Matt Aldred discusses 'individualized training' method, plans for offseason

On this week's episode of the 'Defend the Block' podcast, Michigan basketball radio voice Brian Boesch sat down with new strength and conditioning coach Matt Aldred to discuss his first few weeks on the job and what the remainder of the offseason looks like.

Aldred, who worked with head coach Dusty May on Florida's basketball staff during the 2017-18 season, spent the last six years at Furman, where he served as the program's Assistant Head Coach and the Director of Basketball Performance.

Following the 2017-18 season alongside May with the Gators, Aldred took off for Furman, and May departed for the head spot at Florida Atlantic.

But after six years apart, May and Aldred reconnected and teamed up at Michigan. Aldred, who is evidently a go-getter, outlined the hiring story to Boesch.

"Yeah, how it went — that's very interesting. With the ins and outs of being hired. I say, 'Congratulations' and then I was — I've got a three-month-old Lucy, and I would be feeding her at night, bottle-feeding, and I just couldn't stop thinking about him here (in Ann Arbor)."

"And I couldn't stop thinking about, honestly, would he take me? Would he be, is that something that I think he would entertain because of our relationship and prior work experience? And then I was like, okay, this was on like a Sunday night."

"I was like, I'll wait until Wednesday. Like, I've just texted him congrats. I'll wait."

"And then it got to Monday. I was like, 'Ah, you gotta text.' So I text him on the Tuesday, said, 'Hey, like, I would be really interested in this role.'"

"And then our conversations kind of flowed from there, and they had to fill a roster, which they did exceptionally well. And when they were filling the roster and we'd had a conversation at the start of April, my mind then went to, 'How would I train these guys?' So I'm like, 'How do I train Vlad (Goldin)?'"

"'How do I train Vlad and Danny (Wolf) and make sure these two seven-footers are available for every game?'"

"And then the weeks pass, and then we reconnect, and we got it done. And then my mind can really be like, 'Oh, wow, okay. Now you've got to really think about it because it's actually your job.'"

Aldred's outgoing nature landed him the role as Michigan's strength and conditioning coach, but the job is only beginning.

With nine scholarship newcomers and just three returning players, Michigan has the most turnover the program has ever seen, which presents some challenges, but there is also a great deal of excitement for Aldred as he begins to learn the goals and desires of each individual player.

"I knew I wanted to do individualized training. ... I've got to learn about what they've done, previous injury history, previous training history, what they want to achieve, who their favorite NBA player is, like what their physical goals are."

"And so a lot of it after the initial, 'Hi, how you doing? Nice to meet you,' and I could sit down at this desk and and do the work was: 'How can I individualize these (training) programs as quick as I can for these guys?'"

"Because I want this to be the best experience they've ever had in terms of player development in the weight room and on the court. And I want it to be a relationship where they feel like they're in the driving seat and I'm in the passenger seat. I can't be in the driver's seat for players."

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