Programs should utilize multi-joint multi-planer exercise that enhances the nervous systems’ ability to recruit subsystems (muscle synergies) through improved coordination of muscles working together as a unit. Introduction: In athletics, muscles work in coordinated synergies to create movements and accelerate, decelerate and stabilize forces. Athletic movements that are recruited by the nervous system are termed muscle synergies. […]

Find out what Olympians love to snack on.

Listening seems like the obvious thing to do, but it’s also the hardest. Our belief that our position is objectively correct means that we don’t want to hear anybody else’s. In a perfect world, every player would follow direction on the first ask and every decision would be met with no resistance. But volleyball is […]

The phase of the season, the match and the personnel. My role, typically, is to maintain stability, so the tone is typically calm and action oriented. Player development is high on the list of coaching responsibilities. Hours are spent crafting practice plans that help athletes improve. But coaches must remember that their own skill development […]

Close races, comebacks, back and forth relays. These types of things make the race itself compelling. Uncertainty about the outcome throughout makes a race exciting. Last Friday, SwimSwam published our Swammy Awards Top 10 Swims of the Year. The number one race was the men’s medley relay at the Asian Games. In a year when so […]

Just buckle down, get after it and remember every expert was once a beginner. But it’s only the dedicated beginners who become an expert. One of the most intimidating things we can do as human beings is start something new. Especially when that something has been around for a while like, say, fastpitch softball. We […]

Fortunately there are a number of therapeutic techniques (foam rolling, trigger point therapy, massage, etc.), dynamic warmups and static stretching exercises that players can use help prevent and/or alleviate this problem. Tight hip flexors can cause a number of problems for baseball players. Among these are changes in joint alignments and potential pain in the […]

To challenge and therefore grow processing and decision-making skills, coaches often need to stretch the athletes. The three most common and easiest to use stressors are: space, time and numbers. I have been writing a good bit about how sporting actions are preceded by a movement or skill choice. In the article “The vision-decision-action cycle […]

Summer is an important time for players to practice and improve. To sharpen your skills on your own, you can use the Field Hockey Skills Test (explained below) to measure your fundamentals and shooting accuracy while under pressure. A great way to measure your improvement is to run through the test before attending an all skills […]

“To inspire swimmers and test limits successfully, you have to create a group culture looking for certain goals.” Inspiration and motivation to complete a task in swimming, indeed life, can come from many different sources. It can come from within, a family member, coach, teammates or some other external source. Once swimmers are inspired to […]