Flanked on both sides by large glass garage doors that open into the fieldhouse on one side and the backfields on the other, the Browns opened their new state of the art performance center and weight room at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus.
They completed work on the project while the Browns spent the first nine days of training camp at The Greenbrier, and officially opened when the team returned.
Director of High Performance Shaun Huls said the Browns provided a tour of the new facility before the Browns training camp practice on Aug. 5. As he walked around the performance center, he pointed out different pieces of equipment and explained its purpose as it pertains to a player's training.
"One of the things Coach Stefanski always talks about is working hard, but also working smart," Huls said. "We're not sacrificing hard work. We're going to keep the hard work. We're going to keep some of those staple exercises that you would typically see in any weight room, whether it's squats, bench, Olympic lifting or plyometrics. But then we're going to add our own kind of secret sauce to it with some of the technology and things like that in the screening process and injury mitigation programs that we'll put in."
Huls described the first floor as the foundational floor, where they set the physical foundation for each player. Stretched across the length of the floor is a carpet that acts as a warmup space. They have hurdles which can be set up, or players can work on their mobility. Huls described the space as the "center of gravity" for the room, where players begin and end their workouts.
Behind the warmup space is a row of weightlifting racks. With custom programming and 3D cameras, the Browns can capture the form of the players, bar speed and power outputs – which the players then receive as data about their workout. Huls said the technology also tapes the lift, so players can review and note their technical flaws and receive feedback.
"Everything has intention, and everything can be individualized to the player as well," Huls said. "We see the weight room as an extension of the practice field, which is why we put the doors on both sides so that there's a quick flow to and from practice right from here."
The first floor also features machines called the Oxefit, which allow the player to choose different programs based on the part of the body they want to focus on or the type of workout they want to execute. With the force plates in the bottom of the machine, the technology can how a player positions his weight during the workout and also the quality of his movement. They can see how much weight, speed of the weight and distribution of the way throughout the body of the player. The technology is designed to be performative and injury preventative that they weave into a player's program.
Huls said there are only a handful of NFL teams who use this type of technology with the Oxefit.
"We actually have the most of any NFL team," Huls said. "So that was that was one of the things, we went around to a lot of different organizations and called a lot of people. But we really wanted to be at the next level and be world class at every area of the of the training process."
The second floor consists of a row of cardio machines – such as bikes, treadmills, ellipticals and more – lined up against a row of windows that overlook the practice fields.
Opposite the wall of cardio machines, there is a simulation room with two 25-yard-wide screens that they call their walkthrough room or mobile classroom. With four overhead projectors stitching the image together, the Browns can use the space for film study or walk through.
They can line up on the carpet – which mimics the hashmarks and yard lines on the football field – to walk through the film. They can also work on pre-snap alignments, assignments and technique with the technology, where players can remove themselves from the screen to have to go through the motions of the play.
"That area for us is to help build the connective tissue from the classroom and the meeting room with players to the to the field," Huls said. "The more we can continue to simulate and challenge players before we get out to the real practice field or the game is really what we're trying to do and give that feedback to them."
The space has the capability to be used for individual players and positional meetings. They have the ability to do either offensive or defensive installs in the space.
The idea for the mobile classroom stemmed from a smaller pilot project in recent years, Huls said. Based on the feedback from the coaching staff and the players, they wanted to create a space that would be a fixture within the organization.
There is also a players lounge with a golf simulator and gaming systems as an added space for players to relax and spend time together.
"Downstairs we're building the foundation physically with guys, but we're also very intentional about making sure that we're building the connectivity with the team and the players," Huls said.
The coach and player feedback has been strong since performance center opened. Head coach Kevin Stefanski sees value in an interactive meeting, which the experiential learning room allows them to hold. In the offseason, Stefanski said they spent time as a staff looking for the best practices in terms of teaching their players. They were presented with different studies and saw how in the interaction with a coach can help players understand the necessary information.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz believes it can provide a boost for the team collectively heading into the 2024 season.
"I think it can give us a big boost in a lot of different ways. We're trying to be as efficient teachers as we can," Schwartz said. "We're trying to make the best use of our time. We don't want to waste players' time. We don't want to be inefficient. Those walkthrough rooms, that weight room just dials that up a little bit. So, we owe a great thanks to Jimmy and Dee (Haslam) for making that commitment because that was a major commitment. It's going to make a big impact in the season."
