The 5-part formula that helped Muskego's RJ Bosshart win three state titles in track and find more success on the football field
Prior to the 2018 prep football season, the Journal Sentinel and Now News Group will reveal the Area Sweet 16 players to watch. Each day between the first day of practice on August 1 to the first day of games on August 16, one player will be revealed online.
RJ Bosshart's blazing speed has been on full display for the past 14 months.
Since June of 2017, the Muskego senior has accumulated three gold, one silver and another sixth-place medal at the WIAA Division 1 state track and field meet. In late June, he was a part of the Warriors' 400 relay team that earned All-American honors.
Sandwiched in between were 1,300 yards from scrimmage as the Warriors advanced to Level 4 of the playoffs last season.
How, exactly, has he done it? Here are the five essential guidelines to follow to be as successful on the field and track as Bosshart...although results may vary.
RELATED:After winning a state title, Muskego's 400-meter relay runs to All-American honors
RELATED:After winning a state title, Muskego's 400-meter relay runs to All-American honors
Form running
When running in the 100 meters, a track relay or trying to beat a safety to the edge, split seconds can make all the difference. Bosshart looks to find every possible way to squeeze those fractions of a second out of his times.
Form running is one one of those ways, as good form increases efficiency and develops greater resistance to injury. This can include various types of skips, carioca, high knees runs and more.
RELATED:Area Sweet 16: A look at the top high school football players in the Milwaukee area
“We’ll do a lot of form running in track to get that maximum speed,” Bosshart said. “It’s really important to be efficient with your form. I don’t work as much on that in football, but it kind of carries over still.”
Bosshart averaged 11.2 yards per carry but split time with three other backs and only received 82 carries. With all three of the other backs graduating, he should get more opportunities to put his speed to use on the field this fall.
“This year, he’s going to get more touches," Krause said. "The one thing about RJ is that everytime he touches the ball, he has a chance to go to the house. He really does. He’s got special speed.”
Fast-twitch lifts
In football more so than in track, Bosshart needs to develop lateral quickness and be explosive going in and out of cuts. He does a variety of weight lifts to work on these muscles, including box jumps, power cleans and back and front squats.
“He’s got special speed, but he also has great lateral quickness,” Krause said. “He’s very shifty, and that makes him as tough to bring down as his speed.”
Film room
As with most top-level players, Bosshart, who currently holds one offer from Division 2 Minnesota-Duluth, breaks down film of both himself and others at his position to find areas of improvement.
“I’m always looking up stuff on YouTube on how to run routes, how to stem routes, how I want to lead somebody into my cut and make them go where I want them to go, how to find the right hole,” Bosshart said.
Classifying himself as “more of a speed back,” Bosshart’s favorite player to watch is Hall of Famer Barry Sanders.
“He’s definitely the player I try to learn from most,” Bosshart said. “If you’re looking for ways to use your quickness and make guys miss in small spaces, he was incredible at that.”
Resistance training
This is one of the keys to success in the Muskego track and field program. The goal of resistance training is to increase strength as muscles contract against some form of resistance, which can be anything from body weight, dumbbells, bricks...you name it.
“We rely a lot on that kind of training in track, doing some super heavy resistance stuff to get stronger and faster,” Bosshart said.
Leader of the people
When asked what the most important thing his team could get out of the first week of practice was, Krause didn't have to mull his answer for very long.
"It's all about developing the right culture in the first couple of days," Krause said. "We want an environment where the kids are having fun but are disciplined and getting better. So far, RJ has played a huge role in getting the team together."
More important to Bosshart than rushing for 1,500 yards or scoring 20 touchdowns is replicating last year's success of reaching the state final four. He seems to be doing his part to get the team rallied for another run.
"RJ’s probably our most improved leader," Krause said. "He kind of shared time on the field last year with three seniors, and those guys were probably the best leaders we’ve ever had. He has done a great job of keeping that tradition going. He’s almost been like a coach on the field for us."
