1996 Sun Bowl MVP Chad Hutchinson tops short-list of "2008 Stanford
Football Conditioning
Test" survivors!
At 11:00AM on August 3, 2008, on a sunny Sunday morning at Stanford
Football's Practice Field #1, half a dozen former athletes of various vintages stretched
statically and struggled to warm up in dynamic fashion in preparation for a
voluntary test of strength, stamina and will. Always focused on innovative
ways to build a culture of winning and competitiveness, Coach Harbaugh had
invited all former Stanford Football players to "train with the team"
as it prepared for the upcoming 2008 football season. They would have an
opportunity to demonstrate a perfectly
disciplined will, one that refuses to give in to "fatigue", an enemy
that, as the great Vince Lombardi once said, "makes cowards of us
all". Six brave souls stepped to the line.
Participants were challenged to attempt to pass the 2008 Stanford Football
Conditioning Test - the very same formal conditioning test that each and every
member of the 2008 Stanford Football team had to pass in order to be deemed
ready for the fall football camp. However, unlike the taxing physical penalties
that are assessed to current players who fail to pass the conditioning test, it
was agreed that prizes would be awarded to the former players who managed to
pass this grueling physical challenge. Of course, beyond any material prizes was
the attractive prospect of securing endless bragging rights over former
teammates. There is something infinitely more satisfying when you prove that you've
still got it, that you aren't yet past your prime, that your athletic ability is
not a frustratingly fleeting thing of the past.
Current members of the Stanford Varsity, who were preparing for the 2:00PM
First Fall Contact Practice, did not participate that morning, having been
required to pass the test before camp started (all did, with some
injury-related exceptions).
At stake was an all-expenses-paid road trip with Stanford Football to the TCU
game in Fort Worth on September 13th. Home game sideline passes
were thrown in as an additional reward for those who gave it a go and all participants earned coveted "blue collar
man" shirts complete with personalized name badges! Stanford's
Training & Conditioning staff were on-site to ensure safety and, naturally,
members of the football staff were on hand with stacks of iron-clad liability waivers in
case someone literally were to "bust a gut" in the present pursuit of
past glory. Following the Conditioning Test, participants were invited to join
the football team for lunch in the Manzanita Dining Facility at Kimball Hall.
Leave it to Jim Harbaugh to have the unbridled enthusiasm to encourage former players and
friends of the program to come back and submit themselves to an exhaustive physical extension. Six
bodies showed up this year. We all know by now that Coach Harbaugh is into creating and
promoting new traditions and it would surprise no one if there were 50 or more
participants next fall. (Will you be one?)
It's one thing to "win" a team conditioning competition. The Stanford
Football
Conditioning Test is more something folks just try to pass. It can be a little
tricky. Some of the better athletes on the team have struggled to pass the test
because it isn't just a measure of athletic ability and speed, but of endurance
and stamina and the all-important ability
to keep something left in the tank. You don't want to go out too fast like a
"rabbit" in the mile and fade miserably down the stretch.
The premier performance was turned in by 31-year-old former QB Chad
Hutchinson, who thereby scored the team
road trip to TCU. In addition to Chad''s somewhat predictably stellar performance (the
former quarterback and pitcher spent ten years as a professional athlete), it
should be noted that former Stanford
wide receiver, soccer player, LSJUMB band-member, and
Buck/Cardinal member Kit Rodgers showed remarkable form. Recently-graduated
"young guys" like Chris Horn (now down to a svelte 220 lbs., a post-career
normalization which is highly recommended for formerly loaded-up linemen), Tim Sims, and aspiring model Emmanuel Awofadeju managed to show they've still got it!
The Bootleg community was to have been represented by "Snapper61",
but he allegedly tweaked a hamstring training for the test. Finally, a surprisingly game,
if unsuccessful showing was made by "the one & only"
railbird regular Phil Harsh, who surprised not a few folks with his
out-of-nowhere effort - giving hope to the 50+ crowd.
The 2008 Stanford Football Conditioning Test:
1st Quarter - "Tempo Runs" @ :10 x 6 = 390 / 438 / 480
Line = 65 yards Big Skill = 73 yards Skill = 80 yards
Rest x :25 between reps
(Rest = 1:00 between quarters)
2nd Quarter - "Cut 120s" @ 40 yards x 4 = 480
Line = :24 Big Skill = :22 Skill = :20
Rest x :15 between reps
(Rest = 2:00 at Halftime)
3rd Quarter - "Tempo Runs" @ :07 x 6 = 270 / 300 / 330
Line = 45 yards Big Skill = 50 yards Skill = 55 yards
Rest x :15 between reps
(Rest = 1:00 between quarters)
4th Quarter - "300-Yard Shuttle" @ 25 Yards x 1 = 300
Line = :72 Big Skill = :68 Skill = :64
Volume by position group = 1,440 / 1,518 / 1,590
Final Note: At the recent ME97/ME97-Hottie wedding reception, a certain Bootleg
co-founder was challenged cheerfully by Coach Harbaugh to come out and give it
the old college try! "No, thank you, not with my hammies"... at
least....not this year. Frankly, I honestly don't have the prerequisite pigskin glory
in my personal past to justify a pursuit of present-day pride. [I
actually worked for several minutes on that sentence!]
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