TED AGU PAPERS: Cal Football Strength Coach Damon Harrington’s 2014 ‘Winter Workout Contract’ Included ‘Massive Punishment Session Before Entire Team’ — Plus Extreme Drill Called ‘Grave Digger’
June 25, 2016Cal Football Spokesperson: We’re Looking Into Questions About Strength and Conditioning Coach Damon Harrington’s ‘Winter Workout Contract’ With Players the Season Ted Agu Died
June 27, 2016
A facsimile is viewable at http://muchnick.net/harringtonrules.pdf. Below, in bold, is the full text.
As our coverage proceeds, we’ll be trying to define some of the terminology of Harrington’s drills. Agu, of course, was personally familiar with the eerily named “Grave digger.”
CAL FOOTBALL
WINTER WORKOUTS — PLAYER CONTRACT
This off-season workout is designed to help each individual player reach their maximum potential both the weight room and on the field by becoming bigger, faster and stronger. Our team goal is to win a pac-12 championship and this can only be achieved through sacrifice, discipline and dedication. This means that despite ANY circumstances that come, you place the team above self and all work toward a common goal. We will win our games by how we work starting this January. Earn the right to be successful!
- I WILL ALWAYS BE ON TIME. 1 SECOND LATE IS LATE.
- IF I HAVE A CONFLICT, I WILL COMMUNICATE WITH STRENGTH COACHES AND HAVE A VALID REASON B/F MY SCHEDULED LIFT/RUN. FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE WILL BE CONSIDERED AN ABSENCE.
DAMON [phone number blacked out by Concussion Inc.]
SAL [phone number blacked out by Concussion Inc.]
MAHALA [phone number blacked out by Concussion Inc.]
- IF I AM SICK, I WILL PHYSICALLY REPORT TO THE TRAINING ROOM B/F MY SCHEDULED LIFT/RUN TO BE EXCUSED. CALLING FROM BED IS NOT CONSIDERED EXCUSED.
- I WILL BE COACHABLE AND TAKE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM.
- ONLY CAL ISSUED APPAREL WILL BE WORN. THIS INCLUDES NO EAR RINGS, NECKLACES, SOCKS, HEADGEAR, ETC. THERE WILL BE NO MODIFICATION TO ISSUED GEAR. I AM WILLING TO SACRIFICE MY INDIVIDUALITY TO CONFORM INTO ONE COHESIVE TEAM.
- I WILL NEVER MAKE EXCUSES FOR MYSELF OR MY TEAMMATES. I WILL OWN MY ACTIONS.
- I WILL GIVE MY ALL FOR MY TEAMMATES AND ABOVE ALL ELSE FOR CAL AND OUR SUCCESS ON A DAILY BASIS.
- I WILL BE GRATEFUL FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AND AS SUCH, WILL NOT ACT ENTITLED OR COMPLAIN AS I UNDERSTAND THAT I CHOSE TO BE A PART OF THIS TEAM.
IF I VIOLATE ANY OF THESE RULES, I WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY BOTH TEAMMATES AND COACHES AND SUBJECT TO ANY DISCIPLINE AS A RESULT OF MY ACTIONS.
2014 Cal Football
Winter Competition Rules
– Team will be divided into 8 teams
– Each team will have a captain chosen by the coaching staff
– Captains will name teams
– Draft will be held by captains before competition start
– Coaches will be drafted to teams
– Draft will be posted so each person on our team knows where they stand with their teammates
Draft:
- Draft order will be determined by drawing numbers from a hat
- Order will go 1-8/8-1 for each round. Each round will have specific picks as follows:
Rd 1 — wildcard
Rd 2 — OL/DL
Rd 3 — LB/TE/SP/FB
Rd 4 — WR/DB/RB/QB
Competition points will be drawn from 6 categories. Those categories are as follows:
- Speed
- Agilities
- Strength
- Academics
- Self-Discipline
- Combative
- SPEED (M/TH)
– Groups will be divided by speed level with up to 8 groups from fastest to slowest
– Will run 6-8 sprints up to 25-30 yds or until required yardage of 250 yds
– Every race will have a winner and a loser who will be awarded points
– Winner (+1)
– Loser (-1)
Competitions:
Monday
Race (3 pt)
Reaction
2 pt
Seated
200’s
400’s
COD Sprints
Thursday
Tires
Hills Steps
Manpower:
Starter
Winner
Loser
2 scribes
- AGILITIES (TU/FRI)
Phase I — weight staff
– 4 stations per half/ 8 total (2 teams per station)
– 1 vs. 1 every drill/play on each team
– Winner awarded +1
– Loser awarded -1
Examples of Drills:
- Pro agility
- L-Drill
- 60 yd shuttle
- 3 bag drill
- 4 cone drills
- Hoop drill
- 6 bag drill
- 6 cone drill
- 40 yd shuttle
Phase II (coaches) – mat agilities
Examples of Drills:
- Quarter eagles
- Shuffle wave + up down
- 2 pt seat roll
- 4 pt seal roll
- 4-way run
- 2-way run/shuffle
- 4 pt bear and roll
Manpower: Coach and scribe with each team
– Coach and scribe will rotate with teams each station
– Points can/will be calculated at half time and after agilities are completed
– Coaches have option to condition entire team at half time
– Losing 4 teams will also condition after agilities are completed
- ACADEMICS
– Points will be (+) or (-) per Academic team
(+) points –
attendance
Work ethic
Attitude
Grades
(-) points –
study hall
class
tutors
attitude
Grades
- SELF DISCIPLINE
(+) points –
Exceptional attitude
Discipline
Team member
Effort/work ethic
Toughness
Bodyweight
Body Language
(-) points –
Missed/late workout
Missed/late treatment
Attitude
Effort/work ethic
Toughness
Bodyweight
Body Language
- STRENGTH
– Will be done in or after workout
– All competitions will be timed
– Record results all day and take average of team or total number of reps per team
– First place team will receive 8 pts with rest according to where team finishes deown to 1 pt
Examples of competitions:
Push ups
Pull ups
Bench press
Dips
Plate holds
Sit ups
Bar Hangs
– Strength coaches reserve the right to award points for outstanding feats of strength, such as PR’s, etc.
- COMBATIVE
Phase I – 10 combats a day
Phase II – incorporate into agilities
Examples of combative drills:
- Thunderdome *
- Death Crawl *
- Tug of War *
- Terrible Towel *
- Tire of Terror
- Tire Tap Out
- Grave digger
* incorporate into sand pit
– Combative drills can be scheduled into workout or at end of run or done at any point during those things with the element of surprise
NOTES:
– Points will be calculated throughout week
– At the end of every week, points will be posted
– A massive punishment session in front of the entire team featuring the previous weeks losing team as well as violators of self-discipline category. All players/coaches are required to attend.
– Winning team will be rewarded from previous week at punishment session.
– If a team is in last place 2 week in a row, they will be required to participate in massive punishment and in addition have a workout at 5 am.