Why new USC strength coach Luke Day wants Gamecocks to ‘struggle well’
To say Luke Day was persistent in trying to be South Carolina’s next strength and conditioning coach would be an understatement.
From the almost hourly text messages to head coach Shane Beamer, to the 44-page outline for his vision for the Gamecocks’ strength program, Day made it clear that he wanted to be at South Carolina. That was a quality Beamer sought and has hammered home over the last month since he took over.
A passionate approach helped Day stand out from the pack of applicants. Day was hired by USC after serving in the same position at Marshall University.
“There was nothing I wasn’t going to do to give myself a chance,” Day said. “I sincerely bothered him and I would not stop. I thought, ‘He’s going to have to call me and tell me no, but one thing he is going to know is that nobody wants this job more than me.’ It is kind of absurd the way I did it and the way I went after it.
“This is the best thing that ever happened to me outside of marrying my wife and the birth of my kids. It’s close. Been working my whole life for a position like this.”
Day was so excited when Beamer told him he got the job that he got into a car and drove from West Virginia to Columbia despite not having a contract signed yet.
“I’m beyond fired up about this guy,” Beamer said. “I spoke to a lot of strength coaches as I put this staff together. I could never put my finger on that person who I was looking for. … I spent 90 minutes on the phone with him and after 10 minutes I was convinced this was the guy we needed to hire.”
Day’s passion and authenticity were evident through his 30-minute introductory press conference Tuesday, and he was a hit with Gamecock fans. He quoted Yoda, former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler and touched on a variety of topics from his Christian faith, workout playlist (he is open to all music), his distaste for RedBull and quirky slogans — even his “budding bromance” with USC tight ends coach Erik Kimrey.
Kimrey and Day have bonded over their affinity for the term “struggle well.” Kimrey, the former successful coach at Hammond, put the slogan “struggle well” on the Skyhawks’ championship rings.
“Struggle is inevitable, so let’s do it well,” Day said. “You learn how to lean into it instead of trying to avoid it, we can be uncommon types of men. If you get a whole bunch of people who can think that way, you can be dangerous.”
Day said he hopes to build a sports science program that is “the envy of all of college football.” He plans to bring in Chip Morton, who spent 27 seasons in the NFL and was most recently with Cincinnati Bengals. Former Gamecock Byron Jerideau will be Day’s assistant strength coach. He returns to his alma mater after being at Tennessee last year.
Day also touched on what he expects from USC’s players going forward. Everything they do will be measured and will use the Grit quality system, which Day got from psychologist Angela Duckworth’s best selling book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. The book talks about the journey to discover the qualities that lead to outstanding achievement.
Day explained that the Grit metric includes accountability, toughness and performance.
“Like my man Yoda said, ‘You did or did not. There is no try,’” Day said. “It’s a way to tell each other the truth. If you don’t look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself the truth, it’s hard to go from there.”
Honesty and truth are big selling points with Day, and so is the ability to connect with the players. Strength coaches have more access to their players than any other coach, so it’s important for Day to be able to bond with the guys he pushes each day at early morning workouts, which began this week.
“I want to know the worst thing that has ever happened to you, the best thing that has ever happened to you, your biggest dream, your biggest fear,” Day said. “... Because when I coach you I am not coaching sets and reps and, ‘Are we going to do the power clean or the bench?’ We’ll figure all that out, but let’s connect with these people. If you and I share time and struggle, then you and I begin to care about each other.
“My heartstrings are tied to your heartstrings — whatever pulls on me, pulls on you. Start with that and then let’s build really physical, tough, resilient people that just keep bringing it over and over and over. Build a bigger, stronger human being and give him the robustness and resilience to not fall apart, because it’s a violent game.”
