I am such a fan of James. This guy will do some spectacular things at ND. What a pick up. He should or will be a very high 4star by NSD.
Here is another great freebie on ISD
Trainer: Onwualu is a 'Freak'
Friday, 11 May 2012 07:09 Christian McCollum
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Ted Johnson typically doesn’t train young athletes.
“A lot of times I don’t think they know what it is that they truly want,” says Johnson, the owner of Performance Athletix in St. Paul, Minn.
“To be involved with what I do at the level I do it, you have to be pretty committed.”
But he had to make an exception when James Onwualu signed up as a 13-year-old.
“He kind of blew my mind,” says Johnson. “He showed up every day and he listened to everything that I said because he figured out at an early age what it was he wanted to do and accomplish.”
Onwualu saw his older brother, John, and other role models, like Michael Floyd, working with Johnson. He also realized his peers in warmer states were getting started at an early age and decided he didn’t want to be behind.
“It was different to be up here and starting younger,” says Onwualu. “It was tough socially and all of that stuff. It takes a while to get used to of course, but I was around my brother and a lot of people who were motivated and kept me on track.”
While Onwualu’s commitment was clearly evident, he didn't know exactly how things would turn out.
“I was young, so I didn’t know much about the whole process or what my career was going to turn into, but I saw what Mike and my brother and all of them experienced and how people in the community looked at them,” he says. “I guess I wanted to be something like that when I grew up.”
After becoming a nationally-recruited receiver at Cretin-Derham Hall and eventually a Notre Dame commitment, Onwualu isn’t “something like” that, he is that.
But Onwualu still feels underrated.
“Everybody questions my speed, everybody questions how I look, but when it comes down to it, I can hang with whoever is out there and perform at a high level,” he says.
Johnson certainly isn’t included in everybody.
“James is a freak,” says Johnson. “He’s a super freak.”
Onwualu cemented that label during one particular workout last month.
“He’s so explosive, he jumped out of the pool 80 times,” says Johnson.
Jumping out of shallow pools became a YouTube sensation a couple years ago, but Onwualu performed the feat 80 times in a row at the end of a workout.
“You don’t go to the pool and say, ‘Let’s jump out,’” says Johnson. “It’s in the context of a workout, so prior to even getting to that portion of the workout, he does all of these other things that limit his energy. He’s already dead tired.
“He’s got two-thirds of the workout done and this is the third part and the kid explodes out of the pool 80 times. He gets 80 opportunities to get 80 perfect jumps and he got on this roll.”
Onwualu admits jumping out of the pool was difficult for him last year.
“It was a tough thing for me,” he says. “It was kind of a mental thing. You hit your shins and they’re bleeding. I got out of it like three or four times last year. This year, I just started cranking them out.”
As he got on his roll, a crowd started forming around the pool to watch him.
Onwualu doesn’t take any breaks, “I just jump out, stand all of the way up, turn around, jump in and jump out.”
He was jumping out of a pretty standard depth of three and a half feet, but Johnson has now pushed him to a greater depth.
“I’ve scoured YouTube, vimeo, UStream to see guys jump out of pools at greater than 3.3 or 3.6 feet,” Johnson says. “We’ve actually moved him to four feet. Now that’s the new benchmark. I couldn’t find anybody in the world anywhere on the internet who’s exploding out of four feet of water and landing on the edge of the pool. I couldn’t find it. We’re trying to do something that’s never been done.”
“I haven’t gotten it down yet,” Onwualu explains. “I’m still working on it. It’s definitely much tougher, just a couple extra inches, but I’ll get it eventually.”
Johnson has no doubt.
Onwualu works out with Johnson every day. The two spend about 20 hours a week together.
“He sets up my workout and I go through phases,” he says. “It’s pretty detailed. They push you mentally and physically. That’s something that is tough, but has made me a better player.”
Johnson tracks everything, including Onwualu’s diet.
“He photographs everything that he eats and he sends me six e-mails a day,” says Johnson, who tries to make sure Onwualu is getting the appropriate amount of carbs, proteins and fats, but acknowledges it can be difficult for a high school student to have the perfect diet.
After one recent workout, Johnson could tell Onwualu was up late the night before.
“It was not a bad workout, but my performance was just different,” Onwualu says. “He tracks how I’m doing, everything. He believes everything goes into it.”
Onwualu’s brother played football with Floyd in high school and the former Irish receiver star has been another mentor for Onwualu, but Johnson is quick to point out Onwualu’s ambition.
“James isn’t sitting around waiting for anybody,” says Johnson. “Mike set the standard for him, but James doesn’t take a backseat to anybody. James will give any opponent the respect that they deserve, but he takes a backseat to no one. He wants to crush anything in his path.
“He’s trying to be bigger, stronger and faster. He wants to redefine what it means to be the standard.”
Onwualu looks up to Floyd, but is trying to blaze his own path.
“Mike’s obviously been a role model to me throughout my life, but I’m looking to set my own goals and my own records,” he says. “He’s definitely somebody that will push me to be my best and obviously he’s put the benchmark high, but I’m really looking forward to go in and do something similar, hopefully be just as good or even better.”
Johnson doesn’t think that goal is unrealistic.
“Honestly, he’s ahead of the curve,” the trainer says. “Just from a training standpoint, he’s got way more infrastructure.”
Johnson notes that Onwualu gave up basketball to focus on football, something that Floyd didn’t do, and that Onwualu has had the chance to travel to more camps and combines at this stage.
“They’re two completely different athletes,” Johnson says. “I think James is a little bit more dynamic. I say that because if you look at the way James scores and what he’s done on the field, I think he’s a little bit more dynamic.
“At this stage in his career and physical development and mental development, I think James is way ahead of the curve.”
Johnson also respects Onwualu’s mental toughness, especially his decision to commit to Notre Dame at such an early stage without fearing the obvious comparisons between himself and Floyd.
“Anywhere you go, you’ll be compared,” Onwualu says. “If I were to go to Minnesota, I’d be compared to (2012 signee) Andre (McDonald). If I were to go anywhere, I’d be compared to the guy who was best before. It’s an honor to be compared to a guy who has accomplished as much as Mike, but like I said, I’m going to go in and do my own stuff.”
Johnson likes the fact that the two do know each other.
“I think what makes it that much more special is there is a connection,” he says.
Johnson still has more than a year to work with Onwualu before he leaves for Notre Dame, but Onwualu has already made his mark.
“I couldn’t be more proud of him because he’s in very rare company with regard to his commitment level, how often he trains and the depth and scope of the things he does,” he says.
It’s a mark that may never be surpassed.
“He’s been with me for so long, the training that he does is so advanced because it’s at the highest level,” says Johnson. “Only a person who has trained with me since he was 13 could ever catch up with him. Kids ask me all of the time, ‘Ted, how I can catch up to James?’ I say, ‘You can’t.’
“‘The only way you can catch up with James is with a time machine.’”
