Motivation, confidence, skill and talent are all interconnected, and are especially important at a young age. Children with low confidence tend to lack motivation. This lack of motivation leads to a reluctance to try and a lack of effort. Lack of focused effort leads to lower skill and low skill usually leads to a lack
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Last weekend, while presenting at the TPEA National Conference, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to sit down over dinner with some of the best coaches around. We discussed our systems, or goals and our philosophies. During one of these discussions, we talked about specific qualities that great youth sports coaches possess? What unique
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For the last 15 years our training and research lab has cycled through more new technology than just about any other training center I know. We have tried video analysis in just about every form, various forms of heart rate monitoring, force plates, accelerometers, high tech electronic timers, resisted treadmills, self propelled treadmills, various forms
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To keep things fresh and competitive during sessions we often will put introduce some of our training challenges into the workout. In this Anaerobic Power training session, we use the format of our 4 Mile Interval Workout (2 Half Miles, 4 Quarter Miles, 6 200 yd Runs and 8 100 yd sprints with brief 50-80
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As we prepare for our pre-season (usually about 8 weeks prior to our season start date) we want to begin making a slow shift from our non-specific sprint training into our specific sprint training. We need to consider two key aspects when designing these drills. What conditioning effect do we hope to achieve (max speed,
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I have always wanted to look at the physical effects that a cold can have on performance. We see over 100 athletes every day in our facility, and during the winter months it seems like half of them are either getting a cold, have a cold or just getting over a cold. We try to
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In the past, we have put up several posts on ACL injury, rehab and risk reduction exercises, but I ran across a summary of research articles (Serpell, Scarvell, et al 3160-3176) compiled in the NSCA’s Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research that I wanted to break down for you. The following is a brief breakdown
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One of the themes of the early off-season (usually a 1-3 week period) is to RESET OUR SYSTEM… Resetting the system refers to taking a step back, revisiting some of the basics (mobility, form running, aerobic fitness, strength technique, etc.). We like to change up the program style (mixing the strength with various forms of
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Right now we are testing over 1200 young players in an 8 year study on the natural rate of development. The current test (the fall post season) has given us a few things to think about as we begin to compare the results to our pre-test, 3 months ago. But in the grand scheme of
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