Thompson High athletics take important step forward in strength and conditioning

Trey Clark’s return to strength and conditioning coaching helped the Thompson High football program take an important step forward.

“He brings that extra element of the weight room, the nutrition, the training,” said Thompson head coach Mark Freeman. “I’ve got a guy now who is 24/7 on developing the body, the food, the lifting. He’s got experience. He’s not just picking something up and reading it. He’s got a lot of knowledge and education.”

For Clark, the opportunity to become Thompson High’s sports performance coach, is what he terms a “great, great blessing.” The former University of South Alabama offensive line standout was a graduate assistant at Jacksonville State in 2013 before being elevated to offensive line coach the following two seasons. In 2016, he joined the UAB football strength and conditioning staff. However, he slid back into the offensive line coaching spot when another assistant left.

He arrived at Thompson in the spring.

“Really, I just like being around the guys as much as possible,” Clark said. “This gives me an opportunity to be around them every day, in some capacity. I’ve always been a big weight room guy. I’ve worked out since I was a little guy. Being in the weight room is something I have a passion for. Just being able to help our guys in any way I can be successful, on and off the field. I enjoy that so much.”

Clark is working with the entire Thompson High athletic program.

“Everybody loves Trey,” Freeman said. “He’s really good with the athletes. I think it’s going to be a big step, over the course of the next couple of years, having the nutrition and the proper training. That’s his Friday Night Lights. He’s good.”

Clark said he stepped into a tremendous situation with the Thompson football program. He credited defensive coordinator Shawn Defoor, assistant coach Tim Castille and others with the work they’ve done in the strength program over the past few years.

“I’ve learned so much from these guys and I’ve seen a different way of doing it,” Clark said. “They have really helped me, in my learning process, by brainstorming and combining thoughts and ideas. It was a great lesson for those guys to help me in that way.”

The Warriors gained another advantage last week when the weight room inside the school’s indoor facility was finished. Now, the Warriors have unrivaled facilities among high schools in Alabama.

“It’s world class,” Clark said. “We’ve got, at our disposal, everything we need to be successful. There is nothing that we lack, in terms of our facilities and our equipment. It’s going to pay great dividends for us to work towards our goals.”

Freeman used Sunday’s workout as an example of how important the indoor facility will be for the Thompson athletic programs.

“We were able to push some sleds and do some agility drills indoors to break a sweat, loosen up our muscles,” Freeman said. “It was good to see our guys get a lift in and go in that indoor facility and get good work in with fundamentals.”