“No matter what I eat, I can’t seem to gain weight…” “What about those weight gain powders … do they work?” “How much more protein should I eat to help me bulk up?” Although two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, a handful of skinny people — including many athletes — feel very frustrated by […]

We need to let our kids learn from their sport, especially from their successes and mistakes. Sometimes it’s best to listen and not talk, except to say, “I love to watch you swim.” There are limitless lessons to learn from being a swim parent. I’ve learned new things each and every year of my 23 years […]

Focus on how good it feels to be strong, engaged, powerful, confident, empowered and self-aware. What is it that makes you a nightmare to compete against? What is it about your swimming skill set that makes the biggest difference in your performance? What would it look and feel like if you strategized ways in which […]

Youth athletes can and should be doing off-ice work throughout the year in order to develop their bodies, minds and performance to become the best hockey players they can be. Youth hockey training has quickly become one of the most popular topics here at HockeyTraining.com. Parents, coaches, and hundreds of youth players have been all […]

I hope they create memories of lifting each other up, supporting each other, pushing each other and inspiring each other. I have a confession to make. My confession is that I’m a pure land mammal. I was never a swimmer like you are. Growing up, I was a soccer player. Played it my entire life. […]

Cultural change involves parents, coaches, administrators, directors and leaders all being willing to change and rethink our youth soccer behaviors, norms and environment. Can we talk about Pay-to-Play for a moment? Can we be rational and realistic about the financial model youth sports is based upon and stop calling for an end to Pay-to-Play? Can […]

Long-term success in anything comes from individuals who have learned accountability for their actions and do not seek to blame others for their shortcomings. Once upon a time, a student was assigned a research paper by his professor. This was a good student who took great pride in his studies and worked very hard to […]

The rules for the Breaststroke pullout has changed A LOT over the past few years. With Kosuke Kitajima and many other swimmers performing illegal dolphin kicks during the Breaststroke pullouts, it caused some major controversy. With no legal dolphin kick being allowed originally, to now one dolphin kick being permitted prior to the first Breaststroke kick—there’s less than 5 […]

The 2-3 (or 2-1-2) zone defense is the most commonly used zone defense, designed to stop the inside game. The 2-1-2 zone is the same as the 2-3, except that the middle low defender is positioned a little higher in the paint, so the terms can be used interchangeably. Good outside shooting can rip this […]

In less than one year, Mark McMorris went from being in a medically induced coma to standing on the Olympic medal stand.