A Philosophy of Strength and Health

Ryan "PB&J" Pierson is now ranked #26 in the class of 2010 centers, according to ESPN. Evaluation May, 2009: Pierson has completely changed his body since his injury a year ago. He is playing with more confidence in the low post and is using his strength to get position on his opponents at both ends of the floor. He is a little mechanical in his low post moves but does have a soft touch around the basket and can finish with either hand. He has a nice stroke on his faceup jumper and consistently hit the 15-17ft jumper as well as his free throws. He has ok lateral movement and must improve his fluidity of his low post moves. I'm not one who is into the basketball recruiting industry, but it is nice to see that our work (since March 2008) has carried over to his sport skill and play. There is much more work to do, but this is one dedicated kid.

The video below features highlights from the semi-final match against rival SLUH (white jerseys)--we had to beat them for the 3rd time this season to advance to the finals. My camera and computer are set up right behind the SLUH student section (meh). But this game illustrates some of the great play and athleticism at the high school-level in Missouri. And for all you boys out there who still think volleyball is a "girls" sport--put your little faces in front of some of these hits and see what volleyball leather tastes like.

Test post from Crackberry

This is for all of my friends who are Crossfit trainers. If you don't subscribe to it yet, I highly recommend you subscribe to Catalyst Athletics' Performance Menu journal. This month's issue is particularly good as it has three articles (by Greg Everett, Nicki Violetti, and Dutch Lowy) that deal with programming and planning. If you don't have a ticket, this can be your ticket onto the clue bus. As Greg says, varied training doesn't have to mean random training. No coach creates elite athlete through completely random programming. Really. Trainers should know how to vary the intensity, volume and load for each client in his or her class/training session. Injuries and limitations need to be understood and accounted for. I cannot tell you guys how many people (trainers and clients) I have given advice to regarding exercise selection, intensity and volume, after they have completely jacked themselves up doing stupid stuff. After they've attempted workouts...

I have been using the Hexlite training bar with all of my athletes. Some people have asked whether or not it is too big or two small for some people. I have not had trouble using it with anyone thus far, although I have not had anyone over 250# use it. The athletes in the above video range in height from 5' 2" to 6' 9". The light-weight, dual-handle design makes it a very versatile and portable training tool for those who need to develop hip-to-feet awareness, and lower extremity mobility and strength.