Alum followed his dream—All the way to the Super Bowl
By David Driver
Jeff Friday was finishing up a BS degree in Physical Education at UWM in 1989 when he began a letter-writing campaign. It was not just a handful of letters. And it had nothing to do with helping to elect a President, or even the student body head. Friday said he wrote nearly 100 letters, mostly to colleges with Division I athletic programs, as he sought a position as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach. “That was the next progression,” said Friday, who had worked with the track team at UWM as an undergraduate, at a time when the school did not have a full-time strength and conditioning coach.
Friday landed three offers. he one from Louisiana Tech was for physical education, which was not his focus. Another was from Northern Colorado, which did not have a strength and conditioning coach but had recently hired a former UWM track coach. And the third was from Illinois State, which did have a strength and conditioning coach.
‘I HAD TO HAVE A MENTOR’
“Illinois State was the best situation for me, because I thought I was going to be mentored by someone,” said Friday, a Milwaukee native. “I realized I had to have a mentor. I think it was an evolution of what I enjoyed. I realized it was what I was passionate about. There really was no turning point per se.”
Friday got a master’s degree in Exercise Science in 1991 from Illinois State following a two-year stint at the school. He then spent four years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and helped develop a football squad that won the Big 10 title in 1995. He also worked with the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
“They [Northwestern] were trying to upgrade and catch up with the rest of the Big 10. I was blessed. I was able to travel with the men’s basketball team,” Friday said. “I also tried to meet the strength coach wherever we traveled to learn information and take it back to Northwestern. We played the Minnesota Gophers and I met with the Vikings strength coach, Steve Wetzel. I asked if I could come back and watch a practice.”
A SERENDIPITOUS DAY
“I went with the intention to watch. During training camp he [Wetzel] relied on part-time help,” Friday added. “His part-time help didn’t show up that day.” So Friday was pressed into service at the Vikings’ NFL training camp.
Friday kept up the relationship and was hired by the Vikings in 1996.
“It was apparent early when I started working with Jeff, that he had the innovative vision and education to direct successful strength and conditioning programs at the highest level,” said Wetzel, now the director of athletic development at Tektonic Athletic Development and Rehabilitation in North Spring, Texas.
Friday was with the Vikings from 1996 to 1998, and all three seasons the team made the playoffs. Minnesota set a record for most points scored with 556 in 1998. When Brian Billick, the Minnesota offensive coordinator, got the head job with the Baltimore Ravens prior to the 1999 season, Friday joined his staff in Maryland.
ON TO A SUPER BOWL RING
In his second season with the Ravens, the team set a record for fewest points allowed (165) in a 16-game schedule and set an NFL record for fewest rushing yards allowed.
Baltimore then won its first Super Bowl in 2001 over the New York Giants.
“It helps validate what you are doing,” Friday said. “You are just a piece of the pie or the puzzle. It validates your effort a little bit. It was a great time for the family and those memories made it really special. Sometimes you don’t realize how special it is until you look back. We won it in the second year with that coaching staff.It was a really good staff.”
For his efforts Friday was named Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year by his colleagues in the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society in 2000. “You get recognized when you win,” said Friday, who downplayed the personal award. “Winning definitely helps.”
A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS
Friday’s tenure with the Ravens ended after the 2007 season when Billick was let go as the head coach. It is common for assistants to be dismissed in the NFL when a change is made at the top so a new head coach can pick his own staff.
Friday, who lives near Baltimore with his wife and two children, began his own business early this year. “Being away from the NFL has given me the opportunity to try this,” said Friday, who normally worked 10-hour days with the Ravens.
What is his philosophy on athletic training?
“I think we all have our views on the way things should be done,” he said. “I try to find the player’s needs and then meet those needs. Your main goal is to protect the body. Secondly you want to enhance the performance. Those are the two things you are really trying to do. You don’t want a player to be at risk in the weight room.”
Editor’s note: David Driver is a free-lance writer in Maryland and the former sports editor of a Baltimore daily. He can be reached through his Web site at www.davidsdriver.com.