Indiana University Athletics
Wellman Brings “Game-Changing” Approach
3/18/2020 9:31:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Is Aaron Wellman a "game changer," as Indiana head football coach Tom Allen insists?
Can the Hoosiers' new strength and conditioning coach, fresh off four years running the NFL's New York Giants strength program, take what David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea did well enough to land jobs at Alabama and raise the ante?
Why not, Allen asks.
"He'll take our strength-and-conditioning program to another level."
Wellman's official title isn't sexy -- senior assistant athletic director for football athletic performance -- but his opportunity sure is.
Coming off an 8-5 season and a TaxSlayer Gator Bowl berth, IU is on the cusp of football greatness, and you can't over-emphasize the importance of the strength and conditioning coach to help deliver that.
"The guy leading that weight room is the No. 2 guy in your program in terms of culture because he spends the most amount of time with the players," Allen says.
Wellman won't recruit, but he will draw. If you're a player who aspires to NFL opportunity, and what Big Ten player doesn't, Wellman has the goods.
"He's coming from the NFL," Allen says. "He's considered one of the best strength coaches in the country, and one of the top in the world when you think about the NFL.
"He will be a big part of recruiting. He can't go out and recruit, but he will be a major part of our recruiting.
"He's been where all of our players want to go (the NFL). That's the bottom line. He will help them get there. That's one of the reasons why our players are so excited to get him and why future players will be excited to be trained under him.
"This is a massive hire for us. I'm so excited to have him. He's going to be a phenomenal leader for our young men."
Wellman also brings plenty of college experience with strength and conditioning jobs at Michigan, Notre Dame, San Diego State and Ball State, plus turn-of-the-century time at Indiana as a graduate assistant and the assistant strength and conditioning coach.
"At Indiana, we have to (develop players) better than anybody in the country to get to where we want to be as a program," Allen says. "The person running the weight room is the key guy."
The more Allen talks about Wellman, the more pumped he becomes.
"I can't tell you how much it means to get an individual like Aaron Wellman here. I'm so excited for our players. They deserve the best. They've bought in to everything I've asked them to do. Everything we've challenged them with they've responded and believed.
"They fought through adversity and showed so much grit this past season with all the challenges and injuries. They kept battling. They didn't blink.
"I told them we'd get them a guy who will help them elevate. We did some great things with Coach Ballou and his staff, but we have to keep getting better.
"This is not about maintaining. I wanted to find somebody who would take us to a higher level, and that's what we're going to do."
How will the Hoosiers' do it? It starts with Wellman's focus -- maximize athletes' speed, strength, power and efficiency, while "at the same time minimize orthopedic stress."
In other words, work hard, work smart, stay healthy.
"We want to make sure we're training our athletes optimally," Wellman says. "Recovery is a big piece of what we do.
"We'll train hard and train intensely."
Training is on hold due to the combination of spring break and university shut down in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. It's uncertain when players will be allowed to use campus facilities, including the weight room. Wellman briefly met them before they left campus.
"I'm champing at the bit to get these guys back here," he says.
"I don't like the delay, but it's out of our control. I'm very excited to be back in a college program and to help Coach Allen build this team."
Wellman's return to Indiana started with love.
"Number one, my wife and I love the school and we love this program. This is a program that means a lot to us.
"We've watched Coach Allen build it. It's an exciting opportunity to come back and work with him and these players, to build on the foundation he's laid here."
Allen quickly reached out to Wellman when the opening happened. He first met Wellman when Allen was starting as a college coach, and Wellman was the strength coach at Ball State.
Last summer, Wellman spent time at IU with Ballou.
It all was enough to sell Allen.
"They have a very similar thought process in power-based training," Allen says. "That's what Dave brought to us. He had gotten a lot of his thoughts from Aaron.
"Then it was about the right fit. Aaron believes in the same things I do -- how you lead, how you motivate, how you build a team and create the culture you want. It's the L-E-O (Love Each Other) mindset. He buys into that.
"Then he loves Indiana. This is his home. His wife went to school here. He coached here. They wanted to be here. That's a big part of it."
In other words, Allen made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
"It was exciting talking to Coach Allen and his vision for the program," Wellman says. "We were very much aligned in building and training a team."
Wellman had significance success with the Giants in terms of injury prevention, and hopes to bring that to the Hoosiers.
"Injuries are too big a part of our sport," he says. "Our goal is to mitigate risk."
Is there a difference between training NFL and college players?
Not really, Wellman says, with one big age exception.
"The 37-year-old athlete should be training much differently than the 18-year-old athlete," Wellman says.
Last season's Indiana success has everyone associated with the program pumped for more.
"A lot of people are awfully excited about what the team did last year," Wellman says. "More importantly, the guys we have back, the number of starters we have back, our roster from top to bottom, we should feel very excited about that."
Excitement also comes from appreciation for the resources IU officials provided to hire Wellman.
"This was a great testament to our administration," Allen says. "I appreciate their support in making this happen, in recognizing the importance of this position and the way it's been elevated by the previous group. This sends a strong statement that Indiana Football is very important to this university."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Is Aaron Wellman a "game changer," as Indiana head football coach Tom Allen insists?
Can the Hoosiers' new strength and conditioning coach, fresh off four years running the NFL's New York Giants strength program, take what David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea did well enough to land jobs at Alabama and raise the ante?
Why not, Allen asks.
"He'll take our strength-and-conditioning program to another level."
Wellman's official title isn't sexy -- senior assistant athletic director for football athletic performance -- but his opportunity sure is.
Coming off an 8-5 season and a TaxSlayer Gator Bowl berth, IU is on the cusp of football greatness, and you can't over-emphasize the importance of the strength and conditioning coach to help deliver that.
"The guy leading that weight room is the No. 2 guy in your program in terms of culture because he spends the most amount of time with the players," Allen says.
Wellman won't recruit, but he will draw. If you're a player who aspires to NFL opportunity, and what Big Ten player doesn't, Wellman has the goods.
"He's coming from the NFL," Allen says. "He's considered one of the best strength coaches in the country, and one of the top in the world when you think about the NFL.
"He will be a big part of recruiting. He can't go out and recruit, but he will be a major part of our recruiting.
"He's been where all of our players want to go (the NFL). That's the bottom line. He will help them get there. That's one of the reasons why our players are so excited to get him and why future players will be excited to be trained under him.
"This is a massive hire for us. I'm so excited to have him. He's going to be a phenomenal leader for our young men."
Wellman also brings plenty of college experience with strength and conditioning jobs at Michigan, Notre Dame, San Diego State and Ball State, plus turn-of-the-century time at Indiana as a graduate assistant and the assistant strength and conditioning coach.
"At Indiana, we have to (develop players) better than anybody in the country to get to where we want to be as a program," Allen says. "The person running the weight room is the key guy."
The more Allen talks about Wellman, the more pumped he becomes.
"I can't tell you how much it means to get an individual like Aaron Wellman here. I'm so excited for our players. They deserve the best. They've bought in to everything I've asked them to do. Everything we've challenged them with they've responded and believed.
"They fought through adversity and showed so much grit this past season with all the challenges and injuries. They kept battling. They didn't blink.
"I told them we'd get them a guy who will help them elevate. We did some great things with Coach Ballou and his staff, but we have to keep getting better.
"This is not about maintaining. I wanted to find somebody who would take us to a higher level, and that's what we're going to do."
How will the Hoosiers' do it? It starts with Wellman's focus -- maximize athletes' speed, strength, power and efficiency, while "at the same time minimize orthopedic stress."
In other words, work hard, work smart, stay healthy.
"We want to make sure we're training our athletes optimally," Wellman says. "Recovery is a big piece of what we do.
"We'll train hard and train intensely."
Training is on hold due to the combination of spring break and university shut down in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. It's uncertain when players will be allowed to use campus facilities, including the weight room. Wellman briefly met them before they left campus.
"I'm champing at the bit to get these guys back here," he says.
"I don't like the delay, but it's out of our control. I'm very excited to be back in a college program and to help Coach Allen build this team."
Wellman's return to Indiana started with love.
"Number one, my wife and I love the school and we love this program. This is a program that means a lot to us.
"We've watched Coach Allen build it. It's an exciting opportunity to come back and work with him and these players, to build on the foundation he's laid here."
Allen quickly reached out to Wellman when the opening happened. He first met Wellman when Allen was starting as a college coach, and Wellman was the strength coach at Ball State.
Last summer, Wellman spent time at IU with Ballou.
It all was enough to sell Allen.
"They have a very similar thought process in power-based training," Allen says. "That's what Dave brought to us. He had gotten a lot of his thoughts from Aaron.
"Then it was about the right fit. Aaron believes in the same things I do -- how you lead, how you motivate, how you build a team and create the culture you want. It's the L-E-O (Love Each Other) mindset. He buys into that.
"Then he loves Indiana. This is his home. His wife went to school here. He coached here. They wanted to be here. That's a big part of it."
In other words, Allen made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
"It was exciting talking to Coach Allen and his vision for the program," Wellman says. "We were very much aligned in building and training a team."
Wellman had significance success with the Giants in terms of injury prevention, and hopes to bring that to the Hoosiers.
"Injuries are too big a part of our sport," he says. "Our goal is to mitigate risk."
Is there a difference between training NFL and college players?
Not really, Wellman says, with one big age exception.
"The 37-year-old athlete should be training much differently than the 18-year-old athlete," Wellman says.
Last season's Indiana success has everyone associated with the program pumped for more.
"A lot of people are awfully excited about what the team did last year," Wellman says. "More importantly, the guys we have back, the number of starters we have back, our roster from top to bottom, we should feel very excited about that."
Excitement also comes from appreciation for the resources IU officials provided to hire Wellman.
"This was a great testament to our administration," Allen says. "I appreciate their support in making this happen, in recognizing the importance of this position and the way it's been elevated by the previous group. This sends a strong statement that Indiana Football is very important to this university."
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