When many students hear the phrase “Power Hour,” they often first think of back-to-back TV episodes or a late night studying session.
To Coach Ian Falconer, however, the phrase means something quite different.
For Falconer, “Power Hour” is his pet program held out in stations 5 and 6 of the athletic field house every Tuesday and Thursday during lunch hour.
There he assists student-athletes from many different sports with 30- to-40-minute high-intensity workouts focusing on speed, agility, plyometrics and functional strength.
Interestingly, it’s an off season project.
On an average day, Falconer oversees anywhere from 30 to 90 athletes per Power Hour session.
Currently the workout sessions are in their second year of operation.
Falconer started Power Hour as a program specifically for the football team.
However, starting with this year, the program has been opened up to all varsity athletes who desire to attend.
In one of his many “hats” Falconer wears throughout the course of the week, he acts as the strength and conditioning coach during Power Hour.
It allows a bit of competition to flow into the workout for those who so desire it.
For now, Falconer is the only staff member involved in the enterprise, and for legitimate reasons.
The NCAA states that coaches are not allowed to mandate workouts for their athletes during the offseason.
Additionally, Pacific University has maintained an athletic culture quite distinct from other schools.
For example Pacific differs from those in Division I, where students often come to school based on athletic scholarships.
As many at this school know, athletic scholarships are nowhere to be found at Pacific.
Falconer is actually the only trained strength and conditioning coach at Pacific University, which is a necessary requirement for what he does.
However, for the future, Falconer does seek to grow the program.
He wants to possibly expand the program into the fall and perhaps add more resistance training.
Falconer also suggests that a better program would be to tailor different workouts specifically to different sports, for a wide range of desires.
Falconer strongly believes in the importance of what he does, stating that “Division III schools with no strength and conditioning coach really hurt themselves.”
For Falconer, Power Hour is a means to an end regarding the culture of sports at Pacific University.
Although initially unsure of expanding Power Hour from a football only program into a multi-sport, both male and female workout, Falconer said that the program has been a success.
“It has gone well,” he said. “We are rising to the challenges we are meeting.”
To Falconer, Power Hour is an opportunity to be part of something “bigger than yourself.”
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