Gibbons STRENGTH begins its second year this Fall.
Two years ago at a Friday night football game, two future coaches took a walk around Cardinal Gibbons High School to discuss what would be the foundation of the Gibbons STRENGTH and Conditioning program. The vision was to form a program that was uniquely designed for the Gibbons mission of faith, service, and leadership with students, athletes and staff. Those two individuals were Chris Morland, MS, C.S.C.S and his future lead assistant Coach Amer Nahhas, BS, C.S.C.S
The process began uniquely during Coach Morland’s initial interview with Gibbons as he taught a class and met with a circle of current students and staff. The formative questions asked were:
“What would a strength and conditioning program look like at Gibbons?”
“What would the students and staff expect in a strength coach?”
“What environment and culture did Gibbons provide that would make this venture a success?”
One interesting question came from Assistant Principal of Student Activities Michael Rogosich (class of 1990) when he asked the student group: What makes Gibbons so competitive in athletics? The students talked about the “Gibbons way” and how people come together at Cardinal Gibbons to make things successful.
The administration including Jason Curtis (Principal) and Todd Schuler (Athletic Director) provided the vision for a holistic program to include classes, teams, and community in the vision. Coach Steven Wright (Head Football Coach/Assistant Athletic Director) offered the advice that we have a “blank canvas” to begin a strength and conditioning program.
Today Gibbons STRENGTH has a mission to: “Create a positive environment that is relational and gets results.”
This article is dedicated to the strength assistants, students, and staff who formed Gibbons STRENGTH with the support of the administration, coaches, and the community.
Special thanks for the above figures to Mrs. Rebecca Dason (Fine Art Teacher at CGHS) which was a special gift we received to keep us on course these last 2 years!)
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ” 2 Corinthians 4:7
The Lump of Clay
September 20th, 2013: Chris Morland is interviewed by staff and students including a one hour round table question and answer time. During this discussion the students asked for an educator and coach to work with all students that would exemplify an attitude of support. Coach Morland asked the students to allow him to always be in the conversation about school wellness and for any participant to commit to a 2-times a week training program.
October 7th, 2013: Chris Morland is hired as the 1st Director of Strength and Conditioning/Teacher for Cardinal Gibbons High School. The leadership of Cardinal Gibbons determined the best use of time would be meeting with staff and students who want to participate in the program and provide guidance for the after school program.
Spring 2014: Coach Morland, Coach Amer, and Coach Taylor begin coaching students before and after school while supporting the current weightlifting classes. Some highlights:
- New relationships are formed with many students including Doug Ware, Steven Fedorovich, and Emmy Allen.
- The Rockin’ Refuel program takes off with 30 students committed to the 15 weeks missing less than 2 sessions out of 45. Results of 6% gain in Standing Long Jump, and 7% gain in ParallelSquat are realized.
- Staff participates in a Take Shape for Life program with guidance from Honey Beth Wiggs and loses 100 lbs together in 4 weeks!
- The foundation is set with monitoring, designing, and implementing 15 athletic teams and coaches.
- The staff (Picture) reads
The “Path to Athletic Power“ by Boyd Epley (founder of the National Strength and Conditioning Association) during weekly staff improvement meetings. - The strength facility is reorganized in March 2014 to fit the needs of the program.
- Success is seen the field of play with Boys Lacrosse, Boys Soccer, and Girls Tennis capturing the state championship.
Starting to Form the clay
Summer/Fall/Winter 2014: The summer brings many teams to participate in the program and the inaugural year of Gibbons STRENGTH Coed Speed, Strength, and Agility camps. In the Fall, classes begin with Mr. Wright and Mr. Morland together with the Strength and Conditioning classes and the winter conditioning program begins.
- 27 sessions per week are offered in the summer for students and teams including: cheer-leading, football, girls and boys basketball, and boys soccer
- 80 students participate in the summer Rockin’ Refuel program
- 50 student campers participate in the summer camps coached by 3 certified coaches: Coach Amer, Coach Taylor, and Coach Morland
- The staff reads the book “Strength Coach, a Call to Serve” by Coach Jeff Connors, ECU
- A pilot study is done using a software application called Teambuildr to monitor and track programs
- 6 classes of strength and conditioning are offered and 140 students see gains that help them reach their personal goals
- The STRENGTH GPA project is initiated where students and athletes can figure their weight to strength ratio which motivates them to commit to the training process
- 30 students participate in the first honors option for strength and conditioning
- 70 students participate in the first Winter Conditioning Program including 25 in the AM starting at 6:45 and 45 in the PM with 25 earning T-shirts for missing less than 2 sessions from November 15th-February 15th!
- During the fall the users of the Teambuildr application surpasses 250 people
Growing the Formation
Spring/Summer 2015: Because of the growth of the program over the winter their is a need for additional volunteer assistants. Two Gibbons alumni (Chelsea Torres, 2009 and Erin Blaser, 2011) show interest in the formation of the Gibbons STRENGTH program and are brought on board to satisfy their academic progress at ECU and UNC respectively and to grow the girls program. The spring forms many successes with the 4 coaches:
- A team of 5 coaches and 7 students attend the NC Strength Coaches Clinic at Wake Forest University
- The Gibbons STRENGTH student leadership team is formed including meeting with the last meeting determining the structure for the future
- The formation of the girls only training session each week in the strength facility
- The initiation of a high quality staff program by Erin Blaser
- The organization of training for 30 groups of students before, during, and after school
- Staff reads the book “The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork” by John Maxwell during staff improvement meetings
- Cardinal Gibbons performs well in many sports claiming 7 state championships and receives the Wachovia Cup by 5 points for the top overall class 3A school in the state of North Carolina
- The team (Instagram Picture) of strength coaches transition to the summer training and bring on board Coach Sean Cowlick and team training him for the program
- Coach Amer is hired at Lifetime Athletic and joins Coach Taylor there, Erin Blaser is hired as a Personal Trainer at Lifetime, and Chelsea Torres takes a coaching job at CrossFit F-V
Maturing the Formation of Gibbons STRENGTH:
Fall 2015: The 2nd year begins with a school move up to class 4A athletically, new students in the strength and conditioning class including 30 honors students, and a total of 500 students and athletes using the Teambuildr application. The strength facility has been upgraded with TV monitors to seamlessly deliver programs digitally to any participant in the future.
Thanks for reading our story of Gibbons STRENGTH. I appreciate your personal efforts and ongoing support in this maturing program!
Chris Morland, MS, CSCS
Director of Strength and Conditioning/Teacher
