A Philosophy of Strength and Health

Lewis Pugh's mind-shifting Mt. Everest swim | Video on TED.com

I'm not an individual sport kinda athlete. Don't like being out there all alone in the discus ring or weightlifting platform; not blessed with raw explosiveness and athleticism. But put me on a team, where strategy, planning, knowledge of the sport, consistency and fundamentals count, and I'll be successful. In high school volleyball, I was the setter. Too stubborn to get rid of my goofy-footed approach, my high school coach made me set and I thrived. In college, I loved directing a 5-1 offense and keeping the opposing team off-guard. In high school basketball, I was the 2-guard and a small forward. My job wasn't to score, but to get the ball to Darla Pannier , our junior center who would go on to be a high school All-American. Darla had the school season scoring record; I had the season assist record only because of Darla. Nothing made me happier than drawing a defender off-balance and getting the ball to Darla for the "and-one." My husband is always h...

I'm starting several new athletes over next few weeks. All will go through an initial 2 part evaluation that occurs over 2 days. I take the time to review past medical history with a parent, look at static and dynamic flexibility, upper and lower extremity strength, torso control with various movements and any other factor that might jump out at me, given PMH and their specific sport demands. So the evaluation gives me a snapshot of where the athlete is now and then gives me insight into variables that may or may not impact training and performance down the road. I understand certain adaptations occur in sport, so I attend to them but keep in mind that I probably shouldn't try to fix it if it really ain't broke. I want to see if the athlete meets basic physical competencies--the physical building blocks that form the foundations for technical and tactical skills in the sport. And I want my tests to be relevant, measurable and meaningful. Right now my evaluation process...

Here's a blast from the past while I recombobulate after a long June and great vacation in Europe. More soon!

There aren't many in-depth learning opportunities these days. I recently spent 6 full days immersed in topics that relate to LTAD (long-term athletic development) at the GAIN 2010 Apprentorship in Ft. Lauderdale. This was my second year to attend and my first to speak. Some highlights of the event for me: 1. Diversity. As always, the diversity of the faculty and delegates makes this event unique. There are international / Olympic level coaches in dialogue with grass-roots physical educators and coaches. MDs, ATCs and PTs get together in group sessions in the evening to discuss barriers to patient care and how to overcome them. We in the US are exposed to the sport cultures of the UK, Europe and Australia. The threads that tie us together are a quest for physical health and performance for all levels of athlete. We still lack diversity as far as race and gender are concerned, but hopefully that will come around. 2. Professionalism and respect. The GAIN environment promotes...