there are number of dimensions, the 4th is time, the
Future and present NFL athletes need fine tuning – Miami Dolphins – Sun-Sentinel
I initially met Pete Bommarito six years ago this time.
I was researching a story (truth is…. I was really researching for myself) on what teams get out of the NFL combine. There was this training facility in South Florida named Perfect Competition plenty of big time agents and athletes used.
Bommarito was the head trainer there, and when I watched him work it blew my mind all the things he was teaching the players he trained. We're talking complete short circuit!
Like a fly on the wall I soaked it all up, biscuit-in-gravy style. Then I quizzed him on it afterwards. Bommarito schooled me on all the combine drills, teaching me what they taught NFL teams about a player's athleticism and skill set. He made it all make sense.
Back in those days Bommarito was using a small gym and field put together in a warehouse, which struggled to train 30 athletes.
Five years later he's the founder and CEO of Bommarito Performance, which is based in Aventura.
I've visited him every year since 2007 for a sneak peak at some of the NFL's future stars. That's where I first saw Kendall Langford, who was beasting his workout, and Sean Smith, who I initially thought was a linebacker. Plenty of my Man Crushes begin there.
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When Bommarito tells me someone is fast, like he did with former UM DeMarcus Van Dyke last year, expect him to run the fastest 40-yard dash time at the combine.
When Bommarito says someone's an athletic freak, expect that player to do some amazing things to shine at the combine, if not in the NFL.
When I visited Bommarito on Valentine's Day he had FOUR circuits of athletes, which featured a dozen players per unit.
There was the quarterback, receiver and tight end group, which started at 8 a.m.
Then came the linebacker, running backs and defensive backs wave.
Then a wave of NFL players and MLB players came through for their workouts and treatment sessions. Plenty of Dolphins train with Bommarito during the offseason.
Then Bommarito wrapped up his daily training sessions with my favorite group, the big uglies, the offensive and defensive linemen.
All together, I watched about 60 NFL draft prospects, and 30 NFL and MLB veterans do their field work while Bommarito and his ever-growing staff put these elite athletes through the paces.
This Tuesday was timing for the 40-yard dash, as Bommarito helped his draft prospects perfect their starts and body positioning. They also working on L-drill (my favorite because it shows change of direction) and shuttle runs.
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Anonymous
I generally like to go into the Bommarito experience blind, so the elite athletes, like Penn State defensive end Devon Still, standout. He immediate caught my eye and wouldn't you know he's one of the elite prospects of the 2012 NFL draft.
Funny how that works.
When I ask a name it's because that player has done something which catches my eye….like kill the 40-yard dash.
Wake Forest receiver Chris Givens torched the 40-yard dash, and routinely showed off his quick feet. He was clearly in a league of his own.
I initially called him Gibbons on twitter, and planned to look him up before someone corrected me that his name is Givens, and some draftniks view him as the second best receiver in the draft.
MAKES SENSE!
Then there was the BLAZING 40-yard dash time UM tailback Lamar Miller ran twice. And that's after only having four 40-yard dash sessions because he underwent shoulder surgery at the beginning of the year, and just got cleared to resume running.
For the record, I'm not allowed to tell you Bommarito's times, and the players usually aren't allowed to know them either.
That's what got former Hurricanes receiver Tommy Streeter angry after Bommarito's intern, Britney Barnes, let Louisiana Lafeyette tight end Ladarius Green see his time, but wouldn't let Streeter (she has been specifically told not to).
"You wrong for that," Streeter said. "I thought we had something special."
The receivers eventually stole the time sheet from Barnes, which got her yelled at by Bommarito.
Bommarito loosened up a little with the offensive and defensive line. But when athletes like UM standout Olivier Vernon turned in a freakishly ridiculous 40-time, which would have been eye-opening for a linebacker, much less a defensive end, he decided to change the direction they were running because he assumed it had to be wind assisted.
It was hilarious to watch him drop a small piece of paper to see which direction the wind was blowing.
Then Vernon did it AGAIN, showing off athleticism which should prompt NFL teams to work him out as a hybrid linebacker at the combine.
I smell a sleeper, but Bommarito has a lot of work to do with Vernon, perfecting his technique in the combine's other drills. He fell or slipped on just about every other rep.
And that's why athletes come to Bommarito for, so they can learn how to show off what they've got at the combine, where slipped can cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Scouts and coaches want to see a guys skills. They want to compare apples with apples, giving [the athletes] something they would do in the game. It's not just about straight line speed," said Greg Briner, a former NFL coach who works on Bommarito's staff. "During this process they evaluate you on everything. Your footwork and movement; can you watch film and translate it to the field? How does he handle himself in the interview? They need a feel for what the guy is really like."
G.G.G.
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