You’ve all witnessed the Youtube videos where an athlete has such an incredible vertical jump they do these amazing dunks. You wonder if it is real or some type of video trickery. Basketball is just beginning so those athletes presumably have worked on improving their vertical jump and it is at a point where it [...]
Last week, I discussed the speed and strength program that helped make Aziza Ayoub a state champion. Obviously a large part of her success was the running plan her track coach had her on. Our speed and strength program was just part of the ingredients for her success. I finished up last week talking about [...]
I was in the process of prepping another blog post for you guys when I ran into one of my former athletes, Aziza Ayoub, at the Central District cross country meet. Aziza is now a sophomore at The Ohio State University running track. Before that, she ran at Jonathan Alder and part of the reason [...]
When we assess an individual to find out how we can improve speed, we have to look at everything. Running mechanics are huge and faulty running mechanics are usually due to some type of strength and/or flexibility imbalance that needs corrected. Speed coaches sometimes refer to your ankles and feet as an athlete’s wheels. Just [...]
Last week, I talked about exercises to hit your glutes just a little better than what you probably are already doing. In fact, if you do that right you will decrease your injuries and increase your body’s ability to get faster quicker (or, in other words, run faster). Keeping along those lines, I stumbled across [...]
I was recently pondering over a lot of our workouts we’ve written these past months and something donned on me that was familiar over a good amount of them. We seemed to be doing drills that focused a lot on glute activation no matter what the issue was for the athlete. Whether we were working [...]
Speed is a skill. Speed is a skill that can be taught. Throwing the football is also a skill. That is why you have quarterback coaches out there making crazy money because they are teaching you the finer points of throwing the football. Speed is a skill that can be taught IF you have someone [...]
Every summer we get a bump in attendance as kids want to take advantage of no school, extra free time, and get better. We also lose a handful of kids because the summer training with their school is ramping up. The summer training is supposed to handle all the needs of the athlete – speed, [...]
Speed is so important for an athlete. Some teams will be constructed for the sole purpose of having speed at all their positions. Kids get college scholarships based on running a particular time for a drill. Kids are drafted for that same reason. It is tough to judge whether a young athlete will develop speed [...]
When I was younger, summer was thought of as the time when I can do all the things I need to do to get better for my sports. You could play in a summer league or go to a few camps and feel like you were getting something accomplished. In fact, when I started my [...]