WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - For seven years, Wally Becker has been a member of the Purdue strength & conditioning staff. While his title is associate director of strength & conditioning, to the soccer team, he means much more than the label.
"Wally is the ultimate hype man." – #44 Marisa Bova
"Wally pushes you to be the best version of yourself." – #35 Sarah Griffith
"Wally has always been there for us inside the weight room and out." – #7 Brady Riley
"Wally always has a positive vibe when he walks into a room and makes us bring out the best in ourselves." – #10 Ena Sabanagic
"Wally is motivating. He really wants to see us succeed in everything we do and wants to help us get better." – #24 Ally Mussallem
As the Purdue strength & conditioning coach for soccer and track & field, Becker wears many hats. "I'm not just a weight room-only coach. I'm out there on the field," he said. "I'm getting them faster and conditioned through speed and agility."
Becker is always looking to develop the complete athlete. But what does that mean?
It means making them resilient to injury, building their lower-body strength, teaching proper acceleration and deceleration mechanics and getting them fit.
"He can be tough, but that comes with the territory. He wants to see us succeed," said sophomore defender Grace Walsh. "But at the same time, he's very encouraging and positive and just wants us to do our best."
Becker's encouragement extends beyond the weight room. In fact, you can find him on the sidelines of every home soccer game.
"For me, I'm always there early," he said. While he helps the team warm-up before the game, Becker stays on the bench until the referee blows the final whistle. "During the game I'm basically just a cheerleader – there to motivate and support the players."
He has an eye for the game as well, after he started playing soccer when he was eight years old. Primarily a defenseman, his favorite position was "whatever position my coach told me to play."
As a Boilermaker, Becker is a true member of the team. He's around the players all-year-round, including over the summer when NCAA regulations withhold coaches from attending workouts. During that time, you can find the soccer team with Becker, lifting and conditioning four days a week. "My goal there is to prepare them so they can withstand the rigors of preseason," said Becker.
Those months are also key in getting to know the incoming class.
"When new students come in, the first thing that I do is sit down with all of them and have an informal chat," Becker said. "It gives them an opportunity to get to know me and vice versa. It gives me a chance to learn what motivates them, what's their 'why', along with my expectations, which are very high for my athletes."
For Becker, it's about learning each student-athlete's story. The one-on-one conversations help to establish a baseline and build trust so they can progress together.
But Becker also understands that being a student-athlete can be demanding. "My advice for newcomers is always to utilize your resources here at Purdue. We have sport psychologists, dietitians, a great sports medicine staff and myself, too. We're all here to help you and are here for you."
Support and motivation are Becker's bread and butter. "Do better" is a phrase the players often hear from him. It resonated so much with Walsh that she has it written on her kitchen chalkboard, that way she and fellow roommates Julia Ware and Skylar Giacobetti read it every day.
"Helping them achieve their goals is why I do this," said Becker. "Many times we set a lot of small goals and then it's my job to help them attain those goals—to push them and drive them to achieve each one."
So who is Wally Becker?
"Wally is our biggest fan." – #6 Ryan Dudycha
"Wally has pushed us to limits we never thought we could reach." – #25 Maddy Duncan
"Wally is family." - #31 Skylurr Patrick
"Wally is the ultimate hype man." – #44 Marisa Bova
"Wally pushes you to be the best version of yourself." – #35 Sarah Griffith
"Wally has always been there for us inside the weight room and out." – #7 Brady Riley
"Wally always has a positive vibe when he walks into a room and makes us bring out the best in ourselves." – #10 Ena Sabanagic
"Wally is motivating. He really wants to see us succeed in everything we do and wants to help us get better." – #24 Ally Mussallem
As the Purdue strength & conditioning coach for soccer and track & field, Becker wears many hats. "I'm not just a weight room-only coach. I'm out there on the field," he said. "I'm getting them faster and conditioned through speed and agility."
Becker is always looking to develop the complete athlete. But what does that mean?
It means making them resilient to injury, building their lower-body strength, teaching proper acceleration and deceleration mechanics and getting them fit.
"He can be tough, but that comes with the territory. He wants to see us succeed," said sophomore defender Grace Walsh. "But at the same time, he's very encouraging and positive and just wants us to do our best."
Becker's encouragement extends beyond the weight room. In fact, you can find him on the sidelines of every home soccer game.
"For me, I'm always there early," he said. While he helps the team warm-up before the game, Becker stays on the bench until the referee blows the final whistle. "During the game I'm basically just a cheerleader – there to motivate and support the players."
He has an eye for the game as well, after he started playing soccer when he was eight years old. Primarily a defenseman, his favorite position was "whatever position my coach told me to play."
As a Boilermaker, Becker is a true member of the team. He's around the players all-year-round, including over the summer when NCAA regulations withhold coaches from attending workouts. During that time, you can find the soccer team with Becker, lifting and conditioning four days a week. "My goal there is to prepare them so they can withstand the rigors of preseason," said Becker.
Those months are also key in getting to know the incoming class.
"When new students come in, the first thing that I do is sit down with all of them and have an informal chat," Becker said. "It gives them an opportunity to get to know me and vice versa. It gives me a chance to learn what motivates them, what's their 'why', along with my expectations, which are very high for my athletes."
For Becker, it's about learning each student-athlete's story. The one-on-one conversations help to establish a baseline and build trust so they can progress together.
But Becker also understands that being a student-athlete can be demanding. "My advice for newcomers is always to utilize your resources here at Purdue. We have sport psychologists, dietitians, a great sports medicine staff and myself, too. We're all here to help you and are here for you."
Support and motivation are Becker's bread and butter. "Do better" is a phrase the players often hear from him. It resonated so much with Walsh that she has it written on her kitchen chalkboard, that way she and fellow roommates Julia Ware and Skylar Giacobetti read it every day.
"Helping them achieve their goals is why I do this," said Becker. "Many times we set a lot of small goals and then it's my job to help them attain those goals—to push them and drive them to achieve each one."
So who is Wally Becker?
"Wally is our biggest fan." – #6 Ryan Dudycha
"Wally has pushed us to limits we never thought we could reach." – #25 Maddy Duncan
"Wally is family." - #31 Skylurr Patrick