Worth the weights

By Todd Habiger

Quinn Vaka has no idea I’m stalking him.

For two years I’ve wanted to do a story about the Jaguars strength program but couldn’t find my lede.

I focus on Quinn hoping the senior offensive lineman will give me a good visual to start with. 

I’m hoping for something like this: 

Beads of sweat form on the brow of senior offensive lineman Quinn Vaka. They roll down his face past gritted teeth as Vaka’s muscles strain against the weights. He grunts and groans as he pushes hundreds of pounds of metal upward, before finally, triumphally, lifting the weight over his head.

Not bad right?

One problem. Quinn doesn’t sweat. I follow him for 20 minutes and don’t see one drop.

He also doesn’t struggle with the weights. In fact he makes it look effortless. No grunts. No groans. Nothing.

I finally give up. Quinn’s a boring lifter. He made lifting look routine, easy. No sweat.

I try to salvage the situation. I look to Ryder Farley. He’s got his shirt off and does look a little sweaty. Plus he has tons of weight on his bar. But he also makes his lifts look effortless. There’s nothing here for me.

I’m desperate now, looking around trying to find that visual I need. But these guys might as well be doing data entry. This is their job and they’re doing it easily and without drama. 

Can someone just give me a screeching “Hell, yeah!” for God’s sake?

Clink, clank, thud. Thanks guys.

I’m stuck. 

Jaguars head coach Joel Applebee has said lifting weights and getting stronger and faster is one of the keys to the program’s success. This is a story that needs to be told and I can’t figure out a way to do it without putting readers to sleep.

The moment he was hired Applebee put an emphasis on weight lifting. The kids bought in right away, lifting before school during the season.

He recalls after the first season, the kids asked him if they were going to continue to lift in the off season, and he told them they absolutely would be lifting year-round.

What is commonplace today was a novel idea back in 2010. 

“It took a little time for the kids to understand what the expectation was. It just took some encouragement, and having them see the improvements in themselves in the weight room was a big part of it,” Applebee said.

The Jaguars weight room is one of the finest in the state. Applebee is proud of it. He insists that it stay clean and players treat it with respect. 

The strength program for the Jaguars football team is designed and run by assistant head coach (and offensive line coach) Jamie Resseguie.

“Mostly we’re trying to create a well-rounded, functional young athlete — not always specifically geared towards building football players, but more geared towards increasing each one of their individual performances,” he said.

On the football field Coach Ress is a bundle of energy. He’s loud and animated. In the weight room, he’s more reserved. He watches the kids. Steps in, if needed, to offer tips.

One of the aspects of the Jaguars strength program that has changed over the years has been the use of technology. 

“Technology’s made things way more efficient in collecting data on individuals and using that date to help them get better,” Resseguie explains.

I flashback to the opening of the 70s TV show, “The Six Million Dollar Man.”

“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. … Better than he was before. Better ... stronger ... faster.”

In a way, that sums up the goal of the Jaguars strength program: getting better, stronger, faster.

When they’re on the practice field, many of the Jaguar players wear Catapults, an electronic thingamajig (this may or may not be an accurate scientific term) that captures all kinds of information...

The Catapult tracks top speed, player movement such as forward, lateral and backward movement, jumping, maximum acceleration and deceleration, total distance traveled, and much more.

Coach Resseguie said the tracking gets the guys  “feeling their best version of themselves by Friday, by making sure we're monitoring what they're doing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.”

The early morning strength and conditioning program also helps the boys develop a good work ethic, and as they see the results of their hard work they become more aggressive and confident in the way their bodies move.

Senior running back Max Piva is a brute. If he can’t run past you he has no problem running through you. He’s a bruiser and can make defenders wonder if they’re the hitter or hittee. 

Max has seen the benefits of the Jaguar strength program first hand. 

“The strength program has made me a lot healthier and stronger and has contributed to me being able to have success on the field,” he said. “All the work we put in makes it so we have a lot of power, whether we are blocking, tackling or running someone over.”

Waking up early and hitting the weights can be difficult, he said, but the players realize that it’s necessary if they want to be the best players they can be. 

He credits the strength program with helping him enhance his natural ability and develop as a player. 

“I realized last year that I had become a lot harder to tackle, and also when I’m blocking, I have a lot more strength,” he said.

Defenders won’t argue that. As a junior, Max emerged as one of the top running backs in the state with 1,812 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. 

Teddy Danielson’s high school football career is just getting started. The incoming freshman has experienced a lot of success as a young player in middle school, helping his team win two Kaw Valley League championships. But high school football is a completely different thing. 

Teddy didn’t come into the program cold. His older brother played for the Jaguars and struggled his freshman year. He offered Teddy some advice: get your butt in shape.

“I took his advice and got in better shape than I ever have been, and that’s helped me a lot,” he said. 

Teddy said the early morning workouts were a challenge at the start of summer, but now they’ve become routine. He realizes this is the cost of being a football power in Kansas. In just a few short weeks he’s already noticed changes.

“The first week I was pretty tired after conditioning but lately I’ve noticed myself getting significantly better. And in the weight room I’ve worked my way up in weights.”

For Teddy, the best part of the strength program is going through it with his buddies that he’s played with for years.

“I enjoy the camaraderie of our team and everybody just hyping each other up in the weight room with the music blasting,” he said. “At Mill Valley we don’t just lift weights. We lift each other up, which I think is really special.”

After the upper classmen finish with the weight lifting part of their conditioning I follow them to the football stadium where they do some running, acceleration and agility drills for about a half hour. As they finish up I glance over at Quinn. Nope, still no sweat.