With forwards Glen Davis and Darnell Lazare no longer members of the LSU men’s basketball team, a large portion of the Tigers’ bulk from this past season is gone. Players like Chris Johnson, Magnum Rolle and incoming freshman Anthony Randolph will be the Tigers’ main options at the power forward and center positions, and one of the best in the weightlifting business has been hired to enhance their conditioning skills. Shortly after this past season, LSU coach John Brady hired weightlifting coach Gayle Hatch as the Tigers’ head strength and conditioning coach. Hatch has worked with the Tigers three times a week since he joined the squad in mid-March, and his credentials more than suit him for the position he holds. Among Hatch’s accomplishments are membership in both the U.S.A. Weightlifting and U.S.A. Strength and Conditioning halls of fame and a stint as head coach of the U.S.A. Olympic Weightlifting team in 2004. While working with the Tigers, Hatch will still have time to focus on other endeavors, including his own strength and weightlifting facility, Spectrum Fitness Club. Hatch said working with the men’s basketball program presents just another challenge in his already storied career. “I’m a very competitive person … plus I love basketball,” Hatch said. “I’ve been helping LSU for years as an adviser and with my protegés being in different positions as strength coaches. I don’t think it’s been too much of a secret, the impact Coach Hatch has had on LSU over the years.” Several of Hatch’s pupils, including current LSU head strength coach Tommy Moffitt, have gone on to become successful coaches. One of Moffitt’s assistants, whom Hatch did not name, served as the men’s basketball strength and conditioning coach this past season. Brady said he was disappointed in the strength training during the 2006-2007 season and decided in the middle of this past season that a change was needed. “[That’s] how displeased I was with the direction of our strength training,” Brady said. “When the season was over I asked Gayle Hatch for advice on who’s the best out there, and Gayle said, ‘I’ll do it.'” Hatch’s tenure as strength and conditioning coach is year to year, but Brady said if the Tigers improve Hatch has an open invitation to return to the team. “He told me if I’m pleased with the performance of our team after the season’s over, he’d love to do it again,” Brady said. “We’re gonna treat it just like that. We’re gonna move along and take it a year at a time.” Although Hatch works with the entire LSU team, he has taken a special focus in developing Rolle and Johnson. Rolle and Johnson played this past season at 215 and 185 pounds, respectively. Johnson said he expects his extra muscle mass to benefit the entire team. “Guys won’t be pushing around as much,” Johnson said. “I feel like if I gain the weight, I’ll get more playing time. I’ll be able to get in the post and also shoot from the outside to bring difficulty to the opponent.” Brady said he hopes to have both Rolle and Johnson around the 225-pound mark by the time the 2007-2008 season begins, and Hatch said he sees that as an attainable goal. “You can just see their strength level moving up, [but] we’ve got a long ways to go,” Hatch said. “Besides the spring training, we’re going to have them on an excellent running program too, so when we turn them over to Coach Brady on Oct. 15, they’re going to be in the best shape of any team in the [Southeastern Conference].”
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