MIKE LUCAS Senior Writer

BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — After it was announced Ross Kolodziej was vacating his position in the weight room to join the coaching staff as a defensive line assistant, there were players who reached out via text messages and calls to Shaun Snee and expressed their backing, a gesture touching his heart.

"Support from them meant a lot," admitted the 32-year-old Snee, who has been named as Wisconsin's Director of Football Strength and Conditioning, replacing Kolodziej, for whom he has been an assistant the past six seasons. During that time and beyond, Snee has been shaping his own vision.

"Slowly been working on that," he acknowledged. "As an assistant, you kind of do that as you go, and you learn from the experiences of the guys that you're working under. Things you really like. Things you want to incorporate. Things that you think might not be your way to do it.

"Once I knew there was a possibility of this happening, I started immediately putting together winter programing and spring ball. I put together job descriptions for assistants. And then I put (down) 'What are our main focal points?' The main one being to ingrain 'smart, tough, dependable' into our guys."

Kolodziej and Snee share common ground professionally in their approach.

"I would tell people that in mindsets," Snee said, "I feel like we're similar in a lot of ways. Our standards are the same. We believe in the same core values. For the guys, not much changes program-wise. We will do some things differently later in the summer, position-specific stuff.

"But overall, our core values are the same," he repeated. "Hardworking guys, disciplined guys."

That was confirmed by UW safety Collin Wilder.

"It was tough to see Coach K go, but I love the fact that Coach Snee is the one taking his spot," Wilder said. "They're both obviously very bright and scientific when it comes to the function of the body. But they're also very down to earth guys. They're both very easy to communicate with.

"Just don't expect any drop-off. They're very similar."

Wilder, a Katy, Texas, native, played two seasons at the University of Houston before transferring to Wisconsin in 2018. While sitting out that year, he first came under the wing of Snee, who was then responsible for the nutrition program, a role that he had previously held for multiple sports at UMass and is now orchestrated at UW by a full-time performance dietician in Sophie Pomrehn.

"He really helped me organize my nutrition habits when I got here," said Wilder, who was still rehabbing from a knee injury that cut short his 2017 season. "I remember coming into his office and he gave me a list and said, 'All right, I want you to track each meal and how often you're eating.'

"He kind of helped me create a different habit of nutrition in that way. To this day, if you have a good recipe that you think would be beneficial for him or the rest of the guys, we still trade those recipes every now and then."

The well-rounded Snee is a product of his experiences at various competitive levels.

"There are many different ways to do things," he said. "That's where you have to know the team, you have to know the guys … We went through every guy on Wednesday and broke down their strengths and weaknesses and now we're adjusting our program to fit those guys on certain days.

"They're still going to have to clean. They're still going to have to squat. They're still going to have to bench. Those are the fundamentals of the program. But knowing how to work with each guy and adjust your program based on their strengths and weaknesses is the biggest impact for game day."

Snee doesn't believe the new job title and expanded responsibilities will affect his personality.

"Honestly, I have not changed," said Snee, a graduate assistant for two seasons (2012-13) on Paul Chryst's strength and conditioning staff at the University of Pittsburgh. "I feel like I've always stayed true to who I am."

That characteristic — Snee's make-up — has always appealed to Wilder.

"Coach Snee is a fantastic leader," he said. "He has a gift of connecting with each player individually. He loves being around the players … you don't really see him in his office when we're working out. He wants to make sure he's around each (lifting) group and interacting with the guys.

"Another thing: he's one of the smartest strength coaches I've ever come around. But his ego doesn't get in the way of that and the relationships with the players. That's partly what makes him special — how down to earth he is and how he truly cares about each guy. He's a special coach."

At UMass, Snee's mentor was Mike Golden, the school's strength and conditioning coach. During an interview for EliteFTs.com — conducted by Chris Janek, a former UW defensive tackle in the mid to late '90s — Snee recounted how he has clung to one of Golden's buzz phrases on work ethic.

"It comes down to working hard, being loyal and expanding your knowledge," Snee told Janek of his journey and advancement up the ladder. "Mike Golden said something simple, but it stuck with me and that was, 'Attack each day like it's a job interview and you will succeed.' Simple right?

"I love what I do and I wouldn't want to do anything else for my career. I get to work with superior athletes and help transform them physically, but, more importantly, as men. There are few things better than an athlete reaching a PR and the camaraderie that goes with it.

"Being a part of that process is a surreal feeling."

Snee has also been mentored by Jerry Palmieri, the longtime strength coach under Tom Coughlin with the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars. Palmieri trained players like Michael Strahan, Eli Manning and Shaun's older brother, Chris Snee, a four-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman in New York.

Over the years, Shaun Snee has stayed in touch with Palmieri.

"His mentality towards everything has impacted me," he pointed out.

And now Snee is in a position where he can impact others to a greater extent.

"I'll always be open-minded and objective to different modalities until I try them myself," he said. "If the guys are going to do it, I want to make sure I'm pushing myself through it as well and not just giving them something I haven't done personally."

• • • •

The pandemic has been a personal undertaking for players and coaches alike.

"Ups and downs … obviously with different things … being shut down … on and off for a couple of weeks … here and there … overcoming quarantine, which I think the guys did a great job," recited Snee, volunteering the COVID-influenced equivalent of a play-by-play of the past 11 months.

"You really don't have to worry about our guys working out on their own because I know they're going to take care of business, whether they're at home or whether they're here. That's just the type of guys that you get here, which makes our job more fun because you don't have to worry about discipline.

"We're still following protocols (in the weight room). Limiting guys per group. One guy per rack. Masks need to be worn. We've been consistent with that. The way I look at it, 'You guys can be frustrated with it. Or you can look at it as this is just going to teach us discipline. Can we keep the mask on? Can we do what is best for team? Which is being here every day. Let's not get quarantined. Discipline for the long term.'

"It all comes down to how you communicate. Talk to them the way you want to be spoken to. If you show them respect, they'll show you respect."

Offering the player's perspective since returning to campus last month, Wilder said, "Compared to where we were coming into last summer, there's expectations of what to do each day and there's expectations of making sure you get tested and making sure you've got your mask on.

"All of that stuff was so new to us months ago. But now we all have an idea of what we need to do in order to stay consistent and to not have to quarantine. That's a huge goal, to make sure guys stay healthy enough to where we don't have to shut down the facilities."

After two weeks of winter conditioning, Snee said, "The guys are really excited, they're fired up. We're in our mass-building phase right now that depends on what the guy's goals are. They either want to put on a lot of mass and bulk up. Or they'll lose body fat and gain mass that way.

"They're exceeding expectations conditioning-wise with the demands of the weight room."

Beating Minnesota and Wake Forest in the Duke's Mayo Bowl has been a springboard to the offseason.

"That's a bonus," Snee said. "What's also a bonus is how hungry last season left the guys."

Citing the momentum from closing with victories in the final two games of the 2020 season, Wilder added, "It gives us a lot of confidence going into this offseason and it gives us a great idea of who we can be as a team, especially with the guys coming back."

Wilder is one of those guys who has opted to return for another year of eligibility. On defense, he's joined by cornerbacks Faion Hicks and Caesar Williams and linebackers Jack Sanborn and Noah Burks. Returning on offense are tight end Jake Ferguson and wideouts Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor.

"I was fired up to see all those guys coming back," Snee said. "Smart, tough, dependable is what each one of those guys represent. They're all leaders … and they lead other guys, which is awesome. We have a lot of humble guys there, which is also great to have. They all work hard."

Interjected Wilder, who will going into a sixth year, "I love that all those guys decided to come back. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to come back.

"The more variety of leaders, the better that this locker room will be and the better than this culture will be. We've already come into these first two weeks knowing what our goals are and how we want to approach this next season in getting back to our values … and who Wisconsin is."