RAQ Training

Over the ten plus years that I have been in the sports performance training arena, I have had the pleasure of training a lot of athletes. What I have learned and continue to expound upon with my athletes and parents is that there is a difference between quickness and speed. An athlete can be really quick, but when timed in the 40 yard dash, it may appear that they are not as fast as they looked. Speed is the ability to maintain a constant velocity; whereas quickness is the ability to accelerate to that top speed or velocity. Most sports rarely have an athlete running for an extended distance or an extended period of time. Rarely in flag football do you see people breaking away from the line of scrimmage or catching a pass and running straight down the sidelines unless it was a pass play that was a 9 route. In most sports, quickness is more important than speed because of the continual change in direction and the small distances that the athlete has to cover over an extended period of time. To transition it over to flag football, when will a player ever run for over a distance of 40 yards? Heck in most leagues the field is only 80 yards long! Usually players need quick feet and quick movements to elude their opponent and make them miss grabbing their flag. In order to develop quickness, an athlete must have a quick first step and faster reaction time than his opponent. This allows him to be a split second faster which could mean being the highlight reel or being on the highlight reel.

A player’s First Step Quickness (FSQ) is described as his or her aptitude at acceleration. First step quickness makes the difference between winning and losing in flag football. It is the difference between going to the next round of the tournament and going home. It could mean the difference between catching the game winning pass or making the game winning interception; being a little late or a being little slow.

The key factors in FSQ are power and footwork in order to develop first step quickness.

One of the limitations I’ve seen with this concept is an athlete taking a long first step, which is not rewarded in flag football. Too long of a first step places the athlete’s base of support too far forward to their center of gravity. A long first step means a player is in the air for a long time and can’t change direction while in the air. The opposite would be the player that can stop and cut on a dime and change direction without losing a step (what I like to call Houdini’s “Now you see me Now you Don’t”). The most common error is the false step or miss-step away from the intended direction. This concept is best illustrated in the old cartoons where the characters would run in place before taking off. In order for a player to take a long first step, he must push back in the opposite direction before he can go forward. A good example would be someone who is backpedaling too high and trying to defend a quick receiver who comes of the line fast and stops abruptly for a hitch or a curl route. The defender if backpedaling too high will have all his momentum on his back foot when he/she tries to react, which causes separation from them and the receiver. Developing a quick forward first step can be trained just like throwing a football. Players need to work on the length and direction of their first step. The foot movement should be as low as possible and their foot should return back onto the ground as soon as possible. The first step must be in the intended direction to gain a step!

Quality over quickness!

The athlete’s main focus is to learn the correct technique before progressing to doing any drill with speed.

Another limitation I see in FSQ is an athlete’s lack of arm action, which can be a result of poor trunk strength. The arms and shoulders are important body parts when dealing with running and changing direction. The arms and hands should be positioned to aid in the first movement. Remember, the arms are huge drivers that can propel the body forward if sequenced correctly with the lower body and legs. If the trunk cannot stabilize and transfer the force effectively, the athlete will automatically decrease their arm swing to avoid being thrown off balance.

Once you get the concept of forward first step quickness, one must move on and take into consideration that flag football is a sport that requires multi-directional movement. As a result, flag athletes should train to move in the all directions and be able to develop first step quickness in all directions. To accomplish this, I like to use the analogy of a giant clock when training in for FSQ multi-directionally. Think of a large clock with the numbers 12, 3, 6 and 9 on it. From the center facing 12 o’clock, a player should apply the concepts used in forward first step quickness to accomplish multi-directional movement.

In closing, developing an explosive linear first step is all about loading the body quickly with an optimal posture. This can best be trained by getting the athlete to reflexive move into this position without conscious awareness. By using the suggestions discussed in this article, you should improve speed, power, and quickness, translating into a more improved and enhanced performance on the field.

Speed and Strength Coach for Rec Athletes in Charlotte, NC

This is the last of the four part series where we looked at the newest and oldest fraternity/ sorority for athletes: The Recreational Professional Athlete. This fraternity and sorority has been in existence since the beginning of time before anyone thought to pay and watch athletes perform. This fraternal group started in the backyards, sand lots, cornfields, and empty lots in the neighborhoods way before ESPN and all the other major network television and sponsors started to televise and contribute to its mainstream efforts. We are a new breed of athletes designed and made from an old cloth that brings the commonality of man and/or woman together over nationalities, creeds, race, religions, and sex.

We looked at the definition of what a weekend warrior (recreational professional athlete) was as well as how one can train to become one. In my opinion anyone that has breath can and is a recreational professional athlete rather you are six to one hundred and six. We set the trends that people see on TV if you don’t believe me go to the Rucker’s Basketball tournament in New York, turn to ESPN during the little league baseball tournament or better yet go to Florida where ESPN has the Disney Sports Complex. Recreational sport rather its organized by a sanction organization or a couple of individuals getting together after Thanksgiving dinner and playing in the backyard fuels the sporting industry. If you go to any sporting good store, the store’s major purchasers aren’t Michael Jordan, Payton Manning, Derek Jeter, or David Beckam, it’s us the fraternity and sorority of athletes that enjoy the sport because it gives us something to escape to. We never abuse it, we always find ways of giving back to it either via through charity events to raise awareness of some disease out there i.e. Breast Cancer 10K walks, or bridging gaps between individuals with differences i.e. Grid Iron Gangs, or just for pure enjoyment i.e. stick ball pick up games in the Bronx on a hot summer day. Recreational Professional Athletes do not discriminate for you can find them through every walks of life (no pun intended) from the co-ed flag football leagues to the wheelchair basketball leagues at the local church.

This article sole purpose is to look at the mental aspect of training the recreational professional athlete. The mind-body connection is a very powerful one. For everything you think in your mind, your body has a reaction, regardless of whether it is real or imagined. For example, have you ever had a bad dream? Usually, you will wake up and your heart is racing, you are sweating and very agitated, even though all you were doing was sleeping. But, in your mind there was something bad going on and your body was reacting to it. Here’s another example: if you are home alone and you hear a noise and interpret it as the wind, you are fine; but if you interpret it as a prowler, your fight or flight response takes over and you become fearful, your heart begins racing a mile a minute, your eyes dilate and you are scared. These are just a few examples of how strong the connection is between your mind and your body. With this premise, it becomes unmistakable how necessary it is to train both the mind and body for peak performance.

In sports, so many things are left to chance. Sports are predictably unpredictable. Why let your mental mindset be one of those things? There’s no reason for your mental game to be your Achilles heel! Up until about a decade ago, a Sport Psychology professional was considered a person who athletes went to see only when they had a problem, not someone who was healthy and was a productive athletes and teams spent their time with. Luckily, this stigma is changing; the change is slow, but it is evident. You see Sport Psychology professionals working with everyone now; recreational athletes, colleges, professional teams, Olympic athletes, businesses, and corporations all seek them out. People are realizing that no matter how good you are, you can always improve, and one way to improve yourself is to become well-versed in performance enhancement techniques. There is no room for complacency; the complacent ones get left behind. This philosophy holds true not only in sports but in business as well.

Athletes spend so much time physically practicing to get an edge on the competition. Yet what teams and athletes can really do to get an edge is right in front of their nose, or more accurately, right above their shoulders! You hear the same thing all the time, “Sports is 90-95% mental.” Athletes and coaches at all levels say it, but how many of them do something about it? It may be common knowledge, but it is not always common practice.

Maybe they don’t have the time, maybe they don’t have the resources, or maybe down deep they don’t really believe it. Whatever the reason, the fact remains the same, they are not utilizing their most powerful resource, the mind. Most athletes fatigue mentally before they fatigue physically, due to the fact that their mind is not in as good of shape as their bodies.

Competition is tight, athletes are physically fit, and the margin for victory is slim. Managers, coaches and players are realizing that to get ahead they need an added resource, and that resource is a trained mind. When there are two teams that are physically equal, it is the team that works together smoothly and is mentally prepared and confident that will come out on top. Keep in mind, though: no mental training will compensate for ineffective technique. You need to be strong, technically and mentally. Unfortunately, many times one aspect of your game is magnified at the expense of the other. You should give equal attention to both; that is the ideal approach. You are given the talent, it’s your job to develop it and watch it flourish by combining physical and mental training with a great work ethic.

The zone is not a mystical place that only God selects certain athletes to possess while others are doomed to their own failures. The zone is a place that every athlete, if trained properly, can possess on a more frequent basis successfully. The first thing that I think one must do is go through the characteristics of what is the zone and the elements that an athlete must possess in order to get into the zone. Success in sports requires your mind and your body. As an athlete it is very important to have a clear mental picture of what it is you are striving for. By taking some time to think about peak performances you have had in the past, it can aid you in making sure they happen more often! It is important to also be aware of these characteristics so they can be addressed to help strengthen yourself and achieve peak performances on a more consistent basis. When one is in the zone they possess these seven characteristics:

1. Relaxed: The days of getting psyched up to play are over. Research has shown over and over that the best performances occur when you are just slightly above your normal state of arousal, not at the extreme end of the spectrum as once thought. You are energized, yet relaxed it’s a subtle balance of quiet intensity. Your mind is calm and your body is ready to go. You feel relaxed, but you are able to move with great strength and ease.

2. Confident: Not letting a lapse in performance undermine your belief in your overall abilities is at the core of this characteristic. When you are playing well, you feel confident that no matter what you are up against, you are going to come out on top. You just exude with confidence and pride, and it is evident in your performance. There is no fear. Confidence on the inside is outwardly shown by way of your presence, your walk and your facial expressions. You should expect to be successful, not hope or wish to be successful. You must adopt a confident, winning attitude. It is trusting your instincts and intuition to do the right thing at the right time; and if you are prepared, you can be confident that this will happen. This complete faith allows you to just know that you are going to do everytme and without the conscious use of reasoning or analyzing.

3. Completely focused: You are totally absorbed in the moment. You have no memory of the past and no qualms about the future; you are here now. The only thing you are concentrating on is the task at hand. You are oblivious to everything else going on around you, consumed by the moment. Like a child playing with his toys, you are so absorbed in the moment that nothing outside can affect you. You have no real sense of time, and before you know it, the game is over. The game seems to have flown by, and at the same time, everything you did seemed to happen in a slowed-down pace with great precision and concentration. Having the ability to stay in the moment is a gift that all of peak performers have.

4. Effortless: Things just sort of happen with little or no effort whatsoever. All your moves are smooth and for that time, your sport seems like the easiest thing in the world. You are in a state of mind and body where you can accomplish great things with little effort. Your mind and body are working with one another in perfect unison. The grace and ease that you display make everything you do seem like the simplest task in the world. You have a sense of finesse and grace, even when the task is very grueling and demanding. That sort of connectedness and moment of greatness is an awesome thing to both witness and take part in.

5. Automatic: There is no interference from your thoughts or emotions. Things are just happening, both without protest and without consent. You are on auto pilot – just reacting to whatever comes your way. Your body just seems to know what to do without any directive from you. There is no conscious thought involved; you’re going strictly on your instincts. If you think less, you will achieve more.

6. Fun: When you’re in the flow, the enjoyment is incomparable to anything else. You feel like when you were a kid enjoying your sport with pure and innocent delight. Anyone can see in your eyes the satisfaction and fulfillment the sport gives you. You feel like your sport is giving you back something that you can’t get from anyone or anything else. This is a key factor because if you don’t enjoy your sport, your future in it will be limited.

7. In Control: You feel that no matter what, you are in control. What you think and want will happen next is in your control. You have ultimate command over your emotions as well – you are controlling them, not the other way around. When you are in control, you are in charge. You govern your own destiny. When you feel this strong of a command over your game, great things are sure to happen. The authority is yours, and no one else’s. You believe that you have ultimate control over your performance as oppose to thinking that some external stimuli is responsible for your performance i.e. the magical socks or playing on a particular field or in front of a particular group of people.

Now a recreational professional athlete can take this four part series and work on becoming the best athlete possible. Likewise, if that person still does not think that they are able to do so, I myself am certified in the areas of performance enhancement and can work with that athlete in each area that has been covered in this four part series. I have programs that address each component of building the best recreational professional athlete and by contacting me via my website at www.raqtraining.net one can see the different programs that we offer at Alpha II Omega Sports Performance.

I venture to say that there are more recreational professional athletes out there than any other population of athletes i.e. collegiate, high school, professional, semi professional. This series whole purpose is for you guys the women and men that play the game for the love of it not for any external incentive other than bragging rights and personal fulfillment. This a four part series in which we take a look at the weekend warrior aka recreational professional athlete. In part one, we defined what and who a recreational professional athlete was what characteristics they possess. The second part looked at the first part of a three part series of how does a recreational professional athlete train by breaking down the periodization that one must go through to successful train to be at an optimal level of performance. In addition, during that breakdown we looked at what each section main goal or purpose was and what an athlete could effectively get from each section. To recap the three sections were off season, pre season, and in season. Now we will look at the importance of stretching and strength training as well as performance training i.e. speed, agility, quickness training.

Stretching can help with muscle recovery and optimizing muscle gains and increasing flexibility. Active stretching also known as static stretching is the most common of all stretching and is usually performed before working out or before doing any type of activity. Static stretching is performed by a person stretching and holding that muscle or group of muscles in a position for a particular period of time (30-60 seconds). Contrary to old beliefs, the best time to work on static flexibility is at the end of your workout, and not in the beginning! After every workout you should follow with a static stretching routine to cool down and recover.

Athletes should warm-up by jogging, rope jumping, jumping jacks, total body movement, etc. preceding a dynamic stretching routine. The warm-up increases the body temperature and blood flow to the muscles, and lubricates the joints. Always remember warm-up to stretch, and not stretch to warm-up. Recent studies have even begun to show that dynamic stretching may be more beneficial than active stretching. Dynamic stretching also decreases muscle tightness and subsequently prevent muscle tears. Dynamic stretching is a bit more complex and consists of an athlete performing movements that replicate those inherent to their particular activities and sports. Dynamic stretching uses speed of movement, momentum and active muscular effort to bring about a stretch. Unlike static stretching the end position is not held for a particular extent of time. Examples of dynamic stretching would be a lunge walk, butt kicks, lateral lunge walk, high knee march, etc. (Coming soon the weekend warrior dynamic stretching regiment!!!).

We now move into the importance of strength training. Strength training is important in more ways than one. For starters, strength training benefits include an increase in muscle size and tone, increased muscular strength, and increases in tendon, bone, and ligament strength. Lifting weights has also been shown to improve psychological health as well by increasing self-esteem, confidence and self-worth. As a result, athletes that perform strength training become an asset to their team because they will be able to endure the whole season by minimizing injures usually sustained from participating. All exercises performed in the gym should be functional in nature meaning that they should carry over to the field. No exercise should be performed unless it will increase and enhance the chances of the athlete being a better player in their sport period. We use the term functional training to explain this concept and athletes should train in the gym and/or field with this concept in mind. If you can carry your strength and speed over the course of an entire game you will run circles around your opponent which translates into winning!

The next concept that we discuss is plyometric exercises or jump training for lower body plyometric exercises. Plyometric exercises are high intensity training techniques used to develop power, strength, and speed. The most common plyometric exercises include hops, jumps and bounding movements. One popular plyometric exercise is jumping off a box and rebounding off the floor and onto another, higher box. In many sports the athlete performs many quick and explosive movements. Plyometric exercises aid in training the muscles to fire faster and stronger thus creating more force resulting in quicker movements from point A to point B. Also because plyometric exercises are explosive and taxing to the body, they should be done first before any other exercise is performed so that the athlete does not expose themselves to injury. In addition, due to the nature of plyometric exercises their are precautionary measures that one should consideration when doing them. One being the weight of an individual. Individuals that are 250 lbs or moe should not try to perform jumping from boxes no higher than six inches due to the weight that is placed on their joints from the landing of the impact. Likewise, it is not recommended that an athlete no matter how much they weigh perform plyometricexercises on consecutive days due to the stress demand that plyometric exercises place on the body. Remember, plyometrics are done in an explosive quick manner so it takes a lot of energy to perform these exercises that are being prescribed. Therefore, the athlete needs time to recover from doing the exercises.

Finally, the recreational athlete should also incorporate some type performance enhancing training i.e. speed, agility, and footwork for their sport. Reaction is the elapsed time between the presentation of a sensory stimulus and the subsequent behavioral response. Agility focuses on the ability to accelerate, decelerate, stabilize the body and quickly and dynamically change directions without the loss of body control and posture. If you can do all of these things efficiently you will maximize your ability to change direction quicker than your opponent. This component is equally if not more important than linear speed in most sports. Quickness focuses on ability to react to visual and auditory cues with little or no hesitation. This is a major part of every sport because every sport involves an athlete reacting off of what their opponent did or is going to do. If you can improve your quickness, you will be one step ahead of the competition.

In most recreational leagues and sports, these three components are key to making big plays on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Again, the athlete wants to train in a manner that will transition their training rather it be in the weight room or on the field into their game. Some drills can be used during the in season as well to help maintain and enhance conditioning. At the same rate, these drills are great for building team cohesion during practice as a great way to change up the style of practice or implemented at the end of practice as a great way to keep all athletes engaged throughout the whole practice session. Either way, I have found them to be of great assistance not only for cardiovascular endurance training, but also a great teaching tool to help athletes learn the game and understand their role and others when they are out on the field and/or court.

So to recap the recreational professional athlete now knows who they are, the different periods that they should go through as well as each goal of that particular periodization. They also have now learned what they need to be concentrating on while in the gym as well as while on the field with proper warm ups and stretches before and after activity to prevent themselves from getting hurt. In addition, we have talked about the importance of functional training and why a recreational professional athlete would use plyometric and performance training to enhance their game. In a nut shell we have visited every aspect of physical training that the weekend warrior needs to keep in mind when building the perfect machine. The last of this series we will visit the mental aspect of the game and why its as important as training physically and what the athlete needs to look for when training mentally.