Former Chicago Blackhawks trainer finds new home with UW-Platteville football

It's barely 7 a.m. on a rainy September morning, but Paul Goodman is already getting after it. 

UW-Platteville's new football strength coach is moving like a dynamo through the Pioneers' early morning workout in the Pioneer Activity Center, high-fiving players, handing out advice on creatine supplements and modifying exercises on the fly to help players work around injuries. He's one of the boys, outfitted in team workout gear and orange-and-white Nike high-tops, the iconic scene of Rocky Balboa thrusting his arms in triumph on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art tattooed on his right forearm. 

"This is where you get better, in this moment," Goodman shouts as barbells clang around him and hip-hop music blares. "This is your time to get better. This is where the dirty work gets done, in the dark. Let's have a day!"

Goodman has been on the job for only a few weeks, but he's already established himself as a key figure in the Pioneers' push toward a WIAC championship and a third straight playoff appearance. The man knows what he's doing. He spent 17 years as a strength coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, worked as a strength coach with the University of Wisconsin football and men's hockey teams and single-handedly established the University of Vermont's first strength program for athletes. He was named the 2021 National Strength and Conditioning ...