AIR FORCE ACADEMY — The routine might remind of a parade of tin soldiers going through a series of gyrations in unison.
But Matt McGettigan, the new strength and conditioning coach at Air Force, would argue there is nothing tinny about his program. The results are solid and designed to give the football players some additional oomph at the end of the season, something that has been missing over the past six seasons.
Air Force hasn’t won more than two of its last five games in any year since 2000, when the Falcons won a bowl game and finished 9-3.
“The thing I talk to our players about right now is that we’re 3-0 in October with one game to go,” McGettigan said. “We break it down that we have three games in November.
“Hopefully the work we have put in will come to fruition down the stretch. Coach (Troy) Calhoun put the emphasis on it, and the players have really taken to it. Now, the proof’s in the pudding.”
There already may be proof that Calhoun’s emphasis on weight training and McGettigan’s implementation of a progressive strength and conditioning program have paid dividends.
The Falcons have won six of their first eight games and are 5-1 in the Mountain West Conference going into tonight’s game at New Mexico. After three consecutive losing seasons, the six victories make the Falcons eligible for a bowl game, and the five MWC wins have the Falcons right on the heels of conference-leading BYU (5-2, 3-0).
Air Force had a good weight-training program in the past, especially in the 23 previous years under coach Fisher DeBerry. But Jack Braley, a former strength and conditioning coach at Air Force, reminds that up to about 30 years ago, AFA football players had to participate in intramural sports during the offseason and they didn’t have a year-round weight training program.
But Calhoun, who succeeded DeBerry, brought in a novel idea. The Falcons do their tin soldier routine before practice and four days a week.
“It’s just the quality of work that we get done,” McGettigan said. “Coach wants to lift before practice. We don’t go very long, but it’s quality work at a high tempo. After practice, it’s a hit-or-miss proposition.
“It adds a nice warm-up to when they hit the field. Anything we can do to get the body hot so the muscles work more efficiently.”
McGettigan says just because the pre-practice workout is fast doesn’t mean it’s easy.
“I don’t like to use the word maintenance because we’re always in a progressive mode,” McGettigan said. “We’re still going to lift with some intensity during the season. If you want to get stronger, you have to lift with some intensity. Our motto during the season is high intensity, low volume.”
McGettigan stresses movement and flexibility. He wants the Falcons to be “strong, lean and explosive.”
“They have to be able to control their bodies through a range of motion,” he said. “Football is about acceleration and deceleration.”
McGettigan could be considered each player’s personal trainer. He mixes the strength and conditioning work with suggestions on diet. He tries to make sure all of his players have healthy snacks between the academy’s scheduled meals.
AFA senior Chad Hall, who divides his time between tailback and receiver, endorses the program, which has allowed him to maintain his weight at 180 pounds.
“Before this year, by the time I would get to this stage of the season, I would have lost 15 pounds,” Hall said.
“We set a body weight goal for every player,” McGettigan said. “Chad to his credit, he is tremendous about doing extra things. To play at a high level, you have to recover at a high level. The players here want the information and they use the information.
“Our players look at this as a challenge and all like challenges. We’re all based on performance and they’re based on how they perform on Saturday afternoon.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
