Building Grit in Big Ten Volleyball | Eddie Ramirez
Connor and Eddie connected at CSCCA, a recurring theme on the show this season. For more from the conference, check out Connor’s CSCCA 2026 recap.
From Competitive Breakdancer to Big Ten Strength Coach
Eddie Ramirez took an unconventional route into strength and conditioning. He spent his teenage years and early twenties as a competitive breakdancer before a friend showed him that college strength coaching was even a career path. Internships at Syracuse and Texas followed, and by the time he wrapped his stint with Texas football in 2019, he knew this was what he wanted to do for good.
Building a Grit-First Culture at Indiana Volleyball
Now in his fourth year at Indiana University, Ramirez works with volleyball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s golf. Volleyball has been his primary focus, and he’s been direct with his athletes from day one. Competing with programs like Wisconsin, Purdue, and Nebraska, teams that lean on deep talent pools, meant Indiana needed something else to close the gap. Ramirez calls it grit, and he builds it by refusing to sugarcoat hard training while staying honest with his athletes about his own tough stretches.
Coaching International Athletes Across the Language Barrier
That same directness shapes how he works with the program’s international athletes. Rather than expecting them to adjust to a new sport system and a new country on the same timeline as everyone else, Ramirez has taught himself greetings and coaching cues in his athletes’ native languages, including Russian and Turkish, to shorten the adjustment period and build trust early. It’s a theme that’s come up elsewhere on the show too, including in our conversation with Andy Holmes on redefining toughness at Ottawa University.
Key Takeaways
- Competing with programs that out-talent you requires a deliberate culture decision, not just harder workouts. Ramirez tells his volleyball team upfront that training will be uncomfortable, and backs it up by being vulnerable about his own hard moments.
- International athletes are managing two adjustments at once: a new training system and a new country. Ramirez shortens that gap by learning basic phrases and coaching cues in their language.
- Skill progression should be athlete-paced, not calendar-paced. If a full clean takes a year to teach safely, that’s the timeline he uses.
- His own path into the field was nontraditional. Five years as a competitive breakdancer came before he even knew college strength and conditioning existed as a job.
- He’s actively working to close a skill gap this year: getting sharper with GPS and data tracking through Catapult, a topic we dug into further with Dr. John Harry.
On Grit and Adversity
Ramirez’s philosophy echoes a thread running through this season, most directly in Gage Taylor’s episode on finding your way through adversity. Both coaches point to the same idea: growth comes from athletes facing discomfort head-on, not from a coach shielding them from it.
“It’s not because I hate you guys or think you’re out of shape. We’ve got to have a little extra when we’re competing against these big-name teams.”
— Eddie Ramirez, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, Indiana University
Connor (00:55)
What’s going on, Samson Strength Coach, Collective Listeners? On today’s episode, we have Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Indiana University IU, Eddie Ramirez. Eddie, thank you so much for coming on.
Eddie Ramirez (01:07)
Yeah, I appreciate you guys having me on here. Thank you so much.
Connor (01:09)
Well, dude, I’m stoked about it. Seriously. And then our listeners for the past couple episodes have known that we’ve had a lot of guests on who we met at CSCCA. We were talking about this pre-show just a little bit. I met you. I think we talked for maybe, I don’t even know if we could consider it over two minutes, right? but it’s like I said, this is the coolest part of the podcast is we get to sit down and they actually get to connect. Like that’s why I love doing this is, you know, I already got a good vibe from you, right? I knew this would be somebody who’d be great to have on the podcast. And then, okay, let’s actually spend some time getting to know each other. So I’m excited for it.
Eddie Ramirez (01:24)
Yeah.
Yeah, no, I mean just just exactly how you said, like we this the conference goes by so quick and you’re trying to meet everybody and and and you’re seeing all these like old faces. So it’s like, you know, you’re seeing guys from depending how long you’ve been in the career, like from your internships, like from your your first job, your second, your mentors, whatever it is. So it’s it’s
Connor (01:44)
Yeah.
Eddie Ramirez (02:01)
You’re trying to get through as many people as you possibly can in a short amount of time. ‘Cause we all gotta get like most of us we were there for like one, two days. We gotta get back to our schools so we got athletes in in town and stuff like that. So no i it’s cool to be able to connect with people outside of the conference.
Connor (02:04)
Yeah.
For sure.
So how many years have you been in the field?
Eddie Ramirez (02:20)
I’ve been in the collegiate setting for five years, so going on in my sixth year right now.
Connor (02:23)
Five years.
Okay. How many CSCCAs have you been to?
Eddie Ramirez (02:29)
think this is my fourth this past year. Yeah, I think so.
Connor (02:31)
Fourth. Okay. Yeah. So
I’m just curious about this. You got me thinking about it, right? Like you said, like, you know, how depending on how long you’ve been in the field, there’s also just more and more people you’ve met. I remember I don’t know if this is your experience. My first CSCCA, I went with another, you know, coach who was a mentor. And I’m like literally like holding onto a shirt. Like, you know, please, like, take me to meet people. Like, I don’t know how this is. and then this past CSECA, this is like my third one I’ve been to, been in the field, you know, the cleansing sector for, you know, about nine years now.
Eddie Ramirez (02:49)
Ha ha ha.
Connor (03:01)
and it’s like it’s now it’s come to a point, especially with hosting the podcast where I meet so many great people and then we get connected. I’m like, you’re talking to somebody and then somebody else comes up. And then you’re talking to somebody else and then somebody else comes up. I w has that been your experience too?
Eddie Ramirez (03:10)
Yeah.
Yeah, a hundred percent. I I told we had a a part-timer that came with us for the first time this year and she was kinda like, What is like how is it how is it going on and stuff like that and or what what goes about like during these conferences? And then I told her, I like, You don’t realize how many people you know until you go to this conference and then it becomes exactly like that. Like you’re saying hi to one person and you’re like, Holy crap, I this is so and so, so I have to go say hi to them and then you have people come up to you like, Hey, like how you been? And sometimes like you’re you lose you know, you’re
You forget names sometimes, right? So and you’re just like, Hey, what’s going on? And you hit with the what’s up, buddy? or what’s going on, man, you know, and you remember their face and you remember the conversations you had, and you just don’t forget like you don’t remember the name. So it’s from my first year where I knew maybe at the most five people, including not including the people I was with, like so the three, four people I was with, to now where it’s I feel like I’m saying hi to somebody every
Connor (03:43)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Eddie Ramirez (04:12)
couple minutes and I’m waving to somebody or or chatting with somebody for five minutes and it it’s definitely a lot of again, a lot of people that you don’t see very often. So it’s kinda cool to get everybody together like that.
Connor (04:21)
Yeah.
Yeah, that’s where I pull out the absolute power move that every strain coach does, which is just, What’s up, brother? How are you, man? You know, just a dap up. What’s up, brother? How are you? Yeah, because I’m I’m terrible with names too, just naturally. it’s funny, the podcast guests, I can always remember their name, right? ‘Cause we do the editing or you know, do show notes or like right now on the you know, our listeners can’t see this, right? But I’m looking directly at your Eddie Ramirez right there. So I there’s no way I’ll never forget your name, right? But the people who you have met and built these relationships with, sometimes it it can be tough.
Eddie Ramirez (04:29)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Connor (04:51)
For sure. So I I identify with you. okay. Well, let’s roll into it. Obviously, this show is not about CSCCA, it’s about Eddie Ramirez. So can you just give us a breakdown of your career, where you’ve been, and then what’s led you to IU?
Eddie Ramirez (04:58)
Ha ha.
Yeah, so I started off in the private sector. I started off kinda late to the game. I I mean, I don’t want to put my age out there, but I’m I’m up there, right? And I started in the in strength and conditioning pretty late. And, you know, I I did the private sector for about four to five years and I had a buddy of mine who
ended up going to school for it and he was kinda like, Hey, like or when I saw him do it, I was like, this is like what are you doing? So he kind of explained to me, he was like, Hey, like, I’m gonna be a strength and conditioning coach at college, which I didn’t know. at this time I I hadn’t gone to college yet. at a high school, I went to community college for a little bit, but didn’t really stay in it. And I didn’t realize colleges had strength and conditioning coaches. So I kind of followed along his his path and kind of followed what he was doing. And he kind of inspired me and was just like
All right, if this guy can do this, like, no offense to him, like he’s a great guy. but I was like, if he’s gonna he can do this, like, yeah, I can do this too, you know? Like I didn’t realize there was something like this. So he opened my eyes to this entire field. And, you know, I give him a lot of credit for for honestly getting me to where I am. And he’s the guy who was like, Hey, go take an internship before I even got accepted into my my undergrad. And he was like, Go take an internship, like you’re gonna learn so much from there, and then
Did my internship at my first internship at Syracuse University. So I was there with the football team. and that was an eye-opener, and that’s kind of where it was for me, it made me realize, like, holy, holy crap, like this is something that I could do for a career. This is like there’s longevity in this.
Hell of an experience. You know, some of the guys that I I interned with, I still talk to today at the conferences. Like we will chat each other up all the time. and then I finally got accepted into my undergrad, went did my undergrad at George Mason. did did my internships there as well. So every semester I was there, I was school, weight room, training, everything. So I spent hours and all I treated it like a full-time job. And on top of that, I had a full-time job.
And at that time I was also married. So like I had I had all these different things going on in my life. And but like it was the coolest thing for me. Like it this is this is what gives me purpose, I felt purpose in it. My second internship, or I guess third in this case, was at Texas Univers at Texas. and I did it with the football team there. And that one wasn’t in summer of twenty nineteen.
Connor (07:36)
Mm-hmm.
Eddie Ramirez (07:44)
And that one was for me the the nail in the coffin that I was like, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. And such a great experience. I loved it. It was, you know, those guys down there, Yancy Kennight was the the head coach. he taught me so much. Potts, Adam Potts, he taught me a lot. yeah, I mean the the people there were just great and I and I loved it.
After that, the guy who I ended up following in his footsteps, he had a job at a DT university in New Hampshire. And he he ended up leaving for a different position, and he was like, Hey, they’re looking for like a strength coach. Like, do you want me to put your name in? Like a you know what? And I was like, Yeah, why not? Screw it, let’s do it. You know, it’s never been in New Hampshire, but let’s let’s let’s do this.
So then he got me, you know, he kind of opened a door for me to get that position there. I was there was three of us. So there was the the full time or the director, myself, and then a part-timer, and she did throws. So it was only three of us. There was 20 something sports. while it was a lot, like looking back on it, it was a lot. And
But it was so much fun for me. Like it was just like this is great. You know, like this is I’m working from 6 a.m. to six p.m. Like I love this. And you know, I’m one of those, like, if I’m a it’s like a like a dog, right? a tired dog is a happy dog, right? And I was the exact same way. Like a tired eddy was a happy Eddie. And my so that part of the the story was the part or excuse me, the assistant ended up becoming the interim head coach.
And did that for about a couple of semesters. And then when it was time for for the university to kind of hire a new head head guy, they didn’t go my they didn’t go my way, so they went a different route. And so at that point I was like, all right, I think it’s time for me to kind of move on and and find something, you know, whatever the next step is for me. And I I mean, I applied at a bunch of different places and got a phone call from IU.
And I also got offered the head coaching position at a D three university in just outside of Boston. And I was like, Well, what do I do? Do I take the head position? Do I take IU? Like, you know, a lot of contemplating on what to do. And finally it was kinda like you can’t give up the opportunity to work at a Big Ten, you know, power five at the time, power five conference, coming from a D T university. Like I was like, that’s just a huge step. So I I
Jumped on that as quick as I could and yeah, been here ever since. Long story, long story.
Connor (10:34)
Dude, I love it. I mean, no, no,
no, no, no. But those are the best stories, right? Because there’s always so much behind those. And I think a lot of strength coaches have similar journeys, right? But you know, it’s always so interesting to hear about okay, what did he learn along the way? Like what was the excitement behind like getting into strength and conditioning? you know, okay, so I’m very curious. This I this is a selfish question right here. You start off at Syracuse. Are you from upstate New York originally? Okay. Okay, okay.
Eddie Ramirez (10:57)
No, I’m from Virginia. Originally from Virginia. So east coaster,
but a little bit Okay.
Connor (11:00)
I’ve okay, so I grew up in Syracuse. So I always I was curious.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. okay fo well fantastic. I I’m curious about this too. You said late in the game. You said you came in late in the game. What were you doing before you started strength and conditioning?
Eddie Ramirez (11:14)
man. so I at the time I got really into like breakdancing or breaking. It’s what we call it breaking. and that’s that’s all I did. I it was just work, train, and that, and you were just like you you kind of lived. It’s almost like you know, like when you’re a strength conditioning coach, right? Or anything in athletics, like you’re all you want to do is that sport.
Right. And all you want to do is train for it. All you want to do is get better. That’s exactly what my mindset was when it came to breaking. And I did that from like nineteen until I got into strength and conditioning. So it was like constantly just nonstop training and and working. Like I mean, I I was working at at the at the time I was working at Home Depot. And I had just moved to Northern Virginia.
And yeah, I mean that that’s kinda what I was doing and then it wasn’t until my buddy I saw him do it and I was like, All right, this is kinda I’m gonna follow that path.
Connor (12:12)
So you were like competing, like national competitions, different type type of stuff like that, or was it kind of more local stuff?
Eddie Ramirez (12:18)
I it was more local stuff. We did a lot of like kind of East Coast stuff things. So like we would go up to Baltimore every once in a while, New York every once in a while, down to Atlanta. but we never went like me and the guys that I was with, we never went like West Coast or anything like that. and it it it’s one of my like I guess hidden talents, you know, when when people are always like, What do you like, what do you do?
Connor (12:40)
Yeah.
Eddie Ramirez (12:43)
like a party trick and stuff. And that’s kinda how I started with it. I wanted it was a party trick for me. It was like, hey, I wanna do this to I mean, I was in high school, so I was like, I wanna do this to impress girls. needless to say, like I n never got a girl from from it. But but it was cool. It was cool to be able to do it and and it taught me a lot. it helped it honestly like kind of molded me into the guy that I am. So then it it helped me a lot when it came into strength and conditioning ’cause it was, you know
learning knowing that you have to go through steps in order to get through to your end result and not like rushing it, you know. So that’s kinda one the things I took from from that and kind of plugged it into my my programming and my style of coaching and all that.
Connor (13:21)
Yeah.
I mean, this seriously, this is so cool for me. I mean, you know, ’cause like I mean, legitimately we I I’ve had a lot of different stories. I’ve never heard of somebody, you know, who was really into breaking, was a break dancer, like you said, and then, you know, I mean, like was able to make that your life. I think it’s really interesting. I I’m curious, like you know, what do you feel about breaking the Olympics? and do you and do you ever feel that there could be a strength conditioning for the breaking team at the Olympics?
Eddie Ramirez (13:31)
Ha ha.
Ha ha
I actually since the Olympics came out or since that Olympics, I’ve had that question asked so many times. my thing is it’s such a difficult thing to judge. And because there’s no criteria. Like there’s no and that’s but that’s the beauty of it. Like if in ballet, for instance, I always use the instance of ballet, like when you don’t do certain things, it no longer becomes ballet. It’s no longer
Connor (14:02)
Yeah.
Eddie Ramirez (14:22)
that. Same thing with jazz music or yeah, jazz or tango, whatever other kind of style of dance. Like, as soon as you take away or don’t implement certain things from that dance, it no longer becomes that dance. Breaking is anything and everything. I mean I’ve seen people go from like ballet moves into like
what are what we call like the original breaking moves and stuff like that or or they go from a lot of swings so like kind of like a swing when they’re doing like their footwork and stuff like that and and so like there’s no there’s no boundary to what breaking is. And that’s what makes it so difficult in my opinion to to put it into something like the Olympics where it gets judged. now now granted like they’re some of the most athletic people I’ve ever met. They’re some of the most conditioned people I’ve ever met.
the way that they’re able to contort their bodies and control their bodies is some of the most athletic stuff ever, you know? y and I think
I think there’s a lot of strength ignition that can like kind of do its part in it. I think a lot of breakers now are doing a lot more strength training than they did in the past. and I think a lot of it’s just for longevity in the sport. Just like, you know, any other sport that we have, you know, in college the college setting. yeah, I mean I think it it definitely plays its part. I do know Red Bull. Like Red Bull has their like a strength program, a strength trainer for their Red Bull
Connor (15:50)
Yeah.
Eddie Ramirez (15:55)
breaking team. so I do know that and and it’s pretty kind of intense some of the stuff that they’re doing. They train him almost like wrestlers. because they’re just if you think about it, like wrestling is, you know, you’re using your body and contorting your body in all these different ways, right? And you have to be conditioned and not just like a a linear a linear, lateral, you know, vertical plane, but you gotta be multi everything. So
Connor (16:03)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Well I did it’s just again, it’s very cool to me. I think it’s a unique experience, right? do you still break today?
Eddie Ramirez (16:31)
Yeah, I just do it more for fun. like I’ll like sometimes I’m just like hey, I just wanna get down, so like I’ll, you know, move stuff out of the living room or I’ll do it at at a volleyball facility, like, hey, I’ll just throw some music on and then I’ll just go a couple I can’t go as long as I used to. I’ll tell you that. Like it’s I mean it’s hella anaerobic. Like you’re doing it for like thirty seconds and you’re gassed for a while. I definitely can’t move the way I used to.
Connor (16:33)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Eddie Ramirez (16:58)
So my I guess my style has kind of become more about musicality. So trying to actually like feel the music as opposed to like, hey, I need to, you know, I need to spin on my head and then land on my right hand and then, you know, do this, this, this, this. So it’s it’s it’s definitely kind of falling back a little bit, if you will. But yeah, I still do it for fun, for sure.
Connor (17:23)
That’s awesome. Okay, my last question about it ’cause I’m just curious too with the the athletes, like, what do the athletes say when they find this out about you?
Eddie Ramirez (17:26)
Yeah, go for it.
Most of the time it’s my god, can we see it? Hey, can we can you do something? Hey, can you and it’s because of the Olympics it’s always the you know, can you do the worm thing or can you do this? And I’m like, Yeah, I can do that. Like it’s not the worm is not that hard to do. or like the headspin thing, and I’m like, I like no offense, but I don’t want to do a headspin on this floor right here. I actually have like kind of a you can’t really see it, but ’cause I have pretty thick hair, but there’s kind of like a slight
Connor (17:44)
Hehehe
Eddie Ramirez (17:59)
bump here that I have and it’s like slightly bald from like spinning on my head so much. So but yeah that’s kind of like the first thing I get it’s you know, did you compete? Did you like what do you think about the Olympics? hey can you do something for us? or occasionally you’ll get like the like the can you teach me something? so then you’re like all right and and I’ve I’ve done it a couple of times where I’ve been like all right today’s for today’s conditioning or for today’s you know workout today we’re gonna do
Connor (18:02)
Yeah.
Eddie Ramirez (18:29)
this and then I’ll teach them like the basic things and they’re like, Holy crap, like this is much harder than it looks. I’m like, Yeah, like it’s not it’s not a walk, you know, a walk in the park.
Connor (18:38)
Yeah, you know, it’s funny because my athletes, obviously I work with basketball. They always ask me, you know, like, okay, did you play football in college? Like, you know, and I’m like, No, I you know, I I just wrestled and do jujitsu. and so they always whenever that happens, like and I work with a men’s team, they’re always like, Well, we gotta wrestle. I’m like, All right, man, we can go right ahead. Like, I got bad news for you though. I weigh you first of all, I have the distinct advantage of weighing at least fifty pounds more than most of you.
Eddie Ramirez (18:54)
Yeah.
Connor (19:01)
and then on top of that too, like you guys are great athletes. You have no clue how to use your hands or actually fight, you know, like in a in a grappling sense, right? I’m sure if we boxed, you could knock me out because everybody has a seven foot wingspan, right? But like from a wrestling standpoint, so we actually had I had a guy yesterday, he came up and and he tried to wrestle me. and so you know, I ended up putting him in a guillotine like almost immediately, right? And and the team afterwards, like the the guys every year, a couple guys try it, right? And then the one guy
Eddie Ramirez (19:09)
Yeah.
Ha ha.
Connor (19:29)
One guy who was a returner from last year was like, Man, I’m so upset that you haven’t flipped anybody this year. And I was like, When when I flip somebody, that’s how you know I’m about to lose. Like I’m like, all right, I really actually gotta pull out some stuff that like might might help me win out. Yeah, yeah, exactly. but you but it’s pretty similar too. And I think it’s always really like what you’re saying, where they want to see it or they wanna wrestle, or like I have a couple guys who are like, Can you teach me some stuff? Like, you know, like if if this were to happen, how would I, you know, do that? Which I think is a little bit different, right? Because you’re teaching them how to express themselves through dance and mine is like
Eddie Ramirez (19:39)
Lock in, yeah.
Yeah.
Connor (19:59)
If somebody fights you, here’s what you need to do, right? Which is yeah. And I’m like, don’t tell anybody I taught you this, by the way. But but it’s really cool, I think, too, when you can kind share something you’re passionate about with your athletes and it’s a physical art form. It’s something that you know, you do that they’re not aware of, but because they also have their own art form that’s physical, like they can really relate to it. I always think it’s really cool to share that with the athletes.
Eddie Ramirez (20:01)
How to defend yourself, yeah.
Yeah. No, no, they love it. They absolutely love it.
Connor (20:25)
Yeah.
That’s awesome. Okay, so you know, you go back, you’re talking about at Texas, you had, you know, this is kind of your nail in the coffin experience of like, this is it, and I’m gonna be a strength and conditioning coach for the rest of my life. Was there any specific instance that you can remember where you really thought to yourself, like, all right, strength and conditioning is for me, or was it kind of just a buildup over your whole time there?
Eddie Ramirez (20:47)
I I’d say it was a build up. I don’t think I can’t pinpoint like one specific moment. I mean, I think just getting up and being with those athletes. I mean, it’s Texas, right? You’re you’re dealing with, you know, some massive athletes, not not just like physically, but like their personalities, their, you know, demeanor, everything. And just kinda working with these guys was for me
I think at the end of it I was like, Man, I can’t believe I had a chance to work with you know, Joseph Osai or or trying to think of who else. Keandre Sweat. these guys are either now in the NFL and it’s like like man, like I these guys are some of the nicest guys I ever met and like they I mean they were humble in the weight room, you know, they you know, they I’ll I’ll I’ll never forget,
one of the guys, like we we kinda had a discussion on me and some of the interns were like, like we think this guy’s gonna make it big and he I think he was a freshman, or a sophomore. They might have both been sophomores. And I was like, no, I think this guy’s actually gonna be the guy who’s gonna be, you know, make it big in in in the pro career. and they were like, no, no, no, no, no, it’s gonna be this dude for real. Like you just gotta see him. Like he’s just a monster. And and and don’t get me wrong, like he was.
But it ended up being the guy who I said that was gonna go, you know, have a longer life in the pros, like he’s still in it as far as I know. And the other guy, I don’t even think he made it, you know, to the pro pro side. And like that to me is just saying like, hey, this guy’s hard work is is im impeccable to watch and and and look where it’s taking him, you know. And I think that
that is a definitely a contributing factor to to me wanting to do it. Like these guys are are they put their livelihood into this. and they that is what I kind of wanted to to be a part of to help them get to their goals. Cause to me that’s probably the most satisfying part is that hey, you accomplished this. And and you know, I I was able to be a part of that journey.
Connor (22:52)
Yeah. Yeah. It’s just it’s just like you said, it’s a piece of the journey, right? And you can help guide them and you can help let them know that, like you said, it’s the hard working principles. Sometimes the difference between the guys who make it and don’t or, you know, okay, is he actually a hard worker? Is he gonna consistently put the work in? You know, some guys are just so talented that they don’t have to do that, but it’s so much more rare than a lot of athletes think it is. you know, you made me think of Daryl Taylor when I was at Tennessee football. I remember we did neck training every day.
And Daryl would always be like, Connor, like screaming across the weight room for me to do the manual resistance. And like every day, I mean, seriously, I’m dripping sweat by the time we’re done. Like, and he’s just crazy strong. But like the way he approached every single thing, it was no surprise to me that, like, of course, this guy’s gonna go pro, right? And he does. And so it’s really cool, I think, too, as you go across your career and you work with people who have made it to that level, and then you can see the common traits and the people who can you continue to work with, right? And then you can help them know, like.
Eddie Ramirez (23:24)
yeah.
Right.
Connor (23:46)
Hey, that’s not what’s gonna get you there. This is what’s gonna get you to where you wanna be. Right. And so it makes complete sense. I love hearing that. Okay, and so what teams do you have at Indiana?
Eddie Ramirez (23:50)
Yeah. Yeah.
So I work volleyball, swimming, men’s and women’s swimming and men’s golf.
Connor (24:01)
That’s golf. Okay. Volleyball at Indiana is obviously a huge thing, right? it is it is really big. Yeah.
Eddie Ramirez (24:05)
Yeah, and it and it’s grown it’s grown
substantially in the four years that I’ve been here.
Connor (24:10)
Yeah. Can you just I can you talk to me about that growth? Because I think volleyball has really, really exploded. it’s really become a very popular sport. Obviously the Big Ten is the highest volleyball you can the highest level you can get. Like it’s incredibly competitive. Everybody knows that Big Ten volleyball is where it’s at. Like, can you just talk to me about the growth that you’ve seen in the sport over the past four years?
Eddie Ramirez (24:30)
Yeah, no, I mean it’s you’re right. I mean the Big Ten is the creme de la creme, right? I always tell people like I’m working with the the Lamborghinis and Marcialagos of you know the the volleyball world and it at Indiana obviously Big Ten again, it’s the volleyball conference
That you want to be a part of. And Indiana, like we, you know, notoriously have never been that great at the sport. Like we’ve been okay, but just never been, you know, as good as you know, Purdue. As much as I hate to say that. but they my first year here, like it was, hey, we gotta, we gotta change the culture. We gotta change the culture. If you wanna be competitive, we’ve gotta be competitive in all aspects of it. and I kind of took that.
Connor (25:05)
Yeah.
Eddie Ramirez (25:20)
when I had my conversations with Steve, the head coach, and and and ran with it, was like, hey, we gotta make these girls as competitive as you possibly can. and, you know, my I think the first talk that I had with the girls that I that I was with at the time was, hey, like I am gonna be your best friend. I’m going to be your biggest cheerleader. however, like I’ve got to push you mentally and and and physically. Like we’ve if you wanna be able to compete with these, you know, big name
like universities, the Wisconsin’s, the Purdue’s, the Nebraskas, you know, like they they have so much talent and they rely heavily on that talent. And not to say our girls aren’t talented, but the way that you’re gonna beat a team like that or or be competitive against a team like that is by having a little bit of grit. By having grit, by being you know, getting a little bit getting a little nasty if you need to, in terms of
like when do your training and and how we’re preparing ourselves. and and that’s kinda something that I’ve instilled year in and year out with all the girls that that I’ve come across. It’s like, hey, like we’ve we’re gonna be put in uncomfortable positions and it’s gonna suck. Like I’m not gonna tell you in sugar coating like, we’re gonna be okay and it’s gonna be, you know, frolic into a a a a field, like, no, this is gonna suck. And it’s not because I, you know
I hate you guys. It’s not because I think you guys are out of shape, but it’s because we’ve got to have a little bit of extra when we are competing against these big big name teams. And I think year in and year out, I think the girls have kind of bought into it. I think the coaches have bought into it. The conversation I have with the coaches, it’s never about, hey, we’ve got to fix this or we’ve got to fix that. Like there haven’t been any issues, thankfully. it’s more about like, hey, what more can we do to prepare these girls?
And and I think that’s a a huge part is you know, like working collectively as a staff, not just myself, but you know, our athletic trainer, our dietitian, our sports psych, and the coaches and be like, Hey, we’re doing X, Y, and Z. Is there anything else? Does anybody have any other suggestions or recommendations that we can add? Maybe it’s a book talk, maybe it’s hey, let’s do and I’ve had this, you know, conversation with them before and like, hey, can we do maybe
over the summertime, like can we do competitive games at this point, you know? so I think amongst us all, like working together kind of to build that culture, from the inside out. And year in and year out, it’s kind of been better, it’s gotten better year year after year. You know, you get people that that graduate that were kind of a part of the old part of it and you’re getting in this new crop of athletes and these new crop of girls and you’re like, hey, let’s
from, you know, the freshmen that I had or sophomores that I had, it’s like, hey, this is the culture we want. This is the standard that we want. Year in and year out, we’re gonna raise that standard and we live up to that standard. And we don’t drop below it. And if if we do, like I remind him and I let him know and it’s like, hey, like we got to get back to where we were and it’d be better from that point. So it’s it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been I’ve fallen in love with the sport.
You know, this is a sport I’ve never worked with and that’s kinda why I wanted this sport. when I got to Indiana, I was like you know, the only two sports I’ve never worked with were I think field hockey diving, field hockey diving and and volleyball. And so I was like, I’m gonna I’m gonna take volleyball. So yeah, I mean it’s it’s been great. Yeah, and here we are, exactly.
Connor (29:06)
And here we are. Yeah, there you go.
Yeah. Okay. Well, you know, obviously a lot of coaches have different philosophies on, you know, how to develop grid or how to, you know, increase competitiveness. Like I and you know, before I ask this question, if you work in the Big Ten or if you’re involved with volleyball, you gotta shut it off while we answer it and then I’ll tell you when you can come back and listen in, right? We’re not giving away any secrets, but what are the things that you do from a specific level to help develop that grit?
Eddie Ramirez (29:26)
Ha ha ha.
I think a part of it is just kinda understanding where they’re coming from and then having them understand that the tough times are gonna pass. that the tough moments when it’s you know, whether you’re in a in a game and you’re losing the set or you’re
coming from behind or or if we’re doing conditioning or if we’re going hard in practice, like yes, it’s gonna suck at that moment, but it’s going to pass and it’s going to be okay. And I think part of it is, you know, working with females, like you can’t you can’t necessarily like, you know, treat them the way you you do males sometimes. but I think
Like I like I mentioned, like showing them that it’s going to be okay. I think part of it is is having that vulnerability within yourself to be able to say, like, hey, like I’ve gone through this stuff before. Like, you know, I let the girls know, like, hey, I’ve gone through tough times, like I understand when, you know, the world seems like it’s against you, how I understand when perhaps it feels like all the bad moments outweigh the good. But at the end of it, like you’re gonna be okay.
everything is gonna be okay and you know rely heavily on those people next to you because they’re the ones that go through the exact same thing as you and you guys go through it together, you know, and nobody knows what you’re going through except for them. It’s like, you know, hang on to those people. Like make sure those people are are l uplifting you. Uplift them. You know, whether it’s a, you know, hey, good job or hey, how are you doing? Like, you know, that that’s what’s gonna make you
that’s what’s gonna make those gritty moments, those like tough moments that you’re going through, a lot easier.
Connor (31:20)
Yeah. You know, I I think back to one of my trading partners I had for wrestling. And he wrestled at Cornell, which is obviously a really high level institution for wrestling. And I remember we were going through and I was being soft, right? And I was like, man, I gotta I’m I’m I’m tapped out, like, you know, like practice is over. We’re trying to get extra reps in. And I was terrible, by the way. So like
Eddie Ramirez (31:27)
Yeah.
Connor (31:39)
I knew I wasn’t going to college for this and like I’m literally just a body for this guy to practice with. And I remember we kind of just had a conversation. He said almost the exact same thing you said right there too, right? Which is like at some point this is gonna end. Right. Like, you know, at some point this pain or discomfort I’m feeling is gonna end. And so how am I gonna feel when I’m done with it? Right. Am I gonna feel proud of myself with everything that I did? Or am I gonna be disappointed and know that I could have done more? Like, and I’m the only one who knows exactly what I can give every single time. And so if I don’t live to that potential, I’m not gonna be successful.
Eddie Ramirez (31:39)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Connor (32:09)
And I was like, damn, you’re right. You know, and then of course I was like, well, I’m not, I’m not built like that in this level. You know, I get I need some time to get there. and then he said another funny thing to me too. And he was like, I mean, and I’ll tell you what, if I push myself so hard I die, I w I didn’t know I died. He’s like, I just moved on. You know, he’s like, So it is what it is. He’s like, it’s either gonna end in a positive way or I’m dead and I didn’t know. And I was like, all you’re nuts, man. Like, you know, but obviously a really, really high level, really successful athlete, like
Eddie Ramirez (32:28)
Yeah.
Connor (32:34)
I think those are the things, and that’s what our job is, right? Is to help unlock that in athletes and help them understand, like, you know, this is truly the time where you can’t have any regrets. Like you can’t look back and say, Man, I should have done more. Cause when you do that, then it’s just an excuse too, right? At the end of the day, you’re like, Well, I didn’t win because I didn’t do more. And it’s like, you know, sometimes you don’t win just because you weren’t good enough, but the only solace you have is I did every single possible thing I could to give myself a chance to win too. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And so obviously.
Eddie Ramirez (32:58)
Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent.
Connor (33:03)
Volleyball is a really high level international you know, sport, especially swimming and diving too. You’re gonna have some international athletes come in there. you know, I know we’ve talked about this just previously, a little bit pre-show, but you know, you’ve been interested or have kind of developed a new system for working with international athletes. Can you walk me through what that looks like? what are the main things that you focus on with them? How do you approach training international athletes?
Eddie Ramirez (33:11)
Uh-huh.
Yeah, and I mean it’s something that I’ve been thinking about a lot, especially being here at IU. Like you you’re right. I mean, I get tons of different interactional athletes, especially with swim. And
You know, I the conversations that I’ve had with a lot of them is just been kind of like, hey, how are you adapting to like life in the US? Like it’s completely different, right? I mean, living here in the US, especially in the Midwest, is a whole different animal than, you know, being from Madrid, Spain, or being from Singapore, or being from even, you know, as well, I guess maybe not Canada, but like I guess depending on what part of Canada you’re from. and
you know, it’s a lot of the time that I talked to them it was like, yeah, I’m feeling homesick. Yeah, I feel like I’m not really adapting well. I feel like I’m not able to assimilate the way I want to. And so I kind of from there was you know, I did a little bit of research and kind of like talked a little bit with particularly with like my family, like my my parents are from Mexico. And
was kinda like, hey, like what’s what have you guys done and and and kind of what helped you guys the most, like when my parents first came to this country. and the one thing they told me was like it was people trying to speak Spanish to them, right? Because they they didn’t speak a lot of English when they came here.
And and I was like, okay, like that’s that’s an interesting thing. So what I’ve what I’ve done is whenever I do have an international athlete, regardless of where they’re from, like I try to learn as much of the language as I possibly can. and just kind of speak to them. Like whether it’s a good morning in, you know, Turkish or good morning in
you know, in Spanish, which which is a little bit easier for me, but but like, you know, good morning in in Italian how are you doing in Italian, right? It’s it helps them feel more comfortable, especially in a place where a lot of international students don’t have weight rooms the way we do. And now we’re throwing them in there and like, hey, you’ve got to lift weights with all these American girls who have seen weight rooms like this and have seen universities. it makes them feel more
like they can let their guard down. Right. Cause they’re like, okay, this person’s trying to understand me, trying to meet me, kind of in the middle and, you know, just kind of slowly speaking. Like I like I said, like, hello, how are you? Like how’s your day? Like just learning basic things like that, goes a long way with a lot of these athletes. And and I think a lot of the time it’s just because they, you know, they just miss home. They miss home. They miss their families. Like they don’t have
At the beginning, they don’t have that family here yet. and and hopefully through time, like that team becomes a family. But just giving them a little bit of a kind of that that space to be to be themselves and not feel like they have to assimilate like like that within a week. I think it’s it’s a huge thing. And then when it comes to the weightlifting, it’s just letting them know, like, hey, like you don’t have to be at the level of the person next to you.
in you know a month. This is not a you have to reach this point at by this or excuse me this level at this point. a lot of time it’s just explaining to it’s like, hey, like we’re gonna break this down as much as we possibly can. And if it takes us the entire year for you to learn how to do a high pool, so be it. and
You know, you just take it step by step. You take it step by step. You take it week by week and you just let know, like, hey, like you’ve improved from from last week. but we’re not quite ready yet, right? We’re not quite quite ready to have you do a full clean. Or we might not be r completely ready for you to do X, Y, and Z. And and that’s okay. Like you’re not
you know, letting them know like my goal isn’t to sit here and make you the best Olympic lifter or the s the strongest person possible. It’s just simply to just get your body prepared, right, for your for your sport. that’s why you’re here. And yeah, I mean it’s it’s been it’s been interesting to be able to work with all these different internationals.
But that’s kind of the route that I’ve been taking and and it’s been it’s been good and I’m still trying to learn. Still trying to learn what else I can do to help make that that adjustment period significantly shorter than what you know what it is. Cause a lot of the times in in the conversations that I’ve had with them, it’s it takes them like a year. It takes them a year, two years for them to finally feel comfortable. Right. And and a lot of them they go home, right? They go home for the summertime and they kinda lose that
Or or better yet, they just get more homesick ’cause they’re Man, I I just want to be back home with my family. so yeah, yeah, I mean that’s kind of the route that I’ve been taking.
Connor (38:23)
Yeah. I love the meeting them where they’re at, right? And and just trying to I I think it could be very easy to just assume, right, this is just another athlete coming in, right? Versus this is somebody whose entire life has changed and that is now getting introduced to a complete different system as well. You know, so they have two things going on versus one thing for a new athlete coming in that’s from the States. I and I really love trying to speak their language too. You’re it’s cracking me up because I think back to we just had a
player tr come in from France, just started playing with us this week. seven foot tall guys, really nice. We’ve been getting along really well so far. And so I asked him, you know, we were just like in the casual conversation, I was like, you were talking about, hey man, we you gotta be high T, right? You gotta be have high testosterone. And I was like, How do you say testosterone in in French? And he’s like, testosterone. And I was like, okay. All right. You know, and then I I mentioned I pointed somebody else out and I was like, I was like, Yeah, like or
Eddie Ramirez (39:12)
Yeah.
Connor (39:19)
one of the assistant coaches like, Yeah, so I man crush, you know, like just making a joke and I like, How do say crush in French? He’s like, crush. And I was all right, we gotta sit down. We gotta find some words that I can actually learn because this is ridiculous, you know. but it’s just funny, you know, too, but then I think what was cool about it too for me was just like, all right, we’re not that different. You know, like it feels like you’re from a completely different world. Right? We’re all human beings though. and your culture isn’t that completely different than I thought it would be, right? yeah. And then I and I think of another instance too where we had an international player. She was from Senegal
Eddie Ramirez (39:27)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Connor (39:49)
you know, and and I found out after like six months that everybody’s pronouncing her name wrong, right? Like for six months everybody’s been saying her name wrong. And she was pretty shy. She never really spoke up and said anything about it. And I was like, Hey, like, how do I say your first name? Like, I want to make sure I’m getting it right. And everybody was saying like Khadijah, right? And she’s like, it’s technically Khadijah. And I was Okay. And then her last name was Fi. And everybody pronounced it Faye, like every single person, right? And she’s like one of our she was a really high-level player.
Eddie Ramirez (39:54)
Yeah.
Connor (40:16)
And so every single second, you know, it’s everybody’s like, Hey, hattie fae, hattie fae. And then I remember the first time I called her five, she was like, Thank you. Like, thank I really appreciate it, right? Like, and it seems simple, but it’s just like there’s small things that you can do to make people feel more comfortable, and it ends up making a big difference in the long run.
Eddie Ramirez (40:23)
Yeah.
No, yeah, I agree. I agree. To to piggyback on that, it’s like I’ll ask the athletes like how do how do I say squat or how do I say hinge or something like that? Or or how do I say like keep your chest up? You know, and then in that way like when I’m across the room I can yell that in in in their language and they’re like, okay, he’s talking to me. so that yeah, I I agree with you on that board, like the trying to learn as much of the language as you can.
Connor (40:49)
Yeah.
What’s the most interesting language you’ve had to learn so far?
Eddie Ramirez (41:06)
Russian was pretty hard. I I learned how to speak Russian. That one was difficult. At the D two university I was at, there was somebody that spoke Russian. I actually like that language a lot though. That was a pretty cool language to learn. I’m trying to think. What else?
Connor (41:07)
Yeah, yeah, I’m sure.
Eddie Ramirez (41:25)
Probably Turkish. Turkish was pretty difficult. And then yeah, that’s probably the two the two hardest ones. We got a lot of like Spanish people like to speak Spanish, so like that’s I’m pretty comfortable with that. So like I don’t have to worry about that too much. But yeah, I would say Turkish and Russian were probably the two hardest ones I had to learn or learn basics of.
Connor (41:27)
Yeah.
I’m sure.
Yeah, yeah.
I’m sure. Are you bilingual? Are you able to Yeah, okay. Yeah. So I’m sure you can I’m I’m sure that’s just a next level connection that you can have immediately, right? When you can speak their language completely.
Eddie Ramirez (41:50)
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, no, it it’s it’s great. It’s it’s helped me a lot. It’s helped me significantly like I I don’t know a lot of the terms in Spanish, like when it comes to like like weight room st stuff, weight room body parts, like that anatomy, that kind of thing, ’cause I never learned that. But it’s it’s so helpful for me to be able to
when we do get an international or even like some of my my co coworkers when they get internationals and they’re like, Hey Eddie, can you kind of explain this to them? So I’m like, Yeah, sure, cool. So I’ll go over and talk to them and just kinda like speak to them in Spanish and like, hey, this is what they want you to do. This is kind of what they’re looking for. So they they find that helpful too.
Connor (42:34)
Yeah. Yeah. The the same French player we had, we have another player from Switzerland, who is I think he’s like quadlingual. I think he can speak four languages, I’m pretty sure, right? Yeah. Yeah. And so he was he obviously speak speak English really well and then he knows French and so he he was working with our French player on the sideline line, just translating, you know, pretty much everything the coaches were asking to. And so it was fun to see like, okay, at least we have somebody here who can really help him out, right? You know, and it’s it’s really nice to have that person who can be kind of a
Eddie Ramirez (42:43)
yeah, those guys speak like eight yeah.
Yeah.
Connor (43:02)
a buffer or a little bit somebody who can be there to help them. okay, so I’m curious about this too. You know, it’s been four years at IU now, is that correct? Okay. You’re going into another year. What is something you’re looking to improve upon? You know, there’s always something that coaches want to get better at in this upcoming year. What is something you’re looking to hone your craft at or or get better in this upcoming year?
Eddie Ramirez (43:10)
Mm-hmm.
man, that’s a good question. Hm.
I would say probably
GPS things. like we’re using Catapult right with volleyball, and this is our second year using it. first year, obviously it’s a lot of like trial and error and like or just collecting data. that was one area that I I’ve never really had a lot of experience with. And I’ve been trying to learn more as much as I possibly can. because I know it’ll help me in the long run. Like, and I know it’s it’s just like a another tool to add to my, you know, my toolbox. And
Connor (43:40)
Mm.
Eddie Ramirez (44:09)
Just learning that, you know, picking brains, figuring out how other people are using it, figuring out what’s the best way to use it. And yeah, just trying to get as much information as I possibly can from that. So I I would say that that’s kinda like the area that I I wanna excel in better.
Connor (44:25)
Yeah. No, I I I my goodness, I need to get so much better at it, right? And so it’s funny you bring that up too. There’s we have a lot of parallels with what’s going on in both of our lives right now. We have a new women’s basketball GA who came in, and he was and they ha they use Kinexon, the men’s team doesn’t. And so the women’s team is getting ready to you know, get ready for practice and he’s like, How do I set this up? And I was like, okay, we can figure this out, it’s no problem, right? And then we go to set it up and I’m like, I have no clue. Like, I don’t have have any idea. And he was asking me a couple questions and I was like
Eddie Ramirez (44:30)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Connor (44:54)
Stefan, I’m really I’m not trying to be a jerk. I don’t know. Like I really like I was like, I don’t I couldn’t answer a single question for you right now. Like I don’t even know how to start the units, you know. And so it’s just so interesting to me because I remember there was a lot of things that when I was first coming up my career, you have to focus on this. These are the things you have to be really good at. And now I feel like the GPS or the data tracking or sports science is one of the things that a lot of people are are coming up with initially and they have a lot of experience in it for the younger coaches. And now I’m like, okay, this is something I I gotta go and get better at it myself.
Eddie Ramirez (44:58)
Yeah.
Connor (45:23)
You know, like I’ve gotta I gotta go spend the time on it. So we’ve got a lot of parallels. I can identify with a lot of what you’re saying today. Okay. All right. Well, I’ve got one last question for you. And you know, you were an intern in Syracuse, so you may not have had that much time to go out and eat, but favorite restaurant while you were up in Syracuse?
Eddie Ramirez (45:29)
Yeah, definitely.
Cool.
man. Alright. I don’t remember the name of it, but there was this barbecue place. I think it was like a dinosaur. Yeah, yeah, there we go. That was probably the the the best spot in Syracuse. Now I I will say like upstate New York barbecue is definitely not as good as as like Tex Texas barbecue or even Yeah, yeah, or even like I mean on the east coast in Virginia we do a lot of pork. So like our pork barbecues pull pork is is amazing.
Connor (45:45)
Dinosaur barbecue? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Awesome spot.
No, no not Texas. Yeah, yeah y you’re not going to Austin, Texas, yeah.
Yeah.
Eddie Ramirez (46:11)
but yeah, I would say Dinosaur was probably the best Dinosaur BBQ was probably the best place I ate while I was up at Syracuse.
Connor (46:15)
Yeah.
I will say dinosaur’s probably one of the few places that does it right. Like, you know, I’m not eating barbecue if I go up north. I’m I’m eating chicken wings, right? Like that’s gonna be the special that’s the thing I really care about are pizza, or bagels, you know. But then like w when I come down south, I’m also not trying to get a Philly cheesesteak. You know, there’s certain places who do stuff right, you know, and and so you can find a decent cheesesteak. I think but Dinastore barbecue’s good barbecue, but it’s like
Eddie Ramirez (46:19)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Connor (46:39)
You know, you like you said, if we go over to like Terry Black’s, you know, or something in in in Austin, it’s a very, very different situation for sure. Yeah. Well, Eddie, thank you so much for coming on, man. Seriously, it’s been great to get to know you better. It’s been great to hear about your experiences and and I I always say this at the end of every podcast, man, but like it’s so great for me to do this. This is I call it my continuum education, right? People are like, What are you doing today? I’m I’m I’m about to be on my continuing education, don’t worry. but it it helps me grow and it helps me get better and and
Eddie Ramirez (46:42)
Yeah, yeah.
For sure, definitely.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Connor (47:06)
You know, when you mentioned one of talking about international athletes, I was like, Yeah, heck yes, ’cause this is something I need to grow in and we have a couple of different international athletes I need to work with this year. So I appreciate everything, man. It’s been great to get to know you. Thank you for coming on.
Eddie Ramirez (47:18)
No, I appreciate it, man. Thank you for having me on and and again it’s great to to kinda give give my story. I think it’s I’m hoping from this like a lot more you know, people kinda I feel like not not to say like every podcast is the same, but it’s like, you know, you you want people to to kinda be be different, right?
And you wanna hear different stories and and and hopefully this encourages people to not be afraid of necessarily kinda letting getting on a podcast and just kinda letting yourself talk and and free flow it, you know. So thank you, so I appreciate it. And I got a feeling like next conference like I’m gonna get somehow called out, like, Eddie, you better do some breaking or something like that. So I g I can expect that. So I got I got a year to prepare for it, I guess.
Connor (47:46)
Yes.
Yeah.
I’m sure
that’ll be the case. Yeah. And, you know, if so if they ask you to do a head spin, I’ll elbow them in the ribs and I’ll hey man, he doesn’t do that. All right. You know, it’s gotta be it’s gotta be the right time, right place. So yeah, but no, I I think that’s a great point you bring up too. And I appreciate that, right? Like it’s fun to, you know, I try to make it fun to be on here. I hope you had a good time. But, you know, I think you have a really unique story and a really cool story, and I’ve got I’m glad you got to share it. You know, and it it just it energizes me, it always re energizes me to hear people’s stories. And I can tell you, we’ve definitely never had a breaker on.
Eddie Ramirez (48:07)
Yeah.
Connor (48:27)
four. So this is definitely a first for the podcast. So thank you, man. I appreciate it.
Eddie Ramirez (48:28)
Ha ha.
No, thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thank you.
