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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? let him do anything with his legs for six months, and I thought that was ridiculous." Brad Arnett making an impact for athletes by Jeff Seisser Plagued by injuries, Beaver only played about half of his freshman season. But after training with Arnett for five weeks, he was back at full strength. Later that fall Beaver went on to have one of the greatest seasons in Warhawk football history, rushing for 2,420 yards and leading UW-Whitewater to its first of seven consecutive Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl appearances. photos by Jeff Seisser and Leah Thyne ring with the Badgers and leading them to the 1994 Rose Bowl title. But before Arnett and Panos could even open their business, they hit a snag. "When we were going through the building process our project supervisor didn't think it was important to get zoning permits approved before we started construction, so they shut us down for a couple of months," said Arnett. "I really couldn't do anything, so I started volunteering time at UW-Whitewater." As fate would have it the head strength coach at the time, Steve Brown, was leaving to take a position with Velocity, one of NX Level's competitors. Arnett speaking at the Bob Berezowitz Student Athletic Complex dedication. F ormer UW-Whitewater football standout Brad Arnett went from playing football to training players. The owner of NX Level Sports Performance in Waukesha, Arnett now trains some of the best football players and athletes in the state. Arnett played with the Warhawks from 1990 through 1993, earning second-team All-WIAC honors in 1993. He graduated from UW-Whitewater in 1995 with a degree in corporate communications and fitness health. NX Level Sports Performance covers areas such as building the body, increasing 16 WARHAWK MONTHLY speed, enhancing cardiovascular health, improving self-confidence, and building a work ethic that remains with you for life. Arnett was a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Minnesota from 1996-2000, before moving on to the University of Arizona in 2000 to become the Wildcats' head strength and conditioning trainer. In 2005, Arnett met former University of Wisconsin and Buffalo Bills star Joe Panos through a mutual friend while working at the University of Arizona. Panos played one year at UW-Whitewater — a year before Arnett arrived — before star- "Every summer I have a handful of current UW-Whitewater players coming in," Arnett said. Arnett continues to train arguably the biggest up-and-comer in the National Football League, Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt, a candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. "He came in as a junior in high school and we formed a great relationship," said Arnett of his first meeting with Watt. "He was very goal-oriented and stuck to the program and believed in it, and it helped open a lot of doors." Some of Arnett's other clients include former Wisconsin Badgers and current NFL players DeAndre Levy of the Detroit Lions, Chris Maragos of the Seattle Seahawks, David Gilreath of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brady Ewing of the Atlanta Falcons, and Kevin Zeitler of the Cincinnati Bengals, among others. "It's a lot of fun training professional athletes," Arnett added. Arnett is the father of four boys, and it's one of the reasons he chose to leave Arizona and return to his home state. "I enjoyed my job, but when you get involved in college athletics it's tough to be really good at your other job and that's a husband and a dad," said Arnett. "I was never home and literally I saw my kids on Sundays. "I looked at this as an opportunity to please both my family and continue to do what I love as a career." Arnett credits his former football coaches, Berezowitz and Bruce Bukow- ski, a former defensive coordinator at UW-Whitewater, for his early success. This past September, Arnett was honored with speaking at the dedication of the Berezowitz Student Athletic Complex, renamed in honor of Arnett's former head coach Bob Berezowitz. "All the coaches were very good about staying on top of us and keeping in touch, even past playing football and graduation," said Arnett. "I had really good role models at UW-Whitewater." 2012 WIAC Football Attendance "Coach (Bob) Berezowitz called me in and we met with Paul Plinske, and they asked me to be the interim strength coach to finish out the school year," Arnett said. "We ended up opening later in May, and that's what I've done since." School Season Attendance UW-Whitewater 37,760 UW-Platteville21,160 UW-Eau Claire 16,908 UW-La Crosse Arnett could be credited with saving the career of former Warhawk star running back Justin Beaver. 10,506 UW-Stout9,740 UW-Stevens Point 8,347 UW-River Falls "Justin's and my relationship first started when I was doing that interim at Whitewater. The first week I was down there Coach Berezowitz said he had a kid he wanted me to look at with chronic hamstring issues," recalled Arnett of his first meeting with Beaver. "He said the doctors wouldn't 7,764 UW-Oshkosh7,460 17