Exercise #1 Medicine Ball Side Throw Progression One of the exercises that I use with my athletes to improve athletic speed is the medicine ball side throw. Medicine ball side throws can be performed using the following progression: Standing Side Throw The athlete will face sideways to the wall in an athletic stance with the …
For many years, I have spoken about how important the hand speed is to an explosive start in base stealing. There are other sports where this concept applies as well, but none, in my opinion, are more important than the action of the hands when jumping. I mention the hands, but obviously they are attached …
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We often speak of athletes who need to accomplish a skill based on the task in front of them and the environment it exists in. Wait… What does this really mean when it comes to training athletes? The definition of task is defined as being assigned to do a specific job or work. In sports …
The Purpose Q: What does an initial athletic assessment do for you as a trainer/coach? A: It gives you initial information. Q: What does assessing an athlete do for you while they are training or competing? A: THE TRUTH! If you think you have all the answers from your assessment on day one, you are …
If you have been in the strength and conditioning field for any length of time, you quickly realize there is an influx of new information always coming in. Some of this information causes a quick and immediate call to action. Then all of a sudden, the pendulum of coaching and training drastically swings. Variability training …
We often look at training strategies in a bubble. From both a negative and positive standpoint, we don’t always consider the effect it will have on performance. It is important for coaches to understand the impact of strength training for the goal we are after. Here are 5 tips to consider when performing heavy strength …
Below I have listed three of several speed cutting techniques athletes must become proficient at in order to improve performance and reduce injury potential. Let’s Take A Closer Look Cutting is an example of a natural repositioning movement which allows the athletes to quickly use an appropriate angle to change the path of the body. …
Simply Google ‘Acceleration’ and you will find hundreds, if not thousands of articles. Type Google Backwards Acceleration and you will find a completely different response. If we look at athletes that play sports, like basketball, tennis, baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, etc., you will notice that players often become disorganized when traveling backwards. Moving backwards isn’t …
All kids should learn to throw and kick. As kids grow and develop through play, they naturally develop strategies to move in both acceleration and deceleration pathways. This occurs as their strength levels develop, their body and spatial awareness develops, and their desire to compete rises so does the demand to be able to move …
What’s a Rep? When defining a repetition (rep), we might define it as the completion of an action. The definition describes what a rep is. It doesn’t describe the quality of that rep. As strength coaches, we need to define the quality of what a rep is in order to have a model of movement …
