Coming from a distinguished career as a pioneer in the strength and conditioning field, Buddy Morris, the new Director of Sports Performance, aims to assist Buffalo in its strive towards becoming one of the premier athletic departments in the country.
Having worked most recently with the Cleveland Browns, Morris began his career at the University of Pittsburgh in 1980. As a student-athlete for Pittsburgh, with a scholarship in track and field, Morris realized early that his true passion lay elsewhere.
"I gave up a track scholarship because all I wanted to do was lift weights," Morris said. "I went to the football coach, Jackie Sherrill, and asked permission to use their weight room because the on-campus one was horrible. He said I could use it in the mornings. Well, I started helping some of his athletes and that got back to him. Two weeks after I graduated he called me into his office and asked me if I could do the job. I said sure, he threw me the keys and that was it."
With a degree in speech and communication, Morris taught himself the tools necessary in this increasingly competitive field.
"Some of the smartest people I have ever been around are self taught," Morris said. "In this country we suffer from academic myopia. They only teach you what they want you to know, especially in strength training. If you want to know more you have to find out yourself."
Despite his 26 years of experience in this field, Morris is dedicated to continuous learning. His office is bursting with hundreds of texts on strength and conditioning, many of which must be translated into English from the Russian or German in which they were written.
"Every day I learn. Every day I read for at least one hour," Morris said. "If you read for one hour every day in your chosen field, at the end of one year you will be one of the 10 most knowledgeable people in the world. At the end of five years you will be the most knowledgeable person in your profession."
Aside from his extensive reading Morris also attends live surgeries, makes an annual trip to a cadaver lab and volunteers his time at the University at Pittsburgh Medical Center Physical Therapy Clinic. Morris, however, is by no means the average bookworm.
"To be a strength coach you still have to train, you have to lead by example. You have to know what its like to put up 600 pounds on a squat or bench 400 pounds," Morris said. "I have never asked a player to do something I have not done myself."
For Morris there is only one constant in creating a training package: no one program will work for everyone. While many strength coaches are implementing programs that claim to be the best, Morris caters to every variable: environment, circumstance and the individual athlete.
"It is important to not put blinders on. You need to understand that there are many ways to do it. No program has all the answers," Morris said. "I follow the Russians, East Germans, Bulgarians, Poles and Chinese. The difference is that they have approached it as a science. We haven't done that yet."
This approach certainly has worked for Morris in the past, when he worked with the University at Pittsburgh football they went 11-1 three years in a row. The same approach, but with 26 years worth of knowledge and experience, is already beginning to work in Buffalo as well.
"Working with him is definitely a learning experience," said senior linebacker Ramon Guzman. "He doesn't just tell you what to do, he tells you why. I've gotten stronger, I'm faster, and I don't have the injuries that come with a football season."
The benefits from Morris' expertise will not reside solely with the football program though. As the Director of Sports Performance, Morris has instilled his principles and work ethic upon his staff of three professionals and one graduate assistant. Upon request, Warde Manuel, Director of Athletics, granted Morris permission to purchase books for his staff. Already he has bought two for each of them so that they too may continue to expand their knowledge.
"It is a great asset for us to have him in our program," said football head coach Turner Gill. "He wants to be a part of it and to help develop this football program and the whole athletic department to be a quality program nation wide. We are blessed and fortunate to have him."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
