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Like a lot of parents, I spend a significant time each fall on different fields around town watching youths at various levels practice. As a coach sitting on the sidelines, this is one of the most excruitiating times of my day. From my experience, youth baseball is the worst. During the years I've spent watching my sons little league practices it's no wonder their development is slow and they loose interest...the practices are boring and a waste of time. This week my son had lacrosse practice on the adjacent field to a high school boys soccer practice. So I sat in the space between the two field and watched. I couldn't believe what I saw. Conditioning for strength and power is different than other types. "Going for a run" isn't productive---in fact it can be counter productive. The main question your conditioning program needs to answer is "What energy system do want to improve?" and "What are the demands of my sport?" For the speed-power athlete, the energy system that we want to develop is the ATP-CP and Anaerobic System. These systems target the appropriate muscle tissues. This off season conditioning program outlined below is based on the following 5 principles. The principle of training reversibility states that a stop or decline in training will stop or decline the training effect. It is also true that when you start or increase training will increase the training effect. I'm a big proponent of simple ideas, but this sounds too simplistic. But it is a start in my quest to answer the question of how long can you maintain the the training effect and how long should I rest before get out of shape? It turns out that the answer to this question is different for endurance athletes and speed power athletes. Trigger points or "knots" in your muscles can interfere with the normal muscle and joint movement. When left untreated, these areas will disrupt local blood flow and firing patterns thus increasing your risk of injury. Therefore it's important to address these areas. Grab a foam roller or hard ball and use these techniques smooth out your muscles.
While teaching and coaching at Andover High, he wrote a book, "The Word Quit Does Not Exist: Memories of a Teacher-Coach." This book is a collection of his memories of the students, athletes, and collegues that affected him. Our cheer, "Fifty One!" is the title of a chapter in this book and at the end of this chapter you will find this story about Dan Ely...
If you are in the northeast today, odds are you are having a snow day. With a few feet of snow drifting in front of my front door and a travel ban for all of Massachusetts, I guess I have to cancel practice. But don't worry, I have a solution. (Actually, I was inspired by @SwampscottXC tweet today.) Study the links below that apply to your events. These are the ideas and movements we've been teaching you this season. Create the mental image in your mind and rehearse it.
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AuthorFormer mathematics teacher and track & field coach at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. Categories
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April 2017
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