Blog
# 3 November 29, 2007
Question: What are the benefits of year round training?
Answer by Victor Hall, Sports Performance Coach
In today’s world of sport participation, the question isn’t should an athlete engage in physical training but instead how much time is
appropriate to devote towards improving one’s speed, strength and agility? At
Velocity Sports Performance, we believe a year round approach is best when
providing athletes with the greatest opportunity for success.
Our philosophy of speed and agility training relies heavily on an athlete’s
ability to learn and master new movement patterns while reprogramming previously
engrained bad habits. In essence, speed is a skill that can be learned and
perfected through proper technique and improved strength. The science of
learning tells us that it can take up to 10,000 hours master a complex physical
skill like speed technique. A quick fix program and short term commitment to
training will never come close to this type of skill practice requirement. Also
consider that a short term program is based on the assumption that the athlete
needs to peak for a particular season or competition. However, most of our
athletes compete in multiple sports with competitive seasons that link together
throughout the year and few breaks between. Therefore, they have no specific
time to peak physical performance and instead they need perform at high levels
all year long. Based on information gained from the science of learning and the
reality of sport participation, a year round training approach will build an
athlete with flawless movement skills and unmatched physical readiness.
Additional benefits of a year round training program include:
- Starting a season faster and stronger than competitors
- Maintaining a high performance level late into season while others decline
- Ability to progress at individual and optimal learning rates without rushing results
- Results remain permanent due to time dedicated to skill mastery
As with all training plans, a smart, safe and systematic approach will
yield the best results. Over the course of a year round training plan, we take
particular care to monitor overtraining and prescribe the following training
schedule adjustments:
|
Pre-Season: Peaking & Fine-Tuning |
3 sessions per week |
|
In-Season: Maintenance |
1-2 sessions per week |
|
Off-Season: Recover & Rebuild |
2-3 sessions per week |
If you have questions about what training schedule is right for you, and
how to best incorporate a year round program into your sports training, ask one of our sports performance coaches the next time you come in !
# 2 October 11, 2007
Question: What exactly is Sports Performance Training?
Answer:
In your visions
of your child’s athletic future, do you see Johnny winning the Heisman Trophy?
Or Mary setting an Olympic world record? Or maybe you just want to see Joe, Jr.
as a healthier individual who enjoys playing sports more. A sports
performance training program can make achieving all of these goals a little
more realistic. Whether a serious athlete, or someone who just likes to
occasionally play a pick-up-game of basketball, a quality sports performance
training program can help kids of all ages and skills take both their physical
fitness and athletic performance to higher levels.
What exactly
is sports performance training?
The primary
focus of sports performance training is to develop the whole athlete by
improving all of the physical qualities that are needed to be successful in
sports. Most sports training programs emphasize only those physical
qualities needed to perform a certain skill, such as throwing a curve ball, or
making a jump shot. But sports performance training takes it several
steps further by emphasizing strength, power, neuro-muscular coordination,
speed, flexibility and dynamic mobility, balance and stability. It’s an
integrated approach to training that addresses all of the bio-motor abilities,
as well as nutritional and psychological qualities that must be developed in
order for an athlete to truly maximize his or her physical abilities, and
ultimately play sports better.
An article that
ran in the San Ramon Valley News in California quoted Avery Faigenbaum, a
pediatric exercise scientist at the University of Massachusetts and author of
“Strength and power for Young Athletes,” as saying that in today’s society
programs like sports performance training “have become not just acceptable, but
necessary.” He further said that he appreciates companies that offer such
programs because “they’re replacing what we did on the playground so kids can
get stronger and healthier, and be less prone to injury.”
Why is it
done?
For athletes who
are serious about taking their athletic performance to the highest levels,
quality sports performance training programs can be that extra power tool
needed to push them ahead in the game. But one of the great things about
sports performance training is that it doesn’t discriminate in terms of an
individual’s athletic skill level. For someone who is just looking to get
off the bench and get in a little more playing time, or for someone who simply
wants to become more physically fit, sports performance training can provide
positive results no matter what the driving force.
One area that
all athletes in all sports disciplines can benefit from improving on is
speed. Speed is a skill that can be taught, plain and simple. Any
coach can make you tired, and most of them do. But that doesn’t
necessarily mean that you will improve in the characteristics and qualities –
particularly speed – that are needed to excel in sport. An experienced
sports performance coach will take care of all the details and deliver quality
training programs that can literally teach any athlete to be faster.
How is it
done?
An added benefit
to sports performance training is the learned prevention of “non-contact”
injuries. Simply trying to make a quick change of direction and putting
the foot down wrong can cause one to tear the ACL. Various exercises that
work on strength, stabilization and coordination, as well as the development of
the neuro-muscular system, will allow the athlete to prevent the non-contact
injuries and minimize muscle strains. There are a greater number of
athletes today, particularly females, who are experiencing severe injuries from
playing sports, and as a parent, nothing is worse than seeing your son or
daughter hurt or in pain. Sports performance training can help prevent
such injuries and keep those doctors’ bills down, and keep your son or daughter
in the game.
At Velocity
Sports Performance we begin by evaluating the athlete’s fundamental movements,
joint restrictions and muscle imbalances, as well as looking at athletic
performance parameters such as the 40 yard dash, standing long jump, standing
vertical jump, 3-cone drill and 5-10-5 pro-agility drill. From the
results of these evaluations a profile is made that allows the athlete to be
placed in a particular level. The athlete progresses through that level
based on his or her achievements of various competencies and fundamental skills. Once a program is completed, another evaluation is taken to show the athlete
the improvements that have been made through training.
But is doesn’t
end there - sports performance training is an on-going developmental process
that keeps athletes improving step-by-step, and allows them to continue
reaching higher levels of athletic performance.
One of the most
important steps in getting your child started in sports performance training is
to find the right coach. A qualified sports performance coach should have
all of the pre-requisite knowledge needed for sports performance training.
If your car
broke down, you wouldn’t take it to a baker to be fixed. If your car
broke down and it was a luxury car, you would likely take it to a specialist
who knows everything there is to know about that particular car and how it
works.
The same is true
of you child and sports performance training. You are entrusting your
child’s welfare, well-being and development to someone who should have
knowledge about the human body and how it works, grows and develops, as well as
how to keep the young athletes safe and healthy. A sports performance
coach should understand the principles of growth and development and what are
age-appropriate activities for a 10-year-old versus a 12-year-old versus a
14-year-old.
In searching for
the most qualified coach, combine all of this pre-requisite knowledge with
years of practice and experience. Once you have found a coach that you
trust to look after you child’s athletic growth and development, the coach will
take it from there.
In a society
today that is filled with all sorts of sedentary entertainment to distract the
younger generation, such as television, video games and the Internet, sports performance
training is a way to keep children active and fit, while simultaneously
improving their athletic abilities. Through involvement in this
specialized kind of training, your child will benefit by staying healthier,
playing sports better, and as a result, enjoying participating in sports more.
2. The best
age to begin developing speed as a skill is between 8-12 years old.
These are the “skill-hungry” years, and this is when the nervous system is
becoming more fully developed.
7. Injuries
can be minimized through proper training. Increase strength and
stability, balance and coordination allows the athlete to better stabilize the
body and reduce injuries – this will help keep your child off the injured list
and out on the field.
What can I do
to get my child started?
7 things you should know to help you
child enjoy sports
1. Speed
is a skill that can be taught. But you need someone who knows,
understands and is experienced in how to teach it.
3. Speed
is not genetic. Just because Mom and Dad aren’t athletically gifted,
or are slow, doesn’t mean Junior has to be slow.
4. “Playing”
the sports is no longer adequate for an athlete today to take his or her
performance to the highest levels. Just playing baseball is not going
to make you a great baseball player.
5. Sports
performance training is best done in small groups of approximately 6 athletes.
Individual training is often boring, and the athlete isn’t challenged by his or
her peers. In large groups, the coach cannot supervise as well, or
provide feedback, knowledge and results as easily. Small groups provide
the best opportunity to fast-track skills acquisition.
6. Sports
performance training is a year-round, life-long pursuit. Similar to
music lessons – when are you really good enough?
# 1. August 27, 2007
Question of the Month-
Asked by MANY, answered by Michael Dell, Sports Performance Coach
Question: What is the difference between an Active Dynamic Warm-Up and Static Stretching?
Answer: Before practicing, training, or participating in a competitive event, it is imperative that the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the body are ready for action. An old aproach to becoming prepared for an athletic event, was to sit or stand and hold a stretch for a certain amount of time on various muscle groups. This is still being practiced today. However, new research has been published showing that the msucles and joints of the body should be taken through an active dynamic warm-up; that emphasizes taking the various joints throughout their various ranges of motion. By performing an active dynamic warm-up, the muscles and joints become "excited" and are ready to be explosvie. By holding a static stretch, the muscles are told to relax. But during any sport, do we want our muscles to be asleep or awake? An active dynamic warm-up will allow the muscles to become warm and elastic, and best prepare them for all the motions that will take place during any and all athletic contests.
*Please stop by Velocity Sports Performance if you have any further questions, or submit them as an online inquiry and it might end up in our blog!