All athletes like to get better; there is no doubt that the way to greatness is through hard work and determination. Very rarely do you find an athlete that is naturally gifted enough not to put work in. So as an athlete what can you do right now to increase your performance? Below is a simple list to help you achieve the right path.

Get Assessed

A great thing to do is getting assessed. Get a baseline of were you’re at athletically. An honest assessment by a professional strength and conditioning coach or sports performance coach will help you structure a program that will not only work, but get safe results.  A good assessment program will involve a functional movement screen, which is a test of core stability, mobility and balance. An athletic assessment, which includes 10-yard dash, vertical jump and a sport specific movement. Finally an assessment that may look at biomechanical features. This would include joint tests to see if there is anything you should be worried about injury wise.

Get Flexible

 A proper flexibility, mobility and warm up will do wonders for your performance on the field. First it will help you prevent major and minor injuries. It will also help you recover quicker from tough workouts and competitions.  A proper flexibility program will encompass a few things; Corrective movements from you screen that you took above, Stretches to help you become more flexibility, Activation of your muscles so when you do high end movements you avoid injury and finally a dynamic warm up to prepare your muscles for activities of the training day.

Do Plyometrics

 Plyometrics or jump training will help you garner power. Not only will you jump higher you will learn how to produce power. Production of power is vital in an athletes training program.  It is also important to learn how to produce power so you can transfer that to your game on the field. Jump training also teaches you how to land properly which will help you alleviate any injures from poor landing mechanics.

Add Core into Your Programs

 Core training is not to get a six-pack. That is what good nutrition will do for you. Core training is becoming internally strong through many movements. Working on diagonal movements, stability movements and anti – extension movements will get you core power.  The use of medicine balls to help produce core power is also an important part in becoming a strong and powerful athlete.

Sleep/Recovery

 A hidden secret with some of the best athletes is knowing how to sleep right and knowing how to recover properly.  Proper sleep will help your body regenerate energy and supply your body properly with nutrients. You can put a lot of time into the gym and working out but if you do not sleep right or for the proper amount of time you will tend to overtrain easier and have a hard time regulating your body’s response to the workout. Recovery with regards to nutrition is a huge element in becoming a great athlete. Learning what to fuel your body pre and post workout is essential for the body to build muscle and recovery right.

These five points will help you so much more than a heavy bench press or squat. Learning what you need to work on with a proper assessment is vital for your lifting program, becoming more flexible so you can recover right and avoid injuries is a must for any athlete, Learning to get power from jump training and proper landing mechanics is important not only for jumping athletes but for any athlete. Power is a missing component in many athletes. Proper core training will again help produce power.  Power produced from the core is an awesome advantage for any athlete and finally sleep and recovery is a missing link in most athletes. Learning how eat to recover will help you put on muscle, avoid major injury and allow you to train at a high level all the time.

We have come to the final piece in the series of basic core training. In the previous articles we discussed what the core is, how we program it and the progressions we can make over time to increase strength and power. We are now going to look at sets and reps. With all good things, we must make sure we do not over train the core. A big problem with some programs is too much core. The core muscles are just like any other muscles in the body. They need their rest. Now with that being said you can train different muscles in the core each day and not over train. You have to be smart about selection and your rep and set scheme.

Basic strength protocols

Because the goal with core training is to gain more power and strength, we have to maintain a consistent strength protocol. Strength is determined by the maximum force that a muscle or muscle group can generate at a specific velocity. This is important when designing your core program. According to the NSCA, the strength reps stay between 6-8 reps with some variance. We generally stay in this structure.

Basic Repetition Protocol

Just as we mentioned above with strength, there are some repetition measurements we need to stick with. We need to be in line with what we are supersetting the core movement with and also how it compliments the movements.  For instance when were doing our chops here at Deluca’s, we generally mix (superset) them with a power exercise. Our power exercises after a warm up are around 3-4 sets. Our chop/lifts stay in that range and usually do not pass 3 sets. This is because of the dynamic of the movement and also for total rep scheme. We do not want to surpass 30 reps total with the chop or lift because it is a strength exercise.

King TUT (Time Under Tension)

A hidden element in strength and conditioning is the time under tension that a muscle can withstand. For movements like anti-rotational planks and side planks we look at how much tension the muscle is under over time. So a plank for instance will start off at 20 seconds, then increase over time until we hit a solid 30 seconds before we advance you to the next progression.

Pulling it all together

Below is a basic list of reps and sets schemes we use here at Deluca’s Sports Performance:

• Chops and Lifts are 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions and are supersetted with our first movement of the day in the weight room.
• Rotational throws are sets of 2-3 and usually involve medicine balls. We keep the reps from 4-6 as we are trying to generate more power.
• Anti – Rotational movements like planks, side planks will use TUT. We generally start with 2-3 sets of 20 seconds for front planks and 2-3 sets of 12-15 seconds of side planks. Other anti- rotational core movements will be more sets and reps based.  We will superset them with either a power movement like jump training or in the 2^nd tier of movements in the strength portion of the workout.
• Multi – Functional movements will be in the strength phase of programming.  We will generally superset them with the 3^rd movement of jump training or within the strength training portion towards the beginning of the program. Multi-functional training is about balance and stability and will have 3 sets of 6-8 reps, never exceeding 8 reps. Generally speaking 8 reps is high especially as we advance our movements.

The core is a very important set of muscles designed to help the athlete garner more power, strength and help the body stabilize. The ability to understand the muscles involved will help you get the most out of your core training. Learning how to utilize the muscles and put them in the program properly will help make the core that much stronger. Remember these muscles are just like any other in the body, they need rest, proper programming and instruction.

 To see a sample of progressions for med ball click here.

The structure of the core is very involved and takes more than crunches and leg raises to achieve power, stability and proper movement. The core involves 4 major muscle groups. These muscle groups are a key ingredient to making a great athlete. At Deluca’s we really like to expose all athletes to core training, as we believe it is vital to overall performance.  In part 1 of the core series, we defined the core and the movements we deem necessary to hit the muscles involved. They were:

1. Chops/Lifts
2. Rotational Strength
3. Anti-Rotational Strength/Stability
4. Multi-Functional Training

In part 2 of the core series, we told you where the core fit into the program with regards to our class structure. The structure was:

1. Pre-hab/FMS corrections/Activation
2. Dynamic Flexibility
3. Plyometrics and Core
4. Speed and Agility training
5. Power and Strength
6. Conditioning

Today, we’re going to talk about why we start from the ground up in our base model for sports performance. Our performance model is designed around a 12 week program to increase range of motion in muscles, increase power, increase core strength, increase speed and agility and finally, prepare for their sport in a conditioning manner. Over the course of the 12 weeks, exercises 1-4, as listed above,  have progressions that should be followed. Following progressions may seem tedious to athletes, but it is one of the most important things for them. This is because it makes sure that the movement they are going to perform is strict, controlled and puts them in the best position to produce the goal of that movement. With regards to core, training is always started in the base position.

Chops/Lifts and Rotational Strength

In each of the 4 movements mentioned above we always start from the ground up. Specifically for chops, lifts and rotational strength exercises we start off the ground. This may seem very simplistic, which it is, but allows the athlete to learn the movement, apply the movement and then advance to the next series of movements. The 2^nd progression is in a split stance on the knee. This provides the athlete the ability to sustain proper alignment while in a position of instability. The 3^rd phase would have the athlete in a split stance scenario, but with the knee off the ground. This now introduces the athlete to total instability while a movement is taking place. This forces the athlete to create stabilization through the use of the core. This is vital for core stability and power.  The 4^th phase is placing the athlete in a position of increased unbalance whether on a board (fms board) or with a single leg. We want the athlete to be able to control their posture and still garnish power.

Anti-Rotational and Multi-Functional Movements

These movements are a little different in that we will not always start off the ground. With exception of a cable anti–rotational movement, we will do the same as mentioned above. For this article we are going to focus on the plank as our anti–rotational movement.  With these movements we use the ground as our base of movement and our own body. For example the plank is very easy one to progress in a short time. A progression would look like this:

1. On elbows
2. Pushup holds
3. Feet elevated
4. Blue pad on elbows, use of Bosu ball or unbalanced surface

This progression is a great example of using/manipulating the body and its alignment to work on the core.  For multi-functional movements it goes in the same pattern. We will use either elevation to achieve a higher level of difficulty or make the surface more unstable to challenge the athlete.

In the fourth installment of this core series, we are going to show you some videos and talk about the importance of sets/reps and intensity with regard to each progression.

As we have seen in part 1 of this series, the core is a vital part of any program.  In this section, we will review the importance of these core movements and how we fit this into a program. How do we make them as important on the list as jump training or sprinting? Well, the answer lies below.

Here at Deluca’s Sports Performance we believe in integrating the core early in the workouts. We design our program based on the  need of athletes. We know from science that jump training is very important and directly correlates to how fast you can run.  We also know that the core is very involved in both jump training and speed training. The issue is always having enough rest time for the lower chain to recover during jump training or sprint training. So knowing that core movements need to be implemented in the program early we integrate it during our jump training sessions. What this does is 2 fold: it allows us to train the core early on movement which is important and it also allows us to rest the lower chain while the athlete/clients are doing jump training. A typical jump portion at Deluca’s looks like this:

a)    Box Jump 3×3

1. Plank holds 3×30 seconds

b)   Depth Jump w/counter movement 3×3

1. Tall kneeling chest toss 3×6

c)    Single leg hop w/counter movement 3×5

1. Straight leg crunch w/plate 3×10

As you can see on day 1 we focus on stability with the planks, more core stability but with movement during the tall kneeling chest toss and finally some flexion work with the straight leg crunch. This is a great way to implement your core workout in a sports performance setting. Now we must look at where do we add our chops and lifts. Chops and lifts are done during the lifting portion of the workout. You might be asking, why there is a difference in the above core vs. chops and lifts. Well there are a few things to consider. Chops and lifts require more technical coaching, more time on equipment (we use the keiser) and we need something to counter our explosive movements (hang clean, vertimax, snatches etc.).  We do all our chopping and lifting after our 1^st exercise in the strength or power segment of class. We generally do chops on day 1 and lifts on day 3. This has had a huge benefit in us coaching athletes the right way and also a benefit for the athlete as far as rushing through the exercise to get back to jump training. Explosive movements are something that needs proper rest in between sets.

In part 3 of this core series we’re going to look at sets, reps, progressions and regressions. We now have the knowledge of what core is and where to put it.  It is time to learn the movements and how to progress them.

The core is defined as anything other than your limbs and head. This is vital to understand that more goes into the training than just your low back and abdominal wall. Simple movements like walking down or up a hill has a definite stressor on core stability than you might think. When we talk about athletics all movement involves core strength and the ability to take outside pressure on the body and to maintain your position is a great indicator of core strength and stability. There are major movements we work on at Deluca’s that focus on the core.

• Chop/Lift
• Rotational Strength
• Anti-Rotational strength/Stability
• Multi-Functional Training

Chops and lifts are crucial to training your core. As we move our body through the upward (lift) or the downward (chop) we must realize that it is working more than just a – b movement. We are incorporating stability in the trunk as we go thought he motion and also affecting some abdominal muscles as well. It is vital to maintain good stability in the hips and in the alignment while performing each of these movements. These movements are done on different days and do mirror each other. They do however work different muscle groups and make the body stabilize differently based on line of pull and angle of the movement.

Rotational strength is a huge part of any program. Most athletes have a rotational component within their sport.  In programs rotational movements are designed to strengthen those muscles involved with your rotation. Most exercise involved a modality like a medicine ball. These muscles that are involved in rotational throwing are a key component to core strengthening.  A lot of baseball injuries with the oblique muscle can benefit from proper core training and application of rotational core training.

Anti Rotation or Stability training is an interesting concept in strength and conditioning of an athlete. Athletes are use to moving and applying force, anti rotation or stability training for the core is opposite of that. The goal of this movement is to limit the ability of the body of rotation, flexion and extension. A strength coach will put an athlete in a position were they have to maintain that position for a period of time. For example a front plank is designed to maintain a level back and stabilize the core without moving at all. These exercises are an important area to focus on because during completion there are going to be times of bracing yourself and you have to maintain the ability to hold your ground. For example a soccer player in a 1-v1 situation. The defender will try and get you off the ball with bumping hips and trying to get the athlete off balance. Good anti rotation training will help with keeping your torso tight so you can absorb the opposing force.

Multi – functional training is creating movement by limbs while keeping your core in a position of stability. For example, the superman exercise.  The superman is an exercise that you lie on your stomach and elevate one arm and the opposite leg. The ability of you to have stability in the core while other body parts are moving is a prime example of multi – functional core training. There are many versions that make it more difficult to move while staying stable.

Part 1 was an overview of what core training is. The next article will focus on where does the core training come into play with regards to programming. Should core be a whole separate training session or be incorporated within a program.

“Men wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success.”

Every year, a new crop of athletes leaves the comfort and safety of home for their own journeys into the unknown.

What determines success at the higher levels of competition often boils down to one word – “attitude.” Athletes who achieve extraordinary success are often found to possess the following attributes:

• the ability to overcome failure
• a positive mindset
• courage

The climb to the top is a dark and lonely place. Athletes will encounter a slew of characters and obstacles along the way like in a board game, some will be helpful (i.e. mentors and coaches) and others outright dangerous. The biggest lessons and breakthroughs will be learned when an athlete is “knocked to the ground” and their ability to overcome failure or a formidable opponent.

Shackleton overcame the sinking of his ship “Endurance” in the harshest and least hospitable region on Earth. With just three small lifeboats and a few months supplies, he saved 28 men including himself after 2 years of being battered by ice, darkness and certain death.

A positive mindset in lieu of unfavorable conditions is probably the hardest attribute to maintain. In a way, athletes must learn to detach themselves from outcomes and environments that are not in their control. With relentless focus on “controlling what they can control” athletes can find the positive in any condition.

Stuck on ice and faced with declining morale and negativity with some of his crew, Shackleton assigned several potential troublemakers to his own tent so he could win them over and keep close watch on them. Knowing the power of his positive mindset on the crew Shackleton managed his emotions to keep his own courage and confidence high; when these flagged, he never let his men know.

Courage is defined as: ”the quality of mind and spirit that enables a person to face difficulty and danger without fear.” Athletes who’ve risen to the top of their sport have done so with the conviction that there was nobody better to get the job done.

In April 1916 Shackleton ordered his men off the ice and into the three lifeboats, hoping to reach land along the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. After a week of stormy seas, they arrived at the deserted Elephant Island. Almost immediately, Shackleton began planning his next move. Along with five other men, he managed to guide a 22-foot lifeboat to South George Island; from there, a smaller party reached a whaling station and help. During the next several months, he set sail in three different ships, but none could cut through the pack ice surrounding Elephant Island. Finally, on Aug. 30, 1916, aboard the Yelcho, a Chilean steamer, Shackleton sailed within sight of the island and rescued the 22 remaining men. “I have done it,” he wrote his wife, Emily. “Not a life lost, and we have been through hell.”

Are you ready to raise your game to the next level? Enter your name and email in the form below to claim your complimentary performance consultation (value of $97) where you’ll learn about the powerful principles required for athletic success.  

Reference

Koehn, Nancy. “Leadership Lessons From The Shackleton Expedition.” New York Times, 24 December 2011. Web.

1. Writing their goals down
2. Better nutrition
3. More Sleep or proper sleep

1. Goal setting is very important for an athlete. Goals give a sense of purpose and when finished, accomplishment. Goals should have 3 levels:

• Immediate
• Short term
• Long term

Immediate goals would be something on a weekly basis. Whether a to do list or a weekly check off list.  These goals are great to have a sense of accomplishment and will help a student athlete get more things done. Things on this list should be homework, weekly workouts, chores and anything else that is of immediate concern.  Short-term goals can range from 3-6 months. These goals should be long projects for school, applications to school, weightlifting goals, nutrition goals, school choices, big exams coming up and other things that are in the near future. Long-term goals are generally 6 months and out. These goals might have bigger picture thoughts. Making the team, getting into a certain school, being prepared for next season. These goals allow the athlete to realize there is a big picture and that you should prepare for that future the best you can.

2. Better nutrition is always something any athlete should be concerned about. Whether your goal is to gain weight, lose weight or maintain you must have a sense of proper nutrition.  Going on a “diet” is not recommended for athletes because that is a short-term fix. An athlete needs to change a lifestyle and accept living without junk food everyday. You can eat things in moderation and in a controlled manor. No strength and conditioning coach will tell a 15-year-old kid not to enjoy life; you just have to control it.

3. More Sleep to help Recover – One of the best ways to recover is proper sleep. Sleep is beneficial for many reasons. For an athlete recovery is vital to help you reach your goals.  Sleep allows your body to rejuvenate energy systems and help you build muscle. The reason it will help build muscles is because it allows the body to release natural growth hormone.  This release is the reason muscles get replenished, how new skill is helped learn (cognitive) and also helps your bones.

Goals, proper nutrition and adequate sleep should all be part of a complete athletes regimen. These 3 things can be vital to an athlete’s performance and are very simple to implement right away.

1. Talk with the parents and set a goal for them- whichever sport they play they have to have a goal of a return. The parents play a crucial role in this as well, they see them more and have more say in what they are doing off the field or court.
2. Do research- whether your familiar or not with acl injuries and the surgery they have had read up on it. There are many different types of surgeries now and it depends on the age of the athlete.
3. Contact their doctor- know what kind of surgery it was, how bad was the tear, based on age of athlete what are your recommendations.  When are their dates to see them?
4. Contact their physical therapist- you need to be on the same page and know what rehab they have been doing. Has it been strictly the injured acl or have they been strengthening the total body.  What is their time line for their return? Is there something they shouldn’t be doing? How much longer do you have them on script until?
5. Athletic profile- same reasons as mentioned above
6. FMS screen- same reasons as mentioned above.

The 6 steps above will help you gain a feel for the athlete and also make sure all your ducks are in a row. You have to be on the same page and stay within your practice as strength and conditioning coach. Do not try to be the physical therapist or doctor. Let them help guide you to the finish line. No doubt do your job but remember to always refer to someone that can touch the knee that has seen him or her for a longer period of time than you have.  The biggest key is knowing your role. Our role is to strengthen the injured knee and also get them as strong as possible on the rest of the body. We have to remember that the now repaired knee is or should be stronger than the other knee. Studies show that the non – surgical ACL is more susceptible to a tear then the repaired one. Don’t just focus on the “bad knee”, focus on the whole body.

We have all the information now so what do we do? Well that is something that is in your knowledge base as a strength and conditioning coach. I will say however side on this word caution.  Be cautious of the movement and really plan them out. I always do the following with anyone that comes to injury and me with.

1. Go through step 1-5 above
2. After you gain some knowledge of what rehab work they are doing add that into the regimen
3. Go through the proper warm up listed in part 1
4. After the warm up do your corrective exercises that they are familiar with and make sure to do it on both legs not just the injured remember there is a higher chance of injury in the non-surgical repaired leg.
5. Start with the basics no matter how good they were- you have to teach the body and reintroduce all movements. Think of them as brand new athletes.
6. Hold off on speed work and go more into strength work – until you feel comfortable enough to sprint them a little which will be up to the PT not you.
7. No lateral movement – again this is up to the PT not you, keep in contact with them
8. Condition them- gain some conditioning back for them. Bike intervals work great and so do interval work to build up muscle conditioning
9. When doing strength work- focus on single leg movements. This is done for 3reasons. 1^st sports are played of 2 legs but generally pressing off each leg individually.  2^nd one leg is usually stronger then the other and when dealing with post rehab you have to make sure you equally getting them stronger. And 3^rd NO need to squat with a bar on your back. The added spine pressure will not be good for them nor if they are a female good for the q angle for reasons mentioned in part 1. If you want to squat them goblet squat them.
10.   Do not be, I repeat do not be out of your line of practice- Respect the doctors opinion and the pt’s opinion. Do not advance until they say so as injuries will be put back on you. Be conservative and be smart.

In conclusion acl injuries are frequent, they happen more in women then men but all athletes need to be trained to prevent them. Proper assessment of an athlete and asking proper questions will help determine any possible injury concerns you might have. A proper warm up and class structure will help the athlete become stronger, more powerful in the areas that tend to help keep an athlete injury free. If you do get an injured athlete asking for help follow steps 1-5. Do not ignore the doctor or physical therapist and stay within your practice. Always strengthen both legs in your program and make sure you keep constant contact with the other practitioners.

These methods have been used with great success. Follow the recipe above and you will see less injuries and you will help more athletes stay in the game then on the sidelines.

Part 1 What is the ACL and its Function: Key Factors in an ACL Tear

The ACL or anterior cruciate ligament is a very important ligament in the knee. It has 2 main functions; 1^st to protect the shin bone (tibia) from coming too forward in front of the femur and the 2^nd function is to limit rotational movement. It is one of the 4 major ligaments in the knee and to me the most important.  Women tend to get more of the ACL tears because of 5 major reasons:

1. Q angle – which is the angle from your hips to your knees; the wider the angle the more pressure is put on the knee joint.
2. Weak hamstrings – Women have a tendency to be quad dominant. This is an issue because the quads are a breaking mechanism for the body. What happens is there is not enough eccentric strength in the hamstring to help or limit the pulling forward of the knee.
3. The notch of the knee is smaller – this issue is important because the movement ability is less and causes more shearing on the ligament.
4. Conditioning- Women tend to participate less in rotational moving sports.
5. Menstrual cycle- while new studies are coming out the information suggests that the blood loss and the hormones affect the laxity of the ligaments causing easier tears in women.

Most injuries for female athletes are non-contact meaning moving patterns and deceleration or the ability to stop and cut be not done correctly. While men have an injury more from contact sports and being hit in an awkward movement. Both injuries result in the same scenario surgery. What we can do as strength and conditioning coaches is work on the deceleration and the cutting movements.

How do we prevent or help limit ACL tears in both men and women? This simple formula will help you especially when beginning with a new athlete.

1. Athletic profile – gain information about the athletes beside name and email. Get medical information and previous injuries.
2. FMS – screen your athletes in the FMS screen. It is a huge indicator of many issues athletes will face: mobility, stability, flexibility, strength and body alignment.
3. Proper warm up protocol – Foam roll, stretch, activate, dynamically warm up, cns (central nervous system) prepping and finally get to the workout

When you have your athlete go through the above there is neither rhyme nor reason you should not be getting them stronger.  The order in which we do our warm ups is crucial to prepping the body for activity. For us we are prepping them for plyometric work, core work, speed and agility work and finally strength work.  The reason we do the order above is because we need to learn to land, jump and create power, which plyometrics teaches us. Yes, it also teaches us to jump higher and become more elastic, but the premise is power production.  Speed and agility are last in movement work because in order to generate speed you need to be powerful, again what teaches us power jump training does especially in the youth population because you wont be doing a ton of Olympic movements in the strength portion of the workout. Finally, the strength portion is geared towards total body in the order of any triple extension or power work first. Now with that being said and mentioned above you will have a hard time Olympic lifting youth athletes. You can still do some triple extension work with kettle bells, dumbbell work and body weight works as well. The goal is total body strength; male or female, if the program is a solid one injury will be reduced.

Look for part 2 on how we coach someone that comes to us with an ACL tear.

• Tight hamstrings and hip flexors
• Lack of power
• Poor core strength

 These factors listed above allow athletes to become that fast and powerful athlete. Question is how do I get good at all those. Well you need to do plyometric training prior to your speed training. This is for 3 main reasons.

• Teaches you the ability to load and explode in your movements
• Teaches you triple extension which is a great power producer
• When you super set plyometrics with core, it will allow you to have great core strength which is key for sprinting

Now if we take speed training and just do that alone you will not teach your body how to become efficient with power. There is a great correlation between athletes who are extremely fast and athletes who can jump high. This is because when you jump train properly you teach the body how to become powerful through your ankles, knees and hips.  In turn a great sprinter knows how to efficiently put or transfer the power in the ankle knees and hips to the ground.  Without the ability to load in that area you will never become faster. You might be fast, but to become faster you have to learn how to load and unload power. With plyometric training that is possible. The whole goal is power production and teaching the body how to load power and unload power.

While jump training is a huge part of the programming at Deluca’s, there is more to training than just jump training. Athletes in general lack a good assessment. A good assessment will allow you to focus on your weakness to compliment your strength. In the list above flexibility is a big concern for most athletes.  Having a lack of flexibility can be detrimental to an athlete because of injury and also the ability to teach the body proper movement. At Deluca’s we take pride in working athletes through a specific order with plyometrics being in the top three of our concern.  Below is how we like to program our daily classes for athletes.

8 Main Factors of Sports Performance

1.  FMS screen/Screen -  Allows us to see you move in certain patterns.
2. Proper warm up –  Using a certain mixture of static stretching, activation and dynamic warm up to not only get your muscles ready for the workout but also to get your nervous system ready for work.
3. Plyometric training –  Learning to load and unload power. The ability to land effectively and transfer the power in another direction.
4. Core training – Mixed in with jump training, teaching the body how to stabilize. Also teaching the body how to be powerful through rotational movements.
5. Speed training – teaching mechanics of movement and then learning to load the movement when strong enough
6. Agility training – learning to decelerate, cut effectively and move efficiently in small spaces
7. Strength training – starting with explosive movements/Olympic lifting movements to teach the body force production through triple extension, total body training making sure were strong through legs up through the body.
8. ESD – Energy System Development which is conditioning

These 8 factors are the cornerstone of the programming. Implementing these into your program will not only allow you to become a better overall athlete, but become faster and more powerful. The goal of any athlete is or should be to become the most explosive player on the field of play with the ability to use or sustain that over a long period of time.  Putting some plyometric training or jump training in your program will take you to the next level as an athlete.