Strength Coach Mickey Marotti - ScarletBuckeye

OSUBasketballJunkie · 12-15-2011, 10:42 PM

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Marotti Officially Joins Meyer’s Staff in Columbus

By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Urban Meyer has officially added another name to his staff at Ohio State, and it is one of his most trusted advisors.

Mickey Marotti

There had already been multiple reports that Mickey Marotti was leaving Florida to join Meyer in Columbus. Gators’ head coach Will Muschamp confirmed those reports earlier this month, but Thursday Ohio State announced that Marotti had officially been hired as the school’s new strength coach.

He will hold the title of assistant athletic director for football sports performance at the Ohio State University, but there is no question Marotti holds a reputation as one of the top strength and conditioning directors in the country.

“I believe the strength staffs that Mickey has led have been the best staffs in college football,” Meyer said of the 47-year old.

“He is the best there is at developing physically and mentally tough football players.”

A native of Ambridge, Pa. and graduate of West Liberty State, Marotti was one of Meyer’s first hires when he took over as head coach of Florida in early 2005. The two first met when they were graduate assistants at Ohio State under Earle Bruce in 1987.

Marotti also worked as Grove City High School’s strength coach that year, earned a master’s of arts degree in strength and conditioning from Ohio State before moving on to West Virginia University to be a strength assistant.

Continued.................

PHATBUCK13 · 12-15-2011, 10:45 PM

This guy is supposedly the best in the business.

Just think what he'll do for a guy like Billy Price or Luke Roberts. These kids will turn into monsters!

PHATBUCK13 · 12-16-2011, 09:54 AM

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Speaking of staff

Mickey Marotti has been named assistant athletic director for football sports performance, where he will oversee strength and conditioning, effective after the bowl game. Marotti was with Meyer first as graduate assistants at Ohio State in 1987 and then at Notre Dame, when Meyer was an assistant coach in the 1990s. He was one of the first hires Meyer made at Florida in 2005.

Marotti served there until a couple of weeks ago, when Meyer’s successor, Will Muschamp, revealed that Marotti had left for Ohio State. Meyer evidently made hiring Marotti a priority.

“I believe the strength staffs that Mickey has led have been the best staffs in college football,” Meyer said. “He is the best there is at developing physically and mentally tough football players.”

tmay@dispatch.com

Ohio State football: Meyer gets Buckeyes? attention right away | Buckeye Xtra Sports

SuperBuckFan08 · 12-17-2011, 05:01 PM

If he can combine Lichters "quick twitch" training with his own speed training and oh dear sweet baby jesus will we be unstoppable

PHATBUCK13 · 01-13-2012, 10:46 AM

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Ohio State football notebook: Conditioning program starts early

The Ohio State football team’s offseason conditioning program was supposed to start next week.

But with a new coaching staff eager to get things rolling, the Buckeyes decided to begin early. So before dawn on Tuesday, the first workouts of the Urban Meyer regime kicked off. So far, it has just been conditioning. The players start hitting the weights this morning.

“We’re all champing at the bit to go watch what we’ve got, to open that Christmas present and see what you’ve got,” Meyer said of his decision to start conditioning early.

His early impressions?

“Some positions, you kind of smile,” he said. “Other positions, you don’t. After I saw some of our physiques, the way I’d say it is that we need to get in that weight room rather quickly and get some guys going.”

The workouts begin at 5 a.m. and last as long as 90 minutes, said Mickey Marotti, whose title of assistant athletic director for football sports performance speaks of the importance Meyer places on his strength coach. Marotti was vague about what kind of drills they have done, describing it as “attention training,” as in something that “got their attention.”

Asked to be more specific, Marotti demurred. “We did physical activity,” he said.

Marotti said it’s too early to judge the players’ strength and conditioning but said they have improved each day.

Ohio State football notebook: Conditioning program starts early | Buckeye Xtra Sports

louts8wings · 01-13-2012, 11:02 AM

I BET THERE'S A LOT OF THIS GOING ON!

hollis · 01-13-2012, 11:23 AM

According to O-Zone, Schlegel will be retained by Marotti

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@BCastOZone
It is not official yet, but Jeff Uhlenhake and Anthony Schlegel will remain on the new strength staff under Mickey Marotti.

TexasBuckeye · 01-13-2012, 12:28 PM

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Originally Posted by hollis

According to O-Zone, Schlegel will be retained by Marotti

Appears the cupboard is not/was not empty regarding support staff and coaching.

Go Bucks!

OSUBasketballJunkie · 01-13-2012, 08:53 PM

Scout.com$

Marotti Already Pushing Buckeyes..................

PHATBUCK13 · 01-17-2012, 10:20 AM

Rob Oller commentary: Meyer relies on Marotti for tougher Buckeyes

Coach Urban Meyer saved the best for last. Standing on the wooden floor of Value City Arena at halftime of Ohio State’s men’s basketball game against Indiana, he introduced — not a veiled guarantee of victory over Michigan in 312 days — but the second-most necessary person in the football program.

“And finally, the most important hire I made on this coaching staff…” Meyer began.

With that, Mickey Marotti walked toward the most necessary person — Meyer — shook his hand and took his place in the lineup of assistant coaches on the court.

One might conclude that the value of Marotti, the newly named assistant athletic director for sports performance, would rank below offensive coordinator Tom Herman. The Buckeyes were noticeably weak this past season in play-calling, not strength training.

That conclusion would be correct if Marotti concerned himself only with monitoring the Buckeyes’ weight-lifting sessions. But more than building muscle, Marotti’s mission is to build minds.

Beginning last week, and intensifying through the summer, Ohio State players will be wrung like a wet towel and tossed over a chair to dry. For several hours each day, they will wish they never had been born. The physical pain will be incredible. The mental strain will match it.

Coaches have their pet words. Meyer’s is “toughness.” Known mostly as an offensive innovator, Meyer makes it clear that his core is cobalt first, creativity second. Toughness is the attribute he came to most appreciate while working under Earle Bruce at Ohio State (1986-87) and Colorado State (1990-92). And it remains central to his thinking that toughness begins with the brain, not the brawn.

Enter Marotti, whose methods of molding athletes into the shape of a fist mesh perfectly with Meyer’s. That meeting of the minds makes Marotti, who first worked with Meyer as an Ohio State graduate assistant in 1987, then again at Notre Dame and Florida, most integral to Meyer’s plans to reshape the Buckeyes before September.

They need to be hardened. Several times this past season Ohio State softened during the second half of games, most notably in a 34-27 loss to Nebraska.

Later, Ohio State appeared listless in a 24-17 loss to Florida in the Gator Bowl. One explanation is that a difficult season of NCAA sanctions, coaching change and player suspensions took its toll against Florida. Meyer and Marotti have another “ex” word for it: excuse.

The mental testing already has begun, but it will increase and crescendo in February with something called the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. At least that’s what it was called at Florida, where Marotti concocted killer workout sessions, including the Harley-Davidson Workout and Midnight Lifts, that became legend in Gainesville.

“Beware of any workouts that have names,” warned Eric Wilbur, a former Florida punter who suffered but improved under Marotti’s hand.

In his book, Through My Eyes, former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow credits “Coach Mick” for pushing him, physically and mentally, beyond what he thought possible.

Meyer’s deep trust in Marotti goes beyond creative training techniques, which are not unique to most strength and conditioning coaches. The two men share similar personalities and values, which is critical considering that strength coaches spend more time with the players than any other coach, especially during offseason months.

“They go on vacation this summer. We don’t,” Marotti said, comparing the rest of the Ohio State football staff to him and the other four full-time strength and conditioning coaches.

Marotti said of the trust that Meyer has placed in him: “We’re thinking the same things, so when he (is not around) he knows what’s going on, because it is what always has gone on.”

That “going on” is a grinding process that creates diamonds out of softer stuff.

Get ready, Buckeyes. The heat and pressure have only just begun.

Rob Oller is a sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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Rob Oller commentary: Meyer relies on Marotti for tougher Buckeyes | Buckeye Xtra Sports