Courtesy of the Cincinnati Bengals.

An edge over the competition
Courtesy of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bengals coach credits AACC therapeutic massage with helping him win position
by Susan S.C. Gross
The therapeutic massage techniques he learned at AACC are a big factor,
not only in getting him the job with the Bengals, but, more importantly, in
helping the athletes run faster, endure longer and become stronger.
A
nyone checking the sidelines of
the Cincinnati Bengals profes-
sional football team last fall
could see Jeff Friday, the
Bengals’ Assistant Strength and
Conditioning Coach and a graduate of
Anne Arundel Community College’s
Therapeutic Massage certificate program,
working with the athletes.
In his position, he helps the players
perform better and recuperate faster from
the stresses placed on their bodies from
each week’s games. The therapeutic massage techniques he learned at AACC are a
big factor, not only in getting him the job
with the Bengals, but, more importantly,
in helping the athletes run faster, endure
longer and become stronger.
While studying at AACC, he also
opened his own fitness and training business, ProShape, that worked with youth
and amateur athletes to help improve
their overall speed, health, agility, power
and endurance. In 2009, he oversaw
the strength and conditioning training
procedures for the entire United Football
League, and then, in 2010, the opportunity
came up to interview for the Bengals’ job.
“I have no doubt that my massage
therapy made a difference in getting me
this job,” Friday said. With so many qualified people chasing the same few NFL
jobs, the added training separated him
from the competition.
“If you correctly manipulate the
muscle, you can immediately achieve
an increase in flexibility and strength by
releasing some of the structures,” he said.
Friday discovered the power of therapeutic massage in a previous job as strength
coach for the Baltimore Ravens. He often
brought in experts to learn other tips and
techniques and one of those was a person
who was able to do muscle manipulation.
Friday was so impressed that he created a
proposal for his own professional development to learn massage therapy. However,
before it could be activated, Ravens head
coach Brian Billick was released along with
his staff, which included Friday.
He used the time to attend AACC’s
therapeutic massage program in 2008.
Because he already had a bachelor’s
degree in physical education and a master’s degree in exercise science, Friday
was able to finish the certificate in three
classes. He then was eligible to take a
national massage therapy certification and
also completed an additional certification
in Active Release Techniques, a patented
state-of-the-art technique to help athletes
recover more quickly.
“It’s the missing piece. Recovery
and recuperation from games and practices can really help the athleticism of a
player,” Friday said. “It can really make an
impact on someone to make them recover
faster and feel better – psychologically as
well as physically.”
While his family had lived in Ellicott
City for 11 years and it was hard to leave the
Baltimore area, Friday said this move also
puts him closer to his family in Wisconsin
and puts him back in the NFL, which he has
always enjoyed. He considers his position
as a “servant leader,” serving athletes by
helping them reach their potential.
around physical fitness and
sports while he was an undergraduate at University of
Wisconsin in Milwaukee. While
still an undergrad, he worked
with his college’s track team on
strengthening exercises. Before
he graduated he sent out requests to every college in the country with
a Division 1 athletic program and even
some Division 2 programs. His goal was
to become a graduate assistant strength
and conditioning coach while pursuing his
master’s degree in exercise science. Illinois
State University had the perfect mix, a
solid academic program and a mentor in its
strength and conditioning coach.
After graduation, he spent four years
as assistant strength and conditioning
coach at Northwestern University. While
at an “away” game, he met the strength
coach of the Minnesota Vikings and offered to help out at one of their training
camps. He was hired as the Vikings’ assistant strength and conditioning coach
in 1996 and stayed until Vikings offensive
coach Brian Billick was named head coach
of the Baltimore Ravens and asked Friday
to come with him as the Head Strength
and Conditioning Coach.
With the three years at the Vikings,
nine years at the Ravens, and a year with
the United Football League, Friday has
been involved with professional football
for 13 years.
In his 14th year of working with professional athletes, he remains excited and
passionate about his work. While a key
in each stage of his career has been to be
content with where he is, to strive to be
excellent at whatever he does, and to do
the best that he can, he said initiative is
needed to look for openings and opportunities that might make a good fit.
“Once you have that passion, then
you want to be passionate also about your
opportunities,” he said. s
“I consider it (massage therapy)
another tool in my toolbox,” he said. “I’m
never staying still. I’m always striving to
get better.”
Another asset he has is initiative.
Friday knew he wanted to build a career
Jeff Friday, the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Cincinnati Bengals National Football League team, watches players’ performances
during a practice session as part of providing players with individual strength and conditioning plans.
To help a deserving AACC student
achieve a certificate in the Therapeutic
Massage program, contact the AACC
Foundation Inc. at 410-777-2515 or
[email protected].
AACC COMMUNITY | WINTER | 2011
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