If you’ve attended an ASU football game in the past six years, you’ve likely noticed a formidable figure in an “Iron Devils” t-shirt. That’s Joe Connolly, the longest-tenured coach on the current staff, responsible for guiding players in their physical health and fitness.
As the Head Coach of Football Sports Performance at Arizona State, Connolly walks about 25,000 steps daily and begins his mornings with the same workout he later administers to the Sun Devil players.
“He gets up at like 3:30 a.m.,” says ASU wide receiver Xavier Guillory. “I’m being so serious. He gets up at like 3:30 and gets his workouts [in] while we’re on our third dreams. He’s different when it comes to that.”
Offensive lineman Bram Walden adds, “I think he does a really good job showing what this really means. It’s blood, sweat, and tears every day you come in here, giving it your all.”
Connolly explains that it’s not a preference for early mornings but a necessity driven by his passion for the job.
“If I didn’t love what I do so much, it would be really hard,” he says. “But it’s just what we do. There is no, like, ‘I’m going to hit snooze,’ because it’s just not what we do. I love it. I get to help these guys develop as young men. I think it’s the greatest thing in the world.”
Connolly emphasizes the importance of consistency.
“If there’s one lesson I want them to learn, it’s that it has to be the same every day, right? You have to show up. It can’t change. You can’t be intense one day and then be a slug the next day. That’s not what we’re looking for. We want the same guy every day, the same person every day that’s going to show up, do what they need to do, do it the right way, and execute what’s being asked of them and be able to be coached,” he explained.
A self-proclaimed ‘programming geek’ who reads old Russian lifting manuals, Connolly is recognized as one of the top strength and conditioning coaches in the nation, honored by his peers as a “master.”
“He pushes you past the limits that you could think you would ever be pushed,” says Walden. “He helps you reach a place in your mind where you never thought you’d be able to reach until you got here. You know, I came from Oregon and I’ve never been pushed like this before, and I’ve done nothing but climb.”
“This is the most athletic I’ve ever been before,” says Guillory. “I came here from Idaho State. I never ran as fast, pushed as much weight. [And] mentally, I’ve just been growing every single day.”
Connolly believes that the barbell is the ultimate teacher.
“It’s always truthful. It never lies. It’s just a great teacher for life in general because the weight that’s on the bar is the weight that’s on the bar and whether you think you can do it or not, there’s confidence to be gained in that too,” he explained.
“Because maybe you do five reps when you only thought you could do three or maybe the weight’s heavier than what you thought you could ever do. When you do execute that, then we’re building confidence and to me, if I can build confidence in an athlete, the job is complete. That’s the number one goal. Because that confidence transfers over to the rest of their lives. I think that’s one of the greatest things that you can do as a coach is really affect somebody for the for the rest of their life and be a positive influence in their life.”
