Cooking up artificial controversy in a slow news period is not my thing. But when researching current NFL training standards for a related article on Qadry Ismail (former childhood resident of Wilkes-Barre who’s starting up the “Missile Training System ” for speed, power and agility enhancement), I came across an incredible statement by the pioneer of modern NFL training standards, Mr. Tom Shaw…
“You have to be able to knock the gloves off a receiver…I’ve trained Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb…and Tom Brady has the strongest arm in the NFL, bar none…”
What? I’m in shock… I’ve been on the sidelines at TC to observe the arm strength of both Vick and McNabb… I’ve only seen Brady on TV…but it’s difficult to imagine Brady throwing a more frozen rope or delivering a pass any quicker than those guys. So I had to ask:
Who the heck is Tom Shaw?
Tom Shaw has become known as the guru of trainers, helping college prospects enhance their standing in the Draft and keeping many NFL vets in top form.
As always, I am open to learning… and I had a lot to learn about Tom Shaw.
NFL scouts, personnel executives and GMs call him virtually every day for his views on players.
What Shaw (age 49) does is summed up by the name on his T-shirt: SPARQ, a Nike-sponsored fitness organization that rates him as one of six Master Trainers.
The letters stand for Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction, Quickness and reflect a philosophy rooted in his years as a track man. Shaw was a star at Gulf High, where he set school records for the 100-yard dash (9.6 seconds), 220 (21.9) and long jump (23 feet, 1 inch).
He graduated from Central Michigan University with a B.A. in education and an M.A. in exercise physiology. He went on to serve as track coach and assistant football coach at Hudson High for four years, followed by eight years at Florida State as assistant track coach and speed and conditioning coach for several sports.
It was there that he got to know many of the Seminole football players, including Deion Sanders, the multisports star who thrived under Shaw’s workouts with the track team. Sanders soon encouraged teammates to work with Shaw. “Not all of them ran track, but they just wanted to get faster,” Shaw says. “There were about 30 guys. Even the freshman and sophomores said, “If Deion’s doing it, then I need to do it.’ “
But the turning point came in 1993, when Shaw went to work as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for Mike Ditka’s New Orleans Saints and opened up his program. A handful of Seminoles wanted to get in shape for the February NFL combine that year, so their agents sent them to work out with Shaw…. “And that started a business,” he says.
A year later, other predraft programs opened and today they abound. But Shaw is considered the pioneer. He points to his player-coaches as his biggest asset. “Deion’s going to teach them what it’s like to be an NFL cornerback,” Shaw says. “I can tell them 100 times, “I want you to do it this way.’ Deion tells them one time and they get it.”
Shaw’s SPARQ training enterprise is now based out of Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, with whom Shaw has a long-standing contract. His intensive workout program has trained over 100 eventual first-rounders in 18 years, and also has helped many veterans get in shape during the offseason. His program has benefitted dozens of other collegians hoping to improve their standing in the eyes of scouts, coaches and general managers at the NFL combine. It costs $750 a week – a fee often covered by agents – to take part in the grueling SPARQ regimen that emphasizes speed and explosiveness. Even major-league outfielder Johnny Damon works out for a month with Shaw before spring training.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention—Tom Shaw, the career strength and conditioning coach, has earned three Super Bowl rings as an assistant with the New England Patriots.
Shaw focuses on training techniques that improve speed and power.
Players train for the 40 being pulled by bungee cords, aiding their acceleration. And they run with cables pulling against them.
They run behind carts that hold large mirrors, so they can adjust their form and make it more efficient on the spot. They do running drills in a large heated pool. They practice vertical jumps on mini-trampolines with cords pulling them downward.
Then there are the rigorous weight workouts and nutritional programs.
“As it turns out, this is the best facility in the world, not just the country,” Shaw says. “We have access to everything. Ten football fields, a weight room, six basketball courts, resort apartments. The guys even have access to all the (theme) parks.”
As to the point of arm strength in a QB, I was somewhat dubious about the claim Shaw makes as Brady being the hardest thrower in the business. I was able to contact him for an explanation:
“What separates Tom from Vick and McNabb is his visual awareness of the field—he knows exactly where to throw and when—and just that split second of superior awareness gives him the extra edge of set-up with his legs. Arm strength, ironically, all comes from the legs. You achieve explosive arm power primarily through setting a strong base with the legs.”
Okay. I get that. So what else did Brady do in workouts to make his leg base stronger?
“A lot of snatch weightlifting, in which you pick the bar quickly up over your head, ” said Shaw. “Also, dumb-bell jumps—- where you hold two 20-lb. dumbbells at your sides… lower your thighs…then jump 3 times… set the weights on the ground….walk 3 steps forward…then jump 3 times without the weights…go back to the original position…and now jump 3 times WITH the dumbbells… Do 3 sets of 3…”
Eye-opening stuff when you consider all the intuitive instinct in the world would have me believe you build up arm strength by bench and arm lift exercises…
But Shaw has 3 Super Bowl rings. OK… I’ll try it his way…
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