South Carolina Chief Strength Trainer Luke Day did not speak words when talking about the search for his new job. Day relentlessly bothered the Gamecocks football coach Shane Beamer until they told you it would be your choice or not.
Along with his knowledge and experience, it was Day’s passion that captured Beamer, defeating strength coaches in five conferences and in the NFL.
“I’m beyond excited about this guy,” said Beamer. “I talked to a lot of strength trainers while building this team. I could never put my finger on the person I was looking for. Boy Luke, that part of the problem (trying to hire coaches in the field) was that I didn’t have time because he was texting me and calling me so much about this position that I didn’t have time to hire anyone else. I spent 90 minutes on the phone with him and after 10 minutes, I was convinced that he was the guy we needed to hire. “
Day said getting this job was the best thing that happened in his adult life besides marrying his wife and the birth of their children. “But it is close,” he said.
“This is one of those places where, if there was ever a vague idea of an opportunity to be considered, there was nothing I wouldn’t do to give myself a chance,” said Day. “I bothered you sincerely and didn’t stop until he had to call me or text me ‘No’. He would know that nobody wanted this job more than me. I sent him a lot of text messages basically every two hours. It is absurd the way I did it and I am grateful to him for giving me the time. When we had a chance to speak, there were many similar thoughts and the way we perceived this profession. I am very grateful that it worked as before. “
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When Day was offered the job, he considered Beamer’s word official. Instead of waiting for the hiring process to be completed before moving from Huntington, WV to Columbia, SC, he got in the car right away.
“We hired him on a Saturday,” said Beamer. “I called him the next morning and he’s driving from West Virginia. I said, ‘Luke, we haven’t sent you the commitment yet.’ He said, ‘I don’t care. I want to be in Columbia ready to work as soon as I get that contract. ‘”
The opportunity was too good to be finished with patience.
“I don’t care about a piece of paper until you carry me in handcuffs,” said Day. “That’s how much I wanted to be here. It was probably not the normal thing to do, but that opportunity was close. I could feel it in my hands and would not let a piece of paper stop me. “
Day, who has both college and professional experience, comes to Carolina after spending the 2020 season as the top strength and conditioning coach at Marshall University, his second stint at Thundering Herd. Day worked on the University of Colorado team in 2019.
Day initially joined Herd as the main strength and conditioning coach in January 2016, a position he held for three seasons. He was recommended by Scott Sinclair, Day’s predecessor, who in three years transformed the strength of the herd and the conditioning philosophy during a series of three consecutive seasons of 10 or more victories for coach Doc Holliday’s team. Day and Sinclair – who moved from MU to the role of strength and conditioning director in Georgia – previously worked together at UCF under the command of veteran strength technician Ed Ellis.
Before his arrival in Huntington, Day spent a year as an assistant on the Cincinnati Bengals conditioning and strength team.
Day is from Hamilton, Ohio, where he was significantly involved with the city ministry for the Hamilton Dream Center. Prior to his year with Bengals, he spent two years as a strength and conditioning assistant at UCF, after stints at the USF (2012) and Cincinnati (2011-12). He also served as a summer volunteer in strength and conditioning with the New Orleans Saints in 2010.
Day graduated from Hamilton High School in 2006 and went to Morehead State, where he played on the defensive line for two years. He transferred “back home” to Miami (Ohio) and started working as a weight training intern and majored in physical education.
His first job was to design, develop and implement a strength training program at Mount Healthy High School in Cincinnati, and through that work he made connections with the University of Cincinnati, where he spent 14 months on the strength and conditioning team.