Frogs: They've Got Hops

Bad Technique

A love song to my Crossfit friends and family. To "Bad Romance" by Lady Ga Ga. Inspired by those Crossfit peeps who get acquire "workout brain" once they walk through the gym door.

Oh oh oh ohhhh oh oh oh

Caught with bad technique

Oh oh oh ohhhh oh oh oh

Caught with bad technique

Rah Rah ah ah ah

Roma Ro ma ma ah

Ga Ga oh la la

Fix your bad technique

Rah Rah ah ah ah

Roma Ro ma ma ah

Ga Ga oh la la

Fix your bad technique

Your lifts are ugly

Got Crossfit disease

I’ll fix your everything

But it won’t be free

I’ll fix your lifts

Lifts lifts lifts

Your ugly lifts

No time for drama

No hero workouts

It’s back to basics

Work it from the top down

I’ll fix your lifts

Lifts lifts lifts

Your ugly lifts

You know that you want to

And you know that you need to

To fix that bad, bad technique

I’ll fix your lifts and I’ll get some revenge

For the bastards teaching bad technique

You want to clean and you want to snatch

But it takes a little more than that

Oh oh oh ohhhh oh oh oh

Caught with bad technique

Oh oh oh ohhhh oh oh oh

Caught with bad technique

Rah Rah ah ah ah

Roma Ro ma ma ah

Ga Ga oh la la

Fix that bad technique

It’s such a horror

Oh there’s no design

It’s almost criminal

You need to refine

Your ugly lifts

Lifts lifts lifts

Those ugly lifts

Your movement’s psycho

With PVC stick

Then with a barbell

It gets really sick

Let’s fix your lifts

Lifts lifts lifts

Your ugly lifts

You know that you want to

And you know that you need to

(Cuz those are freak lifts baby)

To fix that bad, bad technique

I’ll fix your lifts and I’ll get some revenge

For the bastards teaching bad technique

You want to clean and you want to snatch

But it takes a little more than that

Oh oh oh ohhhh oh oh oh

Caught with bad technique

Oh oh oh ohhhh oh oh oh

Caught with bad technique

Rah Rah ah ah ah

Roma Ro ma ma ah

Ga Ga oh la la

Fix your bad technique

Rah Rah ah ah ah

Roma Ro ma ma ah

Ga Ga oh la la

Fix your bad technique

High block, low block baby

Work it, work position, baby

Pockets, mid-thigh baby

Work it to below knee, baby

High block, low block baby

Work it

Work position, baby

Pockets, mid-thigh baby

Work it to below knee, baby

I’ll fix your lifts

And I’ll get some revenge

I’ll fix your lifts

Make the barbell your friend

(Just sing the French here)

Make the barbell your friend

Make the barbell your friend

(Caught with bad technique)

Make the barbell your friend

(Caught with bad technique)

Fix your bad technique

I’ll fix your technique!

I’ll fix your lifts and I’ll get some revenge

For the bastards teaching bad technique

You want to clean and then you want to snatch

But it takes a little more than that

Fix your bad technique

Caught with bad technique

Fix your bad technique

Fix your bad technique

Caught with bad technique

Rah Rah ah ah ah

Roma Ro ma ma ah

Ga Ga oh la la

Fix your bad technique

Hey Sports Fans

We checked out Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 from the library. One of the best sports movies EVER. Make sure you also watch every bonus interview.

Deliberate Practice

MW works on building quality movement in the snatch. Deep, deliberate practice makes perfect.

Hassle Free Baby!

Thanks to Greg Everett at Catalyst Athletics for this peek into the Hassle Free Barbell Club training session at Sacramento High.

A Long Journey

After 15 years, they finally won it. Congratulations to Coach Miguel Figueres, Coach Doug Meitz and the DeSmet water polo team. You still don't have your own pool, but your hard work and determination have created a strong water polo program.

We came to St. Louis 15 years ago when I got into PT school at Wash U. Kevin left his position as assistant professor, physical education instructor and men's & women's swimming coach at the University of Chicago. By some fortuitous connections and luck, Kevin got an interview at DeSmet for a teaching job. During the interview, they asked him if he would coach swimming and re-start the water polo program (it had apparently been disbanded in the 1970s).

So in September of 1995, Kevin coached his first water polo game without ever having seen or played in one. The Spartans lost to the Marquette JV 24-6. Oh boy. But he was graciously mentored by Dan and Don Casey, icons of St. Louis water polo his first two years. Both coaches let him sit in on their high school practices and would even stop practice occasionally to explain to Kevin why they were doing what they were doing.

For 8 long years--felt like 20, he says--he coached both JV and Varsity water polo and swimming. Because DeSmet doesn't have a pool, his teams had to practice after Chaminade was finished. That meant starting practice at 6 pm and getting home around 10 pm every night after teaching all day and sometimes having morning practice for extra swimming conditioning.
I rarely saw him in the fall or winter. It was hard on both of us.

Finally, he found Miguel. Miguel took over varsity water polo in 2004 and Kevin coached JV for one more year, turning it over to Doug Meitz in 2005. Both men are teachers by day and very enthusiastic about St. Louis water polo.

As athletic director, Kevin has continued to be very supportive of water polo, starting and running the DeSmet Invite tournament at the Rec Plex, as well as traveling with the guys to Chicago for spring break tournaments when Miguel could not be there. Last night, he hustled back from running a district track meet (all day in the rain) to get out to St. Peters for the championship game, because he felt it was his duty to help supervise the crowd and be there for the coaches.

As we left the game, we ran into the mother of a former swimmer/water polo player who wouldn't let us leave the pool--even though we were trying to get home as Kevin still had to unload coolers and tents from school van and count the money from the district track gate. She said her son and other former DeSmet athletes at Truman State University felt that Kevin and Miguel had been a wonderful, positive influences on them. She thanked Kevin over and over for being a good role model for her son and making his high school experience a good one.

Congratulations to my husband for building the foundations of the water polo program at DeSmet and contributing to the DeSmet and St. Louis water polo communities in so many ways. It makes me proud to know he is appreciated by students, parents and colleagues--not just for winning, but for being a good teacher and person.

What vs Why: I Have So Much to Learn

This talk gave me some insight into so many things--things I'm pondering at the moment. What do you think?

Passing the Torch

The graduating senior helps mentor the freshman and show him what it takes to reach his potential. Vern Gambetta has a great post this morning on turning Potential into Performance.
The freshman has big journey ahead of him. Already a varsity player, he will be asked to do more and more in the high school and club seasons over the next three years. He and his family are working hard to keep it all in perspective, especially given the fact that this #22 follows in the footsteps of his grandfather's #22.