by Vanessa Strobbe
Daily Lobo
He blows the whistle and more than 50 sweaty college football players stop exercising. All eyes fix on Mark Paulsen.
"That's a nice job today. You've got to be there for each other on these workouts. Put your hand on a guy's back who's doing pull-ups, make sure he extends his arms fully, and spot him from swinging. It makes it more fun," said Paulsen, UNM's director of strength and conditioning.
Paulsen's workout of the day for the UNM football team included a 33-minute weight lifting circuit including abdominal exercises, pull-ups, squats and power-cleans followed by more than an hour of sprint and agility drills.
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Paulsen has been training athletes for 19 years at UNM, and each year he has the same job.
"I have to get these guys in shape," he said, looking at the football team. "I have to get them ready for their sport and try to make them as all-around strong as they can be."
Lobo freshman football player Frankie Baca said Paulsen is perfect for the job because he's able to prevent athletes from coasting in their workouts.
"We're lucky to have him," Baca said. "He's a real motivating guy who keeps us intense in our workouts."
Paulsen's focus is to make every athlete achieve the most he or she is capable of, he said.
"I just love achievement," Paulsen said. "I want to see someone put their heart and soul into something, and I want them to see the fruits of their labor. It doesn't matter if it's with sports, even. I love seeing kids achieve in any arena, like academics, drama or anything."
Outside of athletics, Paulsen describes himself as a family man. He has a wife and four children he loves spending time with, he said. He doesn't have a problem skipping out on a game or practice if he has the chance to be there for his children.
"I'm in a period in my life that I'm really enjoying," Paulsen said. "I'm pretty much stress-free. I have a great time at my kids' functions, and I'm not going to be paranoid about missing something from UNM to see them grow up."
Paulsen, who earned his degree at the University of Kansas in physical education with a minor in education, takes his job and his life as it comes, he said.
"Time is flying so quickly," Paulsen said. "I have five years left to retire from this, but I'm not sure what I will do. I love my job and the uniqueness of it."
That uniqueness keeps his work from being boring.
"This is more than just a job in a cubicle," he said. "You invest so much into the athletes, and when you see them lose, it's an emotional downer."
The 6-foot-4-inch former Kansas Jayhawk football and track team member has always hated losing. That's what makes him perfect for the job, he said.
"I do this because of competition," he said. "You don't have to be real smart for the job, just competitive."
To stay competitive, Paulsen resides in UNM's Tow Diehm athletics facility most days from 6:30 a.m. until past 4:30 p.m., working with Lobo teams.
He said the main part of his job is to make sure athletes are staying with their scheduled workouts and not slacking.
"Once athletes know their routine, my job is to crack the whip and keep them focused," Paulsen said.
Jessica McIntyre, a javelin thrower for UNM, said Paulsen keeps athletics focused on what they should be doing. It's impossible to take it easy when he's around, and that's what helps Lobo athletes keep pushing themselves, she said.
"His intensity in the weight room is almost contagious," McIntyre said. "He creates an environment that makes you want to push yourself as hard as you possibly can."
Along with weightlifting routines, Paulsen assigns diets based on an athlete's needs for the ones who ask for or require it.
But that's not all he does. Paulsen said he trains athletes for something more than just getting them in shape.
"If they're motivated, they'll become overachievers," he said. "That same personality trait will make them successful in whatever it is they do."
Paulsen has worked with ex-Lobos Brian Urlacher, Danny Granger and Kenny Thomas, who all play professionally now. He said his job description doesn't say it, but it's just as important that he helps athletes with their bench press as it is to make them ready for life after college.
"I'm paid to produce good athletes, but I would rather be known for a combination of that as well as producing good people."
