Andrea Hudy is the Director of Sports Performance for women’s basketball at the University of Connecticut. She has recently returned to UCONN after spending nine-plus years there earlier in her career. Prior to this, Andrea was the Head Coach, Basketball Strength and Conditioning at The University of Texas and before coming to Texas, Hudy served as the Assistant Athletics Director for Sport Performance at the University of Kansas and handled the strength and conditioning responsibilities for the Kansas men’s basketball team for 15 years. In 2017, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) honored Hudy with the Impact Award, given to an individual whose career has greatly contributed to the advancement of the national or international strength and conditioning or fitness industries. In the summer of 2014, her book, Power Positions, was published. In January 2013, she was named the National College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year by the NSCA for her dedication to improving athletic performance with safe and effective science-based programs. In her 26 seasons of collegiate strength and conditioning coaching, Hudy has worked with 48 former student-athletes who have gone on to play in the NBA.

QUOTES

“The best ability is availability, and the health of my athletes is so important for me”

“My argument these days is periodization is dead just based on the fact that every athlete needs something different”

“If someone is hurting, let’s do whatever we can to help them feel good and recover”

“My number one thing is having a relationship with the athlete, being data driven and producing a high-level healthy athlete”

“Our more consistent force producers (in the jumps) are more consistent basketball players”

“Failure is feedback and I always tell people I have a PhD in failure so do not be afraid of failure”

SHOWNOTES

1) Andrea’s backstory and the consideration of mental health work to help fully recover from an injury

2) Insights into using Sparta Science with basketball athletes

3) Putting training together in college basketball through pre-season, in-season and "championship" season

4) Different body types and the need for recovery modalities

5) The challenges around academic stresses with college athletes and creating schedules around the individual athlete

6) Development versus recovery philosophies for college and professional basketball settings

7) Other strength/power tests Andrea uses including the "Kansas" squat test

8) The impact of less physical activity during COVID on tendon health and posture for training athletes

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Phil Wagner

William Kraemer

Andrew Fry

Nicolai Morris

Sophia Nimphius