Which is faster, the “false step” or “forward step”?

Observe a young athlete accelerate from a standing still position. In my experience, the vast majority of these athletes will “false step” to initiate the movement. The false step involves a quick step in the opposite direction of which they wish to accelerate before the first forward step. The false step takes advantage of the …

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What is the minimum dose for maintaining fitness over the off-season?

Many high school, amateur and even some professional organizations do not or cannot enforce adherence to an off-season training program. As coaches, we know that what the athletes do during this down time can make or break the upcoming season. Having out-of-shape athletes report to pre-season training can impact how training camp practices are structured …

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Do stronger and more fit athletes recover faster?

The two primary reasons why we want our athletes to take part in strength and conditioning training is to; Limit injury potential Increase performance   A lesser known or discussed benefit of strength and conditioning training may be its positive impact on recovery following competition. When comparing athletes with a higher level of strength and …

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Game Day Strategies to Enhance Performance

Preparation for competition starts weeks, months and even years in advance. At the microcycle level, all training throughout the week is set up to allow for optimal performance on the day of competition. Training loads are managed properly, sufficient recovery before the match is given, nutrition is in check, etc. What about strategies that can …

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Chronic Effects of Post-Training Cold Water Immersion on Strength

Cold water immersion is a recovery modality often used by athletes in hopes of reducing the delayed onset muscles soreness brought on from strenuous exercise. It’s not uncommon to see entire teams taking ice baths following grueling practices throughout pre-season training camps. However, if you take a look at much of the research, the benefits …

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Do Changes in Squat Strength Correspond with Changes in Sprint Time?

Since most team sports consist of intermittent, short distance sprints with rapid changes of direction, the ability to accelerate tends to be more important than maximum velocity speed. It is quite rare that an athlete reaches maximum velocity during a competition without any interruption caused by a deceleration or direction change. Therefore, our efforts in …

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Athlete Monitoring: Practical Data Collection for Subjective Measures

In previous posts, the topic of monitoring session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) and wellness status were discussed here and here. To briefly review; sRPE: Approximately 30 minutes following a workout, practice or competition, the athlete provides a rating of perceived exertion value based on the chart below. This number is multiplied by the duration …

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External vs. Internal Coaching Cues

The cue’s we give our athletes when performing skills or exercises can have a large impact on their performance. Coaching cues are generally divided into two categories; “External” and “Internal”.  External coaching cues steer the athlete’s attention to the outcome of the drill or exercise. An example would be to tell an athlete to “spread …

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2 Week “Shock” Cycle Improves Fitness Markers

In an ideal world, our athletes would report to pre-season training camp in peak physical condition, ready to focus entirely on technical and tactical abilities. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. More often than not, a great proportion of the short pre-season period is often directed toward conditioning. How fit can we get our athletes …

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Avoiding Strength Loss During the In-Season

Finding time for strength training in-season can be difficult, particularly with extensive travel and competition schedules. Moreover, it’s important to allow for sufficient recovery time between practices, games and lifting sessions. Elimination of strength training in-season happens all too often for the aforementioned reasons. Strength levels can be retained in male field-sport athletes for about …

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