How to Develop a Great Athlete!
here is an article from our strength and conditioning coach, Jon Zajac.
Lifting Philosophy for Developing an Athlete
By Jon Zajac II
A great athlete is a combination of raw athleticism (big, strong, fast, adaptable) and sport specific skill (skill involved with a specific sport like hitting, kicking, dribbling, etc.) When parents and athletes are looking for a coach to help them be better at their sport, they must realize the difference between the two factors involved with being a great athlete. Sport skill coaches (baseball coaches, basketball coaches, etc) are specialists in developing the specific skill sets needed for that game. Athletic performance coaches or “strength and conditioning” coaches are specialists in making an athlete generally faster, stronger, more mobile, more reactive and agile.
A foundation of my training philosophy to developing athletes is that there is no such thing as sport specific training. Every athlete at the middle school, high school, and even many at the collegiate level should be trained as just that, an athlete. They are athletes first; then they are football players, basketball players and swimmers. Most middle school, high school and collegiate athletes play more then one sport so it is most beneficial to train them for all sports. In every sport an athlete uses the same muscle groups and same movements. I train an athlete for sport appropriate movements rather than sport specific. Athletic development should focus on creating a well developed physical specimen with the appropriate mobility, stability, coordination, strength, and movement efficiency that will promote performance and hinder injury. That lays a solid foundation for the athlete to then apply these athletic attributes towards their specific sports skill. The type of training I apply will develop the individual as a stronger athlete, so they will have even more ability to adapt to the specific demands of their sport.
I believe that a ground based approach produces maximum results in athletes. This means the majority of training is done standing with free weights such as dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls, bands and body weight. For any client I stay away from using machines unless there is an injury and they need to be rehabilitated back to functional use. Machines guide too much of the movement and keep muscles in isolation– they do not allow the athlete to use their muscles, tendons and ligaments in coordination to balance and move the weight.
Another key to my training philosophy is that I do not train exercises, but movement patterns. On the athletic field/court an athlete is never moving in one plane but in many different planes at one time so when they train they must train movements that use multi-planes at one time. With training athletes it is most effective to train with whole body movements that simulate different positions and use many different muscle groups that an athlete will use on the field/court.
Many other trainers have their training focus on how well an athlete can accelerate. While this is an important in developing an outstanding athlete, it is far more important how well the athlete is able to decelerate and change direction. All of the elite level athletes are great at decelerating and changing directions. Training deceleration is very key in injury prevention to the knees, hips, and shins. If an athlete cannot decelerate safely to change directions an athlete will end up over time injuring themselves severely, possibly ending their career.
A general progression I use when I train athletes is as follows: Establish a base level of strength. This base level strength is relative to each and every athlete. To achieve this base level strength I use five basic movements. These movements are the back squat, overhead press, deadlift, bent over row and bench press. Each of these movements can be advanced to more challenging movements as the athlete progresses through training and physical maturity with age.
After these basic lifts are and some more advanced lifts are able to be done with good technique at higher weights we progress to ballistic movements known as Olympic lifts. These lifts are the snatch, clean, and jerk. Each of these movements requires intramuscular coordination, balance, and power. An athlete that can move and react with power will dominate the playing field.
As I progress an athlete through developing a strength base that builds into developing speed and explosivity, I tailor the workout to the individual athlete’s weaknesses and imbalances. For example, if the athlete has a weak back we will add specific supplemental work into the program to improve that weak link. A common imbalance for the female athlete is quad dominance in the leg, so exercises designed to strengthen the hamstrings and prevent torn acl’s/knee injuries would be necessary to add in. The majority of athletes that lift weights on their own are weak in the muscles they cannot see since they generally lift in front of a mirror. An athlete needs to generate a lot of strength and power that is started first in the posterior chain (muscles in the back of legs, glutes, back, and core) then carried over into the anterior muscles (ones they see in the mirror). Again, this is an imbalance that can be detected and corrected with a well-designed program.
The two main reasons successful athletes work with a strength coach are simple: to get an edge on their competitors on the playing field by being faster, more powerful and more explosive and to prevent injuries so they can keep playing! Encouraging a young athlete to build that base of strength is crucial for a long and prosperous career.
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Posted by admin, on Jun 09, 2011 • Category: Assignments, Uncategorized • No Comments • Spread on Twitter
October 3, 2010
Refer to “GOALS” article given on first day:
- On page 3 there is a list of negative and defeating thoughts. Write down 2 of these that you regularly tell yourself.
- On page 4 there is a list of positive and empowering thoughts. Pick a positive statement (or make your own) that feels right to you to replace each of the negative thoughts.
- Your assignment is to give yourself a snap when you recognize these old thoughts and replace that thought with the new way you would like to think!
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Posted by admin, on Oct 03, 2010 • Category: Assignments • No Comments • Spread on Twitter
PPA Assignment September 27!
1. Follow through on the 3 goals you set for this new week.
2. Track your calories in the correct range (from homework last week) for at least 3 days, then print to hand in to me!
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Posted by admin, on Sep 27, 2010 • Category: Assignments • 5 Comments • Spread on Twitter
PPA Assignment weekend of September 25
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm#
http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/
PPA Assignment week of September 19th:
1. Use the calorie Calculator on freedieting.com to determine your calorie needs/day! Use the “advanced option” and choose the Katch-McCardle formula.
2. Use either spark people or the daily plate to track your food for at least 3 days, staying at the determined fat loss calories/day.
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Posted by admin, on Sep 20, 2010 • Category: Assignments • 10 Comments • Spread on Twitter
