Foundation set: Gators complete Phase 1 of offseason program
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The Gators completed phase one of their offseason program, aka Foundation, on Monday.
Players gathered for a team photo in the indoor practice facility, where they spent the past three weeks with director of strength and conditioning Mark Hocke and his staff.
Hocke will now begin the second phase, Identity, this week. Last year, Florida coach Billy Napier called the first half of phase two the most difficult and challenging thing the players will do the entire year from a mental and physical toughness standpoint.
“It’s what we call our identity program,” Napier said in an interview with ESPN Gainesville’s Steve Russell. “It’s 15 sessions. One hour, between 4 and 5 o’clock, four days a week. It’s really to kind of create momentum for spring practice. The first half of that is probably the most difficult and challenging thing we do the entire year from a mental and physical toughness standpoint.
“We’re trying to create intangibles on our team. We’re creating leadership opportunities. … It gives an opportunity for the coaches and players to build some relationships on the way towards spring practice. So, in general, it’s one of my favorite times of the year because 75 percent of your team — the ones you’re going to play with in the fall — they’re in that indoor for every one of those 15 sessions.”
When Hocke first met with the UF media last spring, he detailed what the 15 one-hour sessions during phase two consist of.
“This is a demanding game, right? It’s a physical game. It’s a violent game,” Hocke said. “So getting under a heavy back-squat bar, that’s demanding, that’s adverse situations. Sprint-repeatability, right? The days of running miles and three hundreds are over.
“We’re running 40-yard sprints, 20-yard sprints, repeatedly. 25 seconds, hurry-up offense. Can you strain your gut for four to five seconds, rest for 25 seconds with great body language, and then do it again over and over and over?”
The Gators will hold their first spring practice on March 4 and the Orange & Blue Game is scheduled for Thursday, April 13.
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