Football
Youth Camp...Some Kinda Fun
By John Porentas

The second session of the all-positions youth camp is in full swing at Ohio State. Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Mike Cochran gets up close and personal with a camper to motivate him. Photo by Jim Davidson Campers are going from field to field learning skills specific to their positions, participating in seven-on-seven drills, watching film with the OSU coaching staff and generally learning as much as they can about the game of football. For the most part, it looks like a whole lot of fun. Football, however, is a tough game. It is also a game that requires mental and physical toughness, physical prowess and conditioning. One of the stops that campers make at the summer camp is at the OSU strength conditioning room where they get a watered-down dose of the kind of training the Buckeyes get to develop that mental and physical toughness. That is also the one stop that looks like it might be something short of all-out fun. OSU Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Mike Cochran conducts conditioning drills with campers prior to their entry into the actual weight rooms, and the drills are a mini-dose of the kind of long-term training a football players needs to shoulder to excel. Cochran puts campers through a rigorous and spirited session of calisthenics that campers find challenging to say the least. Adding to the challenge is the fact that Cochran often gets nose to nose with campers who seem to need a bit of extra motivation, often getting down on the floor with them and challenging them to new levels of accomplishment. At times, it doesn't look like a lot of fun, but Cochran seems to have a gift for putting participants under stress, goading them to a higher performance level, then making that participant glad for the experience. Mike Cochran's "heart goes out" to a camper who is giving it his all to do all the crunches that Cochran demands. Photo by Jim Davidson A one-on-one session with Cochran (in front of the entire group) looks like something out of a military boot camp, but without fail, Cochran ends the session with high praise for the camper in front of him, often with a solid slap of the hand, and a huge attaboy for the effort. Invariably, the campers beam, and seem to be better off for the experience, quite proud of the fact that they survived their one-on-one experience with Cochran. Cochran often earns the respect of the campers when he shows them, in the clearest terms, that what he asks can be done. More often than not, when an athlete is struggling with a drill, Cochran gets on the floor with him, does the drill with him, and helps the camper to results. As demanding as it all looks, the kids seem to love it. Fun, it seems, comes in many forms.

Photo by Jim Davidson

Mike Cochran "urges" a camper to squeeze out another pushup.

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