The clang of metal hitting metal, words like “squat”, “crunches” and “leg presses”, the grunts and groans as large people lift large weights—all are part of Jim Zielinski’s world.

Zielinski, Coach “Z” to those who know him, is NIU’s strength and conditioning coach, in charge of improving and refining the abilities of NIU athletes in all Division I sports.

A former Huskie footballer who took part in NIU’s 1983 California Bowl championship season, Zielinski’s current home turf is the weightroom tucked beneath the stands of Huskie Stadium.

Sitting casually in a gray T-shirt in one corner of the expanding weightroom, it’s obvious that the thickly muscled Zielinski has gained his knowledge of weights first hand. Recently, Zielinski has been sharing his expertise with some Huskies who usually don’t lift anything heavier than a basketball.

Despite the men’s basketball team’s successful 17-11 campaign last season, coach Jim Molinari’s players were often out-muscled against bulkier competition; enter Coach “Z” as the Huskies’ guru of girth.

“Coach Molinari said, ‘I want to get my guys stronger, a little bigger,'” Zielinski said. “Coach Mo has really put a greater emphasis on weight training because he knows his guys need a little more strength. He put a greater emphasis on getting the guys in here and that’s half the battle.”

Once the players were in the gym, Zielinski had to battle to convince the basketball players that lifting weights would not hurt their agility.

“That’s an old wive’s tale that makes it an education process for me, not only educating the coaches but the players, saying, ‘Hey, this is going to benefit you in the long run,'” Zielinski said.

“When they first came in they were a little nervous, they thought it might throw their shot off or make them muscle-bound, but they found out it’s totally a different story.

“They’re getting stronger, getting a little bigger, and getting a lot more confident. It was a learning process for them and now most of the guys like it.”

Zielinski credits Molinari with steering his players to the land of lift.

“The emphasis has been to get the guys bulkier, stronger and that’s been the emphasis since coach Molinari has been here. He’s a great coach to work with and he’s the one who has put the emphasis on weight training,” Zielinski said.

“When you go to different places you might have a coach who doesn’t put an emphasis on it (weight training) and then you’re battling. Some people think it’s not good for you, but coach Molinari sees the benefits, he sees his guys getting bigger and stronger.”

In addition to dealing with sometimes reluctant coaches, the 28 year-old Rockford native has to be flexible enough to design conditioning programs for five-foot gymnasts, seven-foot basketball players and everyone in between.

“Every sport requires a little different technique in lifting and emphasis placed on it,” Zielinski said. “You try to find the weaknesses in each individual and then you tailor a program for that individual and for that particular sport.”

Although Zielinski admits that the basketball players under his tutelage won’t set any lifting records, there is one area where they do out-perform the football players in the gym.

“They beat everybody in the vertical jump.”