Playing Tag Gone too Far?

This morning when I was reading the paper before getting ready to head to the field, I came across an article with the headline "Va. Principal Bans Tag, says kids got too rough."

As you can imagine my initial response was 'what? are you serious?' But then I actually read the article that is posted below:

NOT IT!
Va. principal bans tag, says kids got too rough
MICHAEL ALISON CHANDLER
Washington Post

A playground pastime is getting a timeout this spring at a Virginia elementary school.
Robyn Hooker, principal of Kent Gardens Elementary in McLean, has told students they may no longer play tag during recess, after determining that the game of chasing and yelling "You're it!" had gotten out of hand. Hooker told parents in a letter this month that tag had become a game "of intense aggression."

She said that her goal is to keep students safe and that she hopes to restore tag (as well as touch football, also on hold) after teachers and administrators review recess policies.
The decision has touched off a debate among parents. Some call the restriction an example of overzealous rule-making that fails to address root problems; others say it's best to err on the side of caution.

Many schools nationwide have whittled down playground activities in response to concerns about injuries, bullying or litigation. Dodge ball is a thing of the past in many places, and contact sports are often limited at recess.

In most places, principals have considerable leeway to decide what is appropriate or safe recess behavior as they manage sometimes-large numbers of students in sometimes-small spaces. Kent Gardens, with more than 900 students, is over capacity. Hooker said the playground can get crowded.

Over the past couple of months, she had noticed that tag was sending too many students to the nurse's office.

"This is not the old-fashioned tag, where you could use two fingers and you would be `it' and move on to someone else," Hooker said, noting the game has become much more aggressive.
This tag involves grabbing people who do not necessarily know they are playing and possibly bumping them to the ground.

"Then the kids do `pyramiding' or `towering.' They pile on each other. (Sometimes) they call it `jailhouse' or `jailbreak,' " because the child has to break out, she said.

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There are any number of opinionated reasons that I can list here as to what is going on in our school systems. These include first take a look at what is going on in the 'home' of these children and/or how is the 'environment' being designed at that school's recess area.

Whatever the reason, the school should provide some structured play during recess that allows children freedom to explore movement and play while at he same time providing boundries that keep everyone safe.

Here is a favorite tag game that I use when visiting local schools:
http://www.audioacrobat.com/playv/WQ28Qr1Q

I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, or suggestions!

'Lean into the Turn'

By far the athlete above is the quickest I have ever worked with in twelve years. Actually he is one of the fastest as well, but his ability to change direction is scary.

One of the reasons that he can literally change direction on a dime is that he uses his inside leg to help decelerate his body and that he also leans into his turns.

Too many athletes struggle with changing directions and one of the first things I see is a postural fault. In other words, the athlete actually leans opposite they way they want to go.

Is it due to a weak core? Poor movement mechanics? Or something else? It's a combination of all of the above!

However, using the term 'lean into your turns' is a great way to get the athlete to feel their movement much better!

Davidson wins Again!

Wow am I proud of the men's Davidson Basketball team! Tonight was yet another storybook win for them and I can think of no better team that deserves it.

I have had the opportunity to work with Bob McKillop and his program during their preseason over the past few years. Bob is nothing short of the ideal example of a professional and an outstanding individual.

Bob actually took the Sports Profile, www.innertactics.com, back during the preseason of this year. I will post some of his numerous strengths tomorrow and will attempt to breakdown just why this coach continues to achieve success year after year.

GO DAVIDSON WILDCATS!

Making the Vertical Jump Relevant

We all hear the common question of 'how high can you jump?' but maybe this isn't the best question. Training for the vertical jump test is a solid indicator of being explosive so don't get me wrong here.

However, an athlete rarely just jumps for the sake of jumping. There is always another task that comes just after that. For example, catching a ball, blocking a shot, heading a ball, etc.

In the above picture is a player who is 5 ft tall and weighs approximately 100 lbs. And while she is well undersized she proves time and time again to be one of the best headers on the field!

It's not just about the ability to jump, it also is about timing, recognition, reaction, and vision!

When trying to improve your vertical jump, add a few extra sets of the sport specific task that the athlete experiences during the game. Not only does this make the task more sport relevant, but the athlete will have a lot more fun as well!

Intrinsic Coaching

I posted this today on the Innertactics Blog:

"If you want to get more out of your athletes, stop viewing them as performers and view them as people. Working with them on what you can see (physical) is the easy part. It is working with the part that you can't see that is ulimately the most rewarding."

Medball Scoop Throws

The Medball Scoop Throw has been a staple in my program now for the past ten years. This exercise is an excellent way to explosively develop the entire posterior chain.

If you have used this exercise try and put a stopwatch on your athlete when they throw the medball. The Carolina Panthers players did this exercise yesterday in our offseason program and the majority of them kept the ball in the air around 2.2 seconds.

So far the best time that I have seen in the past few years for using a 10lb medball is 2.73 seconds!

Try this with your athletes and let me know how they do!

'RFN' Runs

The other day I was grabbing lunch with my good friend Muhsin Muhammad just after we got done working out. We got to talking about how he is starting his 13th season in the NFL and what were some of the qualities that make for a great receiver.

Of the top five that he mentioned was something that he calls RFN Runs, or RUN FOR NOTHING Runs.

In other words, running routes during a game even though you know the ball is not coming to you. Why? Well for a wide receiver it sets up his opponent so just when he least expects it, a touchdown happens! i.e. Moose's Super Bowl 86yd Touchdown catch

How about your athletes? Do they go all out during RFN Runs? Do they 'sell the move' or does their opponent choose not to pay them any attention b/c he knows your athlete isn't a threat during the play?

Sometimes known as shadow runs, it is this type of effort that separates the good from the great!

When your athletes run routes in their sport (aka set plays, specific patterns,etc) during training or practice, do they still go all out?

If not, here are a few suggestions to prevent them from 'going through the motions':

• Paint pictures in their mind as to why this movement pattern is important, even if it is not designed for him/her
• Ask the athlete why they think completing the pattern is important for the play and the team?
• Ask the athlete what happens if they do not 'sell' the movement?

Have You Ever Asked Your Athlete's This Question...Part 1

Over the past several weeks I have had the opportunity to talk with quite a few performance coaches regarding testing and identyfying talent.

This has been an especially hot topic that comes up every year about this time due to the NFL Combine. And why should we test you may ask? Well the primary reason is to identify the athletes physical strengths and weaknesses.

After testing and evaluation is completed usually a common scenario goes something like this:

"Johnny let's sit down and go through your testing results. Out of these 6-8 tests here is where you stand, overall you performed very well. In fact, your agility times were one of the fastest yet!" Okay you get the idea from here.

The Coaching Trap

Now here is what's crazy, practically 100% of the time coaches will 'tell' the athlete what their strength is based on their testing results. However, this should not always be the case. What if the athlete simply just had a bad day? What if the athlete was not allowed to have a warm-up?

The point is, as coaches we need to be careful not to place too much emphasis on testing in order to determine an athlete's strengths. In fact, how about trying the following:

Before actually testing an athlete ask him or her what they think their own strengths are! Now there's a novel idea.

In my experience the majority of young athletes will just give you a blank face followed by wanting to ask what their choices are. They don't even know their own strengths! (another post coming)

Then there are a few who can answer you immediately with one or two specific areas.

Ask Before You Tell

The take home message is ask your athlete's what they think their own strengths are before telling them. Doing exercises such as this will encourage self-reflection which rarely occurs in young athletes.

One of the first principles that my athletes are taught is to 'know your own body'!

Try this with your athletes and I would love to hear some their responses as well as your thoughts!

Fit for Soccer

What does the following image have to do with your soccer players?


Getting fit for soccer is always a challenge for any player. Why? Because for most players a conditioning program is guesswork at best or the phrase ‘the pros use this program so I should too’ often comes up. However, this is rarely the case and the key to getting fit for soccer is including interval training into your program.

The heart rate graph above is taken from a 16 year old female soccer player during an actual game. As you can see this player has multiple bouts of higher intensity efforts followed by periods of brief recovery.

In addition to interval based patterns, we also know from recent research that soccer players perform a variety of fundamental movement skills before and after turning with the ball. These skills include walking, jogging, shuffling, skipping, jumping, backpedaling, etc.

Taking these two variables into consideration, the Center of Athletic Performance recently performed a study looking at different interval programs and how closely they mimic the movements and cardiovascular demands of the game.

Below is a graph of the same player performing a variety of specifically timed fundamental movements over a ninety second period. These include:

· Walking
· Backpedaling
· Shuffling
· Jogging
· Running
· Sprinting

Although the graph below does not exactly mimic the random nature of a game, the wave-like heart rate patterns do mimic the heart rate peaks, valleys, and duration very closely.

So what’s the best way to get fit for soccer? Other than play small sided games, the interval workout above is a great place to start! For more information on this workout and other challenging drills with the ball checkout the Fit for Soccer DVD at http://www.athletebydesign.com/.

'Taking Play Seriously'

Are you integrating 'play' into your workouts? I just finished reading a great article in the New York Times titled 'Taking Play Seriously'. If you have not read it yet click the link below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17play.html?_r=1&em&ex=1203397200&en=7&oref=slogin

All too often it is easy for coaches to get caught up in the technical aspect (structure value) and results aspect (extrinsic value) of program design. In other words, did the athlete perform the movement correctly? Or, is the workout solely focused on getting a result?

Don't get me wrong, why even compete if you don't want to win right? However, a winning only focus is short lived and ultimately has narrow value.

Workout Audit

Take a look at the graph above. Are your workouts primarily focused on 'proper technique'? Maybe they are primarily focused on getting a result? (i.e. losing weight, improving your 40 yd dash, etc.) However, without adding fun and play to your workouts your athletes will quickly get bored and lose interest.

So just how can you add creative fun and play to your workouts? How about playing a game of rock-paper-scissors tag? Click the link below to see a live example:

http://www.audioacrobat.com/playv/WMWNvjMQ

Movement Based Games are great for a variety of groups including:

• sports teams



• individual athletes



• adult bootcamps



• clients in the gym

The point is that 'play' has tremendous value and should definitely not be ignored in your program design!

For more examples of fun games visit http://www.movementbasedgames.com/. There is a $10 discount for the next three days!

An IMPORTANT Question to ask Yourself...

I had the opportunity to present at the NSCA NC state clinic here in Charlotte, NC this past weekend. They had a record number in attendance and the event was jammed packed with strength coaches, therapists, and primarily personal trainers.

I gave a short 25 minute lecture and hurried quickly to the gym to finish up with some hands on movement progressions. On my way to the gym one of the attendees asked me what was important when meeting with an athlete/client for the first time.

My response was to ask yourself the following question after the first session is over:

"How much do I really know about my new athlete/client?"

Too many coaches and trainers are in way too much of a hurry to perform a few quick tests and then impart their training methods onto a new client solely to prove to them that they know what they are doing. (Their true intention is to say 'it is because of this workout that I am the best coach/trainer in all of XXXX).

However, taking the time to gather the answers to the question above in the beginning of your initial session will serve to establish a long lasting relationship!

Do Your Athlete's Value TEAMWORK?

check out this post at http://innertactics.blogspot.com/

Can Eli Manning take his team all the way?

I just read a short article on http://www.msnbc.com/ titled 'Eli's decision making becomes super'.

Throughout the article there seems to be no doubt that Eli has a great work ethic. But this attribute alone is not the cause for his end of the season and post season success compared to the first half of the Giants season. So just what could be the difference maker in his decision making ability?

Without a doubt his teammates have stepped up to contribute but it is something else. In my recent presentation on Athletic Intelligence, I stated the two main qualities of decision making:

Eli Manning has improved his ability to cope under pressure and resolve the situation he is in more quickly and with more clarity. But just how has he improved these qualities?

For one, he has found his rhythm that is best for him and the rhythm of the game that best suits his team. Second, his is able to remain task oriented (focused) even under the most highly pressured of situations. Third, he is playing with more self confidence. This in turn allows him to make bigger plays in part because he has raised his awareness of his environment (teammates, competition, game field, etc).

There are a number of other reasons I am sure, but these are the ones that first come to mind. So how about you or your athletes? What is presently being done to improve your ability to make clear and quick judgements? How are you improving your capacity to cope and/or resolve different game situations?

For more information on athletic intelligence visit http://www.innertactics.com/ and checkout the newly release Sports Profile.

A Recipe for Successful Coaching

Many of you who read this blog either coach a specific sport, train athletes, or rehab athletes. The common thread between these three scenarios is coaching, while the only real difference is the environment in which you may work with the athlete.

Coaches (using the term loosly here), are constantly striving to find ways to improve their program and/or their athletes. But just how can a coach add value to their program? Below are a few key areas that contribute to coaching success:

• the Coaching Method


• the Coaches Skills


• the Communication Process


• the Needs of the Athlete

Over the next few days I will write a specific post on each of these areas along with suggestions to help increase value in each

NSCA Conference Download

I recently presented on the '5 Biggest Mistakes of the Could Be Fast Player' at the NSCA Sport Specific Conference and the National Soccer Coaches Convention.

To download the presentation for those who may have missed it visit www.athletebydesign.com.

NSCA Sports Specific Trip- Part 1

Just returned home from the NSCA Sport Specific Convention. Although it rained the entire time it was wonderful to see old friends and make new ones. Below are a few thoughts looking back on the weekend:

• I am bummed that I missed Steve Myrland's presentation (due to we presented at the same time). His information is always timeless and extremely insightful
• Althought mostly dominated by the football crowd, it was exciting to see a great representation of those who work in soccer as well
• Many of the presentations sounded similar with the 'you must dynamically warmup' routine followed by the same speed training tips that have been around for quite some time.
• There are still some coaches out there that advocate running with high knees during acceleration! Not sure why
• Personality is important if you are going to be a presenter. There was more than one or two who were quite arrogant to say the least.
• I enjoyed listening to David Sandler's presentation. Especially getting to see the 'behind the scenes' video clips from his involvement with the Fox Sports television show 'Sports Science'.

I will soon be posting my thoughts on some of the presentations that I was able to attend!