http://deadspin.com/watch-umass-football...socialflow

Quote:Last week, the Daily Hampshire Gazette posted a video shot during a UMass offseason session in 2012 that features a bunch of football players beating the s*** out of each other. Or, as UMass coach Charley Molar would later describe it, a "team-building" exercise that instills "mental toughness."

Not sure how having the guys wrestle or box each other teaches any discernable football skill. Sure it makes guys less afraid of contact (perhaps), but it's not only dangerous, it doesn't enhance any skills that help these guys make plays. OH, and this stuff is now a violation:

Quote:According to the Gazette, the NCAA permitted such "drills" at the time the video was filmed but it has since banned so-called "combatives."

Not defending the "boxing" but the wrestling portion is (was?) fairly common all the way down to high school. Most of the coaches I know encourage especially linemen and linebackers to join the wrestling team as it helps build and maintain core strength and especially conditioning.

(10-01-2013 03:30 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  Not defending the "boxing" but the wrestling portion is (was?) fairly common all the way down to high school. Most of the coaches I know encourage especially linemen and linebackers to join the wrestling team as it helps build and maintain core strength and especially conditioning.

Offseason - sure. I get that.

During the season, with a rather large risk of injury (as evidenced by the anecdote about the QB who tore his labrum in a wrestling match with a LB) - no. Too much risk and too little potential reward.

(10-01-2013 03:35 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  

(10-01-2013 03:30 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  Not defending the "boxing" but the wrestling portion is (was?) fairly common all the way down to high school. Most of the coaches I know encourage especially linemen and linebackers to join the wrestling team as it helps build and maintain core strength and especially conditioning.

Offseason - sure. I get that.

During the season, with a rather large risk of injury (as evidenced by the anecdote about the QB who tore his labrum in a wrestling match with a LB) - no. Too much risk and too little potential reward.

The video shown was in the offseason

Quote:The petition, which was originally posted on the UMass Football Alum private Facebook group, includes a YouTube link showing highlights from the program’s 2012 winter conditioning workouts.

http://www.gazettenet.com/home/8646427-9...of-players

(10-01-2013 02:09 PM)CommuterBob Wrote:  Not sure how having the guys wrestle or box each other teaches any discernable football skill. Sure it makes guys less afraid of contact (perhaps), but it's not only dangerous, it doesn't enhance any skills that help these guys make plays. OH, and this stuff is now a violation:

Quote:According to the Gazette, the NCAA permitted such "drills" at the time the video was filmed but it has since banned so-called "combatives."

Urban Meyer was the one who popularized this stuff. Wrestling skills do have some overlap with blocking and tackling skills as well as breaking blocks and tackles, and were a way to get around the NCAA prohibition on practicing football skills during certain parts of the offseason. Yes, it can be dangerous. The NCAA nevertheless continues to sponsor a sport known as "Wrestling", in which the combatants compete without wearing any pads.

The boxing (while wearing helmets and gloves) was someone's poorly conceived idea, probably to avoid the risk of twisting joints as in wrestling. UMass had already stopped doing the wrestling and boxing, in which participation was optional, before the NCAA banned them. Even if the danger is being exaggerated, it was too much risk for a team extremely short on depth. Someone with an ax to grind nevertheless released the videos, knowing that many people would go straight to outrage without looking at the dates or what some other programs were doing at the time. I'm confident that it wasn't big bad UMass's rogue football program that got the NCAA to suddenly ban "combative drills" this year.

That's one thing the other reason why they suck since they don't have the players for the system the coach uses.

(10-01-2013 07:18 PM)LastMinuteman Wrote:  UMass had already stopped doing the wrestling and boxing, in which participation was optional, before the NCAA banned them.

Nothing at football practice is ever optional if you want to play.

UMass is not very good for a number or reasons, one of them being that Charley Molnar is not a very good head coach.

UMass wasn't even a good FCS team at the time they moved to the MAC. So now they have a new coaching staff and are adjusting to the FBS move. As much as I would have liked to add a school to the MAC that already had a good football program, it will require at least a little patience. Few teams don't struggle after making that move, especially when the previous coach didn't leave much. Although I think we should have required an upgraded home stadium before the move up, as playing so many games at Gillette is not a good option except in the very short term when absolutely necessary.

I would think Sumo wrestling would be more appropriate to linemen, in fact I think at least some in the NFL have tried this, maybe others...