ATHLETIC STRENGTH AND POWER: August 2023

Youngstown, Ohio

Youngstown State Football
Strength & Conditioning

YSU Dir for Football Sports Performance Jimmy Rodenberg

For the Youngstown State Penguins, the season can't start soon enough. Excluded from the play-offs in 2022, the football squad is ready to put that in the rear view mirror and move on. This is a program that prides itself on winning tradition, and the atmosphere around Stambaugh Stadium, which houses the athletic offices that include the football coaches and their meeting rooms along with the strength and conditioning facility, is basically: Let's ___ go!!!
The Director of Football Sports Performance, Jimmy Rodenberg, is making sure that the Penguins stay the course and avoid the cold treatment from the selection committee. Rodenberg, whose father, John Rodenberg is a well known, longtime high school football coach in the Cincinnati and Indianapolis region, got some great early experience at Ohio State strength & conditioning and then expanded on that base to a greater extent under Coach Brady Collins at Cincinnati with the Bearcats and their story book season and College Football Play-off run.

Following his initial year at YSU, he's made some staff additions since his arrival and it can only serve to help the cause and the team goals to get back to national prominence. Keep in mind that this is a program that's had its share of the limelight as legendary college football coach Jim Tressel rebuilt the Penguin program during his fourteen year reign and tenure there, winning four national championships.

Coach Rodenberg was able to bring in a full-time assistant, Mason Garrison, a Cincinnati high school product who was able to be a part of the big transformation as a member of the Cincinnati Bearcat team that was selected to the College Football Play-off vs Alabama during the Luke Fickell years. In addition, they've added G.A. in Sport Performance Colton Krueger, a Marquette University grad who got some quality experience at Oregon Football (intern) under Coach Aaron Feld. Justin Nikakhtar arrived in Youngstown via San Diego State and had an opportunity to work under Coach Adam Hall and Coach Chris Jurek with the Aztecs working on his professional internship in the southern California sunshine. And, Jake Puckett rounds out the strength staff. Jake is an Iowa State guy and had the opportunity to work under Coach Dave Andrews in Ames. He also had
a stop at Valparaiso as a sports performance assistant there in northern Indiana with the Crusaders.

The Monday July 17th Workout

UPPER DAY

Field Work in Stadium: Dynamic Warm-up

straight line acceleration training of limited yardage and limited volume

Bench Press: veteran varsity level players: Clusters of 2 REPs/ 20 second rest with high end percentage with volume limited (timed recovery)

Younger Players went with a 5 4 3 2 1 + percentages training

BentOver Rows (Elite FTS)

Shrugs
Shoulder girdle training with the bands (from The Bill Jacobs Power Company)

Single Arm Incline Dumbbell Press

Supersetted with the Bent-over Rows

Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns (tempo) 4 sets of 5

UpRight Rows...so as to bring a different angle for armoring the shoulder girdle

Deltoid Training: dumbbells with some manual resistance

Manual Neck Training took place in the auxiliary gymnasium; 5 Reps with slow tempo cadence

Corework

Good luck to Coach Jimmy Rodenberg and his Youngstown State Penguins strength staff. You can catch them in their home opener at Stambaugh Stadium on August 31st as they host the Valparaiso Crusaders. Or, check them out at Ohio Stadium in Columbus as the Ohio State Buckeyes have set their noon kick-off home opener against the Penguins (Big Ten Network TV)