There are arguments daily on social media about sport specialization with our youth athletes. I wholeheartedly believe in letting kids play many sports but let’s look at both sides. It’s really a discussion of the chicken vs. the egg. On one hand the best athletes genetically will have the best opportunities to play multiple sports. If you’re a really good …
The Positions Block
The Foundation Program, which is detailed in the book Movement Over Maxes, is built around 3 blocks of development. Those blocks are titled Positions, Patterning, and Performance. Each has a specific place and purpose in the grand scheme of producing a well moving, strong athlete with a solid foundation for future development. The Positions Block is the first stage in …
ABCA Podcast on Developing Athletes
Strength training for baseball players has certainly evolved over the years and for this week’s podcast, we connect with two of top strength coaches in college baseball in TCU’s Zach Dechant and Coastal Carolina’s Nick White. This episode is packed with tremendous insight as both Dechant and White speak about their growth as strength coaches and detail the specific plans …
The Hip Dominant Front Squat
The front squat has long been a staple in our program but we often differ from others in why we teach the movement the way we do. The front squat is normally associated with an anteriorly loaded pattern that has a more vertical torso than the back squat. With the front squat we often see athletes drop straight down into the hole …
Why Can’t You Move the Way I Want
Athletes often have underlying limitations as to why they struggle to move the way a coach may want them to. Muscle length isn’t always the answer to developing better movement. More times than not, we as coaches evaluate a poor movement pattern and begin to prescribe stretches when the problem may be alternative to that. Flexibility often isn’t the only …