Jared CohenEvery athlete dreams of playing in college and then ultimately as a professional. What goes unnoticed is the work behind the scenes that it takes to make it. Talent and genetics alone won’t get you there, it is how you train your body.
People around Phoenix know the Murphy family well. Trent Murphy, a former Brophy Bronco and Stanford football standout, was selected 47th overall by the Washington Redskins in this past 2014 NFL Draft. He was an all-conference performer and was Stanford’s first consensus All-American defensive player since 1974.
Kayli Murphy was a women’s basketball standout at Saint Mary’s High School as well as under Charli Turner Thorne for Arizona State. She then player professionally in Germany for a year.
Youngest brother Connor, having only played football for a short time and spent most of his youth playing basketball, is going into his junior year at Brophy and is already regarded as one of the state’s top prospects for the 2016 class. Already holding offers from Stanford and ASU, he is poised for a breakout season for the Broncos.
What do they all have in common other than them being siblings? They are fantastic athletes that trained in their own back yard experiencing the Murphy Circuit, which is displayed by Connor in the video above. Their father Jerry Murphy is a blue collared weight lifter who has called strength training his life for as long as he can remember. He puts his kids through what he calls the “old man workout.” Working as a plumber, Jerry Murphy has brought home countless old broken water heaters which he uses as part of this circuit. They are used to prowl through, pick up and throw and he has also welded handles on some to carry across their yard. It’s a unique form of training that Jerry calls “functional strength training.”
This circuit has paved the way for Trent Murphy as he now enters his rookie season for the Redskins. Already in camp, reports have come out that he has been unblockable. Jerry Murphy is quick to mention that it is his circuit that has provided the strength and toughness needed for Trent but it was also the great strength staff at Stanford led by Shannon Truley that have taken him to another level. Jerry also mentions that younger brother Connor is already bigger and stronger than Trent was when he was 16.
