If you've been to a Kentucky basketball game this season, you may have noticed first-year strength and conditioning coach Brady Welsh helping the Wildcats get warmed up in the hour before tip-off.
You may have also seen him sitting on the bench during games; maybe you even caught that moment during the Kentucky vs. Tennessee game in Knoxville, when he was helping freshman guard Cason Wallace work through his back spasms in the tunnel.
However, the majority of Welsh's job happens behind closed doors, including the implementation of new, state-of-the-art technology.
"When I got here, I was like: what things can I bring into here that [will] be able to contribute to everything we do? Whether it's on the court, in the weight room, or how they're feeling, so that every decision I make will be based off of actual information, as compared to me looking at somebody and being like, 'oh, I think we should do this today.' No, let's actually look at the information, see what it's telling us, and then actually make a decision based upon that."
BBN Tonight reporter Maggie Davis sits down (and works out!) with him to bring you a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of Kentucky basketball, and how he's able to actually gather the information that drives his daily decision making.
Ahead of the @KentuckyMBB game against Vandy tonight, we thought it'd be great for you to know the work that's put in behind-the-scenes.@MaggieDavisTV talks to Strength & Conditioning Coach Brady Welsh. pic.twitter.com/1ZcjUAEp5I
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) January 24, 2023
First, he takes her through their typical schedule in the weight room, which technically starts with a warmup but really begins when each player steps onto the "force plate."
"That will give me their body weight... how high are they jumping? How long is it taking them to jump? And then right vs. left - the more fatigued you are, the bigger the difference is. The bigger the difference is, the more the chance of something bad happening."
"We're not always going to be able to prevent injuries, because injuries just happen," Welsh continued. "But being able to make a decision everyday to try and help them so it doesn't happen? That's the goal."
That's especially important for a program like Kentucky, where the majority of the team has aspirations (and frankly, plans) to play at the professional level.
"The money they make over the next 10-15 could be generational wealth. The biggest aspect of that is being able to stay on the court"
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) January 25, 2023
Kentucky men's basketball head strength and conditioning coach Brady Welsh gave us an inside look at how he gets (and keeps!) the Cats ready 🏋️♂️ pic.twitter.com/phY1aXX7Cc
"The money they make over the next 10-15 [years] could be generational wealth," Welsh says. "The biggest aspect of that is being able to stay on the court."
To help the players better understand and buy into the process, Welsh says he's worked to "gamify" it.
"To create almost like a profile is a lot more relatable to them, because they're playing video games all the time," Welsh told Davis. "You're comparing every day. It's not like you're just checking a box. You actually get a number and you actually know what's happening."
Watch as Welsh walks you through all of the technology, and how it's helping him track the team's progress throughout the season:
For more in-depth looks into all things UK Athletics, watch BBN Tonight weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on LEX 18 and BBNTonight.com
