Spring Update:

This year we will be introducing the latest practical and proven methods for team sport athletic training. These Game Tested Protocols will continue throughout the 2013 Off-Season Programs as will begin the COUNTDOWN TO 2013 SEASONS.

We've all heard the expression, "SPEED KILLS". This is because the most game changing plays are determined by fractions of a second. Game-winning touchdowns have been scored when the ball carrier reached the goal line in a split second before the defender tackled him. In baseball, we've seen guys score the game-winning run by touching home plate an inch before getting tagged out. Even in "non-running" sports like wrestling or MMA, the guy with the quickest first stepthat usually gains the advantage by shooting in on his opponent and scoring the takedown. The list goes on an on!

SPEED has always been the attribute that every athlete wants, yet the information regarding how to get it has been unclear...UNTIL NOW.

SPEED is about to change the game forever!






Most speed training programs focus solely on track athletes. SPEED takes a unique approach and provides specific training information to team sport athletes. This program reveals the exact methods that have been used to produce some of the fastest non-track athletes in the world for the best 15 years.

There is no additional fee to take advantage of this program with NLA, this is part of our desire and determination to seek out the best science based, proven methods to produce young, strong, fast, better athletes.

SPEED TIP #1

Anotoily Bonarchuk states that athletes from the age or 12 to 14 respond best to speed training. Their systems are plastic and their muscle fibers can be influenced most at that time. Performing movements that enhance slow-twitch fibers at this age will hinder their ability to develop fast-twitch muscle characteristics.

SPEED TIP #2

Although every performance coach dreams of working with Olympic and Professional Athletes; it's the coaches that work with the young kids that just may have the biggest impact on their development and their speed potential. Helping "mold" an athletes central nervous system (CNS), during their development years, is one of the most powerful and influential things a good coach can contribute.

Once an athlete gets older and their CNS matures, it becomes more difficult to improve stride frequency - although it's still trainable - compared to stride length.

INCREASE RELATIVE STRENGTH-INCREASE FLEXIBILITY/MOBILITY=THE FOUNDATION FOR RAPID ACCELERATION

SPEED TIP #3

It doesn't matter how good of a coach you are, if your athlete is too weak or too immobile to achieve the positions you're coaching, they will never achieve their optimal performance. If they lack this foundational strength and unrestricted movement, they will never get faster because they are physically unable to get into the proper positions.

SPEED TIP #4


THE GOAL OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE TRUTH AND THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH WITH REGARDS TO INCREASING SPEED!

Join the Pros at NLA, Monday through Thursday for our One Of A Kind Performance Program at 4:30 to 6 pm or 6 pm to 7:30 pm. UNDENIABLE GREATNESS Is What We Are At NLA!

SIGN UP NOW!


Game Simulation Training:

Every Saturday at 2 pm we hold our All Positions Training at West Memorial Jr High located at 22311 Provincial Blvd  Katy, TX 77450, right down the street from our complex. These sessions include resisted route trees, one on ones, stepover bag drills, positional speed ladder drills, weighted pull sleds, pop-up hand bags, SPEED Protocols.

These movement drills help footballers be more agile at their positions as the game is chaotic and changing directions CONSTANTLY. In order to be play instinctively and make plays from sideline to sideline, YOU MUST GAME SIMULATE TRAIN!





This is how the NFL trains, the NCAA and some of the best High School Ballers in the NATION!

If you are a Performance/Strength Athlete with NLA, there is no extra charge for this program!



COMPLETE STRENGTH TRAINING:

Hands down the best strength program for athletes! Our athletes are stronger, bigger, healthier, explosive and just BETTER than anyone they face. Over 29 years experience have gone into this program and ALL OF OUR ATHLETES SHOW IT!

Stronger Athletes Are Faster Athletes!

Let NLA show you how easy being the strongest athlete at your position and watch your competition give up.





Friday through Sunday 4:30 to 6 pm, Athletes Stop Working Out and Start Training!

Just last week one of our junior nose tackles did 15 reps at 225 lbs., he has only been training with us for 45 days. REAL TRAINING, REAL PRO'S, REAL RESULTS!

Sign Up NOW still only $160.00 per month


RB Academy:

This program will begin on April 6th at 1 pm for the Most Exciting Position On The FIELD!

The RB's that have come from this program go all the way back to 2003 State Champion Katy Tiger James Aston all the way to 2012 State Champion Adam Taylor. We also currently have an NFL RB with Collin Mooney who is also a Katy Taylor graduate. We have had four 2000 yard + rushers from this program and we are very close to having a 3000 yard rusher!

In chronological order James Aston currently retired, Ed Turner currently retired, Rodney Anderson Katy Tiger, Adam Taylor Nebraska, Collin Mooney NFL Titan, KC Nlemchi SMU, Donovonn Young Illinois,  just to name a few.


Sign Up NOW!

If you play RB and would like to find yourself one of the best in the nation, them join us each Saturday at West Memorial Jr High for training at this position. These are Game Tested techniques that prove to be the difference when it matters most.

 

Adult Training:

This program is growing fast, we now have over 25 moms and dads training in our gym while their athletes train in our performance bay. The adult training is fun, demanding, total body conditioning and RESULTS GUARANTEED!

Lose weight, build muscle, gain weight, feel better, look better, HAVE FUN!



Since 1986, coach Rey has trained Adults and Athletes alike. Stop overpaying for results that never seem to show. Our methods will show results in just 30 days, some of you will be in the best shape of your life in just 30 days!

Three to four days a week, hour and a half session, trainer for each sessions, pick your own time and GET RESULTS!

Sessions available mornings, afternoons and evenings. Hours are 8 am to 8 pm.

Join Us NOW


NLA MMA Training:

We are seeing more and more MMA fighters training with us. They are more explosive, more powerful and able to sustain greater levels of energy output than their opponents!

Real soon the Legacy Fighting Champion will be joining us in preparation of defending his title!

Congratulations to GBK MMA fighter Lauren Taylor, who is still UNDEFEATED! She recently fought at the Legacy Fighting Championships and is currently training with NLA for her April 5th fight.




Also congratulations to GBK BJJ athlete Chad Hollan on his recent Gold Medal WIN!

NLA is becoming home to athletes of all sports and a place where adults can finally get results in fitness. If you haven't visited the NEW NLA then it is time for you to do so!








 

nla.ihigh.com

Happy New Year from NLA!

NLA had an unbelievable 2012 and we will take a moment to share with each of you on this past year:

3 KYF Turf Bowl Championships - Eagles, Titans, Dolphins
1 KAAFL 6th Grade Championship - Cougars
1 FO1 Sports 4th Grade Championship - Aggies
2 Junior Championship - 7th & 8th grade Katy Tigers
1 Division II High School Championship - The Mighty Katy Tigers
A KISD Single Season RB Record with 2,749 YARDS WITH 44 TOUCHDOWNS - A T!
Houston Touchdown Club Finalist
Texas High School State Championship Offensive MVP
5 NCAA Bowl Appearances - Rice, Arizona, West Virginia, Oregon, SMU
3 NCAA Bowl Wins - Rice, SMU, Arizona so far
11 CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS YEAR!
 
First NFL RB - C. Moons #42 of the Tennessee Titans

Before we get started, if you are an NCAA Athlete getting ready for your first season or preparing for the Next one and looking for a facility to train, look no further. We have over 50 division 1 and 2 athletes who call NLA home. Our Pro Athlete Protocols will have you playing your best this coming season. During Christmas break we can introduce you to training that will take you back to school in better condition, stronger, faster and with more explosive power!







These sessions take place mornings, afternoons and nights - one on one with Coach Rey and include strength, performance, position specific, combine prep and nutrition. Recovery training with vibration plate and suspension straps.

Let NLA lead your workouts away from campus and see how easy it is perform on CAMPUS!







Our January Performance and Strength Training begins JANUARY 2nd! You can sign up NOW and Join The Revolution That Is NLA! If you have not visited NLA since we moved into our indoor/outdoor complex maybe it's time to come home. We now have indoor turf performance training area, full strength training gym, kickboxing, MMA, jiu jitsu and ADULT STRENGTH TRAINING!

PARENTS, if you are tired of not getting results, completely bored with your routine and needing something to get you going and back into the GYM then NLA is just right for you!

You will strength train to improve muscle tone, cardio train to lose body fat, suspension strap train to improve joint stability and isometric strength train, COMPLETE CORE DEVELOPMENT TO GET YOU IN THE BEST SHAPE OF YOUR GYM LIFE!

You Can Sign Up NOW





This year during both our Strength and Performance session, NLA will introduce two device, Vertimax and Versusfit suspension strap training. The devices improve on explosive power, stability, strength and core. Also our tractor tire and prowler push sled protocols have changed. The newest sport science on these devices requires contrast sprints without and as usual NLA follows the latest developments in sports training.

The Performance sessions are offered Monday through Thursday at 4:30 and 6 pm. The 4:30 session is being offered this year for our older athletes and it coincides with our Strength Program which takes place and 4:30 pm Friday through Sunday.








Monday and Wednesday - tractor tire flips, battle ropes, prowler push sleds, vertimax, change of direction sprints and complete core development

Tuesday and Thursday - jammers, medicine ball routine, plate resisted/no resistance safe plyo box jumps, weighted vest/no vest hurdle/ladder drills, deceleration sprints, suspension straps and complete core development







For our athletes who participate in both Strength and Performance at 4:30 we recommend the following schedule:

Wednesday through Sunday or Friday through Tuesday with two days rest.








Included in the strength program is our other speed enhancement device, Woodway High Performance Treadmill. This device will reduce 40 yard dash times by 2/10's to 4/10's of a second. Olympic training facilities and professional sports teams alike have been using this device for years to improve speed.

An excellent tool for speed training, by utilizing over speed training concepts, increasing power output, improving running mechanics, increasing stride frequency, and addressing the metabolic needs of each athlete.

The days of relying on a track coach to teach you how to run like a track athlete ARE OVER!











NLA offers Woodway Treadmill Training, Vertimax and Prowler Push Sled for speed and first step quickness. Battle ropes, tractor tire flips, prowler push sled and vertimax for velocity and momentum, power and explosion. Vertimax, safe plyo boxes and medicine ball routine for vertical power. Weighted vest and no vest hurdle/ladder drills for agility and quick feet.

It's TIME TO COME HOME TO NLA





These photos give you a glimpse of our well equipped complex!

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nla.ihigh.com

  

The high speed treadmill program creates an excellent tool for speed training by utilizing over speed concepts, increasing power output, improving running mechanics, increasing stride frequency, and addressing the metabolic needs of each athlete.

March 11, 2011

Paul Franklin
GoBlackKnights.com Senior Writer

Mooney was the talk of the OU Pro Day.

	Associated Press
	Collin Mooney holds Army's single season rushing mark of 1,338 yards.

Associated Press
Joe Greene, center, of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Jack Glowik, right, of the Baltimore Ravens, time OU players & Mooney in the 40-yard dash at Oklahoma Pro Day for NFL scouts on Tuesday.

In this update we will discuss Spring Football Prep, breakthroughs with Omega 3's and finally Athletic Republic's Warmup Cord.

High School Spring Football:

With Spring Ball around the corner, now is the time to begin Position Specific Training to begin the process of tying together all the Strength Training that all high school players have been doing since their seasons ended. It is very important that the players get quality reps at the position they play, at least 8 sessions should take place prior to the first practice with each session consisting of route trees, game simulation drills, deceleration speed, heavy sled and resistance sprint cords. 

NLA provides Positional Training for all offense and defense players, visit nlainc.org for more details. 

Over the years NLA has produced over 20 college athletes all from KISD and that amounts to $3,080,000 in scholarships! All NLA athletes who earned scholarships participated in our Position Specific Programs.

NLA Combines coming soon!

Omega 3's for treating injuries:

The Colonel Mike Lewis Protocol for Post-Concussion Treatment with Omega-3s

1. Go to your store of choice (I typically recommend Trader Joes, Whole Foods, or your local Health Food Store). Be very cognizant of and learn to read the labeling of nutritional supplements and fish oil in particular. Find and omega-3 or fish oil product that provides the following: 1000mg soft gel capsule containing 600 mg of omega-3s (the combination of EPA and DHA should add up to 600mg in a 1000mg capsule). Reasons for this are to decrease the number of capsules that have to be taken. Also the manufacturing process to concentrate fish oil to 60% is far more sophisticated that your typical cheap OTC 30% brand, providing at least come assurance of quality in an unregulated industry. You will need 300 capsules for this protocol over one month. Keep product refrigerated after purchase.

1. Take as follows starting immediately (as soon as possible after the concussion):

-Take five capsules three times a day for 10 days (B-L-D or before school, after school, bedtime-that is 3000mg of EPA/DHA three times a day or 9g total)

-Take five capsules two times a day for the next 10 days (3000mg of EPA/DHA two times a day or 6g total)

-Take five capsules one time a day (or divide twice a day) for the last 10 days (3g total)

1. I Recommend a maintenance dose of four capsules a day (two twice a day) for general health (2.4g/day)

***********************************

What I have found is that patients will notice results within the first week. Three examples come to mind. In one case, the person was on a daily regimen of fish oil already, but by end of the first full day of taking huge doses, he called me and told me he was experiencing a sense of “profound happiness.” This is quite significant for him as he is acutely aware of his mental state-at one point years ago he was severely depressed and started on medication. Additionally, he admitted that he had stopped his antidepressants about 6 months prior and could feel himself sliding backwards. I’ve had several female vegetarians tell me similar stories about a sense of calmness coming over them.

Case two-a 16-year old football player that was screened positive with the ImPact system and kept out of the last game of the season. Once he realized he was not going to play, he admitted to his parents a concussion with subsequent headaches and fuzzy thinking. Within a few days of being on the “protocol,” his headaches disappeared and he reported clearer thinking.

The last example is not related to TBI, but is an 8-year old German Shepherd with a demyelinating disease that rendered the dog paraplegic. I advised the owner to use 3000mg twice a day mixed in with the dog food. The owners noticed a significant difference in 4-5 days and the dog was back to normal within two weeks. Interestingly, I just ran into the owner recently who said when they tried to decrease the dosage to 600 mg a day; the dog began to slip back to having problems.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD)

Omega 3 fats have blood thinning activity, stabilise heart rhythm, lower blood pressure, reduce triglyceride levels and lower the secretion of very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), as well as increasing triglyceride removal from VLDL and chylomicron particles by upregulating enzymes such as lipoprotein lipase.

There is good evidence for the effectiveness of fish oil in reducing the risk of CVD and CVD mortality. Meta-analyses of clinical trials show that fish oil, in doses averaging 3 g of omega 3 fatty acids a day, can reduce blood pressure in hypertensive people by up to 5.5/3.5 mm Hg. At least one fish meal a week is associated with a 52% reduction in sudden cardiac death.

A systematic review found that fish oil supplementation has potent triglyceride-lowering activity. Fish oil can also reduce VLDL, chylomicrons, remnants, LDL, apo B, and apo E levels. Fish and fish oil had profound hypolipidaemic effects in normal subjects and in hypertriglyceridaemic patients with combined hyperlipidaemia (type II-b) and hyperlipidaemia type IV and V. As little as 210 mg EPA and 120 mg DHA a day has been found to significantly reduce serum triglycerides in patients with elevated levels.

Fish oil is now mainstream medicine for heart disease

The American Heart Association recommends 1000 mg of EPA and DHA from oily fish daily for all patients with heart disease, obtained through diet or fish oil supplementation.Recently, the National Heart Foundation (NHF) of Australia released a position statement recommending that all adults have 500 mg of combined EPA and DHA daily (approx. 2 standard fish oil caps/day) to help reduce the risk of heart disease. The NHF recommends that all patients with heart disease consume 1,000 mg/day of combined EPA & DHA through oily fish or fish oil supplements (approx. 3 standard fish oil caps/day), and 2,000 mg/d of alpha-linolenic acid daily.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

More than fifteen clinical trials and two meta-analyses have found fish oil of benefit in patients with RA. A meta-analysis of the use of omega 3 fats for joint pain, including RA, found that supplementation for three to four months reduces patient-reported joint pain intensity, duration of morning stiffness, number of painful and/or tender joints, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) consumption.A study of daily supplementation with 2.6 g of omega 3 relieved pain and reduced the need for pain-relieving medication in subjects with RA. It is recommended that people with RA take a supplement providing 3-6 g of omega 3 fats daily for at least 12 weeks. A key benefit is the potential to reduce or eliminate NSAID use in RA.

Memory and Cognition

The role of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), in nervous tissues has been well defined. It comprises 30-40 per cent of the phospholipids in the cerebral cortex and retina. Increases in inflammatory fatty acids, including arachidonic acid, can cause impairments in the integrity of the membranes, alter functions within the mitochondrial respiratory chain and produce brain oedema. Arachidonic acid may also be involved in the pathogenesis of brain ischaemia. Inflammatory factors can exacerbate brain ischaemia following neuronal injury. It has become increasingly evident that DHA is an important regulator of brain glucose uptake, thereby providing back-up nutritional support during high-energy states. Low levels of DHA have been associated with structural and functional decline in brain tissue and in Alzheimer's disease.

Pregnancy

Omega 3 fats have a beneficial effect on pregnancy progression. They can reduce the incidence of premature births, possibly by mediating production of prostaglandins that control the birth process. Women who deliver prematurely have increased omega 6 and decreased omega 3 fatty acids and supplementation with EPA and DHA can prolong the duration of gestation.

DHA supports the development of the baby's brain, nervous system and eyesight. Children of mothers having a DHA-rich diet in pregnancy have enhanced stereoscopic vision at age 3.5 years, irrespective of the child's postnatal diet. Supplementation with EPA and DHA during pregnancy and lactation has been found to enhance children's IQ at four years of age.

Children's Health

Children are more likely to be low in omega 3 fats as they are not found in many foods, linseed (flaxseed) oil, seafood and fish oil being the best sources. DHA is particularly important for children because it supports brain and nerve development and function. It is a major component of brain tissue and helps to maintain normal vision, stabilise moods and maintain concentration, memory, learning ability and school performance.

Warmup Cord: 

Athletic Republic has invented a product that is unbelievable when it comes to quarterbacks, baseball and softball athletes. They sent me one to try out and the results are incredible. I am now letting each of my QB's and baseball/softball players know that you MUST get! 

This bungee cord resistance device will completely change the way you warm up, practice and compete! Now this device sells for $15900 per device and you can purchase them directly from NLA or visit 

Athletic Republic TODAY. A tab on our nlainc.org site will be dedicated to this item. I currently use this device in all QB sessions and I can provide sessions to train safely, effectively and consistently. However, the device comes with full instructions and a complete regime to follow. 

With the New Year underway, we are already providing the best Position Specific Training available! Group Training options with NLA are offered in more packages than ever before as we are expanding our programming. Here are a few of the training programs that year after year produce some of the most prolific athletes in the nation!

All Group Training with NLA is always $100.00 per month!

Winter Performance Program:

From January 4th until the 28th, NLA will offer it's Winter Performance Program for all ages. Whether you are a male or female athlete, you will benefit tremendously from this program. 

All workouts start at 6pm and end at 7:30 daily at cinco ranch jr. high

 

Strength Training/Pure Speed Treadmill Workout:

Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday you can join us for our Strength Training and Pure Speed Treadmill Training. This program is designed to improve overall power and increase your ability to maintain top speed.

All workouts start at 7pm daily.

 

Friday - Legs/Back with Pure Speed Treadmill 

Saturday - Chest/Bicep with Core

Sunday - Shoulders/Triceps with Pure Speed Treadmill 

 

College Pre-Season Program:

Our College Pre-Season Program began this week with our KISD athletes preparing for there first college season. This program follows the following schedule:

Field workouts start at 4pm on Monday and Tuesday at cinco ranch high school

Monday - Deceleration Training/Position Ladder Drills and Shaw 360 Bungee Position Training

Tuesday - Deceleration Training/Form Sprint Drills and Position Route Trees with One on One Competitions

Friday - Strength Training and Pure Speed Treadmill 

Saturday - Strength Training and Core Workout

Sunday - Strength Training and Pure Speed Treadmill 

During these sessions you will see some of the best athletes to have played last season! 

This year we have 4 more KISD student athletes continuing there education in college on athletic scholarships, that makes 15 total that have earned the opportunity to play beyond high school. Six of them have already graduated and gone pro in other careers!

Group Position Specific Training:

This program is available on Sundays to all ages. In group sessions, each athlete gets to compete and work against players at the position they play. These sessions will take place at 4:30pm for all positions at cinco ranch high school.

By Doug Johnson

In the history of high school football there has never been a regular season match up quite like what is going to happen Saturday, November 6, 2010 in Katy, Texas. Sure there has been large in-district rivalries before. Some of these rivalries are still talked about today and are what legends are made of. One of the things that makes the 2010 match up between Katy and Cinco Ranch so big, so important, so hyped is not the 9-0 records of both schools. Its not the fact that it determines the district championship.

The biggest attraction for this epic match up is the quality of the running backs that both schools will bring to Rhodes Stadium at 11am this Saturday. Let me set the stage before we talk about the cast of characters. After 9 games these two undefeated schools combine for 5,760 yards rushing. These two teams have combined for 689 attempts to run the ball averaging 38 rushing plays a game. On paper Katy averages 8.31 yards per carry while Cinco is not far behind with 6.72 yards per carry. Both teams are led by Senior running backs who combine for over 2,600 yards in nine games. Both team leaders have sophomore running backs picking up their slack with almost 1,000 yards a piece in their first year on varsity (Jamel James 998, Adam Taylor 883).

The second string backs for these two teams have more yards than most teams first string running backs. “I have seen across the State and a number of teams have a quality number one running back” Said Don Clayton Head Coach at Cinco Ranch, “It’s kind of interesting that both Katy and us have a number two back that would beat everyone else’s number one back”. In reference to the upcoming game Clayton also said “I don’t think we will see a better back than Donovonn Young the rest of the year”

Since Katy High School’s reputation precedes itself  well start with the younger of the two schools Cinco Ranch. Cinco Ranch High School has made a name for itself in the last few years making deep runs in the playoffs the last two years. Last year Cinco Ranch got the nations attention early with Junior running back K. C. Nlemcni who rushed for a very impressive 2388 yards while leading his team to the Texas State 5-A semifinals last year. This was Cinco’s deepest run at a State Championship in the short 10 year history.

Nlemchi is a great role model, good student and a regular in the weight room. This 6’1.5″ 219 lb running back has a running style comparable to NFL hall of famer Eric Dickerson and has racked up 1,139 yards this season while sharing time with his understudy Jamel James. Ironically Nlemchi has verbally committed to play at SMU next year, the same place Dickerson played in college after finishing high school in Sealy,  Texas. “K.C. is looking at last year and thinks that is where he should be this year” Said Coach Clayton, “he is working real hard and he’s getting after it real hard”

Next we need to talk about Cinco Ranch sophomore Jamel James. James was dominate last year as a freshman and was pulled up to the varsity in the 8th game of the season. James could be Nlemchi’s stunt double as he is 6’1/2″ and weights in at 219 and is very different in his running style. James reminds me of a young Arian Foster who plays for the Texans. The 6’1″ 227 lb Foster is in his second year out of The University of  Tennessee and has 737 yards and is averaging 5.7 yards a carry.

James is currently at 998 yards and 9.24 yards a carry with 14 touchdowns. Those are great numbers for a starting running back much less a younger option b type back. James has a bright future at Cinco and will continue to get better each year. “He (James) is kind of having a break out year this year” said Clayton, “Jamal has had a nack for the big play”

Its the time in the story where we turn our attention to thoughts of big rigs. Thats right eighteen wheelers like Mac trucks. That is what comes to mind when I hear the phrase “truck master 3000″. That is the name given to Donovonn Young the 215 lb senior running back for Katy High School by his cousin “Bubba” Robert Jackson after running over a teammate in a spring practice. Young was expected to rival the work done by Nlemchi last year but was sidelined early in the season with a foot injury.

After a heart to heart with head coach Gary Joseph Young decided to make a name for himself his senior year and came out of the gate like a bull in a China shop against North Shore and lived up to his new nickname by running over people not around them. I was on the sideline of that game and heard some of the hardest hitting in my life and it was coming from not given to Young. Donovonn could be compared to the 6’1″ 240 lb hall of famer Earl Campbell aka the Tyler Rose.

All you have to do is look at the highlight video of the Katy vs Strake Jesuit game to see the similarity of Young and Campbell who is the original “Truckmaster.” Young credits his success so far to his fullback Joey Chapman, a great O-line and the receivers who block down field making him look good with 1,526 yards and 26 touchdowns on pace to tie or beat  Nlemchi’s 2388 yard season from last year. “He is very much improved as a football player as a leader and improved as a teammate” Said Coach Joseph, “He better understands the expectations and what his role is on this team”

Next up is Adam “the freshman fenom” Taylor. Taylor made a name for himself amongst his teammates last year as a freshman. The 6’2″ 195 lb sophomore tore up the freshman class last year just like James did at Cinco Ranch. Taylor was also pulled up to varsity last year during the playoffs and saw time on the special teams. Taylor also played varsity basketball last year as a freshman and has yet to decide if he will play basketball again.

Taylor (number 28) has an equally amazing 883 yards and 13 touchdowns. Taylor’s running style can be compared to Adrian Peterson. Peterson who is 6’1″ 217 lbs and also wears number 28 for the Minnesota Vikings and currently has 776 yards and 6 td’s. If you compare running styles Taylor runs straight up and and down a lot like Peterson. Taylor will have a great career at Katy with its run based offense. “Its kind of like a 1a and 1b (with Young and Taylor) the kid would be starting any other year” Said Joseph, “The kid works real hard it wasn’t a fluke that he is here, he has worked hard to put himself in this position.”

I also talked to Joseph about his full backs. “A fullback in our offense is like a fullback in any other “I” offense” Said Joseph, “He has to be a tough tough kid a very physical kid and Joey has taken on that role, so has Vernon.”

Backing up James and Nlemchi over at Cinco are senior running backs Neal Busby and Colton Chaffin who combine for 58 touches, 324 yards and two touchdowns this season.

At Katy the back-ups are Cody Gomez, Adam Rivas, Anthony Brown and Cory Schneider who combine for 17 touches 106 yards and 4 touchdowns.

By R. Dana Roark

After hitting 60 points or better for the third time in four games, Katy head coach Gary Joseph says his Tigers are “getting better” and needs to “get its rhythm and timing down” as the regular season comes down to the final three weeks and the playoffs get underway.

Mayde Creek, as well as the other six opponents Katy has faced this year, most likely think that the Tigers have their rhythm and timing down just fine, thank you, as Katy mangled the Rams 61-10 at Rhodes Stadium on Thursday night.

“I think our offense is at its peak level, and I think we’re ready to go,” Tigers quarterback Brooks Haack said. “It’s really clicking, we have great chemistry all over, and you can’t give enough to the scout team, giving us great looks in practice.”

Haack looked exceptionally poised against Mayde Creek as he scored on a pair of quarterback sneaks and completed six of seven passes for 112 yards and a touchdown as Katy racked up 512 yards in total offense to move to 7-0 and 4-0 in District 19-5A.

One week after setting a school record 511 yards on the ground, running backs Donovonn Young and Adam Taylor poured it on the Rams on just 14 combined carries. Young, who leads the district in rushing, gained 164 yards and scored three times while Taylor added an even 100 with a 66-yard scoring blast early in the second period. Young has now gained 1,092 yards for the season.

“Later in the playoffs we’re going to need both, running and passing, to win the state championship,” Taylor said. “So, we’re just getting better at both. We’re having great practices, passing a lot. The receivers are getting better and communications between Brooks and the receivers is getting a lot better.”

Katy took a 13-0 lead in the first quarter with  a one-yard sneak by Haack and a seven-yard touchdown by Young. The Taylor touchdown came with 10:10 left before the half to make it 20-0.

Mayde Creek got on the board late in the half when kicker Jan Pedroza knocked down a 27-yard field goal. Pedroza had earlier been perfect on a 51-yard kick during the same drive, but Katy was penalized 15 yards for hurtling, giving the Rams a first down at the Tigers 20 instead.

Haack then directed the Tigers into a 27-3 halftime lead when he hit Chris Bethley three times in a final minute drive. The third completion resulted in a seven yard touchdown with 24 seconds to go.

“ The only thing I told Brooks was the receivers are getting open and then he just threw it to whoever he wanted to. The running game’s coming on, so that’s going to open up the passing more,” Bethley said. “Coach Joseph said don’t take this as just another game. Take it seriously, to prepare for the playoffs. The offense was kind of getting a little upset  but we hung in there. We trust the defense.”

Bethley was referring to the fact that Katy needed only 13 offensive plays in the opening half to notch its 27 points and the Tigers defense forced Mayde Creek into punts on five of its first six possessions.

In the third quarter Katy ballooned its lead to 47-3 on a pair of Young scoring runs of 48 and 62 yards plus Haack’s second sneak with 56 seconds remaining.
Mayde Creek scored its only touchdown with 2:15 remaining in the fourth quarter on a 35-yard pass from Blake Doubleday to Yusef Agora.

Katy reserve back Cody Gomez picked up 84 yards in the final 12 minutes and scored on runs of two and 29 yards to account for the last Tiger scores.

The Rams had 167 yards in total offense. Doubleday and Troy McCormick each ran for 30 yards while Matt Humphreys added 29 on 10 carries. Mayde Creek completed just one of eight passes.

Katy will next play Memorial on Saturday at Rhodes while Mayde Creek and Seven Lakes will meet on Friday.

“They’re a really good offensive team. They do a good job of scheming people and they’re going to give us everything they can defensively,” Joseph said of the Mustangs. “ It will probably be as good an offense as we’ve seen since early in the year. We’re going to have to play extremely well. But I’ve told the kids it’s time to start ascending. It’s close to getting to playoff time. We’ve got to start stepping up our game and I feel like we’re capable of doing that.”

(Youth1) - In the first play of the first game of his middle school football career, Rodney Anderson Jr. ran the ball 70 yards for a touchdown.

Flash forward one year. It’s the first play of the first game of Rodney’s eighth grade season. Rodney does it again; running the ball 65 yards for a touchdown.

While Rodney’s father, Rodney Anderson Sr., was amazed by his son’s feat, Rodney was just doing what is natural for him, and he’s been doing it for so long, and so well, one might think that it was engrained in his DNA.

“He’s always been a running back,” said Rodney’s dad. “His first flag football game he ran a 40 or 50 yard run.”

And since that run, Rodney and football have gone hand-in-hand. “Even when we were going to practice basketball, he had to put the football down,” said Rodney’s dad.

Rodney has a vision and understanding of football that is by no means limited to running back. As an outside linebacker Rodney once tackled the opposing team’s quarterback and receiver in the same play.

In only the second grade, playing cornerback in a third-grade division, Rodney pulled off a pick six, an interception returned for a touchdown.

“A pick six in the second grade is unheard of,” said Rodney’s dad. “And it’s not just that he did it; it’s that he knew what he was doing to get it.”

But Rodney’s says that his favorite football memories include last year’s seventh-grade district game where he scored the only touchdown, and a game this season when Rodney scored four touchdowns in one game.

“He does things so well, but there is no question he’s a running back,” said Rodney’s dad. “He’s a running back with a lot of other skills.”

This December, Rodney will continue to run at the Junior Rank Diamond Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, where he was selected to play running back for Eighth-Grade West Team.

“I was bouncing off the walls when I heard about it,” Rodney said of his selection. “I can’t wait to get there and play running back. It’s my favorite position.”

Junior Rank, founded by Shaon Berry, is a national organization that trains, evaluates and recognizes promising young student-athletes. Junior Rank also stands out from other camps because it stresses the importance of academics and requires players to maintain a good Grade-Point Average.

“Your grades have to be good and you also have to be good as an athlete so it stands out above the other camps,” Rodney said.

The Junior Rank program corresponds with the Anderson family emphasis on academics. “What I like to instill in them is not so much the football, but the education,” said Rodney’s father. “After high school comes college.”

Which means playing NCAA Division I football just like Uncle Mark, defensive end for the Houston Texans. Growing up, Rodney regularly took trips to watch his Uncle play at the University of Alabama.

“He gives me someone to look up to and shows me what I’m shooting for,” Rodney said. “I want to play in college, and maybe make the NFL.”

And also like his Uncle Mark, Rodney is a role model for in his own right for his two younger brothers, Ryder and Nicholas.

Ryder, 12, is already following in his brother’s footsteps and will attend Junior Rank Camp as a quarterback next year, his father said.

“He’s setting a great example for the other two rug rats who are following him,” Ryder’s dad said. “His little brothers are really looking up to him.”

In a few short months Rodney will continue to set that example when the 2010 Diamond Bowl kicks off.

By R. Dana Roark

Seven Lakes earned a much-needed win Saturday night to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot in district 19-5A, and the Spartans accomplished it in a most impressive fashion by using its high-octane spread passing offense to topple Strake Jesuit 59-35 at Rhodes Stadium.

The 59 points scored by Seven Lakes established a new school record, breaking the old mark set just last season in a 57-0 shutout against Northbrook.

Coming into the game on a four-game losing string, including defeats to district powerhouses Katy and Cinco Ranch in the last two weeks, Seven Lakes (2-4, 1-2) showed that it could keep its poise despite trailing the Crusaders (1-5, 0-3) twice by 14 points in the first half. Quarterback Pearce Martens had a huge night for Seven Lakes, passing for five touchdowns and completing 21-of-36 passes for 281 yards. His scoring passes went to five different receivers.

“One thing our coach said before the game was that as the quarterback role you get a lot of heat from no matter what happens,” Martens said. “Those are two of the top teams in the nation we played. I had a lot of learning experience from that. So, I came out with a lot of confidence with that pre-game speech that coach (Brett) Holgorsen gave me. He just told me that they were the top teams in the nation and not to look back on the negatives on what they’ve done, but to look on the positives and how much we did accomplish against them and to build off of that. It was kind of motivating because I did take a lot of heat because of the past two games. In the Cinco game I came out real flat. We had a chance to win that game and I didn’t exactly put us in the greatest position to win.”

Down 28-14 early in the second period, Martens went to work and threw a pair of scoring passes before halftime to draw the Spartans even at 28-28 at the break. He connected with sophomore John Oglesby on a 32-yard pass with 9:01 to go and then hit an eight-yard pass to Reggie Sigers on a fourth-and-goal situation with 2:02 left in the half. Oglesby had given Seven Lakes an early 7-0 lead on a 19-yard run to cap a five-play, 77-yard drive with 6:25 to go in the opening period.

“That was huge. That was a Texas formation, so it’s downhill and it makes us look like we’re really going to push the ball in,” Martens said of his fourth down scoring pass. “When I roll out a get a lot of space, Reggie was wide open. I threw it and I thought I led him too far to the sideline and he caught it and just walked right in. We had a great fake on the offensive line, a lot of pushes. It’s just a play we’ve executed all year long, pretty much bread and butter for us.”

Martens, who had left football during his sophomore season to focus on baseball, returned to the team last year and has been heavily mentored this season by Holgorsen, the new offensive coordinator, who installed an all-new pass-oriented offense after spring drills.
“We are pleased. Coach Holgorsen has done a great job and installed a great system for us,” Seven Lakes coach Kevin O’Keefe said. “For these kids to have picked it up very quickly in two-a-days, which that was really the time that it had to be installed. We didn’t run this offense in the spring. It’s a real testament to his ability as a coach, and really brought it to where we can score 59 points against a good opponent.”

Stake Jesuit quarterback Graham Chapman and wide receiver Clay Martin were best buddies in the first half. Chapman passed for 187 yards and found Martin eight times for 101 yards and two touchdowns during the first 24 minutes of play.

After Strake Jesuit tied the game at 7-7 on a 64-yard pass from Chapman to Alex Quoyeser, the Crusaders recovered an onside kick and took a 14-7 lead on a 23-yard completion from Chapman to Martin just 1:16 later. A 35-yard run by Jordan Underwood of Strake Jesuit with 1:21 to go in the first gave the visitors a 21-7 advantage before the Spartans began to mount their huge comeback.

“I think the biggest thing was we took a real shot early getting behind like that,” O’Keefe said. “The onside kick was a real shock to the system, something we had to overcome. I think tonight the offense being able to catch up and match scores was key and gave the defense a chance to settle in and play in the second half. For us the biggest deal was a full game with great effort. It was a very intense situation early.”

The Spartans did get things sorted out by halftime and Chapman and Martin were almost nowhere to be seen in the second half. Chapman completed just two passes for six yards and threw an interception to linebacker Chris DiClemente in the fourth quarter.

Seven Lakes outscored Strake Jesuit 31-7 in the second half. Dominic Rose gave the Spartans the lead for good, 42-35 when he scored on a 30-yard pass from Martens with 3:48 left in the third and Javian Victor nabbed a 15-yard strike from Martens with 1:46 to go in the quarter. In the fourth, kicker Andrew Tucker hit on a 34-yard field goal and reserve running back Denzel Guillard scored on a 34-yard run late in the period.

“We went into the locker room and we knew they were going to keep throwing at us because we’ve had a little bit of  problems in the past couple of games,” defensive back Blake Poncio said. Coach (Scott) Joseph said our DB’s were kind of putting their heads down. We (the captains) went over and talked to them and got their heads up and said we believe in you. We believe in this team. Let’s come out and let’s show everyone what we’re made of. We just came out with a little fire in our butts and just started making some plays. We’ve been in this situation before.”

The Spartans will next play Morton Ranch on Saturday at Rhodes while Strake Jesuit will face Cinco Ranch (6-0, 3-0) on Friday in the Cougars’ Homecoming game.

“This is a great feeling. It’s a feeling we had after Kempner,” DiClemente said, referring to the opening-game 34-30 win. “We’re excited and now we’re ready to come out and beat Morton Ranch, win some more games and go to the playoffs. We played pretty good against Cinco and we just kept our momentum going through the week, and kept the intensity up in practice.”

By Doug Johnson

If you don’t know who Rodney Anderson is make note of his name in your memory banks because you will be hearing it a lot in the future. Katy football reloads year after year with talent and it seems the future is bright for Katy in multiple areas. I often say “lets not put the cart before the horse” but in Rodney’s case his ability and personality along with his accomplishments in all-star games and combines say he is something special.

You ask Rodney’s dad “big Rod” how good his son is and he will tell you “yeah he can follow a good block” but when an 8th grader can run a 4.25 in pro shuttle and back it up with a 4.31 there is more to it than following a good blocker. Not only has Rodney performed well in the junior high ranks, averaging 4 touchdowns a game rushing and over 150 yards a game (unofficial) but he also dominated the playoffs last year for his select team the Cypress Longhorns.

Rodney has already had his picture in VYPE magazine and will attend multiple invitation only all star games this off-season while playing basketball for Katy Junior High. Rodney is one the most well behaved, humble kids you will ever meet who is also an A+ student.

He comes from good stock, as his dad “big Rod” played basketball for West Texas State and his uncle Mark Anderson who has been in the NFL for the last five years was the defensive end opposite Julius Peppers for the Chicago Bears since he was drafted in 2006. Anderson was cut by the Bears on October 5th and is in discussions with the Texans as of this writing.  Here is a little highlight video made for Rodney. Watch him on defense as well.

By Matt Comito

The Katy Tigers traveled to Rice Stadium on Friday night and came away with a strong 45-15 win over the Strake Jesuit Crusaders.

Katy’s first team defense shut out the Crusaders offense until they were finally taken out at the end of the 3rd quarter. Strake scored two touchdowns late against the Tiger second and third strings.

The real story was the Katy ground attack lead by the two-headed monster that is Donnovan Young and Adam Taylor. Young scored the first Tiger touchdown, his 11th on the year, with a 35 yard scamper. Taylor, a sophmore running back, scored the second Katy touchdown.

On the next Katy series, Brooks Haack was sacked for a loss of 13 yards on 1st down. The very next play Adam Taylor was off to the races and would have scored a 73 yard touchdown, but a holding penalty inside Jesuit’s 20 yard line took the score off the board. Donovan Young added his second touchdown later in the drive with a 3 yard run.

Brooks Haack capped the scoring in the first half with a 8-yard play action pass to Joey Chapman with under a minute left in the half. The Crusaders would run out the clock on the following series which concluded the first half with Katy leading 28-0.

The Tigers would get the ball to start the second half. On the first play from scrimmage Young found a seam and ran 74-yards for a touchdown to push the score to 35-0. Young had 197 yards on 11 carries.

Jesuit returned the ball to the 20 yard line on the ensuing kick off and it only took two plays for Katy senior defensive back Colt Atwood to snag an interception which was the lone turnover of the game.

On the Tigers next series Adam Taylor took a screen pass 58-yards from Haack for a touchdown as Katy extended it’s lead to 42-0 over the Crusaders with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Katy would add a 25-yard Jeff Johnson field goal in the fourth quarter. Leaving the score 45-0

Graham Champman and Robert Martin would score the two Strake touchdowns. Chapman scored on a 36-yard run and then Martin scored on a 5-yard run with seven seconds left in the game. Giving Strake 14 points late in the game.

Strake Jesuit looks for there first district win next week as they square off with Seven Lakes on Saturday at Rhodes Stadium. Katy looks to remain undefeated as they take on Morton Ranch, Thursday at Rhodes, Both games kick off at 7PM.

By johnsond

There is sometimes a tendency to perhaps look past an opponent when one team is an overwhelming favorite.

Such was the case Thursday night as Cinco Ranch and Seven Lakes squared off at Rhodes Stadium one week after the Cougars had drilled Mayde Creek by 41 points and the Spartans had given up 62 points in a 41 point loss to state power Katy.

The underdog Spartans led by four points at halftime and then pushed their lead to 11 points early in the third quarter. But Cinco Ranch finally came to life over the next 20 minutes by scoring 29 unanswered points to overtake the upset-minded Spartans 49-38.
The No. 5-ranked Cougars stayed unbeaten at 5-0 and 2-0 in district while Seven Lakes dropped its fourth straight game and is 1-4 and 0-2.

As has happened in so many previous games, the Cougar running tandem of K.C. Nlemchi and Jamel James gave Cinco Ranch all the power it would need to make its comeback complete.

Nlemchi rushed for 187 yards and scored twice on 22 carries while James, the up-and-coming sophomore, bolted for 123 more and two touchdowns on 21 attempts. Quarterback Kyle Meloy also got into the action by scoring two touchdowns, including an early fourth period two-yard score to give Cinco Ranch the lead to stay, 35-31.

“We tried to tell the kids that the attitude that they have at Seven Lakes is that this is ‘big brother’ over here, and they’re ‘little brother’ since they came off of us when they opened up. So, this is a game they want to win,” Cinco Ranch coach Don Clayton said. “We knew that we just couldn’t quite hook up in the passing game like we wanted to. We were close early on. I think if we had hit some of those early on it might have been a different game, especially since we had scored on that early interception. If we could have built on that I think the game might have gone differently. But, that’s why you play. Things happen.”

Cinco Ranch looked  like it might turn the game into a runaway when defensive back Cole Thomas intercepted a pass from Pearce Martens and returned the ball 23 yards for a touchdown just 27 seconds after the opening kickoff.

But Seven Lakes ignored the opening miscue and played flawlessly for the rest of the half. Martens fired a pair of touchdown passes and running back Dominic Rose picked up 82 yards and scored on a six-yard plunge with 1:13 left until halftime to give the Spartans a 24-20 lead at the break.

“We wanted to step up and redeem ourselves after last weeks performance and play good football,” Seven Lakes coach Kevin O’Keefe said. “We felt like we’ve got a very good football team that hasn’t been uncorked yet. We’re trying to get that going and we worked hard all week, had a good plan. I think we did some good things, obviously, in the first half. It could’ve been a different game if we had come out in the second half and done the same thing.”

Martens tied up the game at 7-7 late in the first period when he found running back Denzel Guillard on a 19-yard scoring pass. After Nlemchi scored on a nine-yard run just moments into the second quarter, Martens struck again with a seven-yard scoring toss to John Oglesby and Kyle Tucker knocked down a 26-yard field goal to give Seven Lakes a 17-13 lead with 7:30 to play.

A five-yard scamper by Meloy gave the Cougars back the lead at 20-17 before the late score by Rose gave the Spartans its halftime lead. Martens went nine-for-12 for 88 yards in the half while Meloy was limited to just 39 yards on a four-for-10 half.

“I think maybe we weren’t expecting much, to be honest,” Meloy said. “Then they came out and smacked us in the mouth. Seven Lakes played a heck of a game. They did a lot better than we expected. They were awesome in the first half, they played amazing. We hang out and we’re all friends, but we just couldn’t lose to them. We decided we are going to go 10-0 and win district and that’s what we’re going to do. That’s our mindset. We can’t expect anything less.”

Meloy and company backed up their thoughts and words with action after the Spartans went up by 11 on the Rose score in the third quarter. The touchdown was set up on a high snap over the head of 6-foot-4 Cinco Ranch punter Jack Steed. The ball rolled all the way to the Spartans 11 before Steed was able to land on the ball.

But the Cougars played near flawlessly the rest of the way. James cut into the lead when he scored on a 21-yard run with 4:27 to play in the third. A two-point conversion pass from Meloy to Adam Smith made the score 31-28 heading into the final 12 minutes.

“Keep fighting, don’t give up. Play every play like it’s your last play. That’s exactly how we came out,” Nlemchi said of the halftime evaluation. “They came out and scored a touchdown, but we pulled together. We win as a team and we lose as a team. That’s how it is. Now we know better. It’s a life-learning experience like coach said. It won’t happen again. He said ‘watch out, let’s come back in the second half and play like the team we’re capable of.’ We can’t take any of our opponents lightly, and that’s the mistake that we did.”

After Meloy’s go-ahead score early in the fourth period put Cinco Ranch on top, Nlemchi and James sealed the outcome with a 33-yard touchdown by Nlemchi with 6:12 remaining and a 12-yard burst by James with 1:25 to go.

Martens hit Kendall Stacks for a 28-yard scoring pass with 26 seconds left but it was far too late by then. The Cinco Ranch defense only allowed one completion in Martens first 11 tries of the second half and intercepted another pass, this one by Jose Sanchez midway through the third quarter to help set up the James touchdown of 21 yards.

Rose gained just five yards in the second half and finished with 87 to lead the Spartans while Oglesby had 80 on nine carries. Martens was 14-for-28 for 157 yards as Seven Lakes posted 380 yards of total offense.

The Cougars ended the game with 413 yards of total offense, with most of that coming on the ground. Meloy ended with an eight-for-20 night for 111 yards. Wide receiver Alex Ludowig had five catches for 71 yards, including two for crucial first downs on a 97-yard drive that led to the go-ahead points by Meloy in the fourth.

The Cougars will play on the road next Saturday at Tully Stadium against Memorial while the Spartans will tangle with Strake Jesuit on Saturday at Rhodes.

By R. Dana Roark

Four plays into Friday’s game between Katy and Seven Lakes saw the Spartans march 41 yards to the Tiger 32 yard line. The Tigers called a timeout and the magical words to the defense made all the difference as Katy allowed only 33 more yards in the opening half.
Meanwhile, the Katy offense picked up where it left off from last weeks Beaumont West Brook game and continued on its tornadic path behind the power running of Donovonn Young and Adam Taylor.

The result was a 62-21 district win for the state’s No. 2-ranked team. Katy is now 3-0 against the Spartans all-time and racked up its highest point total since demolishing San Antonio Madison 66-21 in a 2007 Div. 2 semi-final contest.

“We’ve played against some great teams in non-district. I knew that Seven Lakes was going to come out and play hard,” Katy coach Gary Joseph said. “The first couple of plays they had offensively kind of had us on our heels. It was just getting the kids re-focused and stuff. Our kids did a good job moving the ball and I really felt like we had the game under control early on.”

Young and Taylor powered the Tigers to a dominating 34-0 lead by halftime. Katy scored on four of its first five possessions beginning with a 33-yard touchdown by Young and a six-yard score by Taylor to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead after one.

Quarterback Brooks Haack got into the action in the second quarter with a 14-yard scoring pass to Greg Morris over the middle and Young tallied his second score on a 30-yard touchdown with 3:23 to go. Haack ended the game with eight-of-sixteen completions for 119 yards with no interceptions.

The Katy first-team defense completely shut down Seven Lakes signal-caller Pearce Martens, who entered the game as the leading passer in the greater Houston area. Senior DB Colt Atwood intercepted a Martens pass with 5:12 to go until the half and zig-zagged his way to a 44 yd score of his own. 

“It was fun. When you prepare all week for a team, our coaches get us ready, the scout team gets us ready. We knew exactly what they were going to do, exactly when they did it,” Atwood said. “I’ve only had one (interception) this year and I want more and more.

Interceptions are a fun thing to get. I played over the top. I kind of tipped it to myself and it surprised me for a second, but then I grabbed it and all my teammates blocked for me and I was able to get into the end zone. I wanted it so bad. I wanted to score. Matt Dimon is the only defensive player with a touchdown so far, so I wanted to join him in the touchdown club.”

Martens went on to complete 11-of-28 passes for only 64 yards and had another ball picked off by Rykan Jones in the third quarter. Seven Lakes also fumbled twice in the game, losing both.

“We made some real fine plays in the passing game. It’s what I’ve been waiting on,” Joseph said. “I don’t think our timing was as good as I hoped it would be, but it’s coming around and that’s been the story of us. It’s going to come around. We’ve got a good quarterback and he’s got to make good decisions. But it’s going to come around and be better.”

Katy picked up 360 yards on the ground as Young finished with 207 yards on 10 carries and Taylor 104 on 10 tries. Young and Taylor also combined for a touchdown late in the third quarter on the kickoff team following a Seven Lakes score by running back Denzel Guillard.

Young returned the kickoff and seemed headed for a touchdown. But Young bobbled the ball 68 yards later at the Spartans 10 and the ball rolled into the end zone where Taylor alertly recovered to make the score 55-7 as the quarter came to an end.

“That’s what you expect from those kids. They didn’t have as good as personnel as what we’ve played against, and we’ve been able to run the ball against some really good teams,” Joseph said. “So, I expect them to have big nights. The turnovers worried me, but in the end the object was to win the game and that’s what we were able to do.”

Guillard, in the backfield for the first time in 2010, was one of the few bright spots for Seven Lakes as the junior running back finished with 116 yards on eight carries. He had a 66-yard burst late in the third period to set up his five-yard touchdown run.

The Spartans also got two scores in the fourth period against the Katy reserves as John Oglesby ran for a 23-yard touchdown and Blake Poncio returned a fumble 66 yards for a score to narrow the final margin.

The Tigers return to action next Friday on the road against Stake Jesuit at Rice Stadium. Seven Lakes plays Thursday against No. 5-ranked Cinco Ranch at Rhodes.

By R. Dana Roark

It didn’t take Cinco Ranch very long to get into the flow after a bye week before district play started Thursday night against Mayde Creek. Just under 13 minutes to be exact.
Before one minute had elapsed into the second quarter, the No. 5-state ranked Cougars were already on top of the Rams 28-0 and the momentum held up for a 48-7 win, keeping Cinco Ranch unbeaten at 4-0. Mayde Creek fell to 1-3 with the loss.

Coach Don Clayton was able to substitute at will after halftime and ended up using four quarterbacks and six different ball carriers as the Cougars racked up 499 yards in total offense. Even punter Jack Steed saw some time over center and went three-for-three passing after No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks Kyle Meloy and Justin Sawyer combined for 153 yards and three touchdowns on just seven completions in the opening half.

“We are deep at quarterback, so we feel like we’ve got a couple of them for different situations,” Clayton said. “The offensive line did such a good job up front, running backs ran well and we hit some open guys early. We’re never out to embarrass anybody, but our objective is to win games. So, we felt like we had it going our way at halftime, and it gave us a chance to play a lot of other kids and also keep the score where it needed to be.”

Meloy, who missed the previous game against Clear Springs two weeks ago with a shoulder injury, came out firing. He hit WR Alex Ludowig on the first play from scrimmage following a Mayde Creek punt to give Cinco Ranch a quick 7-0 lead on a 48-yard play action bomb.
“Coach just said run a post right down the middle first play, just to set the tone,” Ludowig said. “That’s what happened. They were double covering me. I just gave a move to the outside and then it was open, so it was a good play call and it worked out. We’re happy about it.”

It turned out to be the only pass completion for Meloy, who soon yielded to Sawyer, who fired two more first half touchdown passes, a 53-yard bomb to Bobby Waid on the last play of the first period and a 31-yarder to James Rhoden with less than a minute to play before the first half ended.

“We didn’t have Kyle the last game, and Justin came in and did a good job. So, we obviously don’t want to put him on the shelf and say we’re not going to use you until we have to,” Clayton said. “We need to keep him prepared to play and he needs to play at a point when a game is on the line. Kyle did fine. He came back, practiced well and was ready to play. I told him if you’re going to play, you’re going to have to hit all of your throws. And he did.”

The Rhoden score gave the Cougars a 42-7 lead at the break. K.C. Nlemchi and Jamel James gave Cinco Ranch all the power needed from ground level as James ran for 98 yards and a 61-yard touchdown and Nlemchi contributing two touchdowns (28 and 38 yards) and 64 yards. Both ball carriers ran just seven times each and didn’t see action in the backfield in the second half.

Mayde Creek picked up its only touchdown of the game with 6:05 left in the second quarter on a one-yard run by quarterback Blake Doubleday, who had scampered 63 yards on the previous play to set up the score. Doubleday was the games’ leading rusher with 133 yards on 19 carries, but it was not nearly enough to offset the overwhelming roster depth of Cinco Ranch.

“Going into this game we knew we’d have a chance to get our backups in,” Sawyer said. “I got a chance early in the first quarter and just had fun with it and got a touchdown right away, so that was nice. Bobby made a great catch after a great run after the catch.”
Sawyer said he was more comfortable calling signals than his last game after being called into duty for much of the Clear Springs game following the injury to Meloy.

“This one I feel a little bit better than the last one. They beat me up last time,” Sawyer said. “The o-line blocked great. I didn’t get any pressure all night. The receivers caught everything, K.C. and Jamel just ran all over them, so it was pretty easy on my part. This is the best game we’ve played all year, so I feel like this is a good time to start peaking. Just get in there and, hopefully, we can run the table against the rest of district and go into the playoffs strong.”

The Cougars will play another Thursday game next week against Seven Lakes.

By R. Dana Roark

Beaumont– For months Beaumont West Brook fans had 9.18.10 fixed in their minds as the No. 6-ranked Bruins prepared to face No. 2 Katy on Saturday at the BISD Thomas Center. So much that many wore t-shirts with that logo date emblazoned on the backs.

It’s not certain, however, if those t-shirts are reversible as the date will not be something to be cherished as West Brook dropped a 45-21 game to Katy, its fourth straight defeat to the Tigers in all games played between the two schools. Last year Katy beat the Bruins 36-7 in the regular season.

“They’re a good football team. They had a lot of kids coming back,” Katy coach Gary Joseph said. “When you have 20 starters coming back from an 11-3 team you’ve got a good team, and they have a great program. The biggest thing for us was we needed to come out and play and I’m pleased with the kids coming out and the effort they gave.”

Joseph was especially pleased with the Tigers defense coming up with six turnovers in the game. Five of those giveaways came in the first half and made the contest a complete runaway with about six minutes left until halftime.

“Overall we played a good game. We did what it took to win,” Joseph said. “We created the turnovers in the first half, which was good. We did a good job of containing the quarterback.

I was real pleased with the way the kids came out and played in the first half.”
Those contributing in the first half defensively were interceptions by Bo Brown and Chan ning Pate. Spencer Tiegland and Tyler Droog recovered two of the fumbles.

But the biggest recovery of the half came with 5:49 left until halftime when defensive end  Nick Narcisse stripped the ball from backup quarterback Josh Stump and recovered the fumble at the West Brook 16. It was the first action for Narcisse since being diagnosed with a rare form of throat cancer earlier this year. The 6-4 senior made his presence known during the five series that he saw action.

“Back in my last TV interview I said I wanted to be back for this game. It was shocking that I got back for this game and made a big contribution,” Narcisse said. “They are a good team and we just banded together like always, and having me back brought them joy, so I feel good that I got to do my part.

“It was great. It was like a big load off my back to be back out here and to be back out here with the crowd and everything. They’ve been real supportive and they supported me once again.”
Joseph knew that Narcisse still is not back to 100 percent of his abilities and said the coaching staff was very cautious about letting him see the action he did.
“ No doubt he didn’t hurt us by coming in. He’s not strong enough to play a whole lot,” Joseph said. “But he did some things pass rush-wise that was impressive.

Hopefully it will make him hungrier to get stronger and to get well. It was a very tough decision (to let him play). I saw the kid the last two weeks after the games and he didn’t have the opportunity to play. He felt like his senior season was going away. He made the statement that the team really didn’t need him because of how successful we were.

But we need everybody. We’ve got to have depth and we’ve got to have people who can step up and play, and he’s a good player.”

All five of the first half turnovers led directly to touchdowns as the recoveries enabled the Tigers to begin series at the West Brook 3, 16, 22, 16 and 38.

Brooks Haack went across from one yard out in the first period with 3:04 left after Brown intercepted a Bruce Reyes pass and returned the ball 28 yards to the Bruins’ three.
With the score tied 7-7 in the second quarter, Katy broke things open with a 28-point period. Jake Dill, Chris Bethly and Joey Chapman caught scoring passes from Haack covering 8, 21 and 12 yards. Adam Taylor also had a four-yard scoring run following the Narcisse fumble recovery to make it 28-7. Katy led at halftime 35-7.

West Brook suffered a big blow when Reyes, who had picked up 75 yards rushing and had thrown a touchdown pass early in the second quarter, went down with 10:09 left before halftime as he scrambled toward a first down. The mobile Reyes sustained a shoulder injury on the play and was done for the night.

Stump, who had thrown just two passes in West Brook’s first three games, was forced to play the remainder of the game and looked totally out of synch as he completed just four passes for 58 yards while being sacked for a total of minus 33 yards by the ever-swarming Tiger defense. Stump threw two fourth quarter scoring passes long after the Katy defensive starters had left the game.

“We created some turnovers and created some opportunities for the kids. That’s what we set out to do,” Joseph said. “We knew we had to get some pressure on the kid (Reyes) and pressure him into a few mistakes, which was good. That’s part of the game. I don’t think the final score was indicative of the game itself. We got a lot of kids in at the end, and I think that was important.”

Since Katy began many of its series on a short field, the Tigers gained a modest total of 281 net yards. Donovonn Young picked up 60 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries while Haack finished with a nine-for-15 night for 149 yards and one interception. West Brook ended the game with 199 yards in total offense.

The Tigers begin district action this Friday with a Homecoming game against 1-2 Seven Lakes.

“We’ve got to focus in. This is district now and everybody’s going to take their best shot at Katy,” Joseph said. “We’re capable of throwing some shots, too. It will be a good district race with four or five teams that feel like they can play with anybody. That’s the way it should be in district.”

By johnsond

By Paul Rogers, About.com Guide

Comprehensive training programs for individual sports are “periodized.” That is, they are broken into three or four phases in the year with each phase concentrating on a particular fitness development. Periodized programs provide a progressive buildup to peak fitness and performance.

For professional sports that utilize weights in their training -- which is most sports these days -- each phase has different objectives and each successive phase builds on the previous one.

Important note: Hockey requires good aerobic fitness to provide endurance for sustained effort. Although training on skates "on rink" is essential, many players also benefit from "off rink" training on treadmills, indoor tracks, cycle machines and other cardio equipment. The part of the program outlined here is confined mostly to the weights and strength development part of the program. You will need to do cardio training to develop aerobic fitness early pre-season , and then build up anaerobic fitness, such as doing sprints, shuttles and intervals to be fully prepared for the season start.

Aerobic fitness means you can skate, ski, jog or run for a long time at moderate pace without getting too tired. Anaerobic fitness means you can keep going longer at high intensities before your legs and body slow down. Both are important in hockey, especially if you are likely to play the whole game. When you optimize all elements of fitness -- skating fitness, strength and power, you can claim to be at peak fitness.

A year-long ice hockey weight training program could look like the program I’ve outlined below. I’ve used the term “ice hockey” at this early stage of the article to distinguish between “ice” and “field” hockey. From here on, hockey means ice hockey.

Early Pre-Season

• Players are preparing for the season and starting to build up after the off season.
• Emphasis is on building aerobic fitness, basic functional strength and muscle bulk, which is called "hypertrophy".

Late Pre-Season

• Players are working up to the start of the season and pre-season trials are imminent.
• Emphasis is on building anaerobic fitness and maximum strength and power.

In Season

• Competition is underway and players are expected to be fully functional for competition.
• Maintenance of speed, aerobic and anaerobic fitness and strength and power is emphasized.

Off Season

• You won the title, or you hopefully came close; time to relax for a while but you need to keep active.
• Emphasis is on rest and recovery with maintenance of light activity -- cross training, light gym work. Several weeks break from serious fitness and strength training is helpful.
• As pre-season approaches, more regular work can resume with an emphasis on building aerobic fitness once again for the pre-season training.

Role-Specific Training

Within a generic training program for a particular sport, further specialty programs may be useful, especially in teams where members have specific roles and certain advantageous physical attributes apply. For example, in football, a quarterback and a defensive lineman will probably have a different program in the gym. One emphasizing speed and agility, and the other bulk, strength and power.

In hockey, defensemen and forwards are not so distinctly different in their fitness requirements even allowing for “stay-at-home” and “offensive” defense players. Even so, goaltenders may need additional skills in reflexes and flexibility.

One point of fitness that does distinguish hockey players from most other team sports is the requirement for single-leg strength and balance. Naturally, this aspect can be targeted in a weight training program.

Consider the program presented here to be an all-round program, best suited to beginners or casual weight trainers without a history of weight training for hockey. The best programs are always specific to an individual's current fitness, role in the team, access to resources, and, no less important, the team coaches' essential philosophy. You will be best served by using the following program in conjunction with a trainer or coach.

If you're new to weight training, brush up on principles and practices with the beginner resources.

Always warm up and cool down before and after a training session. A medical clearance for exercise is always a good idea at the start of the season. Now, let's get started:

Phase 1 - Early Pre-Season

Foundation Strength and Muscle
How this phase is approached will depend on whether a player is new to weight training or is coming off a season of weights. Building foundation strength means utilizing a program that works all the major muscle groups of the body. Less-experienced weight trainers will need to start with lighter weights and fewer sets and work up to heavier weights with more sets. Start early in the season buildup to get used to this phase if you have not used weights previously.

Repetitive sports activities can strengthen one side of the body at the expense of the other, or emphasize one or two major muscle groups with less emphasis on others. Inevitably, weak areas can be susceptible to injury and can perform poorly. This is not to say that your non-dominant arm or side has to be as good as your skill-dominant side. However, for example, in hockey, each hand has its own important role in controlling the stick, and this affects your stick-handling skills. You need to allocate sufficient training resources so that you achieve functional foundation strength in all areas including opposing muscles and left and right sides of all major muscle group areas -- back, buttocks, legs, arms, shoulders, chest and abdominals.

In the early pre-season, the foundation program encompasses a mix of endurance, strength and hypertrophy objectives, which means that the weights are not too heavy and the sets and repetitions are in the range of 2 to 4 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions. In this phase, you build some strength, some muscle size and endurance.

Duration: 4 to 6 weeks
Days per week: 2 to 3, with at least one rest day between sessions and a lighter week in week 4 to promote recovery and progression.
Reps: 12 to 15
Sets: 2 to 4
Rest between sets: 30 to 60 seconds

Phase 1 Exercises

• Barbell squat, dumbbell squat or sled hack squat
• Dumbbell incline bench press
• Romanian deadlift
• Dumbbell biceps arm curl
• Dumbbell triceps extension or machine pushdown
• Seated cable row
• Lat pulldown to the front with wide grip
• Reverse crunch

Points to Note

• By trial and error, find a weight that represents a taxing lift for the last few reps of each set. If you're unsure, start with a light weight and increase it as you get stronger within the training period so that the perceived effort remains similar.
• Don't lift too heavy in this phase. The last few reps in a set should be taxing -- yet without extreme effort to "failure," especially for the arm and shoulder exercises. You want the arm and shoulder prepared for work and beefed up but not overtaxed.
• Do front squats or dumbbell or sled hack squats if the rotation required to position a barbell on the shoulders for the traditional back squat stresses the shoulder joint to the point of discomfort.
• Shoulder joint protection is important at this and subsequent stages.
• Circuit training, off-rink cardio and other aerobic exercise should be added to this program where possible.
• Stop immediately if acute pain is noticed during or after a weights exercise, and seek medical and training advice if it persists.

Phase 2 - Mid Pre-Season

Strength Development
In this phase, you will build strength and muscle. The fast and agile players should be careful not to bulk up too much. You have a good foundation from early pre-season workouts and now the emphasis is on lifting heavier weights in order to train the nervous system in conjunction with the muscle fibers to move bigger loads. Hypertrophy, which is building muscle size, does not necessarily imply strength. However, in the foundation phase and in this phase, hypertrophy will serve you well for strength development.

Strength will be the foundation for the next phase, which is power development. Power is the ability to move the heaviest loads in the shortest time. Power is essentially a product of strength and speed, and is an important component of a successful hockey skill set.

Time of year: Mid pre-season
Duration: 4 to 6 weeks
Days per week: 2 to 3, with at least one day between sessions
Reps: 3 to 6. The players relying most on speed and agility and who need least bulk should do the lowest number of reps.
Sets: 3 to 5
Rest in between sets: 3 to 4 minutes

Phase 2 Exercises

• Alternate, single-leg sled hack squat
• Barbell bench press
• Romanian deadlift
• Lat pulldown to front with wide grip
• Pull ups - 3x6 repetitions - adjust to suit ability
• Alternate, single-leg dumbbell upright row

Points to Note

• Adjust the weight so that the final few repetitions are taxing but not to complete failure. The fewer reps mean that you will be lifting heavier in this phase.
• Get sufficient rest between sets. You need your muscles recovered so that you can complete a heavy lifting session.
• If you are unable to recover from a session with only one rest day in between, reschedule this program to two sessions each week rather than three. Strength training can be physically and mentally demanding.
• You will be sore in the muscles after these sessions. Muscle soreness or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is normal; joint pain is not. Be sure to monitor your arm and shoulder reactions to this phase. Back off when you feel any joint pain or discomfort.

Phase 3 - Late Pre-Season to In Season

Conversion to Power
In this phase, you build on the strength developed in phase 2 with training that will increase your ability to move a load at high velocity. Power is the combination of strength and speed. Power training requires that you lift lighter weights than you did in the strength phase, yet with explosive intent. You need to rest adequately between repetitions and sets so that each movement is done as fast as possible. The number of sets can be less than phase 1. There is no point to training like this when you're fatigued.

Time of year: late pre-season and in-season
Duration: 4 weeks ongoing
Days per week: 2 to 3
Reps: 8 to 10
Sets: 2 to 3
Rest between repetitions: 10 to 15 seconds
Rest between sets: at least 1 minute or until recovery

Phase 3 Exercises

• Barbell or dumbbell hang clean
• Alternate, single-leg seated calf raises
• Cable push pull
• One arm cable raises each arm
• Alternate, single-leg medicine ball push press
• Medicine ball standing twist with partner (6x15 repetitions fast, recover between sets) (or alone)

Points to Note

• In power training, it's important that you're relatively recovered for each repetition and set so that you can maximize the velocity of the movement. The weights should not be too heavy and the rest periods sufficient.
• At the same time, you need to push or pull reasonably heavy loads to develop power against reasonable resistance. Lift heavier than phase 1 but lighter than phase 2.
• With the medicine ball twists, do a full set at maximum then rest sufficiently before the next one.

Phase 4 - In Season

Maintenance of Strength and Power
Alternate phase 2 (Strength) and phase 3 (Power) for a total of two sessions each week. Every fifth week, skip weight training to assist recovery.

Points to Note

• Try to allow at least two days between any strength session and a game.
• Try not to do strength training on the same day as you work out on the rink -- or at least separate workouts morning and afternoon.
• Rest completely from strength training one week in five. Light gym work is OK.
• Use your judgment. Don't sacrifice rink skills training for weight work if you have limited time available.

Phase 5 - Off Season

Now it's time to rest up. You need this time for emotional and physical renewal. For several weeks, forget about hockey and do other things. Staying fit and active with cross training or other activities is still a good idea.

Give yourself plenty of time to do it all again next year.

By Paul Rogers, About.com Guide

The ability to run fast is pretty much determined genetically by your predominant muscle type -- the fast twitch fibers and how much of them you have been blessed with.

Even so, that's not to say that you can't improve on what you already have. Of course, training to run fast means running fast in training . . . but on top of that, most serious sprinters now do some sort of weight training to enhance their power and strength -- and hopefully their speed.

Because all athletes have individual needs, a generic program like this one will need to be modified for age, gender, goals, facilities and so on. However, here's a program, starting out, to get you up to speed in the sprint world.

General Preparation

The general preparation phase should provide all-round muscle and strength conditioning in the early pre-season. You will probably be doing sprint training on the track as well, so you will need to fit it in with your track work. As a general rule, and for all the following programs, don't do the workouts prior to track work. Do them later in the day after track or on a separate day if possible. Nothing you do should limit your ability to train fast on the track.

Frequency - 2 to 3 sessions per week
Type - general conditioning
Exercises - 9 exercises, 3 sets of 12, plus warm-up and cool-down in the Basic Strength and Muscle program. (I favor the Romanian type deadlift rather than full deadlift in this program.)
Rest between sets - 30-90 seconds

Specific Preparation

In this phase, you will focus more on the development of strength and power. This is the period, later pre-season, leading up to the start of competition.

Frequency - 2 to 3 session per week
Type - strength and power
Exercises - 5 sets of 6: Romanian deadlift, incline bench press, hang power clean, pullups, squats -- plus combo crunches at 3 sets of 12
Rest between sets - 3-5 minutes, except for crunches

Competition Phase

The aim of this phase is the maintenance of strength and power. Track training and competition should dominate. Prior to the start of competition, take 7-10 days break from heavy weights work at the end of Specific Preparation while maintaining your track work. Weight training in the competition phase should play essentially a maintenance role

Frequency - 1 to 2 sessions per week
Type - power; lighter loads and faster execution than in the specific preparation phase
Exercises - 3 sets of 10, rapid concentric movement, 40% to 60% of 1RM. Squats, power hang clean, Romanian deadlift. Crunches.
Rest between sets - 1-2 minutes

Summary

• Be sure to warm up and cool down prior to weight training.
• Don't train through injuries, acute or chronic.
• Don't sacrifice a track session for a weights session -- unless you're treating or recovering from an injury with weights work.
• If you have a knowledgeable coach, be guided by him or her regarding the details of your program.
• Take at least a few weeks off at the end of the season to recover after a hard season of training and competing.
• If you're new to weight training, read up on the fundamentals before you start.

By Paul Rogers, About.com Guide

Comprehensive training programs for individual sports are “periodized.” That is, they are broken into three or four phases in the year with each phase concentrating on a particular fitness development. Periodized programs provide a progressive buildup to peak fitness and performance.

For professional sports that utilize weights in their training -- which is most sports these days -- each phase has different objectives and each successive phase builds on the previous one.

Important note: This program is a generic program designed to suit body contact football in general – NFL football, Rugby, and unique codes like Australian football. It does not necessarily include football (soccer), although elements of the program could apply to soccer weight training.

Football requires good aerobic fitness to provide endurance for sustained effort, and strength, and even bulk, to break through or effect tackles. The part of the program outlined here is confined mostly to the weights and strength development part of the program. You will need to do cardio training to develop aerobic fitness early pre-season and then build up anaerobic fitness with sprints, shuttles and intervals to be fully prepared for the season start.

Aerobic fitness means you can jog, run, cycle or ski for a long time at moderate pace without getting too tired. Anaerobic fitness means you can keep going longer at high intensities before your legs and body slow down. Both are important in football, especially if you are likely to play the whole or most of the game. When you optimize all elements of fitness -- running fitness, strength and power, you can claim to be at peak fitness.

A year-round football weight training program could look like the program I’ve outlined below. When I use the term “football” I mean any of the codes I included above. If I mention something that doesn’t apply to your sport, just modify it appropriately.

Late Pre-Season

• Players are working up to the start of the season and pre-season trials are imminent.
• Emphasis is on building anaerobic fitness and maximum strength and power.

In Season

• Competition is underway and players are expected to be fully functional for competition.
• Maintenance of speed, aerobic and anaerobic fitness and strength and power is emphasized.

Off Season

• You won the title, or you hopefully came close; time to relax for a while but you need to keep active.
• Emphasis is on rest and recovery with maintenance of light activity -- cross training, light gym work – and go easy on the booze because you don’t want to have to lose too much weight in the next pre-season workup. Several weeks' break from serious fitness and strength training is helpful.
• As pre-season approaches, more regular work can resume with an emphasis on building aerobic fitness once again for the pre-season training.

Role-Specific Training

Within a generic training program for a particular sport, further specialty programs may be useful, especially in teams where members have specific roles and certain advantageous physical attributes apply. For example, a quarterback and a defensive lineman (US), or a halfback and a front rower (rugby), will probably have a somewhat different program in the gym. One emphasizing speed and agility, and the other bulk, strength and power.

Consider the program presented here to be an all-round program, best suited to beginners or casual weight trainers without a history of weight training for football. The best programs are always specific to an individual's current fitness, role in the team, access to resources, and, no less important, the team coaches' essential philosophy. You will be best served by using the following program in conjunction with a trainer or coach.

If you're new to weight training, brush up on principles and practices with the beginner resources.

Always warm up and cool down before and after a training session. A medical clearance for exercise is always a good idea at the start of the season if you have not had one previously. Now, let's get started:

Phase 1 - Early Pre-Season

Foundation Strength and Muscle
How this phase is approached will depend on whether a player is new to weight training or is coming off a season of weights. Building foundation strength means utilizing a program that works all the major muscle groups of the body. Less-experienced weight trainers will need to start with lighter weights and fewer sets and work up to heavier weights with more sets. Start early in the season to get used to this phase if you have not used weights previously.

Repetitive sports activities can strengthen one side of the body at the expense of the other, or emphasize one or two major muscle groups with less emphasis on others. Inevitably, weak areas can be susceptible to injury and can perform poorly. This is not to say that your non-kicking leg has to be as “skillful” as you kicking leg, but it should be as strong. You need to allocate sufficient training resources so that you achieve functional foundation strength in all areas including opposing muscles and left and right sides of all major muscle group areas -- back, buttocks, legs, arms, shoulders, chest and abdominals.

In the early pre-season, the foundation program encompasses a mix of endurance, strength and hypertrophy objectives, which means that the weights are not too heavy and the sets and repetitions are in the range of 2 to 4 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions. In this phase, you build some strength, some muscle size and endurance.

Duration: 4 to 6 weeks
Days per week: 2 to 3, with at least one rest day between sessions and a lighter week in week 4 to promote recovery and progression.
Reps: 10 to 15
Sets: 2 to 4
Rest between sets: 30 to 60 seconds

Phase 1 Exercises

• Barbell squat, dumbbell squat or sled hack squat
• Dumbbell incline bench press
• Romanian deadlift
• Dumbbell biceps arm curl
• Dumbbell triceps extension or machine pushdown
• Seated cable row
• Lat pulldown to the front with wide grip
• Reverse crunch

Points to Note

• By trial and error, find a weight that represents a taxing lift for the last few reps of each set. If you're unsure, start with a light weight and increase it as you get stronger within the training period so that the perceived effort remains similar.
• Don't lift too heavy in this phase. The last few reps in a set should be taxing -- yet without extreme effort to "failure," especially for the arm and shoulder exercises. You want the arm and shoulder prepared for work and beefed up but not overtaxed.
• Circuit training, off-rink cardio and other aerobic exercise should be added to this program where possible.
• Stop immediately if acute pain is noticed during or after a weights exercise, and seek medical and training advice if it persists.

Phase 2 - Mid Pre-Season

Strength Development
In this phase, you will build strength and muscle. The fast and agile players should be careful not to bulk up too much. You have a good foundation from early pre-season workouts and now the emphasis is on lifting heavier weights in order to train the nervous system in conjunction with the muscle fibers to move bigger loads. Hypertrophy, which is building muscle size, does not necessarily imply strength. However, in the foundation phase and in this phase, hypertrophy will serve you well for strength development.

Strength will be the foundation for the next phase, which is power development. Power is the ability to move the heaviest loads in the shortest time. Power is essentially a product of strength and speed, and is an important component of a successful football skill set.

Time of year: Mid pre-season
Duration: 4 to 6 weeks
Days per week: 2 to 3, with at least one day between sessions
Reps: 3 to 6. The players relying most on speed and agility and who need least bulk should do the lowest number of reps.
Sets: 3 to 5
Rest in between sets: 3 to 4 minutes

Phase 2 Exercises

• Barbell hack squat, or barbell front squat
• Barbell bench press
• Romanian deadlift
• Cable lat pulldown to front with wide grip
• Pull ups - 3x6 repetitions - adjust to suit ability, weighted if necessary
• Military (Overhead) Press

Points to Note

• Adjust the weight so that the final few repetitions are taxing but not to complete failure. The fewer reps mean that you will be lifting heavier in this phase.
• Get sufficient rest between sets. You need your muscles recovered so that you can complete a heavy lifting session.
• If you are unable to recover from a session with only one rest day in between, reschedule this program to two sessions each week rather than three. Strength training can be physically and mentally demanding.
• You will be sore in the muscles after these sessions. Muscle soreness or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is normal; joint pain is not. Be sure to monitor your arm and shoulder reactions to this phase. Back off when you feel any joint pain or discomfort.

Phase 3 - Late Pre-Season to In Season

Conversion to Power
In this phase, you build on the strength developed in phase 2 with training that will increase your ability to move a load at high velocity. Power is the combination of strength and speed. Power training requires that you lift lighter weights than you did in the strength phase, yet with explosive intent. You need to rest adequately between repetitions and sets so that each movement is done as fast as possible. The number of sets can be less than phase 1. There is no point to training like this when you're fatigued.

Time of year: late pre-season and in-season
Duration: 4 weeks ongoing
Days per week: 2 to 3
Reps: 8 to 10
Sets: 2 to 3
Rest between repetitions: 10 to 15 seconds
Rest between sets: at least 1 minute or until recovery

Phase 3 Exercises

• Barbell or dumbbell hang clean
• Romanian deadlifts
• Cable push pull
• Barbell or dumbbell push press
• Incline machine rows

Points to Note

• In power training, it's important that you're relatively recovered for each repetition and set so that you can maximize the velocity of the movement. The weights should not be too heavy and the rest periods sufficient.
• At the same time, you need to push or pull reasonably heavy loads to develop power against reasonable resistance. Lift heavier than phase 1 but lighter than phase 2.
• The Olympic lift elements -- hang clean, deadlift, push press -- require some technical ability to get right. Use a knowledgeable strength and conditioning coach, if possible, to fine tune these lifts.

Phase 4 - In Season

Maintenance of Strength and Power
Alternate phase 2 (Strength) and phase 3 (Power) for a total of two sessions each week. Every fifth week, skip weight training to assist recovery.

oints to Note

• Try to allow at least two days between any strength session and a game.
• Try not to do strength training on the same day as you work out on the field -- or at least separate workouts morning and afternoon.
• Rest completely from strength training one week in five. Light gym work is OK.
• Use your judgment. Don't sacrifice ball skills training for weight work if you have limited time available.

Phase 5 - Off Season

Now it's time to rest up. You need this time for emotional and physical renewal. For several weeks, forget about football and do other things. Staying fit and active with cross training or other activities is a good idea.

Give yourself plenty of time to do it all again next year.

By Paul Rogers, About.com Guide

Comprehensive training programs for individual sports are often “periodized." That is, they are broken into three or four phases over the year, with each phase concentrating on a particular fitness attribute.

For professional sports that utilize weights in their training -- which is most these days -- each phase has different objectives and each successive phase builds on the previous one.

A year-long baseball weight training program could look like the program I’ve outlined below. (Season cut-offs are based on the American baseball season.)

Early pre-season, January to February

Late pre-season, March to April

• Players are working up to the start of the season and pre-season trials are imminent.
• Emphasis is on building maximum strength and power.

In-season, May to September

• Competition is underway and players are expected to be fully functional for competition.
• Maintenance of strength and power is emphasized.

Closed season, October to December

• You won the title; time to relax for awhile but you need to keep active.
• Emphasis is on rest and recovery with maintenance of light activity -- cross training, light gym work. Several weeks break from serious strength training is usually worthwhile. As pre-season approaches, more regular gym work can resume.

Sport-specific Training and Role-specific Training

Within a generic training program for a sport, further specialty sub-programs and cycles may be useful, especially in teams where members have specific roles and certain advantageous physical attributes apply. For example, a football quarterback and a defensive lineman will probably have a different program in the gym, one emphasizing speed and agility and the other bulk, strength and power. A pitcher is likely to do different gym work than a designated hitter or a catcher.

In baseball, your arm is everything, no matter what position you play. Training must be designed to strengthen and protect the throwing arm and shoulder at the same time. A ball player with an injured arm is not useful to anyone, no matter how big and strong his biceps or shoulders are. The pitcher’s arm, of course, is worth millions of dollars at the higher levels of the game and needs to be treated as an asset. Even if you are a budding young pitcher, taking good care of your arm with graded training and playing is an essential strategy for a long career.

A pitcher's strength training program may differ from that of a catcher. A catcher could place more emphasis on low squatting exercises for example, whereas a pitcher would emphasize arm endurance, power and also single leg balance and torso rotation. Pitchers need to work on strengthening the shoulder rotator cuff muscles to ensure freedom from painful and debilitating impingement injuries that can be long lasting.

Hitters rely on bulk, strength and power -- and a good eye -- to propel that ball over the fence. Soza, Bonds, and McGwire are good examples, notwithstanding the controversies over possible supplement and steroids use. Yet they still need to be agile in the field, designated hitters aside. A missed "out" can easily negate the value of a hit.

Consider the program presented here to be an all-round program, best suited to beginners or casual weight trainers without a history of weight training for baseball. The best programs are always specific to an individual's current fitness, role in the team, access to resources, and, no less important, the team coaches' essential philosophy. You will be best served by using the following program in conjunction with a trainer or coach.

If you're new to weight training, brush up on principles and practices with the beginner resources.

Always warm up and cool down before and after a training session. A medical clearance for exercise is always a good idea at the start of the season.

Phase 1 - Early Pre-Season

How this phase is approached will depend on whether a player is new to weight training or is coming off a season of weights. Building foundation strength means utilizing a program that works all the major muscle groups of the body. Less-experienced weight trainers will need to start with lighter weights and work up to heavier weights.

Repetitive sports activities can strengthen one side of the body at the expense of the other, or emphasize one or two major muscle groups with similar effect. Inevitably, weak areas can be susceptible to injury and can perform poorly. This is not to say that your non-throwing arm has to be as good as your throwing arm, but it does mean that you need to allocate sufficient training resources so that you achieve functional foundation strength in all areas, including opposing muscles and left and right sides of all major muscle group areas including back, buttocks, legs, arms, shoulders, chest and abdominals.

In the early pre-season, the foundation program encompasses a mix of endurance, strength and hypertrophy objectives, which means that the weights are not too heavy and the sets and repetitions are in the range 2 to 4 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions. In this phase, you build some strength, and some muscle size and endurance.

In pre-season you should also start doing specific rotator cuff strengthening exercises, or continue with these exercises if you have been doing them in the break. The rotator cuff is a complex of muscles, ligaments and tendons that controls the shoulder ball and socket joint, which is susceptible to overuse and shock injury.

Duration: 4-8 weeks
Days per week: 2-3, with at least one rest day between sessions and a lighter week in week 4 to promote recovery and progression.
Reps: 12-15
Sets: 2-4
Rest between sets: 30-60 seconds

Phase 1 Exercises

• Barbell squat, dumbbell squat or sled hack squat
• Dumbbell incline bench press
• Romanian deadlift
• Dumbbell biceps arm curl
• Dumbbell triceps extension or machine pushdown
• Seated cable row
• Lat pulldown to the front with wide grip
• Reverse crunch

Rotator cuff arm/shoulder exercises for both arms

Duration: throughout pre-season and in-season.
Days per week: 3-4
Reps: 12-15
Load: light weight with minimal strain to completion of set
Sets: 3
Rest between sets: 30 seconds

The rotator cuff exercises can be done with a cable machine, rubber bands or tubes.

External rotation - move the arm outward from the waist
Internal rotation - move the arm across the body at the waist
Extension - move the arm to the rear
Abduction - move the arm upward away from the body

Points to Note

• By trial and error, find a weight that represents a taxing lift for the last few reps of each set. If you're unsure, start with a light weight and increase it as you get stronger within the training period so that the perceived effort remains similar.
• Don't lift too heavy in this phase. The last few reps in a set should be taxing yet without extreme effort to "failure", especially for the arm and shoulder exercises. You want the arm and shoulder prepared for work but not overtaxed. The rotator cuff strengthening exercises are deliberately lighter.
• Do front squats or dumbbell or sled hack squats if the rotation required to position a barbell on the shoulders for the traditional back squat stresses the shoulder joint to the point of discomfort.
• Shoulder joint protection is important at this and subsequent stages. This message will be repeated throughout this program.
• Circuit training, running training and plyometrics such as bounds and jumps can be added to this gym program to suit, resources and time permitting.
• Stop immediately if acute pain is noticed during or after an exercise, and seek medical and training advice if it persists.

Phase 2 - Mid Pre-Season

Strength and Hypertrophy Phase

In this phase you will build strength and muscle. You have a good foundation from early pre-season workouts, and now the emphasis is on lifting heavier weights in order to train the nervous system in conjunction with the muscle fibers to move bigger loads. Hypertrophy, which is building muscle size, does not necessarily imply strength, although in the foundation phase and in this phase hypertrophy will serve you well for strength development.

Strength will be the foundation for the next phase, which is power development. Power is the ability to move the heaviest loads in the shortest time. Power is essentially a product of strength and speed.

Time of year: Mid pre-season
Duration: 6 weeks
Days per week: 2-3, with at least one day between sessions
Reps: 4-6
Sets: 3-5
Rest in between sets: 2-3 minutes

Phase 2 Exercises

• Barbell squat or sled hack squat
• Incline dumbbell bench press
• Romanian deadlift
• Lat pulldown to front with wide grip
• Pull ups - 3x6 - add weights if you find this too easy, or just go to "failure" if it's too much.

Continue with rotator cuff strengthening as for first phase.

Points to Note

• Adjust the weight so that the final few repetitions are taxing but not to failure. The fewer reps means that you will be lifting heavier in this phase.
• Don't lift to failure for the upper body exercises such as the dumbbell press and lat pulldown and hold good form. Keep the forearms in a vertical plane with the upper arms not extending excessively below parallel.
• If you are unable to recover from a session with only one rest day in between, re-schedule this program to two sessions each week rather than three. Strength training can be very physically and mentally demanding.
• You will be sore in the muscles after these sessions. Muscle soreness or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is normal; joint pain is not. Be sure to monitor your arm and shoulder reactions to this phase. Back off when any joint pain or discomfort is felt.

Phase 3 - Late Pre-season

In this phase you build on the strength developed in phase 2 with training that will increase your ability to move a load at high velocity. Power is the combination of strength and speed. Power training requires that you lift lighter weights than you did in the strength phase, yet with explosive intent. You need to rest adequately between repetitions and sets so that each movement is done as fast as possible. The number of sets can be less. There is no point to training like this when you're fatigued.

Time of year: late pre-season
Duration: 4-6 weeks
Days per week: 2-3
Reps: 8-10
Sets: 2-3
Rest between repetitions: 10-15 seconds
Rest between sets: at least 1 minute or until recovery

Phase 3 Exercises

• Barbell or dumbbell hang clean
• Cable wood chop
• Cable push pull
• One arm cable raises each arm
• Medicine ball or dumbbell push press
• Medicine ball standing twist with partner (6x15 fast, recover between sets) (or alone)
• Box jump march (6x20 fast, recover between sets)
• Vertical jump

Continue with rotator cuff exercises as in phase 1.

Points to Note

• It's important that you are relatively recovered for each repetition so that you can maximize the velocity of the movement. The weights should not be too heavy and the rest periods sufficient.
• At the same time, you need to push or pull reasonably heavy loads to develop power against reasonable resistance. Lift heavier than phase 1 but lighter than phase 2. This should be approximately in the range 50-70% of your 1RM (maximum lift) depending on the exercise.
• With the marches and the medicine ball twists, do a full set at maximum then rest sufficiently before the next one.
• Rest briefly between each vertical jump so that you can maximize each one.

Phase 4 - In-season

Maintenance of Strength and Power
Alternate phase 2 (Strength) and phase 3 (Power) for a total of two sessions each week. Every fifth week, do no weight training at all to assist recovery

Continue with the rotator cuff exercises until end of the playing season.

Points to Note

• Try to allow at least two days between any strength session and a game.
• Try not to do strength training on the same day as you work out on the diamond.
• Rest completely from strength training one week in five. Light gym work is okay.
• Use your judgment. Don't sacrifice skills training for weight work during the season.

Phase 5 - Off-season

Now it's time to rest up. You need this time for emotional and physical renewal. For several weeks you should forget about baseball and do other things. Staying fit and active with cross training or other activities is still a good idea. By mid-November you may want to think about some light gym work, rotator cuff exercises and aerobic work.

Wouldn't you know it -- it's nearly time to do it all again.

By Paul Rogers, About.com Guide

Comprehensive training programs for individual sports are “periodized.” That is, they are broken into three or four phases in the year with each phase concentrating on a particular fitness development. Periodized programs provide a progressive buildup to peak fitness and performance.

For professional sports that utilize weights in their training, which is most these days, each phase has different objectives and each successive phase builds on the previous one.

Important note: Basketball also requires a lot or "running" training in any comprehensive program. The part of the program outlined here is confined mostly to the weights and strength development part of the program. You will need to do cardio training to develop aerobic fitness early pre-season and then build up anaerobic fitness with wind sprints, shuttles, sprints and intervals to be fully prepared for the season start.

Aerobic fitness means you can jog or run for a long time at moderate pace without getting too tired. Anaerobic fitness means you can keep going longer at high intensities before your legs and body slow down. Both are important in basketball, especially if you are likely to play the whole game. When you optimize all elements of basketball fitness -- running fitness, strength and power, you can claim to be at peak fitness.

A year-long basketball weight training program could look like the program I’ve outlined below.

Early pre-season

• Players are preparing for the season and starting to build up after the off season.
• Emphasis is on building aerobic fitness, functional strength and hypertrophy.

Late pre-season

• Players are working up to the start of the season and pre-season trials are imminent.
• Emphasis is on building anaerobic fitness and maximum strength and power.

In season

• Competition is underway and players are expected to be fully functional for competition.
• Maintenance of speed, aerobic and anaerobic fitness and strength and power is emphasized.

Off season

• You won the title; time to relax for a while but you need to keep active.
• Emphasis is on rest and recovery with maintenance of light activity -- cross training, light gym work. Several weeks break from serious fitness and strength training is helpful.
• As pre-season approaches, more regular work can resume with an emphasis on building aerobic fitness once again for the pre-season training.

Role-specific Training

Within a generic training program for a particular sport, further specialty programs may be useful, especially in teams where members have specific roles and certain advantageous physical attributes apply. For example, in football a quarterback and a defensive lineman will probably have a different program in the gym. One emphasizing speed and agility and the other bulk, strength and power.

In basketball, guards are likely to require more agility and speed and less strength and bulk than centers and power forwards, although all of the above would be nice for every player if it was possible. Building strength while minimizing bulk and thus maintaining speed and agility is an essential technique in mobility training for those for whom these attributes are essential.

For example, guards might lift heavy, with low repetitions and plenty of rest in between sets in order to build strength without excessive bulk. On the other hand, the big men would require a program that builds strength and bulk, which means more repetitions and less rest in between sets.

Consider the program presented here to be an all-round program, best suited to beginners or casual weight trainers without a history of weight training for basketball. The best programs are always specific to an individual's current fitness, role in the team, access to resources, and, no less important, the team coaches' essential philosophy. You will be best served by using the following program in conjunction with a trainer or coach.

If you're new to weight training, brush up on principles and practices with the beginner resources.

Always warm up and cool down before and after a training session. A medical clearance for exercise is always a good idea at the start of the season.

Phase 1 - Early Pre-Season

Foundation Strength and Muscle
How this phase is approached will depend on whether a player is new to weight training or is coming off a season of weights. Building foundation strength means utilizing a program that works all the major muscle groups of the body. Less-experienced weight trainers will need to start with lighter weights and fewer sets and work up to heavier weights with more sets. Start early in the season buildup to get used to this phase if you have not used weights previously.

Repetitive sports activities can strengthen one side of the body at the expense of the other, or emphasize one or two major muscle groups with similar effect. Inevitably, weak areas can be susceptible to injury and can perform poorly. This is not to say that your non-dominant arm or side has to be as good as your skill-dominant side. But it does mean that you need to allocate sufficient training resources so that you achieve functional foundation strength in all areas including opposing muscles and left and right sides of all major muscle group areas -- back, buttocks, legs, arms, shoulders, chest and abdominals.

In the early pre-season, the foundation program encompasses a mix of endurance, strength and hypertrophy objectives, which means that the weights are not too heavy and the sets and repetitions are in the range 2 to 4 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions. In this phase, you build some strength, and some muscle size and endurance. Guards and perhaps small forwards need to be careful not to exchange agility and speed for bulk and muscle, although in all cases, strength will be important.

Duration: 4 to 6 weeks
Days per week: 2 to 3, with at least one rest day between sessions and a lighter week in week 4 to promote recovery and progression.
Reps: 12 to 15
Sets: 2 to 4
Rest between sets: 30 to 60 seconds

Phase 1 Exercises

• Barbell squat, dumbbell squat or sled hack squat
• Dumbbell incline bench press
• Romanian deadlift
• Dumbbell biceps arm curl
• Dumbbell triceps extension or machine pushdown
• Seated cable row
• Lat pulldown to the front with wide grip
• Reverse crunch

Points to Note

• By trial and error, find a weight that represents a taxing lift for the last few reps of each set. If you're unsure, start with a light weight and increase it as you get stronger within the training period so that the perceived effort remains similar.
• Don't lift too heavy in this phase. The last few reps in a set should be taxing yet without extreme effort to "failure," especially for the arm and shoulder exercises. You want the arm and shoulder prepared for work but not overtaxed.
• Do front squats or dumbbell or sled hack squats if the rotation required to position a barbell on the shoulders for the traditional back squat stresses the shoulder joint to the point of discomfort.
• Shoulder joint protection is important at this and subsequent stages.
• Circuit training, running training and plyometrics such as bounds and jumps should be added to this gym program to suit your schedule.
• Stop immediately if acute pain is noticed during or after an exercise, and seek medical and training advice if it persists.

Phase 2 - Mid Pre-Season

Strength Development
In this phase, you will build strength and muscle. The fast and agile players should be careful not to bulk up too much. "Long, lean, strong and quick" is the prescription. You have a good foundation from early pre-season workouts, and now the emphasis is on lifting heavier weights in order to train the nervous system in conjunction with the muscle fibers to move bigger loads. Hypertrophy, which is building muscle size, does not necessarily imply strength. However, in the foundation phase and in this phase, hypertrophy will serve you well for strength development.

Strength will be the foundation for the next phase, which is power development. Power is the ability to move the heaviest loads in the shortest time. Power is essentially a product of strength and speed.

Time of year: Mid pre-season
Duration: 4 to 6 weeks
Days per week: 2 to 3, with at least one day between sessions
Reps: 3 to 6. The players relying most on speed and agility should do the lowest number of reps.
Sets: 3 to 5
Rest in between sets: 3 to 4 minutes

Phase 2 Exercises

• Barbell squat or sled hack squat
• Barbell bench press
• Romanian deadlift
• Lat pulldown to front with wide grip
• Pull ups - 3x6 repetitions - adjust to suit ability.

Points to Note

• Adjust the weight so that the final few repetitions are taxing but not to complete failure. The fewer reps mean that you will be lifting heavier in this phase.
• Get sufficient rest between sets. You need your muscles recovered so that you can complete a heavy lifting session.
• If you are unable to recover from a session with only one rest day in between, reschedule this program to two sessions each week rather than three. Strength training can be physically and mentally demanding.
• You will be sore in the muscles after these sessions. Muscle soreness or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is normal; joint pain is not. Be sure to monitor your arm and shoulder reactions to this phase. Back off when you feel any joint pain or discomfort.

Phase 3 - Late Pre-season to In Season

Conversion to Power

In this phase, you build on the strength developed in phase 2 with training that will increase your ability to move a load at high velocity. Power is the combination of strength and speed. Power training requires that you lift lighter weights than you did in the strength phase, yet with explosive intent. You need to rest adequately between repetitions and sets so that each movement is done as fast as possible. The number of sets can be less 

There is no point to training like this when you're fatigued.

Time of year: late pre-season
Duration: 4 weeks ongoing
Days per week: 2 to 3
Reps: 8 to 10
Sets: 2 to 3
Rest between repetitions: 10 to 15 seconds
Rest between sets: at least 1 minute or until recovery

Phase 3 Exercises

• Barbell or dumbbell hang clean
• Seated calf raises
• Cable push pull
• One arm cable raises each arm
• Barbell or dumbbell push press
• Medicine ball standing twist with partner (6x15 repetitions fast, recover between sets) (or alone)
• Box jump march (6x20 repetitions fast, recover between sets)
• Vertical jump (both sides)

Plyometrics - Jumping, Bounding
Additional plyometric exercises that emphasize bounding, jumping and hopping can be performed outside of the gym, on court or at a suitable venue. The following resources from plyometric experts describe programs for these useful and perhaps essential exercises. Take care with plyometric exercises because injury can result from injudicious training. An on-site trainer or coach with experience in plyometrics is good insurance.

Points to Note

• In power training, it's important that you're relatively recovered for each repetition and set so that you can maximize the velocity of the movement. The weights should not be too heavy and the rest periods sufficient.
• At the same time, you need to push or pull reasonably heavy loads to develop power against reasonable resistance. Lift heavier than phase 1 but lighter than phase 2.
• With the marches and the medicine ball twists, do a full set at maximum then rest sufficiently before the next one.
• Rest briefly between each vertical jump so that you can maximize each one.

Phase 4 - In-season

Maintenance of Strength and Power
Alternate phase 2 (Strength) and phase 3 (Power) for a total of two sessions each week. Every fifth week, do no weight training at all to assist recovery.

Points to Note

• Try to allow at least two days between any strength session and a game.
• Try not to do strength training on the same day as you work out on the court -- or at least separate workouts morning and afternoon.
• Rest completely from strength training one week in five. Light gym work is OK.
• Use your judgment. Don't sacrifice court skills training for weight work during the season.

Phase 5 - Off-season

Now it's time to rest up. You need this time for emotional and physical renewal. For several weeks, forget about basketball and do other things. Staying fit and active with cross training or other activities is still a good idea.

Give yourself plenty of time to do it all again next year.

Amy Davis, M.Ed., ATC/L
Virginia Tech Athletics

Chronic groin pain affects about 5 percent of the athletic population. An athlete can perform for months to years with chronic groin pain without a conclusive diagnosis. Sports hernia is one among several possible diagnoses for chronic groin pain. Typically, sports hernias are found in male soccer and hockey players, due to the repetitive twisting and turning demands of their sport. The biomechanics of a shot putter that spins and drives (repetitive twisting or turning at speed) may predispose them to a possible sports hernia. Little research has been done on sports hernias, so prevention, rehabilitation, and treatment are still varied.

Sports hernia has only recently become a common diagnosis. A sports hernia can be defined as a weakening of the posterior inguinal wall without a palpable hernia upon exam. Athletes often complain of chronic groin pain located deeper and more proximal than a typical groin strain. Pain is first noticed with exercise, either near the end or after exercise. Overtime the pain can persist through exercise into the activities of daily living, such as getting into a car. Acute onset may be accompanied with a tearing sensation during exercise. Previous injuries may lead to long standing differences in muscle strength on one side of the body and may pre-dispose an athlete to sports hernia. Possible muscle imbalances exist with stronger adductors and weak lower abdomen muscles, causing a pelvic imbalance. The recent increasing awareness of sports hernia by athletic trainers and physicians has lead to a larger number of reported cases.

Possible diagnoses that can be confused with a sports hernia are chronic adductor strain, chronic rectus abdominus strain, and osteitis pubis. Chronic adductor strains are not uncommon in shot putters, whose hip and pelvis muscles are subject to repetitive high loads. Symptoms of an adductor strain include pain and tenderness along the inner thigh, swelling or discoloration, and a possible palpable defect along the muscle. Most adductor strains occur with a violent, sudden lengthening of the adductor muscle. A physician makes the diagnosis of a chronic adductor strain through physical examination and a MRI can determine the severity of the strain. Chronic rectus abdominus strains can have pain and tenderness in the lower abdomen over the pubic symphysis. Movements, such as sneezing, coughing and sit-ups, can cause pain in an athlete that has a rectus abdominus strain or a sports hernia. Osteitis pubis could mimic a sports hernia when compared to other possible diagnoses. Symptoms of osteitis pubis include pain at the pubic symphysis, which may refer to the lower abdomen, hip, or groin. The mechanism of injury, repetitive trauma, can be similar to a sports hernia. Physicians can diagnosis osteitis pubis through x-ray or bone scan.

Sports hernia falls under the umbrella of chronic groin pain. A physical examination can make the possible diagnosis. Symptoms of a sports hernia include chronic groin pain with activity progressing to pain while running, coughing and sneezing. Pain with a resisted sit-up can also be a sign of a possible sports hernia. An athlete may describe the pain as being deep and located more towards the groin region. Thirty percent of males with a possible sports hernia experience referred pain to the testicles. Upon physical exam by a physician, hip, abdominal, pelvic, lumbar, sacroiliac, and genital exams would all be within normal limits. Sports hernia may not have a palpable hernia, which can lead to further testing or a referral to a surgeon. It is important for a physician to rule out other diagnosis through the use of diagnostic imaging. The elimination of other possible injuries can also help athletic trainers or physical therapist develop an appropriate rehabilitation plan.

Diagnostic imaging is used to eliminate other possible causes of chronic groin pain and can lead to the diagnosis of a sports hernia. X-rays are taken to eliminate any bone problems, such as avulsion fractures, osteitis pubis and stress fractures. Further measures can be taken to rule out any suspicious images found on x-ray. Bone scans are also used to eliminate or diagnosis avulsion fractures, osteitis pubis and stress fractures. The use of MRIs and CT Scans have had limited usage in diagnosing sports hernia, but may rule out soft tissue injuries, such as adductor strains or hip subluxations. Endoscope can be used as a surgical technique to diagnosis sports hernias. The use of this method should be used to evaluate and treat groin pain that has been undiagnosed. A study in the June 1, 2004 issue of the "American Journal of Medicine" found that 17 out of 18 athletes with chronic groin pain were diagnosed with the use of endoscopic evaluation. The highest percentage (39percent) of athletes had chronic groin pain linked to the discovery of a sports hernia.

Once other possible groin injuries have been eliminated and the diagnosis of a sports hernia is established, the next step is treatment. Conservative treatment of a sports hernia consists of anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks of rest, 3 to 4 months of sports-specific rehabilitation with gradual return to activity. Time is sometimes not a luxury with the rigorous schedule of track and field and conservative treatment may fail. Surgery should be the last option following the failure of conservative treatment. Laparoscopic or endoscopic herniorrhaphy are surgical procedures used to repair a sports hernia. Incisions are typically kept to a minimum with entrance to the hernia through the abdomen and peritoneal space. A piece of mesh is used in surgery to reinforce the abdominal wall and strengthen the posterior inguinal wall. After surgery, precautions are taken place to have the athlete avoid sudden, sharp movements and heavy lifting. The gradual return to activity along with rehabilitation allows the athlete to return to participation within 6 to 12 weeks following surgery. Surgical success of repairing a sports hernia, which means returning to the level of activity pre-injury, varies from 63-95 percent.

Rehabilitation done post surgery will help athletes return to activity within 6 to 12 weeks. Our experience with rehabilitating post-surgical athletes with sports hernia has been to allow a week of rest after surgery to allow for the wounds to heal. An athlete may begin activity, such as using the elliptical trainer or jogging, within 10 to 14 days post-operation. Light weightlifting may occur 3 weeks post surgical sports hernia repair. A shot putter may have difficulty with the restriction on weight lifting because it is a vital component of their training. All aspects of core strengthening and flexibility should be addressed throughout the rehabilitation process. Core programs can include exercises done with a Swiss ball and light weightlifting. Other exercises should focus on strengthening the abdomen, hip adductors, hip flexors, and pelvis. Rehabilitation may vary depending on the athlete's condition and other overlapping conditions, such as a groin strain.

The awareness of sports hernias is increasing through the increasing knowledge of doctors and trainers. Any sport or activity, that involves repetitive twisting and turning at speed, can lead to a possible sports hernia. The technique of a shot putter, repetitive spinning or driving, along with heavy lower extremity weightlifting, might possibly lead to a sports hernia, but needs to be confirmed with further research.

Bibliography

Learn how to Treat and Prevent Knee Pain and Iliotibial Band Syndrome!

Knee pain and knee injuries, as a result of Iliotibial Band Syndrome, can be an extremely painful and frustrating injury that puts a big strain on both the knee and hip joints.

Knee injuries are very common among runners and cyclists. However, they don't usually occur in an instant, like a hamstring strain or groin pull, but commonly start off as a twinge or niggle, and progress quickly to a debilitating sports injury that can sideline the best of us for weeks.

If you suffer from iliotibial band syndrome or are seeking to prevent its occurrence it is important to follow the information in this article. In addition, making stretching a part of your fitness regime will have a significant impact. To get you started on a safe and effective stretching routine learn more about The Stretching Handbook and how it can improve your fitness.

What is Iliotibial Band Syndrome?
For those who aren't familiar with Iliotibial Band Syndrome, let's start by having a look at the muscle responsible for the problem.

The iliotibial band is actually a thick tendon-like portion of another muscle called the tensor fasciae latae. This band passes down the outside of the thigh and inserts just below the knee.

The diagram above shows the anterior (front) view of the right thigh muscles. If you look towards the top left of the diagram, you'll see the tensor fasciae latae muscle. Follow the tendon of this muscle down and you'll see that it runs all the way to the knee. This thick band of tendon is the iliotibial band. Or iliotibial tract, as it is labelled in the diagram.

The main problem occurs when the tensor fasciae latae muscle and iliotibial band become tight. This causes the tendon to pull the knee joint out of alignment and rub against the outside of the knee, which results in inflammation and pain.

What Causes Iliotibial Band Syndrome?
There are two main causes of knee pain associated with iliotibial band syndrome. The first is "overload" and the second is "biomechanical errors."

Overload is common with sports that require a lot of running or weight bearing activity. This is why ITB is commonly a runner's injury. When the tensor fasciae latae muscle and iliotibial band become fatigued and overloaded, they lose their ability to adequately stabilize the entire leg. This in-turn places stress on the knee joint, which results in pain and damage to the structures that make up the knee joint.

Overload on the ITB can be caused by a number of things. They include:

Biomechanical errors include:

Immediate Treatment
Firstly, be sure to remove the cause of the problem. Whether is be an overload problem, or a biomechanical problem, make sure steps are taken to remove the cause.

The basic treatment for knee pain that results from ITB Syndrome is no different to most other soft tissue injuries. Immediately following the onset of any knee pain, the R.I.C.E.R. regime should be applied. This involves Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, and Referral to an appropriate professional for an accurate diagnosis. It is critical that the R.I.C.E.R. regime be implemented for at least the first 48 to 72 hours. Doing this will give you the best possible chance of a complete and full recovery.

Ongoing Treatment and Prevention
Although the pain may be felt mainly in the knee, the problem is actually caused by the muscles that support the knee. Namely the tensor fasciae latae and the large muscle at the rear of your upper leg, called the gluteus maximus.

Other muscles in the lower back, hip, backside and upper leg also affect the function of the knee, so it's important to pay attention to all these muscles. After the first 48 to 72 hours, consider a good deep tissue massage. It may be just what you need to help loosen up those tight muscles.

Firstly, don't forget a thorough and correct warm up will help to prepare the muscles and tendons for any activity to come. Without a proper warm up the muscles and tendons will be tight and stiff. There will be limited blood flow to the leg muscles, which will result in a lack of oxygen and nutrients for those muscles.

Before any activity be sure to thoroughly warm up all the muscles and tendons that will be used during your sport or activity. Click here for a detailed explanation of how, why and when to perform your warm up.

Secondly, flexible muscles are extremely important in the prevention of most leg injuries. When muscles and tendons are flexible and supple, they are able to move and perform without being over stretched. If however, your muscles and tendons are tight and stiff, it is quite easy for those muscles and tendons to be pushed beyond their natural range of movement. To keep your muscles and tendons flexible and supple, it is important to undertake a structured stretching routine.

The stretch above is one of the best stretches for the tensor fasciae latae.

Stand upright and cross one foot behind the other. Then lean towards the foot that is behind the other. Hold this stretch for about 15 to 20 seconds, and then repeat it 3 to 4 times on each leg.

Stretching is one of the most under-utilized techniques for improving athletic performance and getting rid of those annoying sports injuries. Don't make the mistake of thinking that something as simple as stretching won't be effective.

And to help you improve your flexibility quickly and safely, you can't go past The Stretching Handbook & DVD. Together they include over 130 clear photographs and 40 videos of every possible stretching exercise, for every major muscle group in your body.

The Stretching Handbook & DVD will show you, step-by-step, how to perform each stretch EXACTLY! Plus, you'll learn the benefits of flexibility; the 7 critical rules for safe stretching; and how to stretch properly. Discover more about The Stretching Handbook & DVD here.

And thirdly, strengthening and conditioning the muscles around your knee and upper leg will help greatly to reduce the chance of knee injury and knee pain.

If you are in too much pain to resume normal exercise, consider swimming, deep water exercise, or maybe cycling. Otherwise, The Walking Site has a list of safe, simple and easy strengthening exercises for the muscles of the upper leg and knee. To keep your knees in tip-top condition practice these regularly.

Discover the causes behind Patellar Tendonitis, it's treatment and prevention.

Knee pain and knee injuries, as a result of Patellar Tendonitis, can be an extremely painful and frustrating injury that puts a big strain on both the knee and hip joints.

Knee injuries like patellar tendonitis are very common among runners and cyclists, however it doesn't usually occur in an instant like a hamstring strain or groin pull, but commonly starts off as a twinge or niggle, and progresses quickly to a debilitating sports injury that can sideline the best of us.

If you suffer from patellar tendonitis or are seeking to prevent its occurrence it is important to follow the information in this article. In addition, making stretching a part of your fitness regime will have a significant impact. To get you started on a safe and effective stretching routine learn more about The Stretching Handbook and how it can improve your fitness.

What is Patellar Tendonitis?
As with all cases of tendonitis, patella tendonitis is simply the inflammation, degeneration or rupture of the patellar ligament and the tissue that surround it, leading to pain and discomfort in the area just below the knee cap.

Anatomy of the Knee

The picture above is a front-on view of the bones, tendons and ligaments that make up the knee joint. In the very center of the picture is the patella, or kneecap. The blue structure that runs downward from the patella to the tibia (shinbone) is the patella ligament.

On occasion you may hear of this structure being referred to as the patellar tendon, but for the purposes of anatomy and physiology this structure is a ligament, as it attaches the patella (knee cap) to the tibia (shin bone). Ligaments attach bone to bone, while tendons attach muscle to bone.

What causes Patellar Tendonitis?
Overuse is the major cause of patellar tendonitis. Activities that involve a lot of jumping or rapid change of direction are particularly stressful to the patellar ligament. Participants of basketball, volleyball, soccer, and other running related sports are particularly vulnerable to patellar tendonitis.

Patellar tendonitis can also be caused by a sudden, unexpected injury like a fall. Landing heavily on your knees can damage the patellar ligament, which can lead to patellar tendonitis.

What are the Signs & Symptoms of Patellar Tendonitis?
The major symptom of patellar tendonitis is pain in the area just below the kneecap. Activities like walking, running and especially squatting, kneeling or jumping will cause increased pain and discomfort. Swelling is also commonly associated with patellar tendonitis.

Patellar Tendonitis Treatment
Patellar tendonitis is just like any other soft tissue injury and should be treated accordingly. This involves the application of R.I.C.E.R. (R) rest, (I) ice, (C) compression, (E) elevation and obtaining a (R) referral for appropriate medical treatment. The following two points are of most importance.

How do you apply ice? Crushed ice in a plastic bag is usually best. However, blocks of ice, commercial cold packs and bags of frozen peas will all do fine. Even cold water from a tap is better than nothing at all.

When using ice, be careful not to apply it directly to the skin. This can cause "ice burns" and further skin damage. Wrapping the ice in a damp towel generally provides the best protection for the skin.

How long, how often? This is the point where few people agree. Let me give you some figures to use, as a rough guide, and then I will give you some advice from personal experience. The most common recommendation is to apply ice for 20 minutes every 2 hours for the first 48 to 72 hours.

These figures are a good starting point, but remember they are only a guide. You must take into account that some people are more sensitive to cold than others are. Also, be aware that children and elderly people have a lower tolerance to ice and cold. Finally, people with circulatory problems are also more sensitive to ice. Remember to keep these things in mind when treating yourself or someone else with ice.

Personally, I recommend that people use their own judgement when applying ice to them self. For some people, 20 minutes is too much. For others, especially well conditioned athletes, they can leave ice on for up to an hour at a time. The individual should make the decision as to how long the ice should stay on.

My personal recommendation is that people should apply ice for as long as it is comfortable. Obviously, there will be a slight discomfort from the cold, but as soon as pain or excessive discomfort is experienced, it is time to remove the ice. It is much better to apply ice for 3 to 5 minutes a couple of time an hour, than not at all.

During the first 24 to 72 hours after an injury, be sure to avoid any form of heat at the injury site. This includes heat lamps, heat creams, spas, Jacuzzi's and saunas. Avoid all movement and massage of the injured area. Also, avoid excessive alcohol. All these things will increase the bleeding, swelling and pain of your injury. Avoid them at all costs.

Patellar Tendonitis Prevention
Although it is important to be able to treat patellar tendonitis, prevention should be your first priority. So what are some of the things you can do to help prevent patellar tendonitis?

 

 

Learn to combine supplements and whole foods to maximize health and growth.

If you’re a serious athlete, you know how important it is to cover your nutritional bases. That’s why multiminerals are so popular these days. While some sedentary people take multis to make up for their poor diets, athletes take them because their nutritional demands are so great from training stresses that tax the body. For instance, those who frequently perform strenuous weight workouts are frequently low in the minerals magnesium and/or zinc.

These fundamental nutrients are extremely important to your continuing progress in building muscle and improving athletic performance. Lucky for you, there are multiple ways to satisfy these requirements.

This article will help you determine if you’re covering all your bases, providing you with quality whole-food recommendations to make sure you’re getting all you need. And, if you don’t like eating foods that have large amounts of a particular nutrient, then you better consider supplementing with a multivitamin, multimineral or taking the individual nutrients that you’re likely to be lacking.

Vitamin C
Why you need it: Few realize that vitamin C has direct physique-enhancing benefits. For spurring muscle growth, it enhances the production of nitric oxide (NO). For helping to get lean, vitamin C can enhance fat loss.

How much you need every day: 500–2,000 mg

How to supplement it: In addition to consuming foods high in vitamin C, you can supplement with 500–1,000 mg in the morning with your breakfast and 500–1,000 mg with your dinner or bedtime snack. Take all daily doses with food.

Best food sources:

Keep in mind: Those seeking to add muscle mass may be able to utilize more than the recommended 500–2,000 mg per day. 
 

Vitamin E
Why you need it: Vitamin E supports cell health and muscle growth. It is a powerful antioxidant that protects against damage from free radicals. It also helps protect the heart and lungs.

How much you need every day: 400–800 IU

How to supplement it: Take vitamin E with meals.

Best food sources:  

Keep in mind: Vitamin E is a versatile, potent antioxidant. While most people do not have a deficiency, it is, nonetheless, a good idea for active exercisers to maximize vitamin E intake.

Zinc
Why you need it: Getting in an adequate supply of zinc every day supports testosterone levels, muscle building and metabolic rate.

How much you need every day: The minimums are 8 mg per day for women, 11 mg for men. For ideal functioning, take 30 mg of supplemental zinc or include a zinc-based supplement such as ZMA.

How to supplement it: For best results, take zinc on an empty stomach just before you go to bed.

Best food sources:

Keep in mind: Those who work out hard with weights often have a zinc deficiency. Low levels of zinc may inhibit your ability to maintain and build muscle mass because zinc is crucial for supporting testosterone and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), two hormones that are critical for growth.


Beta Carotene
Why you need it: Beta-carotene works with other natural protectors to defend cells and helps with metabolic functions such as recovery from exercise.

How much you need every day: 5,000–25,000 IU of vitamin A activity per day

How to supplement it: Take one or two doses daily with fat.

Best food sources:

Keep in mind: Making sure you get in plenty of beta-carotene not only supports health, but also helps boost muscle gains from weight training. Since vitamin A itself can be toxic if supplemented for too long with too high of a dosage, you’re better off taking in beta-carotene in the form of whole foods and supplements, rather than supplementing with vitamin A.

Magnesium
Why you need it: Magnesium supports heart health and performance. Research shows that magnesium supplementation can increase muscle strength. It has also been shown to lower cortisol levels, which can result in higher testosterone levels.

How much you need every day: Take 450 mg of supplemental magnesium or include it with a zinc-based supplement such as ZMA.

How to supplement it: Take magnesium on an empty stomach before bed; avoid calcium supplementation or calcium-rich foods such as dairy when taking magnesium, as these interfere with magnesium absorption.

Best food sources:

Keep in mind: Many people are deficient in magnesium. Those who exercise frequently can be susceptible to magnesium deficiencies because heavy sweating causes the body to lose this mineral (and others).

Selenium
Why you need it: Selenium is a trace mineral that helps keep your metabolic rate elevated. This helps fuel activity from fat stores, encouraging your body to keep muscle mass intact while it burns body fat. Newer research finds that selenium is important for muscle strength.

How much you need every day: 200–400 mg

How to supplement it: Take your daily dose with a meal.

Best food sources:

Keep in mind: Selenium boosts the conversion of thyroid hormone T4 to thyroid hormone T3. This increases body-fat burning because elevated levels of T3 encourage your body to use stored fat for energy. Low levels of selenium can impair thyroid function, leading to a decrease in your metabolic rate.

Protein
Why you need it: It almost goes without saying that protein is necessary for building muscle mass. The basic constituents of protein, amino acids, are also the basic components of muscle tissue. What you may not know is how important muscle mass is to health. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolic rate, which helps prevent adding unwanted body fat and a host of metabolic problems that are associated with low metabolic rates (such as diabetes). Muscle mass is also key for maintaining health and function as we age.

How much you need every day: Those who train with weights should consume at least 1 g per pound of body weight.

How to supplement it: Take up to 50 g of whey or a soy/whey mix around the time of exercise to boost muscle building.

Best food sources:

Keep in mind: The rules about protein consumption are both simple and complex. At the most rudimentary level, make sure that you get in your daily minimum 1 g of protein per pound of body weight. But also emphasize a range of quality protein sources that are high in particularly beneficial amino acids for supporting muscle growth and health. For more on individual aminos, check out the “Protein Breakdown” sidebar.

Fiber
Why you need it: In addition to helping prevent disease such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, consuming enough fiber a day also enhances digestive efficiency, encouraging better absorption and better gains for those eating a high-protein diet.

How much you need every day: A minimum of 40 g, and more if your weight is in excess of 180 lb. As a rule of thumb, shoot for about 1/3 g of fiber per pound of body weight.

How to supplement it: You can take a supplemental form of fiber such as Metamucil in addition to emphasizing foods that are higher in fiber throughout the day.

Best food sources:

Keep in mind: Many people following a “clean” whole-food diet don’t eat as much fiber as they should. Part of the reason is that foods that are high in protein tend to be devoid of fiber. Of note, there are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber forms a gel-like substance when it sits in water (think Metamucil, and how it thickens), which helps slow digestive rates, reducing the negative effects of other carbs. Insoluble fiber doesn’t absorb water, but it helps keep gunk from sticking to your intestinal walls, helping to promote the absorption of nutrients.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Why you need it: The essential omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosopentaenoic acid (DHA), are critical for heart, brain and joint health, as well as for helping to prevent certain cancers. If that weren’t enough, they also help muscle recovery and enhance fat loss.

How much you need every day: Shoot for about 3–6 g of fish oil, the richest source of omega-3 fats. Since fish oil contains about 50% EPA and DHA, you will be getting about 1.5–3 g of total omega-3 fats.

How to supplement it: Take 1–2 g of fish oil with meals two or three times a day.

Best food sources:

Keep in mind: One of the key factors in determining if a food is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids is the ratio of these fats to other fats, such as omega-6s. Ultimately, your best bet is to try for a ratio of 1:1 of omega-6 to omega-3 fats.
 

Stop counting reps, make every rep count!
Coach Rey
nlainc.org
coachrey@nlainc.org
Don't just make the team, make the team better!

 FEDERACIÓN PANAMEÑA DE FÚTBOL

Afiliada a la FIFA y a la Confederación Norte-Centroamericana y del Caribe de Fútbol

March 7, 2010

To:

ST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY

Houston.

To whom it may concern,

The FEDERACION PANAMEÑA DE FUTBOL, Invites player ASSAYAT XAVIER CAMARENA HERNANDEZ, to officially train with our U-21(Olympic) National Team.

Our National Team prepares to participate in two international matches against Guatemala´s National Team on the 21 & 27 of March.  Where the winner of this key will advance to the next round been held in The Caribbean and Central American Games at Puerto Rico. 

Sincerely yours,

Rolando González

National Team Manager 

Edif. Christine, PB, Urb. Chanis, Apartado Postal. 0827-00391, Panamá, Rep. de Panamá.

Teléfono: (507) 233-3896 / Fax: (507) 233-0582 / Email: fepafut@sinfo.net

Find out what's causing your Sciatica and which treatment is going to be the most effective for you.

Nagging, burning pain radiating down the back of the leg, or dull throbbing pain in the buttocks on one side can all be signs of a very frustrating condition referred to as Sciatica, or Sciatic Nerve Pain. If you have ever suffered pain from the sciatic nerve you know all too well how aggravating this pain can be. Even more, you know how difficult it is to get rid of this pain.

If you are reading this article you have probably experienced, know someone who has experienced, or want to avoid the experience of this particular pain. With the proper treatment this pain does not have to linger. It can be prevented or taken care of with some simple steps.

If you suffer from sciatica or are seeking to prevent its occurrence it is important to follow the information in this article. In addition, making stretching a part of your fitness regime will have a significant impact. To get you started on a safe and effective stretching routine learn more about The Stretching Handbook and how it can improve your fitness.

What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is a name given to pain caused by pressure placed on the sciatic nerve. When a nerve is placed under pressure it sends out pain signals. It may radiate down the length of the nerve or be focused in a specific area. The muscles innervated by the nerve may or may not be directly affected.

Anatomy of Sciatica
The sciatic nerve runs from the lower back, down through the hips and buttocks, and along the back of the leg into the foot. It actually originates from the L4 through S3 spinal nerves. It innervates the deep muscles of the buttocks and hips. It also serves the muscles of the hamstring group, the lower leg, and some of the muscles of the foot.

It runs directly under (or in some cases around or through) the piriformis muscle, but it does not innervate this muscle. Any of the muscles that are directly supplied by this nerve can become affected.

Both the Sciatic nerve and the Piriformis muscle can be seen in the diagram to the right: The sciatic nerve is the yellow nerve running vertically down the middle of the leg; while the piriformis muscle is the horizontal muscle at the top of the sciatic nerve.

What Causes Sciatica?
Sciatica has several possible causes. Any condition that puts pressure on the sciatic nerve can result in pain in the lower back, buttocks and back of the leg. The pressure may come from vertebral discs, bones or muscles. The causes of sciatica may be acute or chronic. A traumatic event may result in injury to the lower back or hip area causing pressure on the sciatic nerve through misplaced bones, spasm of a muscle or inflammation from the injury.

Chronic causes of sciatica may be due to muscle imbalances, misaligned bones, or narrowing space in the vertebrae. There are four conditions that most commonly cause sciatica.

Muscle imbalances are a common thread through the four possible causes listed above. This makes treatment and correction of the muscle imbalances paramount in the recovery and prevention of sciatica.

What are the Signs and Symptoms of Sciatica?
Sciatica is classified as pain in the sciatic nerve. This pain may be sharp, dull or burning. It may be focused in one area or it may radiate the entire length of the nerve. It is often felt in the lower back and buttocks region, and often spreads down the back of the leg. The pain is usually only felt on one side. Coughing, sneezing, squatting or extended periods of sitting can cause an increase in pain. The muscles that are innervated by the sciatic nerve may also spasm or cramp, causing additional pain. The pain in the lower back and hamstrings can also lead to inflexibility in the back and hips. Pain and stiffness in the opposite side may also result over time.

Common signs and symptoms of sciatica include:

How to Treat Sciatica?
When sciatic nerve pain is caused by an acute injury the first step is to treat the injury. The R.I.C.E.R. formula (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation, followed by Referral) may be used for the first 48 to 72 hours. Reducing the inflammation caused by the injury will help reduce the pain. After the initial 72 hours heat may be used to warm and relax the muscles around the nerve. Stretching the muscles of the lower back and hip will also reduce the stress on the nerve. Once tolerated, some light exercise to strengthen the injured muscles may also alleviate some of the pressure.

Sciatica caused by a chronic condition requires a correction of the underlying problem that caused it in the first place. If it is caused by a bone displacement, then a correction or realignment of the bones will be required. If the pain is caused by a muscle imbalance the imbalance must be corrected. While the underlying problem is being fixed, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications can be used, along with ice, to reduce the pressure on the nerve caused by the inflammation. Later, ultrasound, massage, heat and stretching may also help to relax the piriformis muscle, reducing the compaction on the nerve.

Correcting the underlying causes and taking the time to fully rehabilitate the muscles will help ensure proper healing. It will also reduce the chance of a chronic condition developing. Since the piriformis muscle is a common offending muscle it is important to work this muscle with quality strengthening and stretching exercises. If the muscle remains tight and/or weak it will lead to additional problems in the future. Strengthening and improving the flexibility of the muscles of the lower back and hamstrings will also reduce the pressure on the nerve, as well.

Surgical intervention is rarely needed with this condition. It may be used to open the space for the nerve, but most people respond to rest and ant-inflammatory treatments within a few weeks to a few months. Strengthening and stretching exercises help speed the recovery process along, as well.

Sciatica Prevention
As the old saying goes, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." In the case of sciatica this is very true. Preventing the problem from developing in the first place will prevent the weeks of pain and possible debilitation while you treat and rehabilitate the injury.

While you cannot prevent every acute injury, you can take steps to make the area around the sciatic nerve less susceptible to injury. Strengthening the piriformis muscle will help to prevent injury to this muscle, which could place the nerve under stress. This muscle pulls the leg outward and causes an outward rotation of the foot. Exercises that require the leg to be forces outward against resistance will help strengthen this muscle. Strengthening the lower back and hip muscles will help support the spinal column preventing injury there that might compress the nerve.

Proper posture, a good warm up before physical activity, and healthy, flexible muscles around the lower back and hips will help reduce injury in this area that might place the sciatic nerve under pressure.

Flexibility in the piriformis is another common concern. Since this muscle is seldom stretched in everyday activities it may stay shortened. Then when it is forced into a stretch position and may not have the flexibility to withstand this forced stretch. This can injure the muscle. Increasing flexibility in the muscle will reduce the chance of injury. The lower back and hamstrings are also common areas of inflexibility, which can lead to muscle imbalances and acute injuries.

Sit with one leg straight out in front. Hold onto the ankle of your other leg and pull it directly towards your chest.

Stretching is one of the most under-utilized techniques for improving athletic performance and getting rid of those annoying sports injuries. Don't make the mistake of thinking that something as simple as stretching won't be effective.

And to help you improve your flexibility quickly and safely, you can't go past The Stretching Handbook & DVD. Together they include over 130 clear photographs and 40 videos of every possible stretching exercise, for every major muscle group in your body.

The Stretching Handbook & DVD will show you, step-by-step, how to perform each stretch EXACTLY! Plus, you'll learn the benefits of flexibility; the 7 critical rules for safe stretching; and how to stretch properly. Discover more about The Stretching Handbook & DVD here.

If you enjoyed this issue of The Stretching & Sports Injury Report, please feel free to forward it to others, make it available for download from your site or post it on forums for others to read. Please make sure the following paragraph and URL are included: