Tereshinski Conference Call

FOOTBALL

Joe Tereshinski, who will take over as the director of the strength program for the Georgia football program on January 1, stressed tradition, technology and nutrition during a conference call with the media Friday.

A former Dawg player and long-time strength and conditioning assistant and video coordinator, Tereshinksi said he is excited about the tremendous opportunity.

“I’ve been here a long time and worked with different strength coaches and helped train teams, and I want to thank Coach Richt for the opportunity,” said Tereshinski. “I also want to thank the position coaches that supported me for this and thank Coach Van Halanger. He is the second winningest strength coach of all time. I’ve learned a lot over the years from strength coaches, I’ve been to other colleges, attended seminars, been to the convention every year and seen how people train. It gives you a broader base. I want to thank my mentors that have taught me how to train young men.

“I know this is a tremendous responsibility, and I am very committed to it,” Tereshinski added. “There is a brief window that these young men have in their college careers when they have to train their bodies. It is important to them, it’s important to the school and what football represents. We have to get them to the point where they can learn, perform and compete with whom they are playing against. I also understand the responsibility to the Dawg nation. I’m committed to it, seven days a week.

“I know the kids, know the SEC, and have been around it all my life,” he added. “I’ve played in the SEC; I’ve been on the sidelines for 30 years. I’ve been a video coordinator so I watch our opponents four, five, six times, and then watch them again on game days. I see who is winning the battle. I understand our kids. I’ve seen every play in practice and games and have an understanding of the team.”

Tereshinski said he met with the team at 6 a.m., and his first message to them was to get ready for the bowl game. Georgia’s current strength and conditioning staff will handle the bowl preparations. Meanwhile, he will put together a program that stresses nutrition including monitoring what the student-athletes eat daily and will video workouts.

“We’ll have a nutritionist and graduate assistants at the meals and record what they’re eating, and we’ll have counseling. We’re going to record weights, chart their performance, body-fat percentages and weight training,” Tereshinski said. “We have to get stronger and get quicker. I’ve had my hand in technology, and we’re going to bring it to the weight room. We’ll have video of all the workouts and see what we can correct, and the young men can observe what they’re doing. We realize we have to go in a different direction. We’ll be hands-on; we’ll train in smaller groups. We’re going to educate them on how to train and how to recover.”

When asked about instilling any new culture for the Dawgs, Tereshinksi said it’s going to be to prepare them for the fourth quarter.

“We used to be known that in the fourth quarter, Georgia would win,” said Tereshinski. “It’s all positive reinforcement. With technology today, you can see what the young man is doing and what he has done. They have to be able to go where they haven’t been. They have to think that they can’t go any further, and then they go further. The moment he misses, we have to ask them what’s your goal? Is it to start? Is it to be All-Conference, All-American, get to the league? You better hope the two hours you’re spending with us is working each day. You have to get their minds thinking about the limited amount of time in their college career to get that competitive edge, to compete in the SEC.”

Tereshinski did not announce any staff changes or additions and indicated he would meet with the current staff after the bowl game.