By: Jake Spitz - Media Relations Student Assistant

While it's the beginning of summer vacation for most Maryland students, the Terrapin football team is back in College Park getting ready for the 2016 season. Wednesday marked the beginning of their two-month summer strength and conditioning program, which is led by Director of Football Sports Performance, Rick Court.

This conditioning period is a major step as the Terps inch closer to the start of preseason camp in August.  

“It's an incredibly important part of our year,” said Court. “We've built a really good foundation over the last five months, and I think we'll be able to put it all together during the two months we have together in the summer to focus on getting our bodies ready for the season. We just need to keep building a confidence and toughness as we get towards the season. Getting in shape this summer will help that.”

There has been a great deal of preparation that has gone into building a schedule for this upcoming period of the season.

“I've spent a lot of time preparing for everything we're getting ready to do,” Court explained. “We started working on our summer program in the middle of the winter. Our staff sits down every day and we discuss positives, negatives, and everything we need to work on.”

Court relies on his staff to make sure the program is laid out to maximize the time they get with the players.

“My staff makes a two-week plan and I make one separately and then we sit down and take pieces from each,” he said. “We then walk through the weight room and map out exactly how our weights session is going to work.”

Court has a general program, but then meets the specific needs and abilities of each individual player.

“There's a blanket, but each player's plan is different based on what their current ability is and where we think they can get to,” Court explained. “If we're progressing quickly, we may increase the difficulty of what we're doing. If we're taking some more time getting to where we want to be, we may slow things down in order to get it right.”

Court noted how strength and conditioning is similar to offensive and defensive schemes on the field.

“As much as the coaches plan offensively and defensively for Saturday's, we do the same thing for every day we get the team in the weight room,” said Court. “The behind-the-scenes work so that we're prepared is just as important as training days.”

Conditioning will be even more essential for the Terrapin offense this season due to offensive coordinator Walt Bell's spread style.

“Fortunately for me I've been involved with these kinds of offenses before,” Court noted. “I think that's one of the main reasons I'm here. Everything is fast and aggressive on the field, and that's how we'll look at it in the weight room.”

Unlike during the school year when the players have a full class schedule, the summer allows the team to focus even more on the football aspect of their lives.

“It's certainly going to be different,” Court explained. “Even though most of our guys still take a couple classes and have study hall hours, they are going to have a lot more time than they're used to. Football now becomes a priority. This period is so important for our guys because they're going to really get to sink their teeth into what they personally need to work on.”

-Maryland-