These former Wisconsin football players are teaching the next generation of in-state linemen
A look into Trench Training, which is led by several former Badgers from different eras of Wisconsin football
OCONOMOWOC, Wis. — Car doors slammed shut and cracked against the frigid December air as about 20 high school linemen got an early start to offseason training led by two former University of Wisconsin football players.
And some of these recruits could even become Badgers before all’s said and done.
The football season hadn’t been over for less than a month, but a workmanlike vibe permeated throughout this Trench Training session at the Sports AdvantEdge facility. Whistles blew as Joel Nellis and Billy Hirschfeld were among the three trainers directing players to punch medicine balls and perform footwork drills.
There wasn’t a break for Nellis, a former Wisconsin walk-on tight end from 2001-05, between teaching an earlier group of linemen and the. He munched on a sub sandwich while pacing and intently watching a group shuffle across the indoor turf while holding a 45-pound plate.
Nellis is not only the football coach at Brookfield Central but been a partner and long-time trainer at Trench Training, which has substantially grown in the last 10 years as a way for in-state linemen to continue honing their craft. This Badger Observer reporter initially chronicled its rise in 2018 for Bucky’s 5th Quarter, and as a disclaimer to you, the reader, I’ve personally known Nellis for well over a decade. We co-authored a book on Wisconsin’s walk-on tradition, Walk-On This Way, that came out in Fall 2016.1
But that’s not why Badger Observer wrote about Trench Training. What stands out now is its growth and expanded reach, how many former Badgers are currently teaching these in-state lineman, and why they put in this time.
“Our goal has always been to keep big kids in the game, regardless of whether you’re going to play at UW or you’re just trying to be the best for your high school team,” Nellis said. “We care about the kids that walk through our doors because they’re taking a different level of commitment — time, effort, money, travel — and we want to honor that with the same level of commitment on our end.
“They deserve our best and that’s why we push to find the best information, the best techniques and ultimately, providing the best feedback that we can for those kids.”
