I didn't get to make it to the Central Virginia seminar but much of the speaker notes are available online right not so people can see what might be at BSMPG this May and what may be talked about next year. With all of the player tracking nonsense I see on twitter, it's important to create a foundation of what is real and what is coach candy, cool stuff that has very little impact in the game. P [...]

I thought it would interesting to share with you a personal approach to the evolution of strength training as I have seen it using my experiences as an athlete and coach who has been involved in strength training for 50 years. When I began weight training in 1963, it was not commonly accepted as a method of training, in fact weight training was discouraged. There were concerns that you would becom [...]

I wanted to share what I have learned from smart coaches who have shared their wisdom with me over the years. For simplicity sake I will just list what I have learned instead of getting into long history or other ramblings. I have a good taste in what is good information and what is just marketing nonsense. I see a lot of blogs talking about high intensity elements but without sharing the details [...]

We all heard the story of someone squatting very heavy before Seoul, but what about deadlifting for soccer athletes? Post activation potentiation or PAP is a mixed bag when you think of some common protocols used by the masses or creative options. PAP is not not a free package of skittles to get into beastmode, it's a chance depending on a lot of individual factors. While no specific formula or w [...]

I recently did an interview for Empowered Athlete and one of the questions looks at a topic that comes up often on ELITETRACK: the disconnect that often occurs between strength and speed. Here's the question and you can find the entire interview HERE...Boyle said, “Many athletes can squat large amounts of weight. Far fewer athletes seem to be able to run fast.” In your experience, what is the [...]

Gary Gray was first introduced to me years ago by his NSCA presentation and it was thought provoking. The same time period in the late 1990s I attended "From the Center", a seminar with Mike Clark (now with NASM) and Vern Gambetta. Currently the system has leaned up to the Y Balance test, a way to assess symmetry between right and left. The same time I was an intern with the Tampa Bay Rays and t [...]

The following is a list of some mistakes that I have made in coaching and teaching. If you learn from your mistakes I should be a genius, but unfortunately some of the lessons were only learned after I repeated of these mistakes several times. I hope that by sharing these with you, it will help you to avoid making the same mistakes I have made.It does not have to be hard to be good. - Each workout [...]

Day 1 featured two keynote presentations and three track options so I decided to see Sean Skahan (NHL), Jose Fernandez (EPL Consultant), and Art Horne's presentation. Bill Knowles and Craig Presented in the morning and both provided some great information. Before I get into the three tracks I will share my thoughts on presentations in general. I don't like the presentation zen style of talking a [...]

Devising a strength training program can be a daunting task. Essentially we must remember that the goal of a program is to develop strength that the athlete can use in their respective sport. To accomplish this I think of strength training as a process of moving through a spectrum of different movements and muscle actions with varied modes and loads to elicit the optimum strength training adaptati [...]

When looking at the training of endurance sports of biking, distance swimming and distance running strength training is often an afterthought. A sound strength program has tremendous potential to improve performance and to prevent injury. If you think about the demands of endurance sports the goals of strength training are clear: Swimming - To improve an athlete’s ability to streamline and t [...]