Sports Training Success Stories, The True Benefits of a Strength Coach
We live in a time where we see everyone’s highlight reel on social media. We constantly see the best things that happen to everyone and the things that they want to share to build the public perception that they want to convey. All too often I feel that this is also the story that is painted about athletes that train at facilities like ours. Because we see them making commitments to college athletic programs or winning big tournaments, the perception is that training is for athletes who are elite, or
The Importance of Aerobic Fitness in Soccer
Soccer is a game of performing short bursts of high effort sprints and changes of direction over 90 or more minutes. Because of the nature of the sport, lately I’ve seen a lot of social media posts and players emphasizing only training as such, doing repeated short distance sprints or different types of shuttle runs. Although this will still help players, they’re missing out on a giant component of their match fitness, aerobic fitness! Aerobic fitness is simply a players ability to use oxygen to create energy to sustain the activity
Sports Training for Kids: “Aren’t They Too Young”?
“Is my child too young to start working out”? This is a question that parents often ask. Many people see the opportunity for their child to improve athletically with strength training, but wonder if they will be doing more harm than good. This is a legitimate concern because the last thing that any parent wants is to cause harm to their child, especially if the intention was good. The research tells us a different story though, one that says that we’re actually helping prevent future injury by getting kids involved
TOP FIVE STRECTHES BEFORE YOU TEE OFF
Whether you are a casual golfer or a professional, we all have our pre-round routine. Some of us like to get to the course early to practice on the putting green, and some of us are running to the first hole as our tee time is starting. What we don’t often think about is what we are doing, or not doing, before our round and how it is affecting our play. How many of us are actually stretching before we tee off? Most golfers get a few practice swings in
Coaching the Mental and Emotional Side of ACL Rehab
If you’re an athlete or an active person over the age of 30, you’ve had enough years to understand that life is a series of ups and downs, and to explore different activities that bring you happiness and a sense of fulfillment. But for a dedicated teenage competitor, a serious injury such as an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear can be devastating because their identity, sense of self-value, and dreams about their future are often tied to success in a given sport. And, the younger they are, the harder it is
Three Common Sprinting Mistakes
Coaching speed is something I became very passionate about because I believe that speed is the foundation of athleticism. Whether you are a multi-directional sport athlete or a track athlete, fine-tuning your running mechanics will significantly improve your overall athleticism. Thinking back, I can’t recall any of my gym teachers or coaches taking the time to teach running mechanics. Maybe the same is true for you. It was always just “GO GO GO” without any concrete teaching. If the performance was unsatisfactory in their eyes, they would just yell “run
The Road Back
The road back from an injury is often long and filled with a lot of ups and downs. There are weeks that we feel like we’re on the right track and will be better than before. Along with those weeks, there are also some where we feel as if we’ll never be back to doing what we love. Weeks can be unpredictable at times and it’s both mentally and physically draining. In those dark and hard times our mental toughness will be tested and we need the right mentality. That
The Top 3 Exercises for Developing Young Athletes
Strength and conditioning is no longer the property of top tier professional and D1 athletes. Each year the understanding of how important it is to the development of young athletes becomes more common knowledge. Many high school programs even have their own strength and conditioning coaches to help get the most out of their athletes and keep them safe on the field. So since its common knowledge then every young athlete must already be doing it right? When our athletes go off to play sports in college, we’re always amazed to
Eating The Proper Foods Before Your Workout
We have all heard of the importance of a balanced diet, but what does that actually mean? Many of us tend to take the easy route when deciding what our next meal is. Whether that’s choosing something quick like take out, or throwing something into the microwave, sometimes we choose convenience over nutritional value. Poor nutrition and an unbalanced diet can affect our overall health and well being, our sleep, and lead to complications like heart disease and diabetes. Understanding the basics of nutrition is the first step you need
Build Your Athletic Foundation with Three Simple Foot Exercises
Once upon a time, a buck, drinking from a crystal spring, saw himself mirrored in the clear water. He greatly admired the graceful arch of his antlers, but he was very much ashamed of his tiny hooves. At that moment he sensed a predator and bounded away through the forest. As he ran, his wide-spreading antlers caught in the branches of the trees, and soon the predator overtook him. Then the buck realized that his feet would have saved him had it not been for the ornaments on his head. Similar to