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!