How often do we see athletes performing running arm drills in positions inconsistent with arm action during acceleration or max velocity? Actually, quite a bit. The problem is, we have been taught wrong from the get-go. How many times have you heard “arms should always be at 90 degrees”? I am here to tell you …
This is a topic that has been hot for years… Why should kids play at the park, or with friends, in an unorganized play structure versus having all their sports and activities organized by a coach? Have you ever watched a 30 for 30 on ESPN or a documentary about star athletes? Without fail, it …
A Guide On How To Use Skipping Coaches need to stop and think before they speak! People often say things because we’ve heard them told before. We regurgitate words as we’ve listened to them—an all too common strategy in coaching. How many times have you heard your coach say, “Well, that’s the way my coach …
How many times have you heard, read, or said “No Pain, No Gain”? Maybe a gazillion? There’s a lot of good and bad with this simple statement. We don’t want aimless pain and discomfort without purpose and without a plan of working through it. But we want to be challenged physically, mentally, and competitively to …
Any mechanics will tell you, having more options in your toolbox allow for more solutions to fixing problems on the job. The same goes for strength and conditioning coaches. If you have a very limited toolbox, you will limit yourself on how many problems you can solve. This doesn’t mean you can’t be successful with …
Your Job is To Improve This Quality The great news about the overabundance of social media and YouTube videos is a never-ending supply of videos to use in your training. The bad news about the overabundance of social media and YouTube videos is a never-ending supply of videos to use in your training … Your …
Far too many athletes, coaches, and programs don’t take advantage of the learning opportunity gained during the warm-up process. First of all, I call it a Prep-Period, not a warm-up. Not that it matters… but it kind of does. It matters because athletes and coaches don’t give a “warm-up” the respect it deserves. They go …
Improve Tennis Speed Make no mistake about it, if you’re going to be a good tennis player you better have a solid game. You need good strokes, to learn the strategy behind hitting certain strokes at correct time, a serve that is a weapon not a detriment, the ability to finish points at the net, …
How to Determine If Your Drills Pass the Litmus Test I attended the regional track and field championship for girls in Indiana last year. One of my favorite things to do is watch the athletes warm up and prepare for their event, especially the sprinters, hurdlers, and jumpers. By watching, I can tell a lot …
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 …
