For a decade now, Six Zero Strength + Fitness has been increasingly asserting itself as one of, if not the premiere training and recruit development centers in the state of Colorado. Middle schoolers, high schoolers, JuCo products — it doesn't matter. Kids and young adults from all across the state flock to Six Zero's 12,000 square-foot facility in Centennial to hone their craft and develop themselves as football players.

In addition to his trusted team of coaches, the main man behind this operation is owner and head coach Matt McChesney, who was Colorado's first commit for the Class of 2000. McChesney played for the Buffs through 2004 and later embarked on a career in the NFL, eventually retiring in 2010.

After his playing days, he felt a passion for coaching, but on his own terms.

"I knew I wanted to coach but I didn’t want to do the G.A. route...when Jon Embree turned me down for a job and [current Denver Broncos Head of Strength and Conditioning] Loren Landow told me that in this business you kill what you eat and he didn’t think I could hunt, it motivated me pretty fucking fast."

Fast forward 10 years and that motivation has more than yielded dividends for McChesney, who gravitates countless recruits and talents to Centennial.

Most athletes that attend his classes, workouts or camps are out the door pretty quick. The type of environment that McChesney and Co. preside over isn't for everyone.

"We run two out every three guys out," McChesney said. "...I’m hard on guys, I’m trying to make them quit, I don’t listen to their parents’ bullshit about how good their kid is. Everybody’s kid is the best. I tell them the truth. If I don’t think they’re a Division I player I’m going to tell them — that doesn’t mean they can’t do it, it just means they need to work."

"I need guys who walk in the room — like Reece Attebury did when he was 15 years old — and say ‘this is what I want, help me get it. And I go ‘OK, let’s go’ and that’s what we do."

For the guys that can hang, the hard work is worth it.

"Kole Taylor gets into the program with me — he’s a 6-foot-7, 260-pound tight end that can run and has good hands and catch radius," McChesney said. "He came out here six or seven months ago, we put him through a workout...Kole’s always been 6-foot-7 and 260 pounds, he’s always ran a 4.5 or 4.6, he’s always been able to jump — the difference is I know how to present guys...He went from zero offers to close to 30."

The method of the madness stems a lot from McChesney's demeanor and outlook that for offers to start coming into play for a given recruit, a correct attitude needs to intersect with the desire to get better via rigorous training and an indefatigable eye on the prize.

"[If you] look at the guys in the room we have, they’re not special, I’m not special — it’s just work," he said. "It’s understanding that we’re not as good as we think we are...The guys who are man enough to handle that and don’t need told how good they are every five minutes, they usually get what they want. The kids that walk in here with ego who need their backs scratched and comfort dogs — I can’t help them."

Part II of CUSportsNation's interview with coach Matt McChesney will be published tomorrow morning, Friday July 12.