Bears confirm new head of SC
In a phone call this evening, Cal Athletics officially confirmed to BearTerritory that the department's head strength & conditioning coach, Mike Blasquez, will take over as the primary strength coach for the Bears football team, following the departure of John Krasinski several weeks ago.
Most recently, Blasquez was instrumental in the transformation of the Cal basketball team's center-Markhuri Sanders-Frison-from an overweight 295 pounds at the end of the 2009-10 season to a svelte and powerful 265-pound rebounding machine this year, and in packing 25 pounds of muscle onto 6-foot-9 true freshman post Richard Solomon.
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Now, Blasquez will see his duties with the basketball team diminished as he concentrates his time on working with the football team. Cal Athletics confirmed that Blasquez will continue to serve as the overall head of the S&C program for Intercollegiate Athletics.
Blasquez was the head S&C coach and athletic trainer at Concord (Calif.) De La Salle High-the alma mater of defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi-for 10 years before being named the strength and conditioning supervisor for Haas Pavilion on Jan. 21, 2003.
Blasquez, a 1991 Cal State Hayward graduate who holds certifications in athletic training (ATC) and strength and conditioning (CSCS), also served as director of outreach at the Muir Hospital Orthopedic Center in Walnut Creek for two years.