Going full tilt. Being prepared. Passion and perseverance. Knowledge is power.
And of course, there are the four laws of learning: explanation, demonstration, correction and repetition.
Those are the core principles that Pat Downey lives his life by. They helped him during his pro football career, including stops with four different NFL clubs and a coaching stint in the Arena Football League.
Downey also preaches what he practices. Now he's passing those core principles on to his proteges that work out with him at Gridiron Training.
"Turning Athletes Into Freaks" is the slogan for Gridiron Training, and it's apropos; Downey's goal is make his athletes bigger, faster and stronger football players.
"Pat has an electric personality," said Bishop Fenwick football captain Kevin Pierce, an 18-year-old linebacker from Peabody whose team works out twice a week with Downey. "He uses the expression 'Don't cheat yourself or your teammates,' and he really emphasizes the family bond that we share as a team through his workouts and positive energy.
"The experiences he's had throughout his pro career, he's really bestowed that knowledge upon us to be the best athletes we can be. He also reminds us why we do what we do: for the guys around us, the name on our chests, for our family ... whatever it is, Pat gives you the motivation to do what you need to do to be the best."
A Beverly native, Bishop Fenwick graduate (Class of 1992) and now a resident of Swampscott with his wife Andrea, sons Jackson and Colton, and daughter Peyton, Downey began Gridiron Training this spring after the AFL folded. In less than six months, the 35-year-old has seen his program spread across the region like the gridiron version of wildfire.
"I've always been a big believer in if you're passionate about something, success comes hand in hand with that," said the gregarious Downey, a center who spent time with Chargers, Patriots, Falcons and Redskins, as well as the Nashville Kats and Colorado Crush of the AFL and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
"So when I lost my (AFL coaching) job in March, I had to figure out what to do. Coaching is my passion, but I had always loved strength and conditioning training, too. So I figured I'd do a summer camp and see what kind of response I got. Sure enough, I started getting calls from people I knew that were interested ... then more people, then more people after that. I knew then I was on to something."
More tools for your toolbox
Downey describes Gridiron Training as "a hardcore, athletic performance, enhancement training center that specializes in training football players at every level." He places heavy emphasis on the core of a player's body and is a big advocate of short, intense workouts, which he believes keep the players both interested and engaged.
Using both the LeDuc Center at Bishop Fenwick as well as space at the North Shore CrossFit Training Center in Beverly, Gridiron Training has its athletes lift and push unorthodox items such as anchor chains off a ship, enormous tires (some up to 5 tons, used for "group lifts"), sledgehammers and prowler sleds (used by many NFL and college teams) to help them become more explosive and powerful.
There is also training with ground-based lifts (i.e., your feet remain on the ground) with squats, power cleans, dead lifts and the like. Power plyometrics are also used, such as box jumps and depth jumps; Fenwick running back Alex Crecco is seen doing the latter on a video on Gridiron Training's Web site and leaping an amazing 60 inches.
"The lifting I was doing in the past was more like elliptical lifting. With Pat, this is straight football lifting," said Hamilton-Wenham guard/linebacker Paul Littlefield, a captain for the Generals. "All my lifts have gone up since I've been working with him. My technique is better, and my agility and speed are better. Defensively, I have a lot more moves, too.
"It's like Pat says: I have more tools for my toolbox now."
The right techniques
Downey trains players from the Bishop Fenwick, Hamilton-Wenham and Danvers football teams, as well others from schools such as Masconomet, Deerfield Academy and Holderness. He works with everyone from NFL draft picks such as Martin Bibla (a former 4th-round pick of the Falcons) and Mike Mabry (a 7th-round pick of the Ravens) to 13-year-old David Gleeson, a lineman for the Danvers Youth Football "A" team.
Plans are already underway for a Gridiron Training High School Football Combine and College Recruiting Seminar next spring, as well as a GT Lineman Camp next summer for youth, high school and college-aged players. Downey recently hired two new staff members as well: former Swampscott, Deerfield and UConn standout Greg Beatrice, as well as professional strongman and former Curry All-American Rob Rotundo, another Fenwick graduate.
The first to admit he's not a businessman, Downey was smart enough to develop himself a business plan with help from his father-in-law, Bob Livingston (a successful North Shore businessman). That, along with his philosophy and core principles, is what he carried with him when pitching his idea to prospective teams and players.
He's thankful to people like David Woods at Bishop Fenwick, Andrew Morency at H-W and Jim Rudloff of Marblehead, among others, coaches who helped spread the word to their players.
"We had a meeting in the summer where Pat spoke to us, and by the time he was finished we were all fired up," said Fenwick's Pierce. "Uncle P. Diddy — that's what Pat jokingly calls himself — gave us the tools and showed us how to do things properly.
"He started us off with techniques in regard to the different lifts and explained why we were doing what we were doing and how it would benefit us. As we went through it all, I saw tremendous gains out of kids; they found it in themselves to do things they didn't know they had in them."
Admittedly nervous at first, Downey quickly realized he had the respect of the players who he was teaching.
"Those guys Googled me and knew what I had done," he said. "Plus, I put a tremendous emphasis on being positive. I tell them, 'You're going to go after it for 90 minutes, and it's going to be very intense. You give me your best, and I'll give you my best for 90 minutes. The whole time, it's going to be positive and motivating."
Passing on his knowledge
When Brian Palangi heard that Downey was back in town and training football players, he quickly sought him out. A redshirt freshman at Northeastern University, he told Downey his goal was to make the Huskies' travelling squad this season.
Downey told the Nahant resident he could strive for even more. He put together a package for the former Swampscott High standout and, according to Palangi, transformed him as a player. So much so, in fact, that he's started three games at center for Northeastern, including this past Saturday vs. William & Mary.
"I wanted Pat to teach me the secrets to offensive line play he learned in the NFL and in college. He showed me how to use my arms and hands to throw guys off balance and protect myself from (defenders)," said the 19-year-old Palangi, a towering 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds. "Those little things I was never told before have helped in a huge way.
"Everything Pat did for me got me quicker and much more powerful; I'm playing lower (as far as blocking his man) and faster than last year. I was almost 300 pounds with a good amount of fat on me; now, thanks to Pat, I lost the fat and have a lot more muscle. I'm more of an athlete."
Downey calls Palangi "the poster child for Gridiron Training" and was happy to share his advanced skills for offensive line play.
"Brian went up over 100 pounds on his bench press (he's up to 425 pounds) and all of his Olympic lifts — power clean, dead clean, etc. — went way up. Watching his progress has been just awesome."
At the other end of the spectrum is Gleeson, who is still in middle school yet shows promising potential, already standing 5-foot-8 and weighing 220 pounds.
His father, Dave, was jogging at the Bishop Fenwick outdoor track over the summer when he noticed someone working with football players. Curious, he went over to watch, then talk to the man — and struck up an immediate bond with that man, Downey.
"I was looking for someone to train my son," said the elder Gleeson, the linebackers coach at Medford High. "I saw Pat, asked him some questions and the next thing you now, we clicked.
"The training is outstanding; my boy is faster, quicker and stronger. I couldn't be happier."
Gleeson said that his son, who works out at Gridiron Training twice a week, can now flip 400 lb. tires ("something I can't do", he laughed) and recently deadlifted 210 lbs. His speed, footwork and flexibility have all improved tremendously as a result of these workouts.
"I couldn't do what Pat is teaching David," said his father. "I'm an X's-and-O's football guy, but Pat has extensive training you can only pick up from working at the highest level. David's benefitting from that."
Pat downey's football resume
Graduated Bishop Fenwick (1992)
Captain during post-graduate year at Worcester Academy (1993)
Four-year starter at center at UNH (1995-99)
Signed as undrafted free agent by San Diego Chargers (2000)
Spent two years in Arena Football League with Nashville Kats (2000-01)
Signed with Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts (2002)
Signed by New England Patriots (2002)
Allocated to NFL Europe and was starting center for Frankfort Galaxy (2002)
Last cut at Patriots training camp (2002)
Landed on practice squad of Atlanta Falcons (2002)
Picked up by Washington Redskins (2002-03)
Played last pro season with AFL's Colorado Crush (2004)
Coached in AFL with Jon Bon Jovi's Philadelphia Soul (2006-07)
Coached in AFL with Columbus Destroyers (2008)
Currently the head of Gridiron Training
