As addressed last month, injury can end a players season or simply hurt their effectiveness. Either way it is something we all want to avoid. By understanding how the following issues can affect your athletes and addressing these issues, we can help our athletes stay healthy and performing at their best. Ankles: Tight/short calf muscles…
Sports injuries, or injuries that occur in athletic activities, can result from acute trauma or from overuse of a particular body part. The key is to be proactive to reduce the chances of injuries. We know that not all injuries can be prevented even with proper training and techniques but we want to reduce the…
What is the goal of your training? Does what you’re having your athletes do actually accomplish that goal? You can get in shape trying to get fast, but you don’t get fast trying to get in shape. The science of it deals with the anaerobic energy systems versus the aerobic energy system. Speed requires a…
Going into the summer, there is one topic that we feel gets lost in translation but may be more important than any other thing you tell them leading into summer. On summer vacation, your athletes won’t lift every day. They won’t run every day. They won’t jump every day. However, they will eat every day….
Mechanics produce efficiency, and efficiency produces speed. There is a caveat to this: Speed exposes flaws. Recall one of the most fundamental training formulas: Speed x Strength = Power This article addresses the first factor, speed. In our experiences, we have observed that speed without control is inefficient and subsequently not productive. The challenge in…
Do you want your athletes to run faster or jump higher? Then get their hips right. Do you want them to hit farther or kick harder? Then get their hips right! It’s all in the hips. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to dunk or spike, go yard or upper 90, if an athlete wants…
Winter is here and it provides its own set of unique challenges. Cold weather, holiday meals, and vacation time disrupt our schedules, workouts, and typical calorie intake. We all have to take steps to make the disruption as minimal as possible. Tip 1: Don’t take a vacation on your diet! There are plenty of occasions…
Perception is reality, youth athletes often lack the passion for training. And often females struggle more with the training aspect of playing a sport than males. Two of the biggest challenges we see in athletes during training: The Question: “Why are we doing this, we would never do this in a game?” Lack of effort…
A legendary strength and conditioning coach asked an aging professional basketball player how he would know when it was time to retire. His immediate response was, “when I lose my first step.” Speed starts with the start. Like drinking plenty of water, first step quickness is essential. Training for first step quickness must not be…
The paradigm of the past said pre-pubescent children should not perform strength training due to the load, risk of injury, spinal compression and fears such as stunted growth or damaged joints. Even further back it was thought that strength training was not good for certain athletes as it would actually hinder their ability to be…