Loren Landow - My Off-Season with the Denver Broncos: Building a Championship Team (While Nobodys Watching)

MY OFF-SEASON WITH

THE DENVER

BRONCOS

Authors note: The fitness advice in the following chapters is not intended to take the place of your doctors or personal trainers recommendations. Consult with your trainer or physician about any changes you wish to make after reading this book.

Published by Taylor Trade Publishing
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Copyright 2012 by Loren Landow and Mike Klis
All photos, except where noted, courtesy of Kathleen W. Courier,
Colorado Sports Photos

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ISBN 978-1-58979-751-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-58979-752-9 (electronic)

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Printed in the United States of America

To my wife, Becky, and my friends at Golden (Highway 93) Star-bucks whose encouragement and black coffee refills made this book possible. Mike Klis

Thank you to Michelle, Taylor, and Morgan for being my drive and inspiration, while allowing me to give fully to those I coachI love you guys more than I could ever show. Thank you to my mom, Loretta, and stepdad, Don, for showing me love, strength, determination, and self-accountability. To my brother, Bill, and sisters Kalen and Jen for showing me unconditional love, strength, and support. Thank you to all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins for support through the years; family is everything! Thank you Mike and Mary Marlene and all of the Nevins for their support and love. Thank you to my mentors in no particular order: Loren Sea-grave, Greg Roskopf, Steven Plisk, Tom Purvis, Jim Warren, Paul Godinez, Mike Allen, Kathy Barrett, George Solich, and Rich Andrews. To those who have leftmy life way too early: Uncle Guy Maggio, Mark McKee, and Jason Vigil, you are in my daily thoughts, and I am continually motivated to be the best I can knowing you are helping me along my way. Thank you to my childhood friends Drew Ostrem, Shawn Brooks, Ryan Rego, and Shane Haas; your friendship and support didnt go without notice. Thank you to all of my athletes over the years, no matter how old, young, elite, or novice, you all inspire me to be better and have helped shape me to be a better coach and person.Without you all, I am nothing. I am so honored, humbled, and blessed to be your coach! Thank you to Mike Klis, editor Amy Rinehart, and publisher Rick Rinehart for putting up with me during this process! Thank you to my interns of the summer of 2011, Ashleigh Floyd, Christa Poremba, and Isaiah Castilleja. Thank you Kathleen Courier for capturing great photos. Judianne Atencio, thank you for all that you do! And to anybody I have failed to mention, it was not intentional, you are all special to me. Last but not least, thank you Brian Dawkins and Chris Kuper for trusting me to work with you and the players. What a special opportunity! Loren Landow

T IM TEBOW just threw perfectly to his target from 25 yards away. Demaryius Thomas caught the pass in stride as he was running a shallow post pattern and finished off the 80-yard catch-and-run touchdown that gave the Broncos their upset play-off victory against the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers.

Everywhere there was bedlam.

A crowd of 75,000-plus shook the structure that was Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Tebow sprinted the length of the field in exaltation, thanking the Lord, cheering the play, and then, not knowing what else to do, jumped into the south end zone for his first-ever Mile High Leap.

Bar patrons across the Rocky Mountain region were heard chanting, Te-bow! Te-bow! Apartment building balconies were filled with people screaming with joy.

Denver was delirious. Meanwhile, the man who helped start it all was at home in his living room watching on TV with his family.

Loren Landow, who had watched the first half on a Frontier flight that was bringing him back from a coaches conference in San Antonio, jumped so high off his couch, he could have touched the ceiling. His eight-year-old daughter, Taylor, jumped and jumped and jumped. His wife, Michelle, jumped so excitedly, the Landows five-year-old daughter, Morgan, fell offher lap.

Morgan got over it.

Landow rejoiced for Tebow, rejoiced for center J. D. Walton, felt so happy for the likes of left guard Zane Beadles, middle line-backer Joe Mays, punter Britton Colquitt, running back Lance Ball, receiver Matt Willis, defensive lineman Robert Ayers, and Mr. Tackle-Eligible Chris Clark, to name a few.

Forgive Landow if he felt a warm measure of satisfaction. These were his guys. He would never say this, of course.

Landow is the director of sports performance for the renowned Steadman Hawkins Clinic. He is not only known from improving an athletes speed and agility; he does not shirk the importance of team building. For so many Broncos players, Landow was the only coach they knew during the off-season when the NFL lockout barred them from their team headquarters and the coaches who were employed within.

Now, as he watched the Broncos celebrate their play-off win on TV, Landow, a quiet, humble sort, did not say Tebow or the other Broncos were his athletes. It didnt even cross his mind.

As a guy who works personally with Tebow twice a week, Landow knows that no elite athlete, much less one who has achieved the highest honors in football, can attain such success without dozens of people helping along the way. Hillary Clinton had it right. It does take a village.

Still, Landow remembers the first time he watched Tebow train with several other Broncos during an organized, players-only workout in the midst of the NFL lockout in the spring of 2011.

My first impression was he would run through a wall for you, Landow said. But he didnt have great body control and didnt yet know how to use his body like a rhythmic, well-oiled machine.

Later, when the lockout was settled and the Broncos were a couple of weeks into training camp, Landow got a call from Tebow. The quarterback wanted one-on-one workouts during the regular season.

Tebow and Landow talked. Landow doesnt begin any training session without an opening conversation to find out something about where his new client thinks he is now, and where he hopes to finish. Not that athletic performance is ever finished. While going over goals with his latest new client, Landow used the term bull in a china shop to describe Tebow to Tebow himself.

Yeah, Tebow told Landow, but a bull in a china shop is hard to tackle sometimes.

The Broncos had not been to the play-offs in six years. They were playing the Steelers, who had been to the Super Bowl three times in six years, winning two. Not surprisingly, the Steelers were heavily favored against the Broncos in a first-round AFC play-off game on January 8, 2012. Although the Broncos were playing at home, they were 8-point underdogs.