Toby Gerhart, Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman Trophy runner-up, is eager to prove doubters wrong this week in the NFL scouting combine which will be held in Indianapolis.  Gerhart has been training in the Athletic Republic network since eighth grade, and returned to work on his speed in preparation for the combine.

“Toby has an incredible work ethic!” said Athletic Republic - Inland Empire Owner Darrel Barnes.  “He has a tremendous amount of God-given ability, but what stands out the most is his character and attitude, which puts him second to none.  It is a tremendous pleasure to train him and to have watched his progress through the years.”

Gerhart has worked closely with coaches Darrel Barnes and Sione Taufoou of the Athletic Republic network as he prepares for the next stage of his athletic career.

Read more about Toby at ESPN.com

Last June, Cole Marcoux was an unheralded quarterback prospect preparing for his senior season at The Fieldston School in the Bronx, when he attended Football University - Philadelphia. His size and skills impressed the production team preparing to shoot the opening episode of a new reality TV show, The Ride, and he was invited to be one of 8 unknown high school quarterbacks looking to win a spot in the All-American Bowl.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Cole made great strides in both skill and strength over the ten episodes and, despite being the underdog in the group, he was able to come away with the berth they all coveted.

During last week’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl, Marcoux completed 5 of 8 passes for 99 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to lead the East team, and, in the process, made a name for himself while competing against some of the nation’s marquee defenders and surpassing all expectations.

Cole credits his training with BlueStreak Sports Training at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan - one of 160 centers in the Athletic Republic network, as one of the key reasons he was able to earn the chance to succeed in the Super Bowl of high school football.

“Cole’s accomplishments in the game are the result of his commitment to becoming a better quarterback.  He absorbed the teaching provided by some of the game’s best quarterback coaches and became dedicated to improving his fitness, quickness and foot speed by following the principles of the Athletic Republic method of science-based training,” said Steve Swanson, Athletic Republic’s Chief Science and Technology Officer, and one of judges on the The Ride.

“In just five weeks, Cole lost 8 pounds of fat, doubled his foot speed scores, and improved his overall conditioning so much that the other judges quickly noticed the difference when he arrived at the Top Gun camp in late July.  Those improvements allowed him to jump ahead of some other contestants in the show and be in a position to earn the All-American Game roster spot,” Swanson continued.

Over 680,000 athletes have taken advantage of its individualized, sport-specific training programs to enhance their speed, power and agility to gain more than just a step on their competition.

Cole Marcoux is just the most-recent example.

Athletic Republic Annapolis hosted Seantrel Henderson, the nation’s number one high school football prospect, and legendary offensive line coach, Jim McNally, on Wednesday afternoon.

Henderson is preparing for the upcoming Army All-American Bowl to be held in San Antonio, Texas on January 9, 2010.   Coach McNally spent over three hours taking the offensive tackle through a variety of drills and refining his technique.

Brandon Meriweather of the New England Patriots made some noise by stripping the ball from Buffalo kickoff returner Leodis McKelvin during last night’s Monday Night Football game. The fumble positioned the Patriots to make the go-ahead touchdown and provided New Englanders with an exciting start to the season.

What many might not know is that this was just another day at the office for Meriweather.  Brandon, a product of the University of Miami, is an Athletic Republic athlete who spent the off-season training with Todd Robinett, Performance Director at All-Star Sports in Paisley, Florida.

Home to the Athletic Republic and Football University’s Top Gun Camp, All-Star is the training facility of choice or many of the NFL’s best.  The center provides players the ability to sharpen their skills away from the media and spotlight in the cozy confines of a remodeled hunting lodge.   Athletes are taken through rigorous training protocols on the Athletic Republic equipment, then sharpen their football skills in the field house, sand pit, video analysis room, players’ lounge, and Olympic strength room.

“All-Star Sports is dedicated to the athlete that is looking for an edge and Brandon is another great success story.  He has tremendous work-ethic and a contagious personality.” said Robinett.  ”He is constantly asking to be challenged and taken to his limits. Brandon came to All-Star with an extremely open mind looking for ways to improve his speed, reaction and anticipation. He has really taken to the Athletic Republic ways, the Super Treadmill, Plyo Press and Plyo floor were just some of the many tools we used to challenge him.”

“Brandon never takes a rep, set, or play off and that showed in last night’s game.” Robinett continues.  ”It’s between sets that you have to watch out for, he has a great personality and keeps all of the staff on our toes here at All-Star, but when it comes to work he is all business. Brandon is just not happy if he isn’t being challenged, he is a self-motivated athlete that strives on obstacles and that shined through last night in the fourth quarter.”

Being involved in “The Ride” has certainly fit its moniker.  I was selected for the 10-episode reality show to provide the perspective of a sport scientist who is passionate about football and experienced at helping athletes improve.  The Ride is not just about finding the best high school quarterback; it’s about uncovering the “diamond in the rough” that, given the opportunity of a lifetime could break through the barriers that have prevented them from being heavily recruited.  Each of the athletes has a unique “story” that includes challenges, whether it was being labeled as too small, not having enough experience, or coming from a smaller school, etc.

The first episodes were shot at FBU-Philadelphia in June. In addition to meeting the eight quarterbacks selected for the show, I also became part of a coaching staff that carry some serious credentials: Glenn Smith, Sam Wyche, Ron Jaworski, Larry Kennan, Mike Kruzcek, Tom Martinez, and Barry Every from Rivals. I consider this group among the “best of the best” when it comes to coaching, developing and evaluating athletes. More importantly, they are outstanding people that have each athlete’s best interest at heart.

We are looking to select THE Quarterback through a series of competitions and challenges. The athletes worked very hard in Philly, handled themselves like gentlemen, and improved immensely in a very short time.  And it was rewarding to see the progress that a few of the athletes made while training in our centers over the last few months-the coaches were impressed with their improved performance.  What a perfect example of the competitive advantage an athletes gains with Athletic Republic!

Next stop was Top Gun, where the field had been narrowed to four QBs.  It was very exciting to take all the athletes through the evaluation and training sessions in one of our more unique training facility-All Star Sports Training in Paisley, FL.   As the cameras were rolling I lead the players through both treadmill and plyometric sessions.  I was able to explain what each needed to do to improve their athleticism and conditioning.  As we see every day, the athletes made quick improvements in their sprint mechanics and movement skills which will allow them to get faster and move more efficiently.  They also seemed to really enjoy the training, understood how they can get better and were thankful for the help.

I’m looking forward to the next stages of the show, as we visit the remaining athletes in their home towns and high schools as we take in one of their Friday night games. After the cross-country tour, the two final players will be invited to play in Bowl Game in Hawaii in December. After the game, the coaches will shoot a live selection “round-table” and name the top QB. The winner gets a roster spot in the All-American Game.  The 10-series reality show starts in early November … I hope you can join Athletic Republic on “The Ride”

Steve Swanson - Chief Science and Technology Officer

Pulling up to All-Star Sports Training in Paisley, Florida for the first day of the Top Gun camp I was a bit skeptical.  You drive down a 1/4 mile dirt road and the first thing that you see is about 10 long horn bulls.  This was going to be my office for the next two weeks and I was not sure what to expect.  I have visited and trained at many training facilities but none of them had livestock to my knowledge.  Yet little did I know I was stumbling onto a football player’s training oasis in the middle of Florida and for two weeks it would be housing the top football players in the country.

The first three camps had unbelievable talent and averaged around 15 of the 80 athletes at each camp training at our Athletic Republic training centers.  This is an amazing figure considering these kids are chosen from all across the country and 20% had gone through our program. Yet I would not understand the true future of College Football until the final group of Athletes arrived at All-Star Sports Training on Wednesday afternoon.

The final group is all going into their senior year with a few invited juniors was so much fun to both watch and train.  Even though we had two huge storms which limited our time on the field with the final group we were still able to put them through some football specific Fusion Timing & Reaction system drills that tested both the reactive and physical ability of the kids.

After 33 FBU camps and 4 top gun camps there are two things I have come to realize: 1) There is a lot of raw talent out there and with the technology Athletic Republic has in their training centers we can make a huge impact on an athlete; 2) Even though people say that frog legs taste like chicken I don’t agree.

Blake Gardner

With the start of football season just around the corner, some of the nation’s best players have been invited to Paisley, Florida, to fine tune their games at the three-day Football University Top Gun Camp, before returning to lead their High School teams.

Over the past few days, I had the good fortune to watch 80 talented juniors work with Athletic Republic trainers and FBU coaches at the impressive All-Star Sports Academy, an Athletic Republic franchise.

Mark Stevenson brought his son Marques, a running back from Lake Marion High School, in Lake Marion, Michigan, to the Top Gun Camp because he liked the position-specific training. Marques is a powerful runner, whose linear speed and lateral quickness has improved this summer with training at Athletic Republic – Auburn Hills. Marques was able to showcase his ‘football speed’ vs. his ‘combine speed’ at the camp, and make a lasting impression on the linebackers covering him in the receiving skills and route drills.

I also enjoyed watching Blake Gardner, a wide receiver from Steele High School in New Braunfels, Texas, move through the pro-agility drill with grace and then execute great running mechanics on the treadmill. It came as no surprise, when I learned he’d been training with Shawn Dassie and the Athletic Republic – New Braunfels team.

Bill Bayless captured the Top Gun difference his son Harrison, a quarterback from John Handley, High School in Winchester, Virginia, was experiencing in just three words: Training, Technique and Technology. Bill was impressed with how Athletic Republic brought science right onto the sports field and wanted to know when we’d be opening a training center closer to Winchester. The same question that has lead to the start of many of our most successful training sites … we’ll be talking to Bill to help us identify franchise operator prospects and locations in his area.

Charlie Graves — Arthletic Repubic CEO

Football University Top Gun Camps 1 and 2 took place last week in Paisley, Florida, and included up and coming 7th and 8th grade football players.  The intensity of both camps were impressive for athletes of such a young age. NFL legends like Andre Rison and Chris Slade led the groups through the Florida heat, working on mastering basic footwork and techniques that are the fundamentals of the game.  Seven-on-seven drills for the skill players and one-on-one battles for the lineman are also part of the experience.  “Coaching every rep” is part of the FBU philosophy and these athletes receive the best instruction possible.  What an experience! I wish I would have had something like this available to me as a young player.

Athletic Republic’s event manager, Jon Drenckhahn, has done a great job managing the delivery of our “Test, Teach, Train” philosophy for each Top Gun athlete.  Our regional football managers, Sione Taufoo, Dan O’Donnel, and Chad Gunnelson all flew in to lead the performance training efforts along with myself and Tad O’Had.  As always, Sione, Dan, Chad and Tad were at the top of their game. On Day 1, we were able to test all 80 athletes and provide immediate video feedback on their start technique and cutting mechanics.  Each player also competed in a “reaction drill” competition using the SmartSpeed Pro system.  These competitions are always fun, pitting position groups against each other to see which group wins the most battles.  The intensity and enthusiasm of each player was refreshing.

On Day 2, skill players were able to get a taste of the Super Treadmill as our trainers worked with them on improving their running mechanics, using mirrors and immediate Dartfish video feedback.  The training was combined with lessons on proper running mechanics and key aspects of improving speed.  The lineman and linebackers were able to work on first-step quickness with our patented Sprintcords.  The big men also spent time in the sand pit working on strength and stability.    Each position group spent time working on position-specific footwork and reaction drills to improve speed and power.  Our job as performance trainers is to help them move better, while helping to reinforce what their coaches are teaching them.

All in all, we were able to spend over three hours with each athlete to help them get better.  From the feedback of the parents and athletes so far, we are helping to exceed their expectations for Top Gun. Many of the athletes were already training at an Athletic Republic facility, and many more came away impressed with what our training facilities could do for them.  I look forward to hearing more success stories from parents and athletes—it’s what all of us who train athletes love about our job. These stories mean just as much or more to us as the stories about Brandon Meriweather and Eric Brock I shared in my last post.

Steve Swanson — Cheif Science & Technology Officer

Here’s a link to a post on Rivals.com that talks all about the integration of technology into Athletic Republic’s on-field and training center based football training programs.

Football University’s Top Gun All-Star Experience for the nation’s top youth and prep players kicked off in Paisley, Florida, last week, with sessions for 7th and 8th graders. The facility at All-Star Sports, a proud member of Athletic Republic, is literally a “field of dreams” for football.  The 80-acre complex has everything a serious football player would want: a beautiful grass football field with coaches observation towers; practice fields with chutes and sleds; a sand pit; two weight rooms and a special room dedicated to treadmill training.

Athletic Republic’s equipment and training methodology are utilized predominantly in the training offered at All-Star Sports and headed up by world-class performance training director Todd Robinett, MS.  The lodge has a full kitchen, locker rooms and dorms for up to 100 athletes complete, with a 50” flatscreen TV and leather couches.  The facility is perfect for camps and team activities, allowing athletes to focus entirely on training, good nutrition, recovery and building team chemistry.

Several professional and college athletes call All-Star Sports home during the offseason as they work to reach their full potential.  Some notable athletes training in Paisley just prior to TopGun were Eric Brock of the Atlanta Falcons and Brandon Meriweather of the New England Patriots.  Brandon blew away the coaches upon his arrival in New England by running a blazing sub 4.4 second forty, not once, not twice, but three times — the coacheskept asking him to run again to make sure they were timing correctly!  Afterwards, he texted Todd Robinett with a message “proof that treadmill works!”

Eric’s pre-NFL Draft experience in the winter of 2008 was chronicled here with a series of blog posts, beginning with this post. Going into his second season with the Atlanta Falcons, Erik is primed to make an impact with the team. All the staff rave about his strength, size and speed — not to mention the work ethic that is a pre-requisite for making an impact on Sundays.  I can’t wait to watch both Brandon and Erik on the field this fall.  All of us at Athletic Republic wish them the best of luck this season.

Steve Swanson — Chief Science & Technology Officer