workouts and recovery nutrition only to find them heading across the hall to the Kentucky Wildcats Sports Medicine Complex, where Head Athletic Trainer Chris Simmons is located, for some under-water treadmill training. Coach Oliver learned all about HydroWorx helping injured QB Carson Palmer rehab his blown out knee. While a coach with the Cincinnati Bengals, Oliver added this training method to his already bulging notebook. Check out this training in the video and photos!
ASAP Video and Blogpost by Ed Cicale
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