The fondest memories of sports were always the fun ones filled with laughter and smiles. I can remember several: - Pasta dinners - Hotel parties at tournaments - Road trips and carpools - Practices with fun games and competitions Looking back, when training sessions were a blend of hard work and...
The message I have been preaching to young female athletes has been the same for all of these years. Not only is it about becoming strong to be able to handle a demanding environment on the pitch, it is also about becoming resilient to sickness, disease...
Here's what you need to know about conditioning: - Most female soccer players are already getting aerobic system work - Most female soccer players aren't put under a stimulus higher than the game - Most female soccer players aren't doing conditioning to be fast and tap into their...
"I want my girls to have better fitness." This is a common request I get from soccer coaches. Before I give them the magical answer, I ask them what they're currently doing for conditioning. I'll get a myriad of answers I don't want to hear: 1. Circuits with...
I'm a huge fan of "building the base." Meaning, a female athlete must nail down balance and proprioception first before being able to undergo load with various weighted exercises like Pistol Squats, Split Squats, Single Leg RDLs and Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats. It bodes well to...
ACL injury prevention is more than doing balance exercises with your female athletes. Meticulous attention to detail in terms of joint angles of the ankle, knee and hip are critical to ensure they can change direction rapidly and safely. The majority of non-contact ACL injuries in...
Before I dive into today's post, I want to define change of direction and agility. The two are vastly different, as the first is a skill that involves learning proper stance, joint angles in deceleration and re-acceleration, as well as shoulder position. The other, applies these...
Everyone wants to be fast. While sports are enriched with dazzling skills, powerful shots, and sharp passes, they're also filled with dynamic movements off the ball. And speed is one of them. Just as much as sport specific skills, there needs plenty of repetitions in order to...
Early in my career, I was all about coaching performance on the pitch. Getting more skilled. Getting stronger. Getting faster. Getting more conditioned. While these are all still staples of my speed and conditioning programs in Baltimore, Maryland as well as remotely with my athletes, teaching life lessons is just...
What if told you it's more than balance exercises? What if I told you it's more than wide hips? What if I told you I wrote a 2,000 word article published on Stack.com on the other pieces of ACL injury reduction - the pieces that aren't discussed...