The members of the Wisconsin men's basketball team know what to expect at the beginning of every season'the legendary running of Bo Ryan's hill.
On Thursday, the King of The Hill tradition was renewed.
Ryan's eccentric training technique has become quite renowned in Badger athletics, though not solely because of its unconventionality. The Hill seems to be a key aspect of UW's winning tradition, leaving fans wondering if Wisconsin's success springs not from the cut-and-dry training gym, but from the Elver Park hill located 20 minutes from campus.
The history of The Hill is rooted in a small college campus about 70 miles southwest of Madison in Platteville, Wis. where Ryan began his collegiate head coaching career in 1984.
'We were having problems with back issues and knees and joints, and we wanted to get off a harder surface, so I decided, `I will find a hill',' Ryan remembers. As contrary as that seems, the training technique of hill-running is not unfounded.
'There used to be a time where, if you did not run cross country, you could not be on the basketball team at a lot of high school programs throughout the country, ' Ryan said.
When Ryan landed the head coaching position at UW, he brought the tradition of The Hill with him. Now, every member of the Badger basketball team participates in Ryan's hill training. The players gradually increase the amount of round trips they run up and down the hill throughout the beginning of the season.
Thursday the team began with 10 ups and 10 downs. The Badgers will run 12 reps the following Monday and Thursday, increasing by two each week up into the 20s.
Aside from the obvious physical benefits running The Hill provides, this type of conditioning facilitates team unity and mental stamina, as well.
'It is something that builds team camaraderie,' former Badger Joe Krabbenhoft said. 'It's very important once you get into March to have that type of mental toughness and be able to lean on the guy next to you if you need a little support. At the hill, if you do not think you are going to make it, there is a guy running right next to you that will keep you going.'
'It is all mental,' UW alum Marcus Landry added. 'So when you get toward the end of the season, you think, `This is all mental, I am a little beat up, but I know it is all mental and I have to keep going strong.''
Whether the hill is Ryan's secret ingredient or not, he seems to have the recipe for success memorized, as his teams have reached unparalleled success under his direction. In his eight seasons at the Wisconsin, Ryan has compiled a 193-73 (.726) record, already placing him third on the Badgers' all-time wins list, behind Basketball Hall of Famers Bud Foster and Walter Meanwell.
The Badgers have appeared in the NCAA tournament in each of Ryan's eight seasons, advancing to three Sweet 16s and the Elite Eight in 2005. Prior to Ryan's arrival in Madison, Wisconsin had never won more than 22 games in a season. As of now, Ryan 's past eight teams have averaged 24.1 wins.
Perhaps the seeds of Ryan's success are sown in the steep, grueling green grass of Elver Park's hill.
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