August 2009 Blog Posts (6)

Teaching Deceleration and COD: "Catching the Floor"

If you played baseball, softball, basketball, lacrosse...in fact, if you've ever had anything thrown at you (and caught it), you can teach an athlete to decelerate and change direction. Sound weird? I'm right there with you...

The way in which an athlete stops, cuts, and changes direction is very similar to the way they are taught to catch a ball. They must arrange their limbs in a proper position to receive the pass, while keeping or placing their body in the optimal position to… Continue

Added by Joe Bonyai on August 27, 2009 at 9:26pm — No Comments

Preseason Testing- Part 1

Don't get me wrong, I am all for establishing a standard set of physical testing norms for a team during preseason, but it is important to be aware of what message you are sending to your players when doing so.

By all means set the bar high and let your players know your level of expectation regarding fitness for example, but make sure the parameters are realistic for the players and not totally out of their control. Here are two examples that prove my point:

1. A Div. 1… Continue

Added by Jeremy Boone on August 24, 2009 at 12:00pm — 2 Comments

What Drives Exercise Selection

To me, exercise selection comes down to one thing - does the exercise serve as an evaluation of something I'm looking to improve specific to that athlete? This allows me to evaluate an athlete's progression every week, every workout, every set, every rep. And by evaluation, I don't just mean general strength or agility. Movement quality and integrated functioning of the lower body, torso, and upper body is the key.

In context, I work with mostly high school aged athletes, who have 0… Continue

Added by Joe Bonyai on August 20, 2009 at 10:22pm — 1 Comment

GPP Considerations for a Six-Week Collegiate Post-Competitive Block

post-competitive-block.htm

Added by Brian Hill on August 14, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

Throw Away Your Beef

This short post isn't about nutrition. In a recent interview for TMuscle, Alwyn Cosgrove brought up a great point - stop criticizing other coaches and programs that get results. It's such a simple principle (but those are the ones that we tend to keep coming back to), but I guess it sticks more coming from a giant like Alwyn. Argument and non-constructive criticism are a set back for all parties involved. Time spent arguing is time spent gaining pride and losing interpersonal relationships -… Continue

Added by Joe Bonyai on August 11, 2009 at 10:39pm — No Comments

NSCA Bulletin 31.08

For those interested, the latest NSCA bulletin has been published: Version 31.08, concerning the month of August 2009. Among other articles, you will find the 2009 NSCA National Conference Wrap Up.

To view and/or download the document click here.

NOTE: When clicking on the above link it may take up to 30-seconds for the bulletin to open.

To view all previous… Continue

Added by David Harris on August 5, 2009 at 12:00am — No Comments