Cal High alumnus Anthony Lomando has taken his love of sports to a whole new level, and he has a Super Bowl ring to prove it.

Lomando, a 2000 Cal graduate, is the assistant strength and training coach of the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. This season marked Lomando’s fourth with the Broncos.

“I remember seeing the players’ happiness and joy in winning the game after all the hard work and effort the put in,” Lomando wrote in an emal. “Especially the vets and future Hall of Famers like Peyton (Manning) and DeMarcus (Ware). That was cool to share that with those guys.”

Lomando’s career began at the University of Arizona, where he started his studies. He later transferred to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and graduated with a degree in kinesiology.

After college he launched his career in sports training by interning overseas with Athletes Performance, now known as EXOS. At EXOS, Lomando trained under Luke Richardson, who aided in Lomando getting a foot in the door in the NFL. After a few years, Richardson received a job offer with the Jacksonville Jaguars and brought Lomando along.

After a couple of years with Jacksonville, Lomando followed Richardson to Denver, where he has worked ever since.

But before hitting the big leagues, Lomando was part of the Grizzly football program during his four years at Cal (1996-2000).  In fact, Lomando was part of the first varsity football team in school history to beat Monte Vista in 1999.

“Beating Monte Vista was a big deal at the time,” Lomando said in a phone interview “The fact that it was on the road just made it crazier. Back then Cal was considered the doormat of EBAL for easy wins.”

Lomando remembers Cal fondly in light of his recent successes.

“I really credit the coaches at Cal at the time for all the work they did for us,” he said.

Since then, Cal football and Lomando have taken huge leaps forward. Cal now consistently beats Monte Vista, and Lomando works alongside professional football players daily.

A typical day at work for Lomando varies depending on whether it’s football season or not. In the offseason, he works with players on movement and strength training. His main job is to prepare players for offseason workouts and get injured players on the road to recovery.

Lomando feels the public only sees the draft picks. But he gets to work with all players, including undrafted free agents. They happen to be Lomando’s favorites to work with and watch develop. To him, they are the most motivated.

“I know it sounds cliché, but the undrafted players are the best to work with because we get to teach them how to be pros,” Lomando said. “These guys work as hard as anyone else to be there.”

During the NFL season, Lomando monitors each player’s body composition and general readiness for the upcoming season.  He works one-on-one with players on recovery and pre-game workouts, as well as stretching during the games.

“I really enjoy not only helping young guys develop but also helping the veterans have a resurgence in their careers,” he said.

Not only does he get to work with the players, but also gets to work under Broncos executive John Elway and his family.

“The Elways are all about tradition, extremely family oriented. They really take care of their employees,” he said.

In order to get where he is today, Lomando  reached out a lot to get advice from those already in the field. He began by writing letters to MLB and NFL strength coaches for guidance.

Lomando contributes this networking to his success. Being able to learn from those that have been there is one of the main reasons Lomando believes he is part of the NFL today.

“This’ll be my eighth year in the NFL and I’m still learning. The moment you think you’ve figured it out, is the moment you stop growing,” said Lomando.