Realize and embrace that your role is way more important than teaching technique or winning races and meets. We are nearing the end  of March Madness, basketball’s version of swimming championships. This led to an interesting conversation about if a coach is that critical in the performance of athletes in all sports. Being a sports […]

So, given that most parents are supportive of age restrictions, should those youth football set up age restrictions for tackling? Nowadays, one cannot watch a contact sport like tackle football and not think about the risk of concussions, and if you are a parent of a child or preteen, let alone a high school student […]

Aerobic conditioning, anaerobic conditioning, strength, power, speed, mobility, structural balance, agility — among any other factor you can think of. #1: Periodization Periodization is the intelligent organization of your training phases so that you can guarantee everything you’re doing in the gym is logically and progressively transforming you into a better hockey player. The science behind […]

Throwing and catching are the two most basic skills in baseball. We firmly believe that at most levels up through high school you can watch two teams warm up before a game and determine which one will win. The team that plays catch better, in most cases, will be victorious. To get most outs in […]

Leaving the leg behind also tends to put the pitcher into a forward-leaning position, which not only hurts speed and accuracy but can also put stress on the pitcher’s back. Last night, as I often do, I was doing a pitching lesson. The pitcher in question was also doing what many pitcher do – reaching […]

Age group swimming is easy to love when things are going well. Coaches and parents love witnessing age groupers improve. If kids are continually dropping time, you feel like you must be doing something right. You probably are. Watch out, though, because the validation you feel from your kids getting faster is a trap. Growth […]

Boxing can be a great way to relieve stress. It can be used as a form of aggression control. The world of boxing has forever been a very interesting, dynamic, and fun sport to watch. The sport is ruled by the legends of the great boxers that have stepped on the mat throughout history. Legends […]

Many gymnasts find it helpful to try a back tuck off of a mat to give them extra height to complete the flip A backflip is considered a basic skill in gymnastics because it is a building block to many other skills. It’s not a simple move to learn, but once you get it, you’ve achieved one […]

It’s all about respect and character in my book and I’m glad my sons have learned the importance of these qualities in athletics, and in life. There’s no question that being a good athlete requires talent and natural-born ability, but I believe it takes more than that to be first-class complete athlete. Regardless of talent […]

The lifts themselves require a great amount of technical work. This is good and bad when it comes to baseball athletes. One of the most popular questions I get is about using the Olympic lifts with baseball athletes. First off, I came up through my athletic career as well as my early coaching career with the […]