Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 13, 2017 19 a master strength and conditioning coach who joined Balis' staff — with his handling of the stretching that has limited injuries, and Dr. Amber Selking, who joined as the team's mental performance consultant. "We wanted to be able to craft a consistent message in terms of how we wanted to prepare our football team from that mental performance standpoint," Kelly said of Selking. "We've worked collaboratively in putting together the mental perfor- mance pieces for our football team since January. "She's worked in position groups, she's worked individually, she's worked with the units, offense, de- fense and special teams, and then she's worked one-on-one with me, so we could have this collaborative approach to mental performance." Junior running back and team captain Josh Adams said getting the minds right complemented the now much sounder bodies. "It's been a long journey, and it's been a lot of fun," Adams said. "We have fun pushing our limits, test- ing where we were at competing. … Who could lift the most weights, who could run the fastest? "It [had] a little fun back to playing football, competing with the guys around you, seeing how much better you can get, seeing how much you could push them." The results have spoken for them- selves within a year's time. ✦ Senior rover Drue Tranquill noted that not only have he and his teammates become strong during the season, but they have also become more attuned to the grind that has come with the workouts under the new staff since January. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL