Guest Blog by Craig Richards It’s been well documented that mobility has a direct functional effect on the movements needed for strength training. For an athlete, with improved mobility comes the ability to perform exercises with efficiency and power – both of which directly impact sport performance. With all that in mind, our focus today…
Did you know that significant muscle strength can be lost in as little as 2-4 weeks? Think about all that hard work your players put in this past off-season getting bigger, faster, and stronger. Now think about this – if your team isn’t continuing strength training during the season, players could be at their weakest come playoff time!…
This is a great warmup ball-handling drill to get players working on change of direction moves. Customize the drill for each player by incorporating his or her favorite dribbling move (e.g., crossover, in-and-out, behind the back).
It is important that an athlete perform regular squats in the weight room to develop first a foundation of strength. The next step is to develop explosiveness with the VertiMax.
Reaction drills are beneficial for all kinds of athletes, especially younger athletes developing motor skills. The kids will love this drill.
This past summer, one of our former Bruins athletes and current exercise science post-grad student, Ryan Beadles, trained some of our current players. Ryan submitted this variation on box jumps.
Lateral explosion is essential in sports like basketball (i.e., playing defense), baseball (i.e., fielding), and volleyball (i.e., receiving). In most cases, athletes will take between 1-3 strides before either changing lateral directions or moving forwards or backwards. This 3 step drill was designed simulate those short bursts of movement.
About a year and a half ago, our Bob Jones University Bruins men’s basketball program purchased a VertiMax V8 EX training system. I wasn’t too familiar with VertiMax products at the time. As a result, our V8 spent most of the first year collecting dust in a storage closet. With a little prodding this past…
Over the years, I’ve observed that most incoming college athletes lack significant strength and stability in their ankles and knees. This drill addresses these issues and is simple enough for beginning VertiMax users to perform from day one of training. Please follow this blog for more player development skills, drills, and tips!
In my opinion, every trainer working with a basketball player should be doing this drill on a regular basis. Introduction: Use this drill to improve first step explosion. Drill: Start with the basketball in an athletic stance, next to the platform. Explode past an imaginary defender with a slide step (or crossover, depending on your coaching technique).…
