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With the arrival of a new coaching staff, some ap- prehension and resistance to new systems, changing standards and different methods of player develop- ment can be expected. For Virginia football, one of those changes included strenuous work- outs over a nine-week period, drastically different than they were accustomed, to "earn" the right to participate in spring practice. The designer of the program is UVA's new director of football perfor- mance Frank Wintrich. "I like to believe that what we do is outside the box," said Wintrich, who has 13 years of experience on the collegiate level. "A lot of people that listen to what we're doing and come to see what we're doing say it's quite a bit different from what they've done before, or seen before." Wintrich's program takes a holistic approach to player development breaking down the process physically, mentally, and by player position and class. "It's very simple for us," Wintrich said. "We want to provide the right training for the right athlete at the right time in their career." That includes attention to the mental aspect of football. Wintrich said most programs do a good job with the physical preparation, but added: "What I've learned is that we need to do a better job training the mind of these kids." Wintrich calls this training the players' "warrior mindset." "That's something we've started to focus on over the last few years," he said. "Do a great job training their brains and making sure we train their resiliency, their wherewithal and their teamwork. "That's a big part of what we do with our guys year round — discipline, accountability and making sure our guys have the mindset to train the way they fight and to fight the way they train." The "right training" can be different according to Wintrich, depending on whether you're a wide receiver or defensive lineman, or a first-year or a fourth-year. "We look at each one bioenerget- ically and biomechanically," he said. "I don't think a lot of people spend the time and energy that we spend researching what our coaches are going to be expecting our players to do. "We lean a lot on science, facts and data as opposed to being emotional about what we're doing." Wintrich adds that he doesn't have a ridged adher- ence to one particular style of training, but a diverse approach. "The way we train our athletes, we don't prescribe to any one way of training or style of training," he noted. "It goes back to providing the right tools to the athlete at the right time in their career." The players could be expected to fight something that is so radical to what they have experienced the last few years, but redshirt fourth-year center Jackson Mateo said it's the exact opposite. "You can just tell how hungry these guys are," Ma- teo explained. "We'll do whatever it takes knowing that when you do something your actions are going to be held accountable — right or wrong. Punish- ments are swift and certain, and positive things are swift and certain as well." — Greg Waters BEHIND THE SCENES DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL PERFORMANCE FRANK WINTRICH Wintrich spent one sea- son on Bronco Menden- hall's staff at BYU and then followed the head coach to Virginia. PHOTO COURTESY UVA