wednesday, march 10,2004
sports
the university daily kansan
3B
Coach's intensity adds to team's success
By Kevin Flaherty
kflaherty@kansan.com
Kansan senior sportswriter
Chris Dawson's office is immaculate. He organizes his office with the same attention to detail he uses to train his football players.
Dawson's preparation is one of the reasons Kansas tied Rutgers for the most improved team in the NCAA BCS conferences between 2002 and 2003. Both teams gained four more victories than they did in 2002.
Dawson's ability to train strength and speed makes him one of the top coaches in the nation. The improvement between the team in 2002, when Dawson wasn't here, to his first year is astounding.
"Everything we work for we tell them will make them better on Satdays," Dawson said. "I give all of the credit to the kids."
While he won't take credit for last season's turnaround, the numbers to prove it are fairly easy to find.
Kansas ranked last in the Big 12 Conference in both total offense and total defense in 2002.
"I always tell my friends that at least I don't have to sit behind a desk all day with a porcelain smile painted on."
Chris Dawson Kansas strength coach
Kansas' offensive line wasn't strong enough to generate holes, which led to Kansas averaging a paltry 3.2 yards per carry. The passing offense lacked the speed to stretch the defense as the team boasted just eight plays of more than 25 yards.
Enter 2005. The stronger offensive line helped the running game average 4.4 yards per carry and 40 yards more rushing per game. The explosive passing game had eight players who had at least one play of more than 25 yards, instead of just eight plays. The offense averaged 10 points more per game while the defense allowed more than 10 points
fewerpergame.
A major part of the turnaround was the attitude. Dawson said the motto for last year's team was to finish everything it started.
"It was finish the drill, finish the play, finish
Dawson
the game," Dawson said. "I have never been around a harder working group of kids, ever."
A product of the hard work was a stronger, faster team that was ready once Big 12 play rolled around.
Instead of lifting and drilling as a full team, Dawson split the drills by position based on strengths and weaknesses. The offensive line needed to get stronger, Dawson said, so they spent more time in the weight room in the offseason.
While most of the focus for Dawson may be strength-related, his ability to coach speed may be even more important. A common misconception about speed is the way to train for different types of
speed correctly, Dawson said.
"You don't really want to coach straight line speed, I want to apply different forms of resistance from all different directions," Dawson said. "Because that's the way it's going to be on the field. That's the kind of game we play. You want to be fast, train fast. You want to be explosive, train explosive."
Dawson's résumé prior to arriving in Lawrence is extensive. After playing linebacker for Oklahoma in the mid '90s, Dawson became a graduate assistant coach. At the time, his interest was in coaching football, not strength training.
His choice shifted as he gained more knowledge into the craft, and he spent 1996 to 2000 as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Oklahoma. He then passed 12 weeks as the team administrator for the Las Vegas Outlaws of the Xtreme Football League. After taking an intern position with the Dallas Cowboys, former Jayhawks coach Glen Mason invited Dawson to take the strength and conditioning coach spot at Minnesota
Two years later, he came to Kansas as the Anderson Family
Strength and Conditioning Center was under construction. While the physical structure of the 42,000-square-foot building was already set, Dawson was given free reign with equipment selection.
Mark Mangino, Kansas football coach, realizing the impact of the hire at the time, said Dawson was a great catch.
"He knows what it takes to develop quality Division I players and will be a tremendous asset to our program," Mangino said.
That program, in the early stages, was ultimately what brought Dawson back to Kansas. Having worked with Mangino before, Dawson bought into the vision. He said there was something truly special about building a program.
"I always tell my friends that at least I don't have to sit behind a desk all day with a porcelain smile painted on." Dawson said, pointing to the weight room. "I get to be out there, making things happen."
As for that desk, the monument to preparation perfection, Dawson said he's mostly glad that he doesn't have to use it for much of the day.
— Edited by Louise Stauffer
Jessica Moppin, sophomore infielder, went for the out against Southwest Missouri State outfieldier Sara Cole Kansas played a double-header yesterday, winning the first game 1-0, but losing the second 3-0.
Destiny Frankenstein scored the game's only run.
SOFTBALL
Kansas left runners on base in the second game, squandering an opportunity to score, and SMS scored three runs in the fourth inning to secure a victory.
Kansas wins one, loses another against SMS
The Kansas softball team split two game series with Southwest Missouri State yesterday, winning its first game 1-0 and losing its second 3-0.
Kansas plays next this weekend at the Saluki Round Robin in Carbondale, Ill., hosted by Southern Illinois.
Senior pitcher Kara Pierce struck out nine batters in the first game and sophomore shortstop
—Kansan staff reports
OX SCORE:
R H E
SW Missouri State (9-9): 000 000 0 0 3 2
University of Kansas (13-5): 000 001 X 1 4 2
R H E
SW Missouri State (10-9): 000 300 0 3 5 0
University of Kansas (13-6): 000 000 0 0 8 0
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Kansas City Royals centerfielder Carlos Beltran was scratched from the lineup for yesterday's game with the Chicago Cubs because of a sore right elbow and will likely be out a few days.
Beltran injured the arm in the fifth inning Monday while diving back to first base on an attempted pickoff throw by San Francisco pitcher Dustin Hermanson.
"When I saw the ball get by the first baseman, I was trying to get back up and rolled over my wrist." Beltran said. "I felt something in my forearm. I was feeling it all the way to third base."
"Tony told me to go play one more inning, but I told him I was unable to play. I was feeling sore," he said, referring to Tony Pena, Royals manager.
Beltran, who is eligible for free agency after this season, led the Royals last year with a .307 batting average, 26 home runs, 100 RBIs, 102 runs and 41 stolen bases.
David DeJesus replaced Beltran in centerfield and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the Royals' 6-5 victory yesterday over the Cubs.
Also yesterday, right-hander Brian Bass, one of the Royals'top pitching prospects, said he wouldn't be able to pitch for awhile because of an elbow injury.
An MRI showed Bass had a bone bruise on his right elbow. He said he has been told he would not be allowed to throw for at least seven days and perhaps for up to four weeks.
Bass, 22, went 9-8 last season with Wilmington (Del.) and his 2.84 earned run average tied for the Carolina League lead.
The Associated Press
kansan.com News. Now.
moc.esnauk
Injuries plaguing Royals in spring
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