New Michigan head basketball coach Juwan Howard made his first move — and the right one — in retaining strength coach Jon Sanderson.
John Beilein hired Sanderson a decade ago, and "Camp Sanderson" has been huge in the development of several Michigan players. He even wrote a book, Basketball Strength & Conditioning: Above the Rim with Camp Sanderson, to help others interesting in training their kids.
“Camp Sanderson definitely made me a more explosive player,” former Wolverine Tim Hardaway Jr. said at the time. “And he made me confident while I was playing. I became better defensively, and it was because of him…”
“Coach Sanderson was instrumental in my transformation from college athlete to professional basketball player,” former guard Nik Stauskas, also in the NBA (with Cleveland), added. “We set goals together and he pushed me to my limits to achieve them. I wouldn’t be where I am today without his guidance and coaching.”
Sanderson gets paid to be among the best in his profession, of course, but watching his kids develop is reward in itself.
“That’s my favorite part of the job,” Sanderson told TheWolverine.com several months ago. “I love seeing guys develop, the progress … I love when parents will call, text me, excited about the progress their son has made. It’s a lot of fun. Obviously, so is winning and being part of something big.
“Two things — physical development and team development — are the things that really drive me.”
Sanderson fell in love with the weight room and training in his experience at Lexington High School in Ohio, and started his professional career as the head strength and conditioning coach for Olympic Sports at Marshall University in 2003. He then moved on to become Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach/Head Basketball Strength and Conditioning Coach at Clemson from 2006-2009 before joining head coach John Beilein’s staff at U-M.
His professional certifications are too long to list, and they included Master Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCCa) certification in 2016.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @Balas_Wolverine, @DrewCHallett and @Qb9Adam.
• Like us on Facebook
