University of Tennessee Athletics
WEIGHT ROOM GURU GEARITY BRINGS OUT BEST IN UT ATHLETES
September 20, 2005 | Baseball
Sept. 20, 2005
By Mike Griffith, Knoxville News Sentinel
Tennessee assistant strength and conditioning coach Brian Gearity tells players if they're not working hard, they'll be replaced by someone who is.
So it's no wonder the 26-year-old Gearity makes it a point not to be outworked - or out-qualified - by anyone.
"It doesn't matter if you want to work out at 6 a.m., or stay after a game and work out, 'G' will stay with you and bust his butt to help you," said Vols' pitcher Luke Hochevar, the 40th overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft. "He's the smartest strength coach you'll ever come in contact with. All the guys respect him."
So does the National Strength & Conditioning Association. Gearity was one of only nine U.S. strength coaches selected to travel with a delegation Sept. 11-23 to the People's Republic of China.
The group will tour and work with various sports schools and athletic academies in Beijing, Guilin and Shanghai. While there, Gearity will exchange ideas and methods with some of China's top athletic trainers and athletes.
Gearity, who is raising $5,000 to pay for the trip, sees it as an opportunity to discover new avenues and approaches to strength and conditioning training.
"I'll be interested to see how they do their research and find the role of their research," said Gearity, who has a Master's in Sport Management from UT and is working on a Ph.D in education. "I expect they'll be equally interested in learning what the U.S. trainers know."
Gearity, who for the past four years has worked primarily with the baseball team, said the key to his success in the weight room is knowing his players.
"When I did a two-year internship with the Cleveland Indians, I learned to deal with a lot of personalities and backgrounds," said Gearity, who played football and graduated with a degree in physical education and exercise science from John Carroll University in Cleveland. "I learned you adapt your programs to fit the athletes' needs."
Hochevar said Gearity's workout methods have been crucial to the growth and success he enjoyed over his career.
"I put on 30 pounds and gained 7 mph on my fastball my freshman year," said Hochevar. "Without gaining strength and taking on position-specific drills, I wouldn't have put on the velocity and had the stamina to endure a season like I had.
"He (Gearity) has given me a great deal of innovation in my workouts - doing the same thing every day could get monotonous. That's why he's so great."
By his estimation, Hochevar has done more than 100 types of drills and workouts "easy."
It's a model that UT freshman All-American pitcher James Adkins is anxious to follow.
"I can see what Luke is doing in the weight room and how he works with G; seeing the results makes all the pain in here worthwhile," said Adkins, whose lanky build is similar to the one Hochevar carried as a freshman. "Without our offseason program, I don't think I would have made it through last season. In high school I pitched 60 innings and was drained. I doubled that workload this season and had more left in me."
Freshman All-America catcher J.P. Arencibia is another believer.
"I came in here weighing 212 with 20 percent body fat," he said. "Now, I'm at 193. G knows how to push you and motivate you, and you know what he tells you will work."
Gearity said the UT coaches make it easy for him and the other Vols' trainers in the most important respect.
"Our coaches recruit the best athletes in the nation," Gearity said. "As long as we keep them fit and on the field, they'll be great."
Gearity, however, sees to it he's able to offer the athletes he works with another level of expertise.
He recently became a certified athletic trainer in order to better understand some of the rehabilitative training he conducts.
After learning of coach Rod Delmonico's penchant for speed on his teams, Gearity took a USA Track and Field Certification course. Last summer, he took a week-long level II sprint-training course.
"As a coach I think it's important to build my knowledge base and be a role model," Gearity said. "Taking classes also allows me to stay on the cutting edge. I have to understand everything within the realm of physical training. That's why I go down different routes."
Even if the path leads to China.
After all, if Gearity didn't take advantage of this trip, he'd be replaced by another trainer.
