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At Disney World, training guru Tom Shaw gets players ready for NFL
By Richard Rosenblatt
ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 21, 2006
D'Brickashaw Ferguson is one confident 300-pound lineman heading to this
week's NFL combine – thanks to training guru Tom Shaw.
“I'm happy with my progress. I'm faster, stronger and more explosive,” the
6-foot-5 offensive tackle says. “I'm ready to show what I've got. The camp
has been very productive for me.”
NFL personnel are eager for a close-up look at Ferguson, an All-American from
Virginia expected to be among the first six players chosen in the April
draft.
What they'll see at the NFL's testing ground in Indianapolis are Ferguson and
about 40 other finely tuned players fresh from Shaw's intensive training
program – Tom Shaw Performance Enhancement.
This year, Shaw is based at Walt Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in
Lake Buena Vista, Fla., in a deal reached late last year after Hurricane
Katrina damaged his spartan facility in Kenner, La., near the airport in New
Orleans.
“We were ready to go again 17 days, but the facility was needed to house
people in our apartments, and the fields turned into a tent city,” Shaw says.
“We were lucky to find a new home.”
Shaw, a 45-year-old former strength and conditioning assistant for the New
England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints, is one of the most respected
training coaches around.
He was among the first to open his doors to players hoping to improve their
NFL stock. He was a track coach at Florida State, too, and when he began his
camp, his top pupil was Deion Sanders, an All-American with the Seminoles who
played on Super Bowl winners in Dallas and San Francisco.
Today, there are about 20 different camps around the country offering a
variety of programs and run by former coaches, trainers and even sports
agents.
“Shaw was a forerunner of these workout programs,” NFL draft adviser Gil
Brandt says. “He's highly recommended by a lot of people. His program gets an
athlete to do the best he can possibly do and to be prepared for the
combine.”
His training philosophy is simple: SPARQ, as in speed, power, agility,
reaction and quickness.
“Speed is emphasized,” Shaw's business manager Dave Lowman says. “He's
looking to increase speed, plus lower times in the 40 and the shuttle – two
big things the combine examines. We also work on stamina and study. Yes,
there's class work, too. The players leave with a sense of what to expect,
and are usually in the best shape of their lives.”
Over the past six years, 54 players who ended up as first-round picks went
through Shaw's program, including Michael Vick and Peyton Manning. But his
greatest satisfaction is taking a projected mid-rounder and turning him into
a high-round choice. Or a late-rounder into a mid-rounder.
Cornerback Ike Taylor, who had a key interception in the Pittsburgh Steelers'
Super Bowl victory over Seattle, is among Shaw's most prized pupils. Shaw has
known him for about 10 years – since Taylor spent summers at Shaw's camp
while growing up in New Orleans.
“His uncle would send him around in the summers, and he'd be around Deion and
Terrell Buckley,” Shaw says. “He's fast, and explosive. He went from walk-on
at Louisiana-Lafayette, where he played just two years, moved from running
back to cornerback, and went from a later-rounder to a fourth-round pick by
the Steelers. Now, after three years, he's become one of the best at his
position.”
While Shaw's camp boasts a who's who of NFL stars – Tom Brady, Jevon Kearse
and John Abraham also went through the program – it was nearly wiped out by
Katrina. Shaw and his partners looked to relocate, and made a call to Disney.
Enter Reggie Williams, vice president of Disney sports and recreation who
played 14 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Tom Shaw has such a great reputation and we really wanted to work with him
to ensure that he could keep doing everything he needed to do, and in a
world-class operation,” Williams says. “We host a lot of events, but we still
keep our open door.”
Disney's sports complex is the training site for baseball's Atlanta Braves
and football's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It also has facilities for track and
field, cross country, tennis, softball, youth league baseball and the
5,000-seat Milk House for basketball, volleyball, wrestling, martial arts and
inline hockey.
“We went from a $1.5 million facility to over a $100 million facility – it's
turned out to be a Godsend,” Shaw says. “We had some fields with a track
around it, and some corporate apartments. Here there are nine football
fields, an Olympic track, a huge weight room and a resort with three swimming
pools.”
Just two days after the Steelers won the Super Bowl, Taylor showed up at the
camp.
“Got to get back in the program,” he says. “The guys are bigger and stronger
every year and you've got to keep up. Plus, this is a great place.”
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Looking for an edge
Many NFL prospects turn to training programs such as the one run by Tom
Shaw to improve their position in the draft.
February 23, 2006
By Cammy Clark
Miami Herald
LAKE BUENA VISTA - On a breezy day more than a month ago at Walt Disney's
Wide World of Sports Complex, fleet-footed defensive back Devin Hester of the
University of Miami was at one corner of the field doing agility drills.
In another corner, 340-pound offensive guard Max Jean-Gilles of Georgia had a
resistance band around his stomach, working on power coming off the line.
''I feel muscles I never knew I had,'' said Jean-Gilles, a North Miami Beach
graduate whose perspiration-soaked gray T-shirt read: ``Finish the Drill.''
Hester, who will forgo his senior season, and Jean-Gilles were among 30
college athletes at Disney working toward the same goal: to impress at this
week's NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
CAMP COUNSELOR
Although teams have hours of game tapes and scouting reports as thick as War
and Peace on the prospects, the combine results also are key to the
decision-making process for April's NFL Draft.
Running the private training program was 46-year-old Tom Shaw, who got the
nickname the ''Speed Guru'' during his days working with Florida State
athletes, including Deion Sanders.
Shaw first worked with Sanders while he was with the track team, but the
program translated to his football skills, too.
Word got around, and soon a couple of agents in 1994 wanted Shaw to help
their clients prepare for the invitation-only combine, which is a whirlwind
four-day program of athletic, medical and psychological tests conducted in front
of every NFL team's staff.
''Ten or 12 years ago, guys didn't train to get ready for this type of
event,'' said agent Roosevelt Barnes of Indiana-based Maximum Sports.
``What we found was our athletes had improvement in the shuttles [a sprinting
drill], the 40-yard dash and other drills that enhanced their draft status.
After we started sending guys to Tom, then others followed the trend.''
Although Tom Shaw Performance Enhancement offered the first combine-specific
training program, now there are many around the country. Of the 330 prospects
at this year's combine, most have gone through one of them.
''It's like taking classes to get ready for the SATs or any college boards,''
Barnes said. ``It's a critical part of their preparation to move to the next
level.''
Shaw's facility was based in Kenner, La., near New Orleans. But Hurricane
Katrina forced at least a temporary move to Disney.
His camp includes past and present NFL players who prepare the players for
every facet of the combine through teaching and repetition.
READY TO GO
''It's like Groundhog Day every day,'' Shaw said. 'So when they go to the
combine, they know, `Oh, that's what I've been doing the last 2 1⁄2
months.' ''
If Barnes didn't believe there was major benefit, his agency wouldn't be
spending the thousands of dollars per client to foot the bill.
Shaw, who has three Super Bowl rings from his days working with Tom Brady and
the New England Patriots, said his intensive program is ''expensive.'' It
costs around $1,000 per week per player, plus room and board. The players
stayed at nearby resort condos.
But Barnes and the players know that even moving up just one spot in the
draft can often mean thousands of dollars more in their first contract.
''I run a legit 4.3 [seconds] in the 40,'' said Hester, who also was
receiving treatment for an injured hamstring. ``I'm now trying to get down to
the 4.2 range. It's a big difference.''
Jean-Gilles is trying to shed some weight and get stronger, with Shaw
providing a nutritionist.
Shaw has a proven track record, with his client list looking like a ''Who's
Who'' of the NFL. It includes Peyton Manning, Drew Bledsoe, Donovan McNabb,
Derrick Brooks, Rod Woodson and even the Dolphins' Ricky Williams.
This year Shaw's client list includes Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler and
Penn State defensive back Arwar Phillips.
Even baseball stars Johnny Damon and A.J. Pierzynski showed up for a few
workouts.
But Shaw cares just as much about helping the projected third-round draft
pick move up to the second round as he does about helping a sure
first-rounder move up a position or two.
Shaw also knows firsthand how the combine is run. For the past 12 years he
has been doing the Cybex testing, which evaluates quadriceps and hamstring
strength to ``see how the knee fires.''
Jean-Gilles said he was in the program: ``To get the edge. I hope I move up.
That's why I'm here. But even though I know I'll have butterflies in my
stomach [at the combine], I also am confident because I will know what to
expect.''
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A Specialist Brings N.F.L. Prospects Up to Speed
By Clifton Brown
The New York Times
Published: February 23, 2006
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. Feb. 20 - In the back of Disney's Wide World of Sports
Complex here, 9-year-old girls ran around on a soccer field a few hundred
yards away from 300-pound football players, some of the N.F.L.'s top
prospects who had decided to go to camp to prepare for the league's scouting
combine.
More than 40 players had turned themselves over to Tom Shaw, a former
strength and conditioning assistant in the N.F.L., for a two-month camp
designed to refine their skills before the combine and, consequently, improve
their standing in the April draft.
D'Brickashaw Ferguson, expected to be the first offensive lineman chosen in
the N.F.L. draft in April, worked on blocking techniques; Santonio Holmes, a
projected first-round pick at wide receiver, worked out in the weight room;
and Devin Aromashodu, one of the draft's fastest players, was on the track, hoping
to impress scouts and coaches when he runs the 40-yard dash at the combine.
Overseeing the action was Shaw, 45, a major player in an industry that has
become high-tech and highly competitive. The N.F.L. combine, which began
Wednesday at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, is the biggest audition for N.F.L.
prospects, and more than 300 invited players have spent the past two months
feverishly preparing.
"With a great time in the 40, I think I can move up a whole round,"
said Aromashodu, who said he heard that he may be drafted in the third round.
By helping players excel in the combine's pressure-packed atmosphere, Shaw
has become one of the most trusted speed coaches, and more than 40 players
have spent the past two months at his camp in Florida.
Fifty-four players who have gone through Shaw's program have been first-round
picks, and his past former clients include Deion Sanders, Rod Woodson and
Michael Vick.
With those names on his resume, Shaw has built a steady clientele and solid
reputation among the players.
"A week after the season ends, I'm right back working with Coach
Shaw," Ike Taylor, a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers who had an
interception in the Super Bowl, said in telephone interview. "Why do
guys go to him? Because his techniques work."
When it comes to preparing for the combine, athletes have more choices than
ever, with conditioning camps throughout the country promoting their ability
to help players run a fraction faster or jump a touch higher. At the combine,
seconds count; a poor performance can raise
questions about a player and hurt his position in the draft, costing him
hundreds of thousands of dollars in a contract.
In such a competitive atmosphere, more agents are advising their clients to
prepare for the combine as if preparing for the ultimate job interview. Only
the top three projected players in this year's draft - running back Reggie
Bush and quarterbacks Matt Leinart and Vince Young - have the luxury of
knowing that their status is secure. For everyone else, the combine is an
opportunity to make another impression.
"I've worked hard, and I'd like to be the first lineman picked,"
said Ferguson, who was a star at Virginia. "I feel this camp has gotten
me better prepared, just by training and listening. We've watched tape, had
N.F.L. players come down and speak with us. It's been good. I feel like I've
benefited from being here."
Shaw's players stay in hotels or apartments on the Disney property. He would
not disclose his fees, but the going rate for elite camps is $20,000-$30,000.
Sometimes, the player pays the bill. Sometimes, the agent pays, banking that
it will pay off when the player signs an N.F.L. contract.
Shaw moved his base to Disney's facility in November, when his former complex
in Kenner, La., sustained extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina.
He now has an inviting location, but his workouts leave many of his pupils
too tired to visit the nearby theme parks. The 24 players who participated
Monday lifted weights, ran sprints with resistance ropes attached to their
waists and practiced bursting out of starting blocks as Shaw looked on.
Running and weight training are just a part of Shaw's program. Former clients
like Sanders return to teach coverage techniques for defensive backs. Wide
receivers like the Eagles' Todd Pinkston coach players on how to avoid being
jammed at the line of scrimmage.
There is also film study, with Shaw showing videotapes of past combines to
give players a better idea of what to expect.
But Shaw, who was an assistant with the New Orleans Saints and the New
England Patriots, said he understood that the combine was only one indicator
of how a player would fare in the N.F.L.
"Bill Belichick never asked me what kind of football player I thought
one of my guys was," said Shaw, referring to the Patriots' coach.
"Bill Belichick can watch videotape and see what kind of player a guy is
"Bill Belichick asks me questions like, 'Does he show up on time? How
hard does he work? Do his knees swell up? Does he work hard every day? Is he
a complainer?' He asks me questions that a kid won't give you answers to. You
can't fake it with me. These kids are here two to three months, and either
you're a good worker or you're not. Either you're dedicated or you're
not."
N.F.L. coaches, scouts, and general managers debate how much a player's stock
can rise or fall at the combine. Some general mangers are reluctant to be
swayed by combine performances after having formed an opinion from studying
game performances on videotape.
However, there is little doubt that players who have not been stars in
college can attract attention with an impressive performance at the combine.
One recent example is Matt Jones, a wide receiver from Arkansas drafted No.
21 by the Jacksonville Jaguars last year. Jones played quarterback in
college, but his time of 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash turned heads.
"The combine made the difference between the third round and the first
round for Matt," Alan Herman, Jones's agent, said in a telephone
interview. "I don't care what they say, nobody was going to draft Matt
in the first round until he ran at the combine. Before he ran, a couple of
coaches asked him if he could do a 4.6. He said, 'I think I can do at least a
4.4.' They literally laughed at him and smirked. But after the combine, we
were flooded by teams with interest."
The combine will end Tuesday, but Shaw works year-round. Bush is expected to
train with him this spring, and Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon worked with
Shaw to prepare for spring training. Shaw will work with veterans this
spring, getting them ready for the start of N.F.L. training camps.
But this week, Shaw will be in Indianapolis, hoping the players he has
trained will put their best foot forward.
"The spotlight will be on you at the combine, but if you're a top
player, you have to be able to perform under pressure," Holmes said.
"The running techniques I've learned with Coach Shaw have definitely
helped, and I'm hoping to show that. When you're done at the combine, you
want teams to be thinking, 'Man, if this guy is available, we can't pass him
up.' "
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Nailing the Job Interview, NFL-style
Feb. 24, 2006
By Rev Johnson
While the Rose Bowl brought the college football season to a close, it marked
the beginning of a whole different season for the game's best athletes -
preparing for the NFL Draft.
From January to late April all draft-eligible players get in shape to impress
their would-be suitors in the pros. At February's NFL scouting combine,
players are evaluated on their size, speed, and strength, hoping to improve
their draft value with an impressive display of football skills and
athleticism.
Increasingly, college players are turning to professional workout coaches to
help them prepare for these job interviews. Tom Shaw is one of those coaches.
He has run his own performance training camp since 1993 and has helped 77
players become first round picks including Michael Jenkins and Jason
Campbell, recent campers who jumped into the first round because of great workouts
for pro scouts. This year, Shaw has convened a new crop of athletes and is
fully entrenched in getting them to the top of their game for the combine and
beyond.
An assistant track coach and the speed and conditioning coach at Florida
State University for ten years, Shaw opened Tom Shaw Performance Enhancement
in New Orleans after being a part of FSU's 1993 National Championship team.
He has also been a consultant with the New Orleans Saints and the speed and
conditioning coach for the New England Patriots. His resume includes working
with the likes of Deion Sanders, Tom Brady, and Michael Vick.
Damage from Hurricane Katrina forced Shaw to temporarily move his operation
to Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando for this year's training
camps. Using Disney's $70 million facilities including ten football fields,
Shaw spends his morning workouts emphasizing form and technique.
Calling upon his work as a SPARQ Master Trainer, Shaw's focus is on helping
athletes increase their speed, power, agility, reaction, and quickness. He
drills athletes on the tests they'll undergo at the combine - the 40-yard
dash, shuttle run, vertical jump, and bench press; the same four tests which
make up the SPARQ football rating.
Shaw's goal is to lower 40 times by two-tenths of a second and add five reps
to their all-time best in the bench press.
"We cover all aspects of SPARQ training with these guys," Shaw
says. "One day we work on flexibility, running form, and sprints. The
next day we'll focus on the short shuttle, starts and jumps."
A typical speed workout with Shaw begins with stretching and flexibility
drills. Once they are loose, Shaw puts his athletes through drills which
build their explosiveness. He does this using resistance ropes where one
athlete is tethered to the athlete behind him. The man in front runs with all
his force while the man in back provides the resistance. This forces the
runner to focus on leg drive, power, and top-end speed.
Shaw insists on having his athletes fresh and well-rested, while his workouts
are short and to-the-point. His speed workouts last 45 minutes and his most
of drills cover between ten and 40 yards, simulating the short bursts
required on the football field.
Patterning his strength program after the one developed while he was with the
Patriots during their Super Bowl years, Shaw's clients see results. At this
year's combine, Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler benched 225 pounds an
impressive 23 times. Cutler has been training with Shaw since December.
To make his unique camp full service, Shaw enlists the help of several of his
pro clients to teach the college kids. After their morning workouts, athletes
spend their afternoons doing position-specific drills with some of the NFL's
best.
"We're doing the things that make them better football players, the
things they'll be doing when they get to the NFL. Our overall goal is to help
kids make their football team," Shaw says.
Sanders works with the defensive backs, Brady with the quarterbacks, and
Super Bowl XL champ James Farrior with the linebackers.
"It's better when you hear instruction from someone who's been
there," says Shaw. "We've got Torrance Small working with the
receivers and he can tell them 'this is how it's supposed to be' because he
played ten years in the NFL."
One of those receivers is Ohio State junior Santonio Holmes, a projected
first round pick. He is attending Shaw's camp to lower his 40 time and to
learn the nuances of his position. He chose to work with Shaw because Shaw
"knows the NFL. He worked with the Patriots when they were winning Super
Bowls. He knows what the scouts are looking for."
Holmes has also benefited from Small's tutorials. "We're learning the
little things to be a great receiver at the next level," Holmes says.
"I'm also learning the techniques of the defensive backs so I'll have an
advantage when I get to the NFL." And who teaches him about defensive
back tendencies? None other than Sanders, a sure-fire Hall of Famer who has
trained with Shaw since his sophomore year at FSU in 1986.
"I'm here to help, to give back," Sanders says. "I want to
pass on my knowledge, help the younger guys prepare to play at the next
level." He also admits that it helps to train while he teaches:
"I'm working on my speed and conditioning. I've got to stay up with the
young guys in the league."
Working with the pros is also a nice measuring stick for the college players.
Not only are they learning the intricacies of the game, they can see how they
fare against players who make a living playing on Sundays. In this respect,
it is a lot like the Elite 11 quarterback camp where top college signal
callers coach and mentor the best from the high school ranks.
"You know you look good if you are running next to Mike Vick," Shaw
says with a smile, referring to the benefit of training alongside
professional athletes. "Competition breeds success. That's how you get
better."
This year's class at Shaw's camp includes some of the highest rated prospects
in the Draft. "I have 10 or 11 guys who could go in the first round this
year," says Shaw. Cutler and Virginia Tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson,
projected top ten picks, were among 17 players Shaw worked with who played in
the Senior Bowl. Shaw also plans to train Heisman Trophy winner and consensus
first overall pick Reggie Bush of USC before Bush's individual workout in
April.
"This group of guys is without a doubt my best class in all the years
I've been doing this. No one complains, they all work hard and they all want
to get better. You can't ask for more than that," Shaw says.
These character attributes are valuable commodities to NFL coaches and
general managers who are investing heavily in these first rounders. Shaw gets
a first hand look at what kind of person the athlete is and what their work
habits are.
"NFL coaches call me to ask about the players. They want to know if he's
coachable, does he show up on time, does he understand the game."
After the draft workouts end, Shaw hits the road as part of the NIKE Football
Training Camp tour, working with other SPARQ Trainers to provide the same
expertise he gives future NFLers to future college players. He also plans to
get back to New Orleans and continue his work there soon. For now, though, he
is happy to be in Orlando. "We've lost a lot, but it seems like
everything is great now."
Shaw even has a sleeper prediction for all the draft fanatics out there:
"Tavaris Jackson, the quarterback from Alabama State. He's raw, but he
is going to be a star. He's got all the tools to make every throw."
Shaw should know. After all he is training Jackson, and giving him every
chance to be prepared for the NFL.
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