NFL
By: Henry Curi
Division I college football exhibits numerous challenging tasks for players and staff. It’s the necessary step taken before any NFL opportunity. An action that requires rigorous mental and physical development to keep up with the nation’s most elite competition. For the Univerity of Tenessee’s director of football sports performance, A.J. Artis, handling this challenge is his specialty and undeniable calling for one of the SEC’s most notable programs. One of only a handful of Black directors of strength and conditioning coaches, trailblazing paths of growth and opportunity for himself and the players he works with.
A Passion Unveiled
Artis, 27, is a North Carolina native who grew up a player of the game. During his undergraduate years playing for Campbell University from 2011-2014 as a wide receiver then a tight end, he began seeing a physical change that sparked a transcending passion.
During those years, he described the transformation he witnessed in his body and how it translated to his performance on the field as a “peak of interest” emerging his junior year.
At that point, the epiphany struck him, as his capabilities beyond the field funneled this new pursuit.
“I asked my strength coach [Andrew Carter], ‘Hey, I want to be a strength coach. How do I get articles? How do I get research? I need to learn why we’re doing 5×5’s. I need to learn why we’re doing these exercises. I need to learn,'” he stated. “Seeing my body develop, I just fell in love with it.”
Understatement
But develop might be an understatement for his personal experiences. Artis went from a slender 185-pound freshman to a 240-pound muscularly equipped young man his final year. This transformative phase had him embrace the human body’s potential and how it comes about if the correct and efficient steps are taken.
“My junior [and] senior year, once I got strong, I knew I was strong.” Artis followed up, echoing the sentiment of how he was able to move opposing players not only with more force but with more ease, bringing a new sense of fluidity to his game.
He graduated from Campbell University with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and as a three-time academic honor roll member. This milestone not only wrapped up his undergraduate journey but also displayed Artis’ excellence as a scholar and educated individual.
From there, his professional career commenced. Like every goal-chasing quest, Artis began from the bottom and worked his way up.
Coaching Timeline
- 2014-2015: Campbell Unversity, Strength, and Conditioning Intern
- 2015-2016: Appalachian State University, Strength and Conditioning Graduate Assistant.
- 2016-2018: Duke University, Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning ( Earned a Masters degree from Appalachian State in exercise science in 2017)
After his time at Duke, Artis landed a role with the University of Tennesee in 2018. He earned a spot as the assistant director of football sports performance. A new opportunity to bring his impact and philosophy to such a prestigious program. He worked in that position for two years, as his excellence in the role led his superiors to promote him to his current head role on June 15, 2020.
This fulfilling milestone came during the novel coronavirus pandemic that society still faces, posing a challenge for college football. Luckily for the Tenessee Volunteers, they chose the right guy to meet such an extraordinary task to mold their players in preparation for a possible yet uncertain season.
For Artis, this was his chance to prove his resilience beyond the weight room, not just for himself but for his student-athletes that needed his guidance.
Volunteers Face COVID Challenge
According to the newly appointed director, one of the first steps of adjusting to the new way of life brought upon by the pandemic was how he could get his guys to be “active at home.” With no facilities open at the time, Artis got innovative with his back against the wall and found a way to successfully incorporate his philosophy, injury prevention methods, and different styles of exercise during the quarantine.
He would put out a daily workout video on his Twitter page for his team to follow, transitioning to a more body-weight type regimen. Although one can’t usually produce the same results with body-weight movements compared to barbell or free weight exercises, the emphasis on zero equipment workouts allowed Artis to show his players that they can make something out of nothing.
These are the types of lessons that all sports fans know translate well into the game itself, especially in a win-or-go-home situation that calls for team-oriented execution.
Green Light
Before he and his guys knew it, though, they had the green light that players and staff are welcomed back for training. Excitement filled the program, but facing the unknown posed an unsettling feeling as well. If there was any time to take things in stride, it was in this situation where there were more questions than answers. For Artis, it was one of the essential times to live out his motto “day by day, rep by rep.” It’s a motto of encouragement and a lifestyle to overcome even the greatest adversities.
“I say this because you never know, day in and day out, what’s gonna happen. I say rep by rep because, in the weight room, you take it one rep at a time. In life, on a daily basis, you gotta take it one step at a time.”
Artis’ motive was to prepare for the season, regardless of the uncertainties of there even being a season. The four-month hiatus brought a new sense of camaraderie for the team. Through video calls before their return, Artis saw his players on a more intimate level, got to know where they live, came to know their families, and learned about them beyond football. This tactic made it easier for the athletes to “attack the day” as they were able to “feed off of me and feed off of [each other],” according to Artis.
For the Tenessee Volunteers, it was time to get to work. For Artis, it was also his time to put his leadership skills as a director to the ultimate test and train his squad to be one of the fittest teams Division I football offers.
Resilience Turned Productivity
Artis stated that his daily professional growth through the quarantine propelled him to another level for their return.
His main emphasis on building strength and hypertrophy (muscle growth) comes from three main aspects: pull exercises, squats, and press. These movements include power cleans, deadlifts, military press, bench press, barbell squats, and front squats.
Artis wants his men to have a complete development of the body where they enhance their performance and enhance their body’s durability to prevent any injuries and counteract the physical toll of a hard-hitting and demanding game. He highlighted his approach when an injured player does not “isolate” him and still incorporate him in team activities. Especially with the repercussions that isolation in quartine has surfaced, Artis acknowledges that and wants players to stray away from that abyss. Instead, he gets those affected players immediate attention from the athletic trainers and himself to “build them up from ground zero,” taking any necessary steps to do so.
He also makes his players focus on mobility to complete that overall conditioning in the weight room on top of these critical components. But his workouts don’t stop there.
On-Field Success
On the football field, that’s where he applies his drills that mirror the mechanics of the game. That’s where he wants his players to get accustomed to specific movements and instill them as second nature reactions come game time situations.
Again, he goes by a three-part emphasized scheme. For this instance, he includes “a jump, a sprint, and a cut,” according to his routine. Jumps include plyometric movements such as long jumps, box jumps, and similar off-the-ground drills. Something urgently needed for the development of his running backs and wide receivers, for instance.
For sprints, he wants them to be fast and develop speed. His teachings include how to accelerate, get to top speed, and hold maximum speed for an extended period. This teaching is where posture and running form is molded through a gradual progression by his set plan.
The third on-the-field drill he puts urgency on is those cutting movements. The change of direction in which his athletes can shift at any given time. He starts them off simple such as shuffling side to side five yards, then progresses them to box and cone drills that test their capabilities. An enhancement that is extremely important for the game in terms of the offense running successful routes against rugged defenders.
When it comes to preparing his freshman, though, there’s a different type of approach that’s underlined. More injury prevention protocol, full-body assessments to identify any deficiencies coming out of high school, and signaling out the importance of smaller movements can improve any possible imbalances that were not dealt with before. Doing so in a manner that humbles the youngest players to set ego aside and open themselves up to new ways of growth through less flashy yet practical exercises.
Bigger Picture
For Artis, this is all part of the bigger picture.
“[We want to] develop the total body and develop the athletes to maximize their potential on the football field. They did not come here to be weight lifters. More so, how can we maximize their potential on the football field? If we’re doing stuff in the weight room that is not injury prevention or athletic performance, we’re doing those guys a disservice. If there’s not something each day that can help those guys on the football field, we are doing those guys a disservice,” he stated.
The Roots of Inspiration
Passion drives the skills and efficiency Artis portrays in his role. But to get to this level of commitment, several figures influenced him to captivate his fulfilling goal.
Coach Carter at Campbell gave him his first opportunity as an intern. There, he learned the “why’s and the why not’s” of the profession, embedding technicalities early.
At Duke, head coach David Cutcliffe was an “amazing man and amazing mentor” to Artis and praising then head strength coach Noel Durfey. These two men helped him elevate his sense of care for the athletes by the way they displayed their character. Artis is exuberant about himself as he states that Cutliffe and Durfey are who he got that from.
Whereas in Tennessee, he started under Craig Fitzgerald. Someone he explains to be as one of his main mentors.
“I talk to Craig every single day. We bounce ideas off each other when he’s going into work and when I’m going into work. He really helped transform me from an assistant to that director role,” Artis expressed.
Student Turned Teacher: Artis and the Future of UT Football
At this point, the 27-year-old plays the same role that his predecessors did with him for his group of guys. As an exceptional figure in his position, he is a figure of guidance for these young individuals. Someone that looks forward to the process more than the result.
“Big things are on the horizon for Tennessee,” Artis exclaimed. “But you can’t skip steps in the process. Gotta take it one step at a time, and the results will take care of themselves, as long as we work hard and are very humble with what we’re doing. We have a bright future ahead, but we can’t get caught up in results that are down the line. Right now is when championships are won, right now is when teams are built, right now is when you create your identity and your character. For the Tennessee Volunteer, COVID or no COVID, this is when you develop that team for the 2021 season that we want to be.”
He urges his young men to have the same embrace he has for the early morning and late-night workouts. To find love in lifting weights, find a passion for the meetings, the film sessions, and everything that comes with the game aside from the glory and bright lights.
Breaking Barriers
Although the focus towards his players is unquestionable, he can’t get them to where he wants them to be without solidifying his growth moving forward. Thankfully, he’s doing just that while breaking down significant barriers at the same time.
Artis, who described himself as a God-fearing and grateful man, is one of the youngest directors in the nation. He’s also, as stated previously, one of a few Black directors in the country. The essence of eagerness accompanies a prime example of how far an unwavering work ethic could go to help others. Entirely fitting for the North Carolina native, as his ultimate goal stand. “To help as many young men as I can as I’m going through this journey each and every day.”
Without a doubt, a man of his motto.
