The Man Behind the Badger Basketball Scenes: Erik Helland

If you look at the end of the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball bench, you will see a man with a shaved head and a look of focus and intensity. He is not wearing a suit or even a jersey, but a Wisconsin Badgers polo. The man is Erik Helland, known as “Dutch” to friends. Helland is the director of strength and conditioning for all of Wisconsin’s athletics and works directly with the basketball program.  He is in his fourth season with the Badgers. Helland has been a part of possibly the greatest run in the program’s history the last few years.  I was fortunate enough to interview Helland in person as he harvested a doe after hunting at a friend’s house this past week.

The Beginning

Erik Helland grew up in  Edgerton, Wisconsin, which is near Madison and boasts about 5,000 people. He graduated from UW-Eau Claire in 1987 with a degree in Physical Education and a minor in coaching. According to Helland,  there was no such thing as Exercise Sports Science degrees at the time. He had enjoyed powerlifting from a young age and started to read literature on how to train athletes in strength and conditioning.

Helland blazed his own path towards a career in strength and conditioning. During his undergrad years at UW-Eau Claire, the sports teams didn’t have a strength coach. After seeing the amount of time that Helland put into his work in the weight room and studies, one of his professors recommended that he work with the Eau Claire’s sports teams. There was no way he could turn that opportunity down. That was the beginning into the strength and conditioning world for Helland.

After graduating from college, Helland and college roommate Andy Learn took work in a Chicago health club. He took a leap of faith and contacted the legendary Al Vermeil, the head strength and conditioning coach for the Chicago Bulls. Vermeil is the only strength coach to win a championship ring in professional basketball and football. He is also the brother of Dick Vermeil, the famous NFL head football coach. In 1987 by telephone, Helland pitched his thirst of knowledge for the career field and the opportunity to learn from Vermeil for little to no money.

Chicago Years

Whatever he said must have worked; Erik Helland was able to land an assistant strength coach position with the Chicago Bulls in 1988. I asked Helland what was the most important thing he learned from Al Vermeil. He responded with, “Al taught me to surround yourself with the best people and information you can to learn and be comfortable.” Helland mentioned how Vermeil would read up on new exercises or techniques in strength and conditioning that he felt would be beneficial.  If he didn’t understand something or wanted more information, he would pick up the phone and call the author of the article. He served as an assistant from 1988 until 2001 with the Bulls before receiving the head job in 2001.

Helland was the head strength coach from 2001-2013 in Chicago. Helland has worked with some of the best athletes in the world, from Michael Jordan and Ed Nealy to Derrick Rose. He was involved with rehabbing Derrick Rose’s ACL as well as Meniscus. When asked what he cherished most about his experience in Chicago, Helland was quick to answer. “Having the opportunity to be a part of a dynasty. I also valued all the great people and relationships I made along the way.” He had many coaches and players he was able to build relationships with other his tenure.

He mentioned a few of the guys that were his favorite to work with. They included John Paxson, who at the time was a player for the Bulls and is currently the Vice President of basketball operations. He also mentioned how, “ Will Perdue was a super good dude, I actually lived with him for a time in Chicago.” Will Perdue was a center that won four NBA championships with the Bulls.

Favorite Athlete to Work With

I asked Helland who his favorite athlete of all-time to work with was, and to my surprise it was a player you would never have thought of. It wasn’t Michael Jordan, Derrick Rose, or Jimmy Butler. It was Omer Asik. Asik is seven feet tall, weighs 275 pounds and played for the Bulls from 2010-2012. Helland raved about Asik and his abilities. “Believe it or not he was the second fastest player on the Bulls roster behind Derrick (Rose).” He also mentioned his intangibles, “He was smart, a hard worker, talented, and could move very well for a man that size.”

Helland mentioned how you could teach guys a certain technique and it would take them multiple reps to get it right. Not Asik. According to Helland, “Omer would instantly do it right, it was insane how fast he could pick things up.  He would consitently surprise me on a daily basis.” He also mentioned how Asik tore his ACL, an injury that would take at least six to seven months to heal from. In four month after tearing his ACL, Asik’s numbers were significantly better than they were before the injury.

On to Wisconsin

After talking about his time in Chicago, I finally asked why he left for Madison.  He said that Wisconsin actually called him and he loved what Bo Ryan was doing with the program. He also mentioned he loved the type of kids that Wisconsin recruited because they aren’t five star recruits. These are the kids that are going to work hard. But the major reason according to Helland was, “The opportunity to come back home”. Once he got to Madison, he saw how his job instantly changed. He was still the head strength coach for a prominent organization, but the job had definitely changed. When asked what the difference was between coaching professionals versus college athletes his answer was very specified.

“In the pro game I was there to control chaos. I had to manage many different kinds of people coming from many different situations. I could have a 19-year-old kid trying to develop into the next superstar, or a 40-year-old veteran just trying to make the roster. The pro game was more about managing individual maturity and economic factors. ” Working in the college game has allowed Helland to return to the basics of strength and conditioning and focus more on training. “Working with college athletes is much more structured. It’s 90 percent working with athletes and ten percent managing situations.”

Current Badgers

When asked about the strongest or most fit Badgers, Helland couldn’t pin down any one player. He highlighted the whole group. Helland believes that the Badgers as a whole are very fit and hardworking. He mentioned how they do the little things right and have good habits. “Habits are the most important thing. If you do everything right and put the time in you should expect to overachieve. That’s why I love these kids, they put the time in. They aren’t five star recruits, but they do more than the other guys and that shows by our recent success of two Final Fours followed by a Sweet Sixteen.”

When asked which player’s effort in the weight room has transcended to the court, he wouldn’t name anyone at first… “All our guys work hard and from where they’ve started have made great jumps in ability. I don’t care about big sexy athletes; if you take shortcuts and don’t work for it you will fail some point down the road. This could be at the college or professional level.” Finally he dropped a name, “Zak Showalter is one of our hardest workers.  He works his butt off in the weight room and on the court. It doesn’t surprise me since he was a former walk-on. He is the epitome of Wisconsin basketball, making the right plays and doing it the right way.”

After trying to learn more about some of the hardest workers on the team, I tried to find more inside information on who could potentially make some noise for the Badgers in the future because of his work ethic. Without hesitation Helland said, “Aleem Ford!” He mentioned how he was not heavily recruited. Ford works hard and has that chip on his shoulder. “He’s one of those guys that you hear about that looks really good in practice and then becomes a big name in a couple of years.” Helland mentioned how Ford is smart, hardworking, and has a ton of athletic ability. He also mentioned the continued development of D’Mitrik Trice and Ethan Happ and how much more success they could have in the future.

Athletic Success

Erik Helland draws on thirty-plus years of experience in the weight room. When asked what the main goal should be for every athlete in their training, Helland responded, “To remember it’s a process. Work hard consistently and correctly and you should see a linear progression that can accelerate the more you put into it.”

I asked him what his main focus of strength is in a sport like basketball and he gave me a really simplistic answer. “Get the guys moving. Make them stronger, but at the same time more functional as well as flexible. I’m working with longer lankier guys who aren’t as naturally strong as football players, but don’t need to be to excel in the sport. In basketball it’s all about being functionally strong as well as flexible.”  

I concluded the interview asking Helland what tips he would give younger athletes when it comes to the weight room. “Start young!” he exclaimed. “But the biggest thing is find good guidance with someone who knows what they’re doing. You need to have someone that knows the right way to train and lift weights.” He also stressed how athletes should never sacrifice technique for more weight because that can only lead to problems down the road.

Next: Wisconsin Football: Badgers continue to move forward despite coaching changes

The Future is Bright

There is no doubt that Helland is one of the best strength coaches not only at the college level, but in the professional ranks as well. He is the man behind the scenes of Wisconsin’s  deep tournament runs. He helps make these athletes as good as possible and loves every minute about it. While interviewing him, I got the sense that he had no doubt in his mind that under Greg Gard this program will be in great hands for years to come. This is because Wisconsin does everything the “Right Way”. On Wisconsin!