Sirignano Address the Media

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville football strength and conditioning coach Mike Sirignano has developed a special bond with his players, but he's had to show his love from a distance.

His leadership is built on being with his players and being able to hold them accountable during workouts and training. The COVID-19 crisis has closed access to all gyms and has forced the team to move their offseason training to their own homes.

While this situation might be new to some people, Sirignano has some experience under the current conditions.

"It's more difficult for me because I love what I do and I enjoy being around like minded people every single day. As far as holding the guys accountable in rolling out the program, we've done this before," Sirignano said. "Last year, we got the guys back in the summer and I had to figure out a way to manipulate their workouts on a day to day basis so I took the social media back then."

Finding new ways to keep the Louisville football team in check while still working to stay in shape has been an interesting aspect for the coaches to handle. Using an application called Teamworks, the Cards have been using this tool since the staff arrived on campus, which has been the best way to keep track of their offseason workout schedules.

"We have an app called Teamworks that our whole team uses," Sirignano said. "This is something that we kind of use to communicate to everyone out and integrate it into our team," Sirignano said. "When this pandemic started it was a little easier for us. We roll out a new plan for our team so it's ever growing and adapting and evolving."

Working out from home can be a hard task for anyone, especially if you do not have the necessary equipment. Many players have been innovative with finding new ways to complete their workouts, but matching the intensity you get from a gym workout has been tough to match.

"When we're in this weight room it's really intense," Sirignano said. "When you take the weight rooms and facilities away from the guys it's hard to manipulate the intensity," Sirignano said. "Some guys have been creative and built squat racks and bench presses out of plywood, two by sixes, and two by fours. Other guys have bought gym equipment for their garages or basements."

The creativity and attitude of the players has been impressive to watch for Sirignano.

"Our guys are extremely creative and the number one aspect of being part of this program is going to have a great attitude," Sirignano said."

With these makeshift workout locations and creative builds, Sirignano has had to restructure the workout for players to focus more on repetition compared to moving hundreds of pounds.

"We've had to up their volume," Sirignano said. "They'll do the movements slower. For example, to do a back squat with a sack or book bag on will tell them to go 10 seconds down. Pause for 10 seconds and then come up, versus moving hundreds of hundreds of pounds in a weight room," said Sirignano.

While the response from the players has been positive, the number one aspect for this is keeping the players accountable. It can be very easy to lose track of your routine by sleeping in late and staying up all night. This has been a focus by the coaches to fall back on accountability.

"Everything we do is manipulated by a schedule here. One-hundred percent of our team is up by 10 o'clock every single day when we're training in a facility. That means everyone has to check in to breakfast."

Resilience has been another key factor that the coaches have put in place. Being resilient in a weird time with messed up schedules can lead to some out there situations. But if anyone is going to be able to keep the Louisville football team resilient and accountable, it is Sirignano.

University of Louisville Athletics

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