Snap. Explode. Sprint!Football players at Archbishop Hoban High School know power on the turf often marks the difference between victory and defeat.That’s why they thank Maddie Diestel for keeping them strong.Diestel, 28, has been the sports performance director at Hoban for nearly two years. Her bright smile and friendly enthusiasm are a familiar beacon of motivation in the weight room. So is her intensity. As a former soccer player at Ashland University and a 2014 Hoban alum, Diestel understands the many demands placed upon student-athletes. She prides herself on creating balanced lifting plans — catalyzing strength without sacrificing unnecessary time and energy.“We create programs that are going to help the athlete be best at their sport,” Diestel said. “They’re going to be quicker on the field, on the court, around the track, whatever it is.”Diestel works with more than 600 students at the school and makes sure to learn each and every one of their names. She also asks about their classes, jobs and other extracurricular activities. No wonder football coach Tim Tyrrell said she’s part strength and conditioning coach, part counselor and part mother figure.Hoban’s football players, who work with Diestel year-round, quickly identify the benefits of her programs. “As a lineman, being strong and having good body position is important,” said senior center Nate Cross. “The strength training and resistance we do here helps us explode out off the line, and the mobility that we work on helps so much with staying low.”“We’re outpowering everybody on the field, because we lift bigger, stronger and faster,” added senior linebacker Eli Lee.Maddie Diestel, the director of sports performance at Archbishop Hoban High School, directs football players during a training session Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)Akron strength trainer: ‘I love seeing them evolve’With its demanding physicality and intense schedule, football poses an interesting challenge for Diestel. To prevent burnout during the season, she plans most of the team’s heavy lifting over the summer. As a result, players experience rapid development even before their first games.“I love seeing them evolve over the summer and their offseason,” Diestel said. “Seeing them mature, grow, gain strength, get faster, jump higher … and then watching that relay to the field, it’s incredible.”But the seasonal approach presents an obstacle of its own: keeping players motivated. In the summer, when stifling heat and grueling, two-a-day practices are the norm, Diestel expertly balances tough coaching with compassion and fun.“Anyone can make up a program,” Tyrrell said. “She has the ability to have kids buy into it, because she’s there and she cares for them.”Once the season begins, Diestel tapers work inside the weight room to more forgiving levels. She shifts to building a solid game-day warm-up routine and providing athletic support on the sidelines.Every Friday night, home or away, Diestel and the other strength coaches supply players with hydration, foam rollers, stretch bands, lacrosse balls and massage guns. They also work with coaches to create a warm-up that allows players to walk onto the field feeling their best.Maddie Diestel, director of sports performance, demonstrates stretches during strength training Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, at Archbishop Hoban High School. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)Beyond strength: recovery and relationshipsPerhaps the most unique aspect of Hoban football’s strength-training program is the postgame yoga Diestel incorporates on Saturday mornings. Though she doesn’t lead these classes herself — instead leaving the team to work with a yoga instructor — players relish the weekly opportunity to stretch and unwind.“The recovery from yoga helps so much on Saturday mornings,” Cross said, “because you’re so tight and you need to release your muscles.”And though Diestel’s day-to-day revolves around barbells, box jumps and PRs, she considers the bonds she forms with athletes equally important.“I think it all comes back to building relationships with those student-athletes,” Diestel said. “I love to see them succeed on the field. I love to see them succeed in the weight room and hit new PRs. But knowing that they also care about me is cool. The fact that they want to keep coming back … makes me want to come back.”The strong bonds formed with Diestel and the other strength coaches are part of what helps Hoban’s athletes excel.“We have a very personal relationship with our strength coaches,” Cross said. “They really do care about our bodies, how we’re eating, how we’re feeling that day. They make an effort to care about us and make us feel like we’re valued.”When not at work, Diestel enjoys golfing, walking and doing projects around her new house, where she lives with her sister. Since she still has her whole career ahead of her, she plans to continue refining her training plans to help Hoban’s athletes play at their best.“On Friday night,” she said, “we can contribute the knowledge that they’re going to be the healthiest and strongest and fastest they can be.”The post She ensures Archbishop Hoban overpowers football foes on game days appeared first on Signal Akron.First published by Signal Akron.