CENTENNIAL

For about 15 to 20 NFL players, it's another home away from home. This time of year, the Velocity Sports Performance Center bridges the gap between the end of the season and the opening of offseason conditioning programs (April 2 for the Broncos).

It's a place to get away from official team business and still mean business somewhere besides the team's facility.

Several Broncos have come through its doors, as have other pros, many with local ties, to work with Loren Landow, the facility's sports performance director, and his staff.

Still others trying to reach the next level prepare for the national scouting combine and their individual pro days side-by-side with the pros at the 3 1/2-year-old building, just up the road from Broncos headquarters near Centennial Airport.

"I like Loren because he doesn't kill us," said Tennessee Titans tight end Bo Scaife, a Mullen High School graduate. "It isn't the time of year we need to be killed and we can focus on specific training for what we all do for our jobs on the field. So it's nothing like a boot camp; it's real laid-back. But we work hard."

Made-to-order workouts

One of the first items on Landow's checklist when he meets with the players in January is to get a feel for their playing situation the previous season, including the number of snaps, their age and injury status.

Someone such as Tom Nalen, a Broncos center who's a regular client, might only need to restore range of motion after a hard season.

In contrast, Chris Kuper, a Broncos guard, played only minimally in 2006 but will be shooting for a starting job next season and will need to have his body geared for that challenge.

"Early offseason, you want to keep it interesting," Landow said. "You want to start developing a good, general base of fitness and you just want to make sure they don't get out of shape because once they're working with their team, they're going to be working full-bore. So my goal is to get them healthy, get them in good shape and just work on the things that might have been taken away from them during the season."

Each case is different. And in the instance of Trevor Pryce, a Baltimore Ravens defensive end, his commitment goes beyond stay-in- shape mode.

"Once you get up in years in the NFL, you really need the structure of the offseason being planned every second for you from a working- out standpoint," he said.

And because Pryce is a nonparticipant in the Ravens' offseason program after a decade with the Broncos, he counts heavily on Velocity.

Pryce supplements his workouts with mountain biking, yoga and twice-weekly soccer games. But he also credits Landow and Co. for his remarkable comeback season in 2006 that included 13 sacks at age 31.

"The only thing I told Loren was, look, you make me look sexy, I'll play well. That's all I care about," Pryce said. "And before I left, I was the lightest I had been. I was 278 pounds when I left. When I got to Baltimore, after three weeks of eating all the good food they have, I was 290. But regardless, when I left, I was pretty damn sexy. And the football was a byproduct of my sexiness."

Pryce did extensive stretching and lower-body work, and he curtailed some of the running he had done while with the Broncos, though Landow at times makes him "run like a dog," too.

Pryce even incorporated squats into his routine, something he never had been comfortable doing before because of the wear and tear on his knees. He does them now because he has altered the way the exercise is performed.

"Loren actually timed me in the 40 at times and I think I ran a 4.68 (seconds) one day and I was like, 'Holy cow,' " Pryce said.

Peak performance

Velocity Sports Performance has locations in 32 states throughout the United States and Canada.

And while all skill levels train there for a variety of sports, a burgeoning part of the business is helping pro and college athletes reach peak performance.

In April, five NCAA players who worked out at the Centennial facility - a smaller building in the chain also is located in Evergreen - were picked in the NFL draft.

That group included the University of Colorado's Jeremy Bloom (Philadelphia Eagles) and Joe Klopfenstein (St. Louis Rams), Oklahoma's Chris Chester (Ravens), North Dakota's Kuper and Michigan State's Domata Peko (Cincinnati Bengals).

Two University of Texas players, running back Selvin Young and guard Kasey Studdard, are training there this year, along with Oklahoma linebacker Zach Latimer and Colorado players Brian Daniels, Mark Fenton and Abraham Wright.

"The most important thing is that Loren has a plethora of experience," said Craig Domann, a Colorado Springs-based agent who has sent several clients to Velocity. "And because of that, he doesn't necessarily help everyone the same, he helps everyone in the way that's going to help them through their weaknesses and hopefully, show well at the combine."

Keeping it interesting

The 71,000-square foot building where all the work takes place resembles a converted airplane hangar and includes a little of everything. There are two volleyball courts, an indoor soccer field, a basketball court, a four-lane sprint track and a small artificial-turf football field.

And Landow will make use of those playing surfaces, often in unusual ways, to keep things interesting.

One day recently, Broncos tackle Erik Pears, Nalen, Kuper and Joel Dreessen of the Houston Texans were among a group playing indoor soccer during their cool- down period between running and lifting sessions.

But Landow is just as apt to strap stretch bands around the ankles of offensive linemen and have them doing lateral movement exercises such as kicking around a ball, which helps their footwork.

They'll play basketball - with no rebounding to avert potential contact injuries.

"We do alternative stuff to what we do every day when we're at the facility," said free-agent guard Cooper Carlisle, a starter the past two-plus seasons with the Broncos. "It's a nice break."

The facility will start getting busy again in midsummer, just before training camp for the NFL regulars who train there.

By that time, Pryce should attain his Justin Timberlake-like goal of bringing sexy back for 2007.

"Tommy Nalen's been playing the game since it was invented. And having gotten to this point playing at such a high level at his age, how is it not helping?" Pryce said about the experience training at Velocity.

"I played at one of the highest levels of my life. How can it not help? So I actually came in earlier than I did last year."

Pro performance

Some notable NFL players who have trained at Velocity Sports Performance since its opening in 2003.

Player Pos Team

Tyler Brayton DE Oakland

Mike Anderson RB Baltimore

*Tra Thomas OT Philadelphia

Mike Rucker DE Carolina

Trevor Pryce DE Baltimore

Chad Brown OLB Pittsburgh

Tom Nalen C Broncos

Gus Frerotte QB St. Louis

Alex Smith TE Tampa Bay

D.J. Hackett WR Seattle

* Now goes by William Thomas

Get your body started

Loren Landow has been training athletes of all ages and abilities for the past decade. Four key components comprise the cornerstones of his training.

• Speed: A product of rhythm and coordination of the arms and legs. Skipping helps tempo patterns for sprint mechanics.

• Power: Learning how to leverage the muscles and skeletal system to produce maximum force in the least time. Work on proper limb position and learn to decrease reaction.

• Agility: The ability to accelerate, decelerate, change direction and reaccelerate. Body awareness and proper body angles are key.

• Coordination: Relaxing and being more fluid. Practice a spectrum of motor skills that transfer to sports.

Broncos' offseason schedule

• April 2: Offseason conditioning program begins.

• April 28-29: Draft.

• May 16-18, May 21-24: Passing camp.

• June 6-8, June 12-14: Team minicamp.

• July 10-12: Team minicamp.

• July 26: Training camp opens.

rasizerl@RockyMountainNews.com

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