Implementing fundamental principles
On August 25, on the heels of the preseason and a day ahead of forming the initial 53-man roster and practice squad, leaders of facilities, team travel, equipment, player health and performance and nutrition were among a group explaining how they have been focusing on the near fortnight.
For months, they’ve awoken and worked on this. When time wasn’t directly applied to completing a specific task, it was spent thinking about an item left on the to-do list or wondering if everything had made its way to said list.
The departmental leaders did not shy from the historical significance as they directed focus on what each aspect could do to help players shine.
“This is a big challenge for an organization, for a coaching staff, for players, and I wouldn’t want any other organization to take that on other than us,” said Vikings Vice President of Player Health and Performance Tyler Williams. “I feel like what makes it advantageous to take this on as Minnesota Vikings is the people up here and the people of all the staffs that that we have.
“There’s no other better organization in my mind to do that, especially with, like [Director of Equipment Services] Mike [Parson] said, a supportive head coach, general manager and ownership that provides you with resources,” Williams continued. “Without that, it’s like going into a fight with one hand behind your back. As you heard, there’s a ton of moving pieces to that, but I think again, it always comes back to the people. It’s not the what, it’s the who. And we believe in that.”
Williams has led his department to support the Vikings in each of the team’s past two trips to England. He’s incorporated prior experiences to formulate a philosophy that has believed in delaying travel until Thursday night for a Friday arrival before a Sunday game. The idea is the compressed time prevents entire circadian rhythm changes from affecting players before kickoff.
Williams anticipates those acclimations will occur early next week. The Vikings did look at experiences of other sports teams who have made extended trips before determining it best to incorporate Minnesota’s usual strategy for the first game and work to normalize unique experiences in Week 5.
“We really just stuck to our fundamental principles and said, ‘What allows us to peak on game day when we travel? What are our travel processes and our strategies? How can we keep the same normal rhythm as much as possible?’
“So even including you guys, your weekly rhythm of when you go to bed and when you wake up and what you do throughout the day, holds a biological process to keep you at your best or at your top, right?” Williams continued. “When we put down four or five different strategies on paper, we said, ‘Which one’s the least disruptive and which one checks the boxes to have the most consistent sleep, have the most consistent workout opportunities, has the consistent opportunities to eat and hydrate and provide that rhythm and routine as quick as we can?’ “