Circus Training for Athletes

Yesterday I had the brief opportunity to spend a few minutes in Border's Book Store (which I wish that I could do more often).

I finally made my way to the sports section and came across a newly released book on training pitchers in baseball. Here is a summary of what I noticed:

• a few good lunge and reach progressions (adapted from the Gary Gray camp)
• mention of the chop and lift cable exericses (adapted from Gray Cook's methodology)
• some interesting research on the mechanics of throwing

There was obviously more but nothing else that peaked my interest. However, as I neared the end of the book I thought I would pick it up just as a resource to see what the author(s) training progression was and then at that moment when I turned the page I could not believe what I saw.

One of the author's had suggested along with exercise pictures that pitchers need to balance on both knees on a stability ball while performing shoulder exercises. It was right then when I instantly knew I wanted to put the book right back on the shelf!!

I thought our industry was past this circus training philosophy bu apparently this particular author is not. Don't get me wrong I am all about incorporating stability ball work into an overall program but not exercises that are extremely high risk and have no valid proof of actual benefit on the mound.

Just because an exercise looks hard and might be challenging doesn't mean it is at all appropriate to include in a training program.

A Common Mistake in Speed Training

I am excited to have the opportunity to present at the NSCA Sports Specific Conference and the NSCAA Conference in January. I will be speaking on the '5 Biggest Mistakes of Speed Training'. Below is mistake #4:

'Drill' rich and 'Situation' poor

Just what do I mean by this statement? The majority of speed development programs on the market today spend most of the time teaching athletes drill after drill. Yet there is little transfer to the actual game.

Are you overly biased in 'drill training' in your program? If so, you may be limiting your athlete's potential to get faster.

By including more task-oriented situational exercises into your program, the athlete will see a greater transer to their game as well as heightened levels of self-confidence!

Evaluated Experience

Last week I received a response from the post titled "It's not just about experience". This particular coach made the comment that after having coached for the past eight years, he believes he has dramatically improved without having anybody else evaluate him because he has tried to create multiple experiences for himself.

While I am sure some improvement has happened, it is a fact that individuals cannot effectively evaluate their own competencies. Why is this? Well, because our own incompetencies prevent us from identifying our own incompetencies.

In fact, we all (me included) have a bias towards overestimating our own abilities. Maybe it's becuase our friends don't tell us what they truly think. Or better yet, we all too often take credit for our success but point fingers for our failures.

The right kind of feedback is important if you want to continually evolve. Here are a few suggestions for having a friend or colleague evaluate your coaching:

1. Know Yourself- Identify your strengths and areas of weakness using a tool such as the InnerTactics Profile
2. Focus on the individual's actions not their character
3. Do you make it easy for your athlete's/client's to feel bad? Or do you make it easy for them to feel good by the end of the workout?
4. Are there clear objectives for each particular training session?
5. Is the workout a task-oriented environment?
6. How do you start and end each training session? What do you have them do? How do you want them to feel?
7. What is your communication style? (feeling, doing, or thinking biased)

These are just a few questions to help get you started. Get with a colleague this week and each of you evaluate the other. You will be amazed how this simple exercise can take your coaching to a completely different level!

It's not just about experience

Over the past few months I have heard the phrase about experience used in many of the more popular coaching and sports performance blogs:

"On coaching experience- is it the same thing repeated each year for ten years, or are you creating differenct experiences each year for ten years?"

I am paraphrasing here but I think that you get the idea. Well I am going to take it a step further. Quality coaching experience is even more than simply repeating the same experience over and over each year or even creating different experiences each year.

It is about EVALUATED Experience. In fact, here is the ultimate coaching question for you...

When was the last time that you had another coach evaluate one of your training sessions?

Without having another coach occasionally evaluate you, it is way too easy for you to stay biased in your training methods, no matter how much you continually read or add a new exercise to your workout.

I just recieved the latest newsletter from a Div. I college men's soccer program. The coach is an individual whom I highly respect. Although the team had an unsuccessful season compared to making it to the finals the previous three years, here are the section headers for his own coaching and team evaluation (my comments in italics):

• Here are the primary realities following the Fall season (be truthful to yourself and your athletes)
• Insights and Learning Points: (reflection/ could have's)
• The Path Ahead (future direction/ should be's)

As you can see being truthful to yourself is a MUST if you want to make yourself and your program better. If not, than you and your team will never have a sense of game reality.

He then spends some time reflecting on both the positives and negatives from the season as well as listing some 'could have done...'. This step is important because it let's both you and your players realize that success is a possible reality and allows you to identify those areas that are in your control that you did poorly in.

Last he makes a great transition from concrete changes in the upcoming offseason that will directly effect next years season. But he then spends some time playing the 'what if' game and the 'this team should be...' game. Painting these types of pictures in your athlete's mind is important because it helps to bring the impossible future to the possible present.

Take a few minutes during this holliday and go through your own evaluating experience before getting started into your Winter training sessions. It will be time well spent!

Economics of Coaching 101

Over the past few weeks I have received a number of emails from coaches and trainers worldwide wanting to know what are the keys to operating a succussful sports performance business. And before providing my opinion, I think it is important to first take a look at the bigger picture of business.

Just turn on your television to any station or pick up any newspaper and you will quickly find out that we are in a troubled economy. In fact, chances are that your own bank account is feeling the heat if you are even brave enough to take a look.

And just what is it all based upon? The Law of Scarcity, the Law of Supply and Demand, the Principle of Values, and the Principle of Influence. After over fifteen years of coaching , I believe these same four components apply to running a successful coaching business as well.

The image below represents each of the key success factors needed to sustain a competitive advantage:

1. Financial Capital (money, tangible assets)
2. Social Capital (trust, relationships, network)
3. Human Capital (skills, knowledge, education)
4. Experience Capital (variety, exposure)
5. Values Capital (self-esteem, self-identity)

Lacking in any one of these areas can keep you from operating a successful coaching practice. In fact, name two or three of your biggest competitors and list in which of these five areas are they the strongest and in which of these areas do they struggle the most. Next, perform the same exercise with your own coaching practice.

Over the next few posts I will go into greater detail in each of these areas.

Random Thoughts

I just got back from a morning workout with two of my clients, one a professional baseball player, and the other an extremely strong and fairly fit fifty year old businessman. It was during our training that I had the following random thoughts:

Our athlete's and clients don't need a process, they need a result.

Ask yourself what is your athlete's ultimate outcome in their sport ? What is your client's ultimate outcome and how do they see working out will help them achieve this?


Make it a team effort. Who can you bring on to your team that will add more value to your services? It's too tough to try and do it all alone!

Are you truly willing to take responsibility for producing results for your athlete or client?

Are you giving your athlete or client what they want or what they need? In other words, are you giving them a bandaid when they really need an operation?

We offer advice and even design programs for our clients, but do you also include accountability measures outside of your training program? if so, how?

My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE piece of Cardio Equipment

As many of you know I am hardly a fan of cardio equipment in gyms for varying reasons including keeping your psoas locked short while riding a recumbent bike to running on treadmills (way too many negatives to list here) to unwanted shearing forces on the knee using elliptical trainers.

However, I was recently introduced about a month ago by my good friend Paul Juris to an ARC Trainer created by Cybex. With two degenerative discs, an ankle injury, and now a partially torn meniscus from a car wreck, my body is sensitive to using cardio equipment as it leaves my back sore after a hard workout. So I was extremely skeptical when I first tried it out. Using the ARC three times a week I am now more fit than I have been in over six or seven years.

I still run short sprints, agility drills, and 110's with my athletes, but the volume is always limited. This piece puts virtually zero unwanted shear force on my lower body and I have felt great after every single workout! Better yet, I have used it with a few of my pro athlete's returning from injury as well as adult clientele who want to still train hard but their bodies have been torn down from their 'old football' days. Same result...no pain or unwanted shear force.

Okay so i know this sounds like a testimonial but it is rare that I promote equipment. I am so pumped about my own personal results and seeing it's benefit from working with my athlete's returning to play that I simply felt I must share the good news!

Take home message for coaches- If you presently use any sort of cardio equipment for recovery workouts, injury protocols, or fitness routines for athlete's with a history of injury, I guarantee you that no other piece of cardio equipment will even come close! I hear pro athlete's all of the time complaining about step mills and elliptical trainers bothering them than helping them in trying to get fit while returning from injury.

In fact, here is a scientific study comparing the biomechanics between the ARC and an elliptical machine:

http://www.cybexintl.com/Products/Data/Docs/350A/Arc%20Trainer%20vs%20Elliptical%20Study.pdf

Try one out and let me know what you think!

Developing Athletes

"Coaching releases talent, it does not create it."

All too often I think coaches (including myself) get caught up in the mindset that we are creating talent in young athletes. However, this is far from the truth! How are you releasing talent with your athletes?

Is it through a specific training system? A unique philosophy/methodology? Is it focused on a relationship first?

Kids and Lack of Sleep Report

Okay so I recently posted an a news report from NBC Nightly news and then tonight my wife calls my attention to another alarming report that can have SERIOUS implications on children. Here are some highlights from the report:

• Kids who do not get enough sleep are more likely to become obese
• Every additional hour of sleep in the 3rd grade can reduce the risk of obesity in middle school
• The breakpoint seems to be 9.5 hours
• example- so if 100 third graders get less than 9.5 hours of sleep each night, 20 of them will be obese by the 6th grade
• Bodyweight (under or over) of third graders at that time was not statistically significant as to the outcome of obesity by the time they get to 6th grade

Hey folks, make sure your young athletes and more importantly their PARENTS get the message of the importance of sleep! In case you missed it, here is the link to the video:

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=msnbc&vid=89c442a8-c211-4d28-8e59-5b4663762837

Persistance?

I just read an article on coaching that made the following statement:

"Persistance is the number one intelligent behaviour."

Specifically the article was discussing teaching mental toughness relative to young athletes. My thoughts are:

• Persistance is definately an important mental attribute.
• However, I know many athletes who are less talented and skilled than others but are unbelievably persistant. At the end of the day though they still lose the game.
• So should it be the #1 intelligent behaviour? I certainly do not think so!

Thoughts?

Reponse to the NCB Nightly News

I just received an email from a high school coach who posed some great questions that I think should be posted here:

• What is all of the training and work really for?


• Is it winning alone? Then have I wasted all of my time if we don't win a championship.


• What is it that we accomplish on a grander scale when we do that extra rep, run that extra sprint.


• If we develop the habit of sound work ethic, is that all over when the season ends?


• What do they carry with them into their future.


• What am I doing to train them for future success?

Coach Statom raises some important questions here that are great for every coach, including myself, to ask on a regular basis.

In fact, if any of you would be willing to answer these and email them to me I would love to share them here for other coaches, trainers, and therapists to learn from !

NBC Nightly News- Kids Now

Tonight on NBC Nightly News was a segment entitled 'Kids Now'. The story was about sports performance centers and training young athletes.

Specifically, how trainers are now being put in charge of a future college scholarship for athletes as early as age nine.

According to the staff at CATZ, the featured performance center, training these youth will give them an extra edge. It will give them the tools so that they can be successful and get into the school of their choice. (By the way, I am not sure this is good marketing as every athlete will not experience this.)

On a different note, a child psychologist was interviewed and his viewpoint is that we have created an environment that is all win or lose. He asks, at what price is winning everything or better yet for developing character? (I am finishing up an article on this and will post it here this week)

Here are my personal thoughts on the story:

• Our country is definitely all about winning. So much so that traveling youth competitive teams are as early as age 8! If we continue down this path we will ruin these young athlete's lives both on and off of the field. (more on this soon)
• The athletes shown were in definite need of fundamental movement skill training. But hey just about every kid in this country looks like that as well.
• One clip is shown of a high school male athlete attempting a lateral jump over a four foot high cushioned wall. He got over it but wow was it ugly. Not really sure how doing that will help him perform better.
• It's encouraging to hear a few personal stories of athletes being committed enough to train more than once per week. It is this kind of persistance that will give them the best CHANCE to get to the top

I am not very familiar with the CATZ center except for what I saw on tv tonight. But that is not the point of this post.

However, I am very familiar with other facilities and national training companies. There are many out there which are excellent and are truly impacting these young athlete's lives including Jason Beauparlant's facility in Mass., John Beyle's company in North Carolina, and Roger White's new facility in Detroit. (probably because each of these guys has a physical education background at two of them are PE teachers)

One particular facility that I know for sure 'gets it' is the Center for Athletic Performance founded by my good friend Scott Moody.

Yes it is about improving performance for young athletes, but he is taking it to a whole new level and making it more about developing the athlete as a whole person as well. In addition, he has formed a group that is creating an age based curriculum grounded in practical experience and research at his facility.

How is his facility doing this? The best advice I can give you is to checkout his website at http://www.capprogram.com/.

Oh ya by the way, if you did not see the program, here is the link:

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=msnbc&vid=25e58331-2fb5-4a97-95f5-1027799f8da0

Commitment

In 2002 I had an opportunity to first work with the Davidson College Men's Basketball program under coach Bob McKillop. It was during one of our initial conversations that he said he only wanted someone to work with his guys who was commited to a relationship. It was at that moment that I realized his coaching wisdom.

That year the team went on to win their conference and made it to the Big Dance. Since then, then have been the cinderalla team going in to the Big Dance and this upcoming season will have over half of their games televised. Not bad for a small college in Davidson, NC.

Why am I mentioning this story? I think it lends to a very important question for those who work with athletes.

Are your athlete's committed in their head or their heart?

It is when you can transform commitment from their head to their heart that true success and significance will start to appear.

How Are You Creating Connection? Part 2

Okay, when I got over 60 emails asking me to send them the outline of the talk that I mentioned in my earlier post, I figured I might as well post it here.

As I said earlier, connection is all about relationships, and there is no greater opportunity for connection than between an athlete and coach. Here's a really simple life principle:

"The greatest experiences in life involve other people."

There are three key points to be aware of when it comes to coaching and creating connection. Specifically relationships are:

1. Guided by trust- Does the athlete trust that you will help them achieve their goals and vision? Can they trust you with personal information that they might not even want mom or dad to know about?
2. Grounded in intimacy (In-To-Me-See)- Does the athlete feel like you are being present with them? Do they feel like you have an interest in them beyond there athletic ability? Or are you on your cell phone while they are training? There is a great quote that comes to mind that says: "You can't make the other fellow feel important in your presence if you secretly feel that he is a nobody."- Les Giblin
3. Grown in accountability- Do you have any accountability measures built in to your program? Are these solely performance based or do they challenge the athlete on a personal level as well.

How are you creating more instrinsic value for your athletes?

Are you getting enough of this?

It's argueably the most important performance principle but yet is the most ignored at the same time. In fact, most everything we do is designed to do the opposite! What am I talking about?

You are only as good as your body and mind's ability to recover

Last night I was in my bed at 8:15pm. Something I have not done in well over fifteen years!!! Although I did not go to sleep until a little before 9pm, I did not have the tv on nor did I read a book (too much stimulation for the brain).

Waking up at 5:45am this morning was great and wow did I feel rested and mentally ready to go! Here are a few links about the importance of sleep for athletes:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3076707/

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-like-an-olympian

If you think about it, designing a training program is all about proper application of stress. It's too easy to get caught up in the design of the program itself. If we are not careful, we may be doing more harm than good. Below are a few questions to think about when designing a training program for your athletes:

• How much sleep does your athlete get each night?
  
• What about the other events, demands, stresses, etc. that the athlete has throughout their day?
  
• Are there any upcoming major stressors such as tests, semester exams, etc.?


• What is your athlete's daily rhythm? When do they feel most energetic?
  

How are You creating 'connection'?

Coaches and therapists play one of the largest roles in athletic youth and even at times more important than mom or dad. All too often it is easy to focus on training the athlete and making sure that they get in a good workout. However, maybe they don't need that particular workout for that day. Maybe... they just need someone that they can trust and can connect with to listen.

This past weekend I got to give a talk about relationships and it was during my process of preparation that I immediately realized sports is a great analogy! Below was the take home point I made to the group. If you are interested in the outline just shoot me an email.

3 Defining Truths of Connection
"Americans are among the lonliest people in the world." George Gallup

1. People crave relationships


2. Sports creates relationships


3. Coaching is a relationship

Drop-Stop- & Go

I recently just read an article about the ability to change direction. While the author stated many of the traditional things to be aware of such as strength, rate of force development, proper force application of the leg, and upper body sway. HOWEVER... possibly the most important component was not even mentioned!
Force production is definitely important but for field and court athletes the ability to absorb force is just as crucial if not even more important!


As to the authors example of upper body sway and a rise and fall of the hips producing unwanted vertical movement during change of direction, just focusing on those specific body parts for strength and stability is like putting a bandaid on the problem!

The following are a few concepts that I use with athletes when developing their ability to change direction:

• Stopping is bending- particularly I use the phrase 'Drop-Stop- & Go'

• Use the inside leg to help decelerate the body- proper mechanics of deceleration will help setup the body to efficiently change direction and therefore possibly even eliminate upper body sway and unwanted vertical motion of the hips. Why?
  
  By using the inside leg you are now placing up to 50% less stress on the outside leg and the body does not have to compensate for such high loads and g-forces on only one leg
• Force Aborption based Plyos- one of the first stages when implementing a plyometric program is to focus on an athlete's ability to land properly and then land efficiently. The next step is to be able to come to a complete stop in under one second. Why?
  
  Research shows that the average ground contact time for field sports is between .85- 2.0 seconds. Just by adding this parameter alone in an athlete's program you may begin to see improvement on the field

These are only three of the top five coaching points used with athletes. I will post the other two soon.

If you train Professional Athletes here is some good advice

In yesterday's newspaper there was an article about Antoine Walker and his training habits. In fact, head coach Pat Riley has even publicly called him out due to his dissapointment in Walker's conditioning.

Anyway, if you are a coach who presently works with professional athletes take to heart the following advice that Coach Riley gives at the end of the editorial:

"Antoine plays hoops and has a trainer. The trainer should call me on the phone and say , 'What are your expectations? What are your expectations of a guy that is paying me, training him to get me ready for training camp?' And he never did."

Coaching is all about relationships, clarity, and communication. Being proactive in all three areas will only help you to prepare your athlete(s) to perform their best when their time comes.


Now I know that I biased this towards pro athletes but the same goes for working with young athletes as well. There is most likely no one who knows that young athlete better than you. Therefore, getting in touch with his or her sports coach will only help to give your athlete their best chance of success!

Latest Hop & Stop Test Results- Div. I Men's College Basketball

I recently tested a Division I Men's College Basketball team using the Hop & Stop test. I will be retesting them again here in ten days as well. My test notes are below:

Team Results

Team Hop Avg is 100%

• Force production test
  
• Goal should be for every player to score at least this number
  

Team Leap Avg is 102%

• Force absorption test
  
• This is an under performing score as the goal should be a minimum of 105% and ideally 107%

Symmetry scores for both tests should be as follows:

• 0-5 Green Zone (acceptable)
  
• 6-10 Yellow Zone (acceptable but needs attention)
  
• 11+ Red Zone (evaluate and address specific issues; at high risk of non-contact injuries)

Individual Notes

• 3 players scored above 10 in Hop Symmetry
• 3 players scored well below team avg. in Hop Test
• 4 players scored above 10 in Leap Symmetry
• 5 players scored poorly on at least one leg for Leap Test

I made a previous post for results with a Women's Div. III college soccer team which you can view here

The Danger of Variety

It seems that more and more coaches, trainers, and therapists are looking for the feel of 'NEW' and 'VARIETY' in their exercises.

While variety is important to keep the athlete/client interested and preventing the body from becoming adapted, we must make sure that the basic skills are mastered first.

Below is a great phrase that I recently heard from a quantum physics discussion that applies so true to training:

"Muscles/nerves that fire together wire together."

Summary

• Implement exercises in your program (warm-up on the field or court, in the weight room, etc) that 'Turn On' the right muscles for that movement. The most common example is getting the glutes to fire in quad dominant athletes.


• Repetions can be a good thing and are encouraged until the athlete can show mastery of a particular skill.


• I usually build our movement program around 6-8 exercises and add variety with caution, especially when working with young athletes.

Battle for the Ball Strength Program

Here is a short video showing a few basic exercises that young athletes can perform during their inseason.

The video is actually taken from an article titled 'How to Battle for the Ball' at http://www.fitnessforsoccer.com/. I will post the article here in the next few days.

What effect are you producing for your athletes?

Coaches are all too often judged solely by the results they do or do not produce. While at the pro and college level jobs are based on this same dynamic, there is another criteria that is just as important when it comes to preparing athletes to perform their best.

Coaching Efficacy
Efficacy is the ability to produce a desired effect. And for coaches this is critical as it is our job to create/build/design/support what matters most to or for the athlete, even if he or she disagrees with you.

A few reflective questions that I ask myself going into the start of the week include:

• Is the athlete following the best path right now in order to get the best result?
• If not why?
• What is not working or missing right now in their program that is slowing down their momentum towards personal success?
• Which area(s) need my immediate attention today/this week? (i.e. physical issues, environmental issues, inner game issues, etc.)

Asking yourself these questions will help you to get the best out of your athlete and yourself!

NFL Football Ref

Last week, Jon Reep was announced the winner of the tv show 'Last Comic Standing'. While I did not watch the season series, I did watch the final two episodes. Mainly because Jon is from the same town where my parent's use to live in Hickory, North Carolina, and his final act involved him discussing the NFL Carolina Panthers.

So just in case you missed it and are looking for a good laugh here it is below:

Communicating with your Athletes

Here's a great question to ask yourself...

Are your words counted or are they weighed by your athtetes?

Is your speed training biased?

Are you creating 'Mindful' training sessions?

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Ron Quinn, an associate professor at Xavier and also well known soccer coach.

During our discussion of young athletes we went down the path of being mindful versus being mindless. Below are four suggestions to help keep your athletes 'Mindful' and challenge their 'Inner Game':

• ask your athletes to tell you what are the similar skills involved in an old drill and a new one you are introducing
• ask your athletes what are the applicable principles of movement mechanics during a known drill
• ask your athletes to relate principles to the objective of an unknown or new skill/drill
• ask your players to relate the skill to a game specific situation

Single Leg Squats and 'Knee Dominant' Exercises

Yesterday I saw a video on what was classified as 'Knee Dominant' exercises. Of the four or five that were presented, two of them were not actually knee dominant at all!

What was even more amazing was that the athlete in the video was loaded with a substantial amount of weight while performing a single leg squat. However, the fact that the athlete could actually perform the rep was not the amazing part. Yes it displays a great amount of strength, but performance based strength is not about the amount of load. It is about generating TORQUE! (more on this topic in a future post)

This is why it is so important for coaches, trainers, and therapists to understand basic concepts of biomechanics. For example, performing a single leg squat off of a box while driving both arms in front of the body as well as the non-loaded leg is not a knee dominant exercise after all. In fact, it is a hip dominant exercise due to position of the center of mass.

Classification of exercises is critical as they have a huge impact on program design!

How to choose the right coach- Part 2

One of the best things to do when looking for a coach to work with you is to setup a block of time where you can go and watch him/her work with another athlete.

Get to the session early, preferably before the scheduled athlete arrives and be on the lookout for the following:

1. Relationship- How does the coach interact with the athlete? Is it more like blind obedience or a partnership?
   
2. Communication- How does the coach speak to the athlete? Is it a do what I say approach? Or are there open questions and vivid examples used during explanations?


3. Clarity- Is the coach speaking in such a way that the athlete clearly understands what is being expected of him or her?


4. Connection- Is there a visible bond between the coach and the athlete? How does the coach motiviate, encourage, and inspire the athlete? Especially during times of frustation?

These are just a few of the key areas to observe when looking for the right coach for you.

With a 27% Chance of making this team would you still tryout?

What I heard today is absolutely crazy! I called one of the young athletes that I work with to find out how he felt he did at his football tryouts today. This young man is thirteen years old and in the eight grade.

This is the first year the school will have a full team comprised of both seventh and eight graders as the school is now only going into it's second year.

One hundred and forty five young men came out for the three day tryout! Holy cow! And of that total, the coach will only keep forty players on the team. That works out to about a 27% chance that each player has of making the team.

Now I can take a number of view points from this point on in this post including:

1. What does a young player have to do in order to get an edge going into the tryouts?


2. How does a middle school coach rule out that many players trying out for the team?


3. What happens to all of those who do not make the team? Are there other sports for them to participate and stay active in for the fall? Probably not.


4. Even for those players that do make the team, there will be at least a handful who will most likely never even see the field.

As I don't want to write a book here, below are a few brief thoughts on each:

1. FOCUS on becoming a good athlete. In other words, in the few weeks leading up to tryouts that we had together, the goal was to not try and make him the strongest or the fastest player on the field. Why?
   
   At this point in his development there is no way for that to happen anyway. Therefore, our goals were to establish a foundational base of bodyweight strength combined with building habits that promote fundamental movement skills. What is the result?
   
   Well now a player who is a bit faster but definitely stronger, more stable, more flexible, and can play low without compromising optimal body position in order to produce power! Most of all, taking this approach has helped to instill some self-confidence which at this level can be the deciding factor often times of personal success.
   


2. Not sure I have an answer here. Over the first two days the tryouts consisted of running long distance, performing a few sets of pushups, suicide sprints, and completing an agility drill for time. Maybe not the best format but it is solid and can serve more to disqualify players than the other way around. ( can be a good thing!)
   


3. Again not sure here either. Yes many of these kids could play multiple sports. However, for those that do not make the team they will most likely not have the sport specific skills in other sports during the same season. (Don't confuse this with playing football, basketball, and then track. These are all different seasons of play).
   


4. Yes it will hopefully be a positive experience for those players who make the team but never see the field. Although I would doubt it as the fun part is all about playing the game!

The main take home point here is yet again the concern for youth sports here in the United States. We definitely have the worlds largest potential talent pool but we have no system in place to help develop these kids! What's worse, our present system dictates for us coaches that we turn away late blooming talent that could one day turn out to be our countries best.

Good luck to all of those players trying out this week. Just making the team means that you beat some incredible odds! Especially in situations like the one I mentioned here.

Choosing the right coach

Now that fall is here and most field sports are well under way, I have begun to receive emails from parents around the country about how to pick the right training company/coach.

Here is my two cents worth:

• For the most part performance and the training process have now become almost a commodity; meaning there are more similarities than differences in the customer's eyes.
• Unfortunately the truly unique coaches and fitness professionals do a poor job of communicating what actually makes them unique and therefore get automatically labeled as a 'trainer'.
• What separates the best is 'how' these coaches/services deliver what they do.

Ask yourself- Does the coach/trainer you work with outbehave the competition?

More on this tomorrow!

Hop & Stop Team Trend for Div. III Women's Soccer Team

Last week I had the opportunity to test a Division III Women's Soccer Team using the Hop & Stop. For those of you who are not familiar with this test it is the first field test I have found that quantifies an athlete's ability to:

1. Produce Force (Hop)


2. Absorb Force (Leap)


3. Evaluate any Asymmetries in both catagories

The test is also completely relative to the individual as the formula to for scoring is based on the individual's height. A asymmetry score of 0-5 is ideal and between 6-10 is okay. Any symmetry score greater than 10 is considered a red zone and that athlete is at much greater risk for injury in a non-contact situation. For more information check out the Lower Body Performance DVD.

Below are the results and team trends:

• 18 female college soccer players were tested


• Hop Test (force production)
  No statistical difference b/t right and left legs
  However, there was a percentage difference (L=78% R=73%)
  Team Avg= 76% so this is what the minimum should be for passing the screen for force production
  8 out of 18 players were in double digits for asymmetry


• Leap (force absorption)
  Extremely high statistical significance between both legs
  Onto L= 120 Onto R=107
  14 out of 18 players were in double digits and 3 of the 14 were above a score of 20 asymmetrically

Summary of Data

• Yet again these team results show the importance of addressing force absorption in a training and injury prevention program. There are a handful of players that are at great risk of suffering a non-contact lower extremity injury due to lack of symmetry in both force production and force absorption
  
• Including plyometrics such as 'hop and stick' or 'jump and stick ' under one second along with some basic force production exercises (lunges, step-ups, split squats) at the end of practice will help improve these test scores during the beginning of this season

I will be posting much more data here in the near future as well as some additional plug-in screens that I have included in use with the Hop & Stop Test.

'Splash of Your Choice' Champion

Yesterday I took my 3 year old to our neighborhood pool for an end of the summer cookout. They had live music and some fun competitions one of which was a belly flop/cannonball (splash of your choice) competition for the kids and then a 'DAD' catagory.

While my son did not enter (still learning to swim) he ask me to enter the 'Splash of Your Choice' event. Ya as you can imagine all 10 dads weighed at least 260 lbs. or more with at least 60lbs all in their belly. There should have been a weight class for us 'younger dads' under 200lbs!

Anyway, guess who won? Yep, I actually was crowned champion! Never let it be said again that the 'Hard Gainers' are light weights.

I will be releasing my summer training program that I designed solely to prepare for this unique event here in the next few days so stay on the lookout!

Yet Another Eye Opening Statistic on Today's Youth

If you did not get a chance to read this in Sunday's Newspaper, below you will read a staggering statistic regarding obesity and our nation's youth:

High blood pressure is found in kids
CHICAGO --More than 1 million U.S. youngsters have undiagnosed high blood pressure, leaving them at risk for developing organ damage down the road, a study suggests.
Calculating elevated blood pressure in children is trickier than in adults, and many doctors may not bother evaluating kids' numbers because they assume hypertension is an adult problem.
But the study highlights that many children are affected, too, said lead author Dr. David Kaelber of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and Harvard Medical School. Roughly 2 million U.S. youngsters have been estimated to have high blood pressure; the study suggests that three-quarters of them have it but don't know it.
The numbers are driven at least partly by rising rates of obesity, which is linked with high blood pressure. -- associated press

A free resource every coach should receive

The USOC puts out a quarterly newsletter focusing on Sports Performance. If you do not already subscribe to it click on the link below:


http://coaching.usolympicteam.com/coaching/kpub.nsf/

This is a wonderful resource for coaches and therapists of all levels of play!

Why I am against Pee Wee Football

Okay, this afternoon I took my 3 year old son to the park in our neighborhood. There on the field was a U9-11 junior Pee Wee Football team having practice and my son wanted to go and watch.

Immediately when we walked up the hill and looked through the fence this is what we heard from a volunteer (dad) coach:

• "PAY ATTENTION! The reason that you lost last week is becuase you all cannot run these plays right. Therefore we are going to run some full field sprints and for each one of you who do not make it you will run them again!"


• We are going to learn to tack today gentlemen...we obviously can't hit
  

Are you kidding me? This about tells it all for our development of American youth football. Running kids under the age 11 for repeat sprints of over 80 yards for punishment is ridiculous! Not only is it the WRONG WAY to physically condition this age group, but using running as a punishment is STONE AGE MENTALITY!

C'mon folks... this organization (at least locally) needs to get their act in gear and educate these live-in-the-past dads who are going to drive kids away from playing the sport!

Why in the world would I want to play football for a coach that does nothing but yell at me and make me run everytime that I cannot do something right? How about a 'teach me don't threaten me' mentality? That would at least raise the coaching bar of these wanna-be coaches.

Better yet, how about when the coach lines me up against another player for no other purpose than to tackle (CRUSH) me at his own leisure and gives me no other instruction but to just run straight when he blows the whistle. What's the fun in that? Or am I missing something?

Yes football is a contact sport and requires a unique mentality to truly be successful. However, treating a ten year old kid as if he was a miniature pro athlete is absurd.

Actually I am not sure what is worse, the coach or the parent who does not know any better, sits on the sidelines, and says nothing but an occasional 'keep trying honey'.

My 3 year old sums it up best when he said after only 10 seconds of watching that practice:

"Daddy, why would I want to play that game? What's fun about that?"

Case Study Part 1- 13 Year Old Male Athlete

Three weeks ago I began working with a 13 year old young man who was starting his middle school football season this upcoming week. Here are some key highlights of his history:

• 13 years old


• 6'2 ft tall


• size 15 shoe


• No formal training history


• History of knee and ankle pain due to excessive amounts of playing/practicing on his basketball team


• Could hardly complete ten pushups in a row

Two days before we were able to get together, a personal trainer in our local area met with him and his family and said that he needed to be weight training six days per week! Are you kidding me?

The Athlete By Design Approach
Below is a descriptive list of the approach and goals set to prepare him during the limited three weeks we had until his football season started:

1. Stop playing basketball- all this was doing was contributing to more pain in his knees and ankles
2. Evaluate and teach basic movement skills
3. Implement an individualized bodyweight strength program with the purpose to help prepare his tendons to handle more load as his body continues to rapidly grow over the next few years
4. Implement a daily core stability and lower extremity mobility program
5. Introduce selected modes of external loading to include medicine balls, tubing, and dumbells

The following are a few pictures taken from the first training session. Here he goes through a short lateral movement screen:

In part two I will post a sample workout as well as a few pictures of his present movement skills now only two weeks later.

This quote says it all!

"That's the mentality we're trying to have this year," Foster said. "We want to get out there and start fast and finish even faster."

Way too many coaches hope to only maintain their team's fitness, speed, and strength quality throughout the season. HOWEVER, it is the mindset exemplified by Foster that will separate the better from the best!

Do Your Athletes Have THIS Athletic Quality?

"On rookie wide receiver/kick returner Ryne Robinson: I'm anxious to watch him play. He's got suddenness. He's got excellent hands"- Coach Fox, NFL Carolina Panthers

In over 16 years in this field this is the first time that I have heard this word relating to an athlete. To me, suddenness includes all of the following athletic qualities:

• reaction
• recognition
• quickness
• agility
• controlled urgency

When i think of all of the athletes that I have worked with, I can only think of a small handful that have 'Suddenness'. Is this truly something that can be developed? I'd like to think it can be released!

"Bottled Water, Wasted Energy?"

Makes you rethink driking bottled water!


http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=49750&cl=3289922&ch=61492&src=news

Video Games vs Physical Activity...Blind Obediance?

We as coaches truly have to continue to work hard to reach inactive youth. Especially with the message that physical activity is not a punishment but a priviledge!

Checkout the brief article in yesterday's paper below on China's attempt to enforce physical education:

Time's up for teenage online players in China
HONG KONG --VIDEO GAMES

The Chinese government has launched a campaign to limit the number of hours teenagers spend online playing games. Under new rules that took effect Monday, Chinese Internet gaming companies must install a program that requires users to enter their ID card numbers.

After three hours, players younger than 18 are prompted to stop and "do suitable physical exercise."If they continue, the software slashes by half any points earned in the game. All points are wiped out if players stay on more than five hours.

The program is part of a government campaign to combat Internet gaming addiction, "clean up the Internet environment" and "promote civilized Internet use," according to guidelines issued by China's General Administration of Press and Publication. -- Associated Press

Okay now here's the problem. Yes it's an attempt to help control the video gaming addiction in youth. However, putting handcuff's on teenagers will only make the less active kids hate physical activity that much more! Why?

Well the issue is not so much the focus on physical activity, but instead putting a Velvet Rope around the opportunity to play video games.

So is this a bad idea by the Chinese Gov? Maybe not initially, but I guarantee you that this isn't the answer and that in the near future will create even more problems!

Blind obediance doesn't work but instead drives those involved farther away from following the leader!

Back In Action!

It has been quite some time since I have posted to this blog. In fact, it has actually been dead! However...

After taking the past few months to get rejuvinated and focus on some personal and professional growth, I am back in action! Here is what you can expect on this blog moving forward:

• each new issue of the Athlete By Design Ezine will be posted here
• insight into 'real world' coaching topics that I experience in my work with athletes
• personal commentary on available resources for trainers and coaches as well as my opinion and reviews of various clinics and conventions that I have the opportunity to attend (whether as a participant or speaker)

Please email me with any comments, suggestions, or ideas that you would like for me to address here on this blog as well!

2007: Year of the Athlete?

I have read in a number of publications that 2007 is the 'Year of the Athlete'. Why? The reference was made that due to such a strong awareness of steriods that athletes will overcome this stereotype and perform better than ever remaining drug free.

While this may by true, I look at 2007 as the 'YEAR OF THE COACH'! Why? Here are my top reasons:

• The coach is often overlooked in the role played in getting athletes to perform their best. The last few months stories about successful coaches and their impact on their players are popping up everywhere
• There are now quite a few high quality educational resources for coaches in the areas of physical preparation and mental preparation that provide specific suggestions as to how to prepare for an optimal performance
• More and more athletes are starting to understand that if their dream only requires one person, than it isn't big enough!
• Coaches have a tremendous impact for beyond the court or field of play. We have the opportunity to instill in athletes principles and qualities that can help them to be everyday champions!