By Aaron Wilson
The Houston SaberCats don’t skip leg day, or any day in the weight room whatsoever.
The playoff squad attributes a lot of its collective success to paying the price in the gym and the power of proper sports science.
Working smart, not just working hard under the direction of the strength and conditioning staff.
It’s about athletic performance, but also about improving durability and staying power during a grueling season.
Lift smart. Lift heavy. Stretching. Conditioning. Plyometrics. Explosiveness. Load management. Cryotherapy and sauna sessions. Sprinting. Proper nutrition.
It’s all about building a bigger, stronger and faster team.
“If we don’t pitch up with physicality, we lose our games,” veteran Johan Momsen said. “That’s what makes us win our games is our physicality. If we come to a game and we’re ready and we dominate physically, there’s no stopping us.”
Going big in the weight room is part of the SaberCats’ culture.
“We’re strong boys,” Momsen said. “Everybody’s fit.”
The SaberCats are also literally a big team.
Whether it’s team captain Nathan Den Hoedt, Momsen, Javon Camp-Villalovos, Michael Scott, Emmanuel Albert, Drake Davis, Pita Anae-Ah Sue, Justin Basson, Pono Davis, Val Lee-Lo, Ezekiel Lindenmuth, LaRome White, Keni Nasoqeqe, Seth Smith or Marno Redelinghuys, this is a large group.
“Definitely, a lot of big guys,” said Albert, a former football player like both Drake Davis and Pono Davis, White and Smith. “Our coach likes to go big. That’s our job to go out there and be physical and put the backs in the right area.”
The SaberCats travel to play the Utah Warriors on Saturday night in Utah in a Western Conference playoff final. The SaberCats are two wins away from earning the Shield of Major League Rugby.
“It’s not going to be easy in Utah, that’s for sure,” Tautalatasi Tasi said. “But we’ll definitely get ready for them and we’ll do well.”
