Q&A: Director of Performance Mark Hill on UK's plan during COVID-19
Justin Rowland • CatsIllustrated
Publisher
@RowlandRIVALS
College football programs across the country are dealing with the completely unique circumstances the global COVID-19 pandemic has created.
Or they're trying to, and figuring it out as they go along.
At Kentucky, other SEC programs, and schools everywhere, classes are cancelled, students are off campus, and spring practices have been paused.
Still, work goes on.
To get an idea of what's happening on the inside of the program, even as people in the program are working from home, Cats Illustrated spent some time talking to Mark Hill, UK's Director of Performance and head strength coach.
Cats Illustrated: So how crazy has your job been over the last couple of weeks as everything's been happening at UK, in Kentucky, and across the country?
Mark Hill: Well, last week was a little different because we were actually supposed to be on spring break. That down time was kind of programmed into the structure of what we do.
As last week dwindled down we had to direct more of a focus on where do we go from here with our guys and how do we continue to try to keep them active, but with the utmost importance being on their health and safety.
The question, how do we keep them active, it's been challenging. Luckily, I work with a great staff of people that have a tremendous amount of experience and we were able to come up with some things that kind of get us going for the first couple of weeks. The first week after spring break and now next week will be the second.
CI: It seems like there was no way to actually plan for something of this magnitude, correct? Everything at this point is on the fly, or no?
Hill: Coach (Corey) Edmond and I came together and tried to figure out some things that we could do. We thought about it earlier in the week, last week, but who would have thought that they would cancel school in terms of sending kids home?
You try to move forward day by day and we learn different things. It really puts you in a holding pattern of waiting to see what will happen next and where we could go from there. So they made certain decisions in dealing with the campus and school. We were able to put a plan in place to start from there. It's just that, just a start. You start at a place and you have to work from there.
I wouldn't really say it's on the fly. We had to just wait and see what we could and couldn't do. We had to have those meetings with Coach (Mark) Stoops, with compliance, with trainers, just to see what we could do trying to get our athletes what they need.
CI: What are some of the biggest challenges that you have encountered, either that you expected and have seen or have come across as time has gone on?
Hill: Usage. Facility usage and the availability of equipment. The availability of anything. When you take away a facility and the materials, the equipment that comes with that facility usage, that's the biggest challenge. When you're accustomed to having certain things to use as a means of getting better and helping your performance, when you take that away, that's the challenge.
That's one of the immediate things I thought about, as we became certain we weren't going to be able to be on campus for quite some time. I immediately thought, 'What will they have access to?' That's the difficulty.
CI: How different are the situations players find themselves in, just in terms of having access to equipment and materials?
Hill: As a strength staff over the last few days we've tried to contact each and every one of our guys. That's one of the questions we ask them. I talked to a couple of guys this morning and asked them, 'What do you have access to?'
One of the guys, I asked him what he's doing, and he said he's working in the garage with his dad. Some guy said, 'Coach, my apartment has some weights.' Some guys have dumbbells, some guys have nothing. Some guys have a friend that has weights. If a guy's dad is a coach at a high school and he has access to that, that's beneficial for them. It's been from nothing to the use of a facility and everything in between. The range is what you would expect.
If they say, 'Coach, I don't know what I can do,' I'll ask, 'Is there a playground near you? Do you have a street? Do you have a hill? Is there something, somewhere you can go, being conscious of social distancing, where you can go and just run?' For us, that's something.
You can sit in your house and do push-ups, sit-ups, body weights, squats. Just be out somewhere in a field that's open enough and there are things you can do.
CI: What kinds of workout plans and regimens have you put together for guys? Has it been reinforcing generalities or specifics?
Hill: It's been specific to what they've said they have access to. I've talked to one guy and he said, 'Coach, all I have is a met ball.' Well, you know what? We can get better with a met ball and we can get movement in the streets, in the parking lot, in the fields behind your house. It's really specific to each and every individual depending on what's available to them. That's why communication is key. We sent out a very generic program because of the understanding that guys wouldn't have access to certain things. In that program we had a good amount of body weight things, body weight lunges, squats. You can get on the edge of your couch and work your triceps. Just certain things to work your muscles. We do the best we can in terms of giving them a program, a structured program, but at the end of the day its about individuals.
CI: Is there any way to really monitor players on the strength or conditioning side when they're away?
Hill: We talked about it yesterday as coaches, thinking back to when we played in the 90's or some of those coaches were in the 80's. It used to be during summer workouts you're responsible for that. You would have to send a card to your strength coach that detailed, 'I was able to do this many pull ups, I did 225 this many times, I ran this in this time. You can do that but it's so easy for kids to just lie and fill it in.
I think communication is going to be key. The strength guys, we've been in contact with our guys and we're going to stay in contact with them. It's not just a text. We're going to call and ask hard questions. We're going to see what they're able to do. We'll ask how they're feeling, what they feel they're lacking, what they haven't been able to do that could benefit you a lot more. We're going to get into all that.
CI: What kind of response have you gotten from the players? Have they been pretty enthusiastic about doing whatever they can or are they disappointed?
Hill: The funny part is I think that our guys are extremely happy to hear from us. It was one of those, 'Coach, hey man, how you doing?' That was real fun. You had guys on FaceTime wanting to show you what they were doing. The response has been really good. Overall I think I really enjoyed the honesty our guys have put forth in terms of what's available.
I think we have a really good relationship with the guys in the weight room. We're around them so much, we're able to get to know them on a personal level. We know those guys, we know their home situations. We know a lot about them. So the response has been really good.
They were in spring break mode last week. With everything being so new, the key isn't next week but the week after that and the week after that. We just need to have constant communication with those guys going forward to see where their mindset is and where their mentality is, if you will.
Justin Rowland • CatsIllustrated
Publisher
@RowlandRIVALS
College football programs across the country are dealing with the completely unique circumstances the global COVID-19 pandemic has created.
Or they're trying to, and figuring it out as they go along.
At Kentucky, other SEC programs, and schools everywhere, classes are cancelled, students are off campus, and spring practices have been paused.
Still, work goes on.
To get an idea of what's happening on the inside of the program, even as people in the program are working from home, Cats Illustrated spent some time talking to Mark Hill, UK's Director of Performance and head strength coach.
Cats Illustrated: So how crazy has your job been over the last couple of weeks as everything's been happening at UK, in Kentucky, and across the country?
Mark Hill: Well, last week was a little different because we were actually supposed to be on spring break. That down time was kind of programmed into the structure of what we do.
As last week dwindled down we had to direct more of a focus on where do we go from here with our guys and how do we continue to try to keep them active, but with the utmost importance being on their health and safety.
The question, how do we keep them active, it's been challenging. Luckily, I work with a great staff of people that have a tremendous amount of experience and we were able to come up with some things that kind of get us going for the first couple of weeks. The first week after spring break and now next week will be the second.
CI: It seems like there was no way to actually plan for something of this magnitude, correct? Everything at this point is on the fly, or no?
Hill: Coach (Corey) Edmond and I came together and tried to figure out some things that we could do. We thought about it earlier in the week, last week, but who would have thought that they would cancel school in terms of sending kids home?
You try to move forward day by day and we learn different things. It really puts you in a holding pattern of waiting to see what will happen next and where we could go from there. So they made certain decisions in dealing with the campus and school. We were able to put a plan in place to start from there. It's just that, just a start. You start at a place and you have to work from there.
I wouldn't really say it's on the fly. We had to just wait and see what we could and couldn't do. We had to have those meetings with Coach (Mark) Stoops, with compliance, with trainers, just to see what we could do trying to get our athletes what they need.
CI: What are some of the biggest challenges that you have encountered, either that you expected and have seen or have come across as time has gone on?
Hill: Usage. Facility usage and the availability of equipment. The availability of anything. When you take away a facility and the materials, the equipment that comes with that facility usage, that's the biggest challenge. When you're accustomed to having certain things to use as a means of getting better and helping your performance, when you take that away, that's the challenge.
That's one of the immediate things I thought about, as we became certain we weren't going to be able to be on campus for quite some time. I immediately thought, 'What will they have access to?' That's the difficulty.
CI: How different are the situations players find themselves in, just in terms of having access to equipment and materials?
Hill: As a strength staff over the last few days we've tried to contact each and every one of our guys. That's one of the questions we ask them. I talked to a couple of guys this morning and asked them, 'What do you have access to?'
One of the guys, I asked him what he's doing, and he said he's working in the garage with his dad. Some guy said, 'Coach, my apartment has some weights.' Some guys have dumbbells, some guys have nothing. Some guys have a friend that has weights. If a guy's dad is a coach at a high school and he has access to that, that's beneficial for them. It's been from nothing to the use of a facility and everything in between. The range is what you would expect.
If they say, 'Coach, I don't know what I can do,' I'll ask, 'Is there a playground near you? Do you have a street? Do you have a hill? Is there something, somewhere you can go, being conscious of social distancing, where you can go and just run?' For us, that's something.
You can sit in your house and do push-ups, sit-ups, body weights, squats. Just be out somewhere in a field that's open enough and there are things you can do.
CI: What kinds of workout plans and regimens have you put together for guys? Has it been reinforcing generalities or specifics?
Hill: It's been specific to what they've said they have access to. I've talked to one guy and he said, 'Coach, all I have is a met ball.' Well, you know what? We can get better with a met ball and we can get movement in the streets, in the parking lot, in the fields behind your house. It's really specific to each and every individual depending on what's available to them. That's why communication is key. We sent out a very generic program because of the understanding that guys wouldn't have access to certain things. In that program we had a good amount of body weight things, body weight lunges, squats. You can get on the edge of your couch and work your triceps. Just certain things to work your muscles. We do the best we can in terms of giving them a program, a structured program, but at the end of the day its about individuals.
CI: Is there any way to really monitor players on the strength or conditioning side when they're away?
Hill: We talked about it yesterday as coaches, thinking back to when we played in the 90's or some of those coaches were in the 80's. It used to be during summer workouts you're responsible for that. You would have to send a card to your strength coach that detailed, 'I was able to do this many pull ups, I did 225 this many times, I ran this in this time. You can do that but it's so easy for kids to just lie and fill it in.
I think communication is going to be key. The strength guys, we've been in contact with our guys and we're going to stay in contact with them. It's not just a text. We're going to call and ask hard questions. We're going to see what they're able to do. We'll ask how they're feeling, what they feel they're lacking, what they haven't been able to do that could benefit you a lot more. We're going to get into all that.
CI: What kind of response have you gotten from the players? Have they been pretty enthusiastic about doing whatever they can or are they disappointed?
Hill: The funny part is I think that our guys are extremely happy to hear from us. It was one of those, 'Coach, hey man, how you doing?' That was real fun. You had guys on FaceTime wanting to show you what they were doing. The response has been really good. Overall I think I really enjoyed the honesty our guys have put forth in terms of what's available.
I think we have a really good relationship with the guys in the weight room. We're around them so much, we're able to get to know them on a personal level. We know those guys, we know their home situations. We know a lot about them. So the response has been really good.
They were in spring break mode last week. With everything being so new, the key isn't next week but the week after that and the week after that. We just need to have constant communication with those guys going forward to see where their mindset is and where their mentality is, if you will.
