- Mike Barwis
-
Contents
Background
Barwis is a consultant for the New York Mets 2010-2011
Barwis joined Head Coach Rich Rodriguez at the University of Michigan in the winter of 2007, replacing Mike Gittleson as the strength and conditioning coach. Barwis was formerly employed as the strength and conditioning coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers.[2] Mike Barwis was named director of strength and conditioning at West Virginia University, supervising the entire strength program for WVA athletics, in May 2003.[3] He had been previously employed as assistant strength and conditioning coach beginning in August 1998.[4]
Mike Barwis has coached 24 National Strength and Conditioning (NSCA) All-Americans since 1999, and was one of 10 coaches to receive the 2002 Bronze Award from the NSCA certification commission.[5]
Before becoming the strength and conditioning coach at West Virginia, he trained professional, Olympic, national and international competitors and medalists in wrestling, track and field, soccer, football, basketball, baseball, motocross, cycling, cross country, downhill skiing, boxing, ice hockey, tennis, swimming and diving, gymnastics, crew, body building and rifle.[5]
Barwis received his undergraduate degree in exercise physiology from West Virginia University and his master's degree in athletic coaching with an emphasis in strength and conditioning.[5] Barwis also completed anatomy and physiology course work at Temple University.
Philosophy
Barwis's training philosophy emphasizes the development of fast-twitch muscle fibers and flexibility and is "based on the clean-and-jerk movements of Olympic weight lifting, yoga, track-style stretching and nutrition."[6]
According to an article published in the Detroit Free Press: "To Barwis, the key to football is change of direction. And the key to that is channeling energy from one part of your body to another. Rapidly. Without that, he said: 'Athletics are a waste. If I can put my body in the optimal position to generate the greatest force and power and to change direction in the quickest time, I don't always have to be the fastest player.'"
Barwis has claimed that "We're kind of the pioneers of the most progressive strength program in the country. We (West Virginia) were the strongest team in the country the last four years -- best conditioned, the fastest, most balanced, best body awareness, and most explosive."[7] During his five year tenure, West Virginia produced eight NFL draft picks including one 1st round pick and three 1st day picks.[8]
Former Head Coach Rodriguez has stated that Barwis's role as strength and conditioning coach may be more important to a football team than offensive or defensive coordinator. "In a lot of ways, it's even more critical because there are about five months where he has them by himself," WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said. "He basically has them all summer, and there is a good bit in the spring where he is in control and we can't have any contact with the players. He is an extension of the coaching staff, and we expect the same effort and same intensity in the weight room as we have on the field."[9]
Barwis also states that the key to his training is the love and respect he has for his players. "In my opinion, a kid will never give you 110 percent unless he knows you love him and care about him," Barwis said Tuesday afternoon during an interview inside the Milan Puskar Center. "That’s the bottom line. These kids know that they are my family and I love them ... You have to respect somebody as much as they respect you to get them to do what you need them to do," he added. "If you don’t truly care about a person, then you don’t truly have their best interests at heart."
Team Accomplishments
2005/2006 Seasons, West Virginia produced their first ever consecutive 11 win seasons in school history. 2006 WV were matched up against the #8 Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar bowl. Georgia was the SEC Champion. They took a surprising 31-21 lead at halftime and set a BCS record of combined points in a first half of BCS game. And held on to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs 38-35. They finished 5th in the final polls tying the highest in school history.
2006/2007 Season, West Virginia played its way to the Gator Bowl and defeated Georgia Tech 38-35 locking up a second straight top 10 finish.
2007/2008 season, The Mountaineers started the season as the #3 ranked team and reached a ranking of #1 in the nation in the Coaches Poll and finished the season with a third consecutive 11-win season after the Fiesta Bowl Victory. The victory came over the Big 12 Champion Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners had no answer for the speed of the Big East Champion West Virginia Mountaineers and defeated them 48-28.
2007/08 offseason
After being hired in December 2007, Barwis and Head Coach Rich Rodriguez "took one look at Michigan's weight room in December and decided to gut it. It was outdated for their needs. Six weeks and more than $1 million later, there were machines in the building that a layman would never recognize."[10] Above the door to the workout room, a sign was posted saying "Through these doors walks the best-conditioned, hardest-working team in America."
In the spring and summer of 2008, over thirty professional athletes trained with Barwis, including Larry Foote, who said he became "more explosive, faster and better-tuned as he heads into his seventh season in the NFL."[6] The workouts, referred to by one newspaper as the "Barwis School of Pukitude," were attended by, among others, Braylon Edwards, Chris Perry, Jamar Adams, Steve Breaston, Victor Hobson, James Hall, Leon Hall, LaMarr Woodley, Mike Hart and Ryan Mundy (who has the unique distinction of having trained with Barwis at both Michigan and West Virginia).[11][12][13] Hockey players Kevin Porter, Chad Kolarik and Matt Hunwick also trained with Barwis over the summer.[14]
Barwis does not accept compensation for training the professional athletes. This despite the fact that Barwis prepares "a three-inch-thick binder for each player as they head back to their professional career. These customized binders lay out every detail of every workout to help the players through the rigors of an NFL, or NHL, season." "He trains them, he says, because the alums are part of the Michigan family, because it's good for the program, and because he wants them to be as good as they can be." According to Rodriguez , the professional athletes "now train with him diligently and they're definitely some of his biggest advocates."[15]
Former WVU players Steve Slaton, Darius Reynaud and Johnny Dingle also made plans to work with Barwis in Ann Arbor prior to the NFL draft. "'Mike's like an uncle to us,' Dingle said. 'He's a nice friend to have, whatever you need Mike for, he'll do.'"[16]
According to one article, "Barwis often conducts workouts while [his] wife watched their 1-year-old son plays nearby in a portable crib."[17]
Barwis has coached 200 pro football players, with 2 of them being Heisman trophy finalists and 1 winning the Remington award trophy. His teams have had 4-11 win seasons, 5 conference championships, 2 BCS bowl appearances and 7 consensus first team all-Americans. College players that have made it to the NFL have had success. He has coached 1 Pro Bowl MVP, 12 pro bowlers, and 2 all-pro players.
He has trained the NFL Draft testing record 225 bench max test. (47 reps), coached 3 players over 40 reps Trained all-time clean record in college or pro, 525 lb Hang Clean, coached 3 players over 500 lb in career 32 NCSA All-Americans
Bowl Games
Insight.com bowl Music city bowl Sugar bowl- 2 times Carquest bowl- 2 times Gator bowl- 5 times Fiesta Bowl ChampionHe has had success in many other sports as well.
Men's Basketball-
5 NCAA tournament appearances 3 Sweet 16 appearances 1 Elite 8 appearance 1 NIT Championship 6 All-Conference Players 22 Professional PlayersWomen's Soccer-
3 Conference Championships 1 Elite 8 Appearance 12 Conference Players of the Year 4 WUSA PlayersWrestling-
5 Individual National Championships 27 Individual Conference Championships 4 Team Conference Championships 4 Conference Wrestler of the Year 3 Freshmen Wrestlers of the year 1 Pro Wrestler 19 NCAA All-Americans 1 National OW Award WinnerBaseball-
1 Conference Pitcher of the Year 1 Conference player of the year 7 NCAA First team All-Americans 14 First Team All-Conference Selections 18 MLB PlayersWomen's Basketball
2 NCAA Tournament Appearances 4 NCAA First Team All-American Selections 5 First Team All-Conference Selections 6 WNBA PlayersMen's Soccer
3 NCAA Second Round Appearances 1 NCAA Sweet 16 appearance 5 All-Conference First Team 12 MLS PlayersMen's Track
10 Olympic Competitors from 4 CountriesGolf
1 ProfessionalFitness
1 ChampionCross Country
3 NCAA individual National Champions 4 NCAA First Team All- American Selections 1 Mid- Atlantic Team Championship 25 NCAA Mid- Atlantic Individual Champions 4 Time NCAA Team Qualifier 1 Conference Championship 14 First Team All- Conference Selections 4 Olympic Competitors from three countriesRifle
4 NCAA National Titles 34 First Team All- American Selections 36 Second Team All- American Selections 2 Time National Shooters of The Year 5 Time Conference Champion 1 olympic competitorSwimming & Diving
13 First Team All- Americans 14 Men's Individual NCAA Qualifiers 15 Men's Relay NCAA Qualifiers 22 Women's Relay NCAA Qualifiers 2 Olympic competitors from 2 countriesTennis
1 Conference Tournament MVP 18 All- Conference First Team Selections 3 Professional PlayersWomen's Track
15 Indoor Event Conference Champions 27 Outdoor Event Conference Champions 37 First Team All- Conference Selections 6 Olympic competitors from 4 countriesGymnastics
6 Conference Titles 2 NCAA National Appearances 43 Individual NCAA National AppearancesBoxing
2 professionalsSoftball
Big 10 Championship College World SeriesBody Building
1 Natural world Champ 3 Professional Body BuildersCrew
2nd finish 4 boat at the henley invitational world wide 1st finish 4 boat at DadvillsCycling
2 professional cyclists 1 amateur national championVolleyball
2 Second Team All- Conference Selections 1 Conference Rookie of the YearIce Hockey
Worked With Over 30 NHL Athletes 2 Conference Championships 1 Frozen Four Appearance 1 Hobey Trophy Award Winner2008 season
After Michigan upset then-ranked #9 Wisconsin on September 27, 2008, the Detroit Free Press reported that "when they were rallying and Wisconsin was wilting, the Michigan football team couldn't stop praising Barwis."[18] Michigan won the game 27–25 after trailing by 19 points. "Every player noticed, even when things didn't click, that they were overwhelming Wisconsin." Moreover, "[t]he strength and conditioning program is paying dividends on the field. Michigan has appeared stronger in the second half of all four games than in the first half."
2009 season
In the second game of the 2009 season, Michigan beat Notre Dame by scoring with 11 seconds left to take 38–34 lead. Sports Illustrated reported about the quarterback, Tate Forcier: "And like all these Wolverines, he's in excellent shape. After Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen carved up its defense for 118 passing yards and 17 points in the second quarter alone, Michigan seemed to wear down the Irish in the second half. 'I attribute that to conditioning,' declared running back Brandon Minor, who pounded for 106 yards on 16 carries. 'We pride ourselves on that.'".[19]
Reputation
Newspapers and players often comment about Barwis's reputation. The Detroit Free Press reported: "Even before Barwis arrived in Ann Arbor [in December 2007], his reputation preceded him. His legend has only grown since."[20] Likewise, ESPN Magazine wrote: "Football players, many outweighing Barwis by 100 pounds, speak in awe of the guy like he's some sort of Chuck Norris figure."[21] Among other things, newspapers and players mention:
Barwis "doesn't sleep" and "rarely eats."[20]
Barwis has a "raspy, Wolfman Jack voice," a "raspy drill sergeant's voice",[22] is a "gravel-voiced man,"[23] "whose gravelly voice is straight out of central casting."[24]
Barwis considers his players to be his family and frequently hugs them.[25]
Barwis owned two pet wolves, which he was known to wrestle and sleep with.[7]
In 2000, "[f]ive wrestlers quit during warmups and one cried during practice ..."[26][27]
Barwis is reluctant to talk about his mixed martial arts background. A former West Virginia wrestler swore he saw "the 195-pound Barwis force a 300-pound Mountaineer heavyweight to -- in MMA terms -- 'tap out.'"[10]
According to a December 20, 2007, article in the Charleston Daily Mail of West Virginia, Barwis was once jumped by two basketball players, Patrick Beilein and Mike Gansey. "'We thought we could catch him off guard and go get him.' That was a mistake [Beilein said]. 'Bad idea,' Gansey said. 'We both jumped on him and you know how every part of his body is like a rock? He had me on his back and gently put me on the ground and gave me a neck strangle and blacked me out for like 20 seconds. No lie. All my teammates saw it and at the click of his fingers I was back to normal. Crazy, huh? But that showed how strong he was and all the stuff he can do - and nothing was wrong with me afterward.'" After this event, the rest of the basketball team decided to jump on Barwis. "'The whole team was lying on the ground a little later,' Beilein said."[28]
WVU players swore that Barwis had "some sort of magical power in combating bad weather. 'It seems like every time it rains and we go out there and condition, the sun gods always smile upon Mike Barwis and it makes it a little worse for us,' center Dan Mozes said. . . . 'We say this about Barwis: 'When he walks on the field, the sun comes out and it's time for us to run,' said WVU safety Eric Wicks."[29]
When Morgan Trent was asked "What's the craziest thing about Wolverines strength coach Mike Barwis?," Trent replied "That he's a former MMA fighter and can kill any one of us if he wanted to with one punch."[30]
Personal
Barwis is a native of the Philadelphia area. He is married to Autumn Barwis, and they have two sons together, Raymond and Charlie and one daughter Hannah.[5] Autumn Barwis was an associate director in the strength and conditioning at West Virginia University.
In 2000, Mike Barwis hired Speck as an intern. According to an interview with the Dominion Post, a newspaper published in Morgantown, West Virginia, Mike explained:
"Autumn and I worked together for about seven years. We were best friends and obviously excellent co-workers. We had similar interests, the same drive, the same ambition, the same direction. We complement one another at work. We complement one another as friends.
"After a number of years we decided maybe it was time to do it outside of here. We really seemed to match up personality-wise, ambition-wise, directionwise and interest-wise.
"She was the first person I ever found that filled all the voids in my life. The things I was bad at, she was good at ... and she's not bad at anything."[31] The couple married on June 30, 2006.
See also
- List of Michigan Wolverines football trainers
References
- ^ ESPN - Offseason program has Wolverines looking, feeling different - College Football
- ^ ESPN - Six assistants leaving West Virginia for Michigan - College Football
- ^ 5/16/2003 Charleston Gazette & Daily Mail (WV) at 4B
- ^ 8/6/1998 Charleston Gazette & Daily Mail (WV) at 3B
- ^ a b c d MGoBlue
- ^ a b http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080730/SPORTS06/807300407/&imw=Y
- ^ a b http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/10900421/1
- ^ http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft
- ^ 10/17/07 Dominion Post Morgantown (WV), "Barwis built: Strength coach critical to success of WVU" by Eric Herter
- ^ a b http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/10900421
- ^ http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/sports/index.ssf/2008/07/golf_outing_highlights_um_athl.html
- ^ 5/26/2008 Dominion Post Morgantown (WV) Drew Rubenstein column: Mundy won't second guess coming to WVU by Drew Rubenstein
- ^ http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:mtuUj-FyPz8J:www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20080413/SPORTS06/804130688+%22Mike+Barwis+may+be+the+new+strength+and+conditioning+coach+at+U-M%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=safari
- ^ http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/other/index.ssf/2008/08/porter_enjoys_first_um_hockey_6.html
- ^ Everything shaping up for Rodriguez, Michigan, http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=228246&src=289
- ^ 2/24/2008 Dominion Post Morgantown (WV) LB not out of question for Dingle: Says he'll train with Barwis before draft by Stefanie Loh
- ^ http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/27415404.html?page=2&c=y
- ^ http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080928/SPORTS06/809280531/1054
- ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1160283/index.htm
- ^ a b http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080730/SPORTS06/807300407/1054
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3486506
- ^ http://blog.mlive.com/wolverines_stories/2008/04/barwis_goal_tireless_um.html
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3486506&type=story
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/2008-08-28-michigan-cover_N.htm
- ^ http://www.timeswv.com/localsports/local_story_175001318.html?keyword=secondarystory
- ^ http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/10900421/2
- ^ http://jasonseville.blogspot.com/2008/01/fiesta-bowl-coach-stew-and-barwis.html?showComment=1200259800000
- ^ 12/20/07 Charleston Gazette & Daily Mail at B1, WVU hopes Barwis has strong ties Mountaineer strength coach being courted by Rodriguez, Wolverines by Mike Casazza
- ^ 7/3/2006 Dominion Post Morgantown (WV), In football, only strong survive: WVU players credit Barwis for endurance by Todd Murray
- ^ http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080827/SPORTS17/808270393/-1/SPORTS09
- ^ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-154524343.html
External links
Categories:- American strength and conditioning coaches
- Living people
- People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- West Virginia University alumni
- Temple University alumni
- West Virginia Mountaineers football coaches
- Michigan Wolverines football coaches
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