Volleyball players need to be explosive to be more effective. Whether its getting higher to become a better hitter or being able to jump quickly in order to provide an effective block, the ability to get off the floor quickly and reach above the net is critical for volleyball players. In the video below Coach Rob Rose provides volleyball-specific drills that can make volleyball players more explosive.These are simple drills that can easily be incorporated into your practice plans

There is sound with the video, so please make sure that your sound is on. The video is a You Tube video, so you will need to be able to access that site. Press the play arrow for the video to start.

If you interested in learning more about the DVD that this sample came from click on the link Explosive Speed Reaction and Jump Training for Volleyball

Using a series of 12-inch mini-hurdles Coach Rose takes players through a series of what he refers to as Chimney Jumps. In this progression of drills he begins with Power Chimney Jumps. In this drill players jump as high as possible over each hurdle and land softly in a bent knee position. The players will then hold that landing position until the coach cues them to stand up. He does this so as to ensure a quick muscle stretch prior to the next jump. After standing up the coach will cue the player to jump and again. Teaching points include landing softly and driving the arms.

The second drill is called the Tuck Chimney Jump. In this drill the layers are required to tuck their knees towards their chest. The players movements are still controlled by the coaches commands. Ready-Jump-Hold-Stand-up.

The third drill is called Quick Tuck Chimney Jumps. This is the same as the previous drill except for now the players are not waiting for the coaches cues. The players go as quickly as possible with a deeper knee bend.

The final drill in the sequence is is called Ankle Flip Chimney Jumps. In this drill the players will jump as high as possible and land with barely any knee bend. The goal is to get off the ground as quickly as possible.

This Article is provided by Training and Conditioning

Targeted exercises in the weightroom and the gym can correct movement deficiencies and ensure that your athletes move with optimal balance, coordination, and efficiency.
By Kristy Crowley

Kristy Crowley, MS, MA, CSCS, USAW, is Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Columbia University. She and Tommy Sheehan, MS, Columbia’s Director of Strength and Conditioning, also work closely with Denver-based Movement Training Systems. She can be reached at:[email protected].

Editor’s note: We have put a series of video clips on our Web site to demonstrate six specific exercises discussed in this article. When you see a box indicating a numbered video clip, we invite you to visit www.training-conditioning.com and click the “Video Library” link on the left-hand side of the page to access the videos. All six numbered clips will appear in a menu under the heading “Movement Training.”

Recently, as I was analyzing a basketball player’s change-of-direction motor pattern, I noticed he was lunging instead of staying over his feet when approaching the turn. The lunge motion produced unnecessary stress to his knee and hip joints, and overworked his hip flexors. I knew it was putting the athlete at risk for injury, so I explained to him what was wrong and prescribed some drills that would help him fix the problem.

An outsider might be surprised to learn that an NCAA Division I athlete would display deficiency in such a fundamental movement. But the truth is that athletes at all levels can have sub-optimal movement patterns, which limit their performance and increase their injury risk.

Every strength coach knows the importance of efficient movement–it’s one of the most basic concepts in athlete development. But how much do you know about the specifics of correcting a deficiency? In our program at Columbia, we have found effective ways to break down inefficient movement patterns and eliminate them. I’ll explain our strategies here, and also “show and tell” some of my favorite training methods for addressing common movement issues.

APPROACHING MOVEMENT
Let’s start with the obvious: A sound movement training philosophy should always be tailored to the athlete’s sport. First and foremost, this means strength coaches must understand what energy systems are utilized, which motor patterns are predominant, and what body positions are taxed during the athlete’s practices and competition. Training basketball players to increase their one-rep max in the bench press or hang clean is nice, but it’s not as important as teaching them to land in a balanced position, absorb shock after jumping for a rebound, or change direction efficiently.

For the past two years, I have been fortunate to learn movement training from Tommy Sheehan, Columbia’s Director of Strength and Conditioning. He has taught me several key principles that are essential to optimizing an athlete’s movement patterns.

One of the most important parts of his philosophy holds that proper foot placement is critical to almost every type of athletic success. Foot position includes several elements, from toe direction to stance width, which largely determine the quality of the power base during athletic movement. Since all movement is initiated from the base, it’s essential to train the functionality of the foot by increasing mobility and pushing forces.

In addition, most athletes experience an injury at some point in their careers that can be blamed, directly or indirectly, on improper foot placement. Details such as sound turning mechanics with the feet in the right place and no unnecessary lunging or overstriding can help every athlete lower their risk of both acute and chronic injuries.

GETTING SPECIFIC
Now, I will discuss some specific areas of movement in which many athletes display deficiency. For each, I’ll explain the common faults, outline why they happen and how they can be corrected, and share a drill that I’ve found can get the job done.

Squatting movements. Think of a basketball player defending an opponent with the ball. Instead of being able to sit back and down at the hips with the chest up and shoulders at the same level for an extended period, most players will compromise their balance by rocking back and forth and elevating their body from their hips to their shoulders.

Exercises that engage the upper-back and hip musculature are key for fixing this problem. Most athletic positions involve a linkage between the upper-back and hip muscles, which work in concert to help an athlete maintain and change position. Combination movements targeting these two areas maximize the transfer of strength training to movements on the field or court. At Columbia, we make that connection with an exercise called the rack squat.

Using a squat rack, the athlete starts with the weight of the bar on their back and places their mid-foot (the point where the arch begins) directly in line with the front of the rack. The athlete squats as low as they can while maintaining contact with the rack on both the descent and ascent of the motion. They concentrate on getting lower in each repetition, and aim to produce a controlled movement pattern with a 3-2-1 tempo (3-count down, 2-count pause, 1-count up).

When performing rack squats, we keep the weight relatively light at first, typically starting with a 45-pound barbell. Once the athlete demonstrates proficiency, we begin loading. A typical workload for newer athletes might include three sets of 15 reps at 45, 75, and 95 pounds, while advanced athletes might use 95, 135, and 185 pounds.

Because the athlete’s feet are aligned directly under the hips, there is no opportunity for compensation. The upper-back musculature and the muscles around the hips are forced to move fluidly, thus strengthening the coordinated relationship between these two muscle groups.

Most athletes cannot bend to 90 degrees in their squat at first, and must do multiple reps in succession to develop this specific movement component. The rack squat is crucial for developing proper technique for front and back squatting movements, which must be performed regularly in many sports.

Directional turning. Many athletes have a tendency to initiate turns with their upper body as opposed to their lower body. This leaves them off-balance and raises their center of gravity. The lower the athlete stays during a turn, the easier it is to move with efficiency and power.

To correct this movement pattern, we begin by teaching athletes how to gallop in place. This improves their proficiency in shifting weight from the front foot to the back foot, and allows them to maximize hip explosion without raising their center of gravity. We teach the galloping athlete to contact the ground with their lead foot positioned directly underneath their hip. As the foot touches down, the weight should be on the mid-foot region and the hip on the releasing side should extend, thus generating force through the weight shift.

Once the athlete understands the concept of shifting power output, we ask them to use the in-place galloping motion when turning in the opposite direction. On command, the galloping athlete pushes down with the lead foot directly underneath the hip, then shifts their weight to the back foot. Next, they execute the turning mechanism by pushing off the back foot while changing direction. Once the athlete is comfortable with this movement pattern, we have them gallop on the move and incorporate change of direction.

Driving forward. Pushing through the foot correctly is imperative in running movements. It means the athlete knows how to flex their ankle properly, release the opposite hip for acceleration, and drive forward while keeping the foot angled toward the intended destination. This creates increased velocity from the mid-foot, which allows for the production of maximum kinetic energy.

We use exercises called walks and snaps to train proper hip release and pushing through the foot. For walks, we have the athlete take steps with their legs locked and ankles flexed. This way, the heel touches the ground first, releasing the hip. By engaging the hip and ankle, the athlete learns to push through the foot, a skill that requires the heel and mid-foot of the same leg to work together. This is essential for linear speed development, and it sometimes takes several sessions before an athlete becomes proficient in the movement.

Running in general, and sprinting especially, relies on the use of an elastic reflex when the foot contacts the ground. “Snapping” the flexed ankle forward creates a pushing motion that’s required for acceleration. The snaps exercise is performed the same way as the walks, but incorporates snapping the flexed ankle and bringing the mid-foot into contact with the ground in a linear pattern. Unlike in the walks, the heel doesn’t touch the ground during snaps.

For both walks and snaps, the ground contact must occur directly underneath the hip. It’s also essential for the athlete to make the opposite hip release just as the mid-foot comes into contact with the ground.

Alignment for support. Athletes with inefficient movement patterns tend to lead with their upper body–leaning forward instead of keeping their torso directly aligned over their hips. This creates balance and compensation issues that make proper foot placement difficult. Oftentimes, the foot contacts the ground behind the hip instead of directly beneath it, putting the entire body at a disadvantage.

After an athlete is taught to improve their pushing movements using the walks and snaps, they’re better able to understand the function of their base of support. That’s when we can also help them correct any forward leaning.

We use an exercise called the 45 push to instill proper positioning and eliminate a forward lean. From an athletic position–feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent but not in front of the toes, hips back, back flat, and chest up–the athlete moves in one direction and pushes their opposite foot (left foot for rightward movement, right foot for leftward movement) at a 45 degree angle. When the foot pushes, it should not drag behind, but rather fire underneath the hip explosively so the athlete is already prepared to fire the other foot, creating a zig-zag pattern.

Upon contact with the ground, the body should be balanced. If the athlete lands on the mid-foot, it will be difficult to maintain correct body position. Although body weight should not land on the heel, the heel should contact the ground with the weight slightly forward to promote a larger surface area of contact. This improves proprioception between pushes.

The arm action should be oppositional, just as in running, and the shoulders should stay at the same level for the duration of the movement. The positioning developed by this drill is essential for athletes in many sports. Once the athlete has mastered this drill and corrected any forward lean, you can add a vertical jump to the 45 push to make it more challenging.

Stance width. Some athletes’ natural athletic stance exceeds the width of their hips and even their shoulders–this is easily detectable when they are front or back squatting. They may see benefits to this position, such as added stability or ease of shifting weight (especially if they point their feet outward to further widen their base), but in most situations, it is not to their overall advantage.

If a basketball defender, for instance, wants to prevent an opponent from advancing to the basket, they should always try to square their feet and keep their stance no wider than their hips. Otherwise, a smart offensive player will attack the open foot and exploit the defender’s limited ability to change direction. When the feet are square, the hips and shoulders are also square, allowing the athlete to move in any direction more efficiently. Likewise, a trained volleyball player will not go up for a spike from a stance wider than hip-width–their feet will be directly underneath their hips for maximum power output.

Any stance in which the feet are outside the hip-width base results in drastic power loss. Weight training stances should resemble the stances you want athletes to assume on the field or court, and one of the best exercises for instilling proper base width is the back squat.

When an athlete squats with their feet hip-width apart, they typically cannot squat as much weight, so left to their own devices, they’ll often spread their feet further. But improper stance in the weightroom leads to improper stance during play, so this must be discouraged.

From a hip-width stance, the athlete should push with the majority of the weight on the outside of the foot. This position promotes a proper athletic stance while also preventing internal rotation at the knee, which puts undue stress on the knee and hip joints. With the weight on the outer part of the foot, the larger musculature of the hips is the primary actor in executing the movement.

Video Clip Five: Back Squat

The athlete’s hip movement should precede the knee bend in this exercise. If not, the heels will rise, forcing the knees to shoot out in front of the toes and putting substantial unwanted stress on the knee joints. The back should be flat, elbows pointed straight down, eyes looking straight ahead, and chest up. This posture will also limit stress on the lower back.

Step quantity in deceleration. When you watch an athlete decelerate, how big are their steps? If the athlete takes large steps, their deceleration is awkward, stressful for the lower body, and inefficient.

Short, choppy steps are the proper way to break the feet down when decelerating (for instance before a turn). This way, the athlete won’t need to lunge into the turn, like the basketball player I introduced at the beginning of this article. Among other problems, lunging increases pressure on the hip flexor when performing the turning mechanism.

When decelerating, the upper body should be aligned directly over the mid-foot, with the center of gravity lowered and the knees bent. Contrary to popular belief, the foot that touches down to turn is not directly in charge of the turn. In fact, the weight should be shifted to the back foot, as in a pushing motion, and the turn should be created by the back foot after the athlete pushes off.

The chop and turn drill is an excellent way to ingrain proper deceleration movement leading into turns. To begin, we set up six cones, with 10 yards between the first and second, five yards between the second and third, 10 yards between the third and fourth, five yards between the fourth and fifth, and 10 yards between the fifth and sixth. The athlete passes through this cone set up, accelerating through the first 10 yards, then decelerating through the next five, then re-accelerating, and so on.

During deceleration, I cue athletes to start chopping their feet with short steps and firing their hamstrings three to four feet before reaching the cone. Their feet should contact the ground directly under their hips, and they should slightly lower their torso as they decelerate, while maintaining an upright posture.

Once the athlete has mastered this drill, the next step is to introduce turns. With a cone placed 10 yards from the start position, I designate which foot the athlete will plant when changing direction–for this example, we’ll use the right foot. The athlete sprints 10 yards, again beginning to decelerate by chopping the feet and firing the hamstrings three to four feet from the cone. They plant the right foot next to the cone, lower the body slightly, keep the hip directly above the plant foot, and shift their weight from the right to the left foot in a pushing motion. Simultaneously, they turn the left foot to change direction, and then sprint back to the starting spot.

Video Clip Six: Chop and Turn

In this example, the left foot is in charge of pushing the body forward after the turn. We’re always careful to perform this drill an equal number of times with a left-foot turn and right-foot turn for maximum bilateral transfer.

ALL IN THE DETAILS
Often, the benefits of correcting sub-optimal movement patterns are measured in the smallest of increments–a split-second faster change of direction, a little less difficulty keeping up with the quickest opponents, or a slightly more fluid transition from full-speed running to half-speed during play. But in competition, those minor differences can mean the difference between victory and defeat, especially when repeated time and again over the course of a contest.

There are also some important macro benefits to optimizing movement patterns. For instance, the ability to gain power and explosion by squatting from an athletic base is associated with recruiting more muscle fibers in specific areas and creating more force when jumping. And maintaining correct body position throughout a contest makes energy systems more efficient, delays fatigue, and can help prevent injury.

So while the immediate impact of the exercises detailed above is self-evident, the broader benefits should not be overlooked. The more we focus our conditioning programs on true movement integrity, in addition to the standard fare of strength and power development, the more successful our athletes will be.

This post originally appeared on www.coachesnetwork.com

In the pursuit of making athletes bigger, stronger, and faster, today’s strength and conditioning coaches and sport coaches are faced with many obstacles. Outside the realms of program design and individual instruction, a coach is challenged with scheduling, staffing, and time constraints. A constant question is: With a limited amount of time to spend with athletes, which conditioning components take precedent?

More often than not, flexibility is the first component that ends up being neglected. However, many athletes today have very poor flexibility, and ignoring this can make your entire strength program inefficient.

WHY STRETCH?

Why is flexibility so important? Without adequate range of motion, an athlete will not get the most out of a strength program. When an athlete begins Olympic lifting, they usually exhibit common technical faults. Errors include improper back position, incorrect weight distribution, excessive trunk flexion, and poor knee tracking. These errors are directly related to lack of flexibility in the hips, upper and lower legs, and shoulders.

Increased flexibility in the hips, shoulders, and lower legs can dramatically increase the athlete’s practical range of motion. This increased ROM then allows the athlete to move more efficiently in their Olympic lifting sessions.

Greater flexibility also improves speed and agility. Most athletes have some technical flaws in their running and movement mechanics, and without adequate flexibility, fixing those flaws is difficult. For an athlete to powerfully accelerate, quickly decelerate, and efficiently change directions, they must be able to lower their center of gravity and manipulate their limbs with little to no internal resistance. Flexibility is the key to proficiently and efficiently executing these biomechanics.

A flexible athlete is also less likely to become injured. Functional flexibility allows athletes to move fluidly and efficiently without resistance into athletic positions. When a certain joint or joint complex is limited in range by tightness, the athlete is limited in function and there is increased risk of injury.

Above all, athletes who can sprint without having their stride length limited by tight hamstrings, hip flexors, or anterior shoulders, and who can quickly drop their center of gravity in the acceleration or deceleration phase uninhibited by tight hip rotators, are athletes who can perform closer to their greatest athletic potential.

When athletes have poor flexibility, many coaches simply tell them to stretch on their own without any instruction or supervision. This is where a strength and conditioning program can break down. The strength coach or sport coach needs to provide a specific program for the athletes and make sure that the athletes know proper stretching technique.

Todd Rice, currently the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at the University of Pittsburgh and formerly at Boston College, takes a proactive approach to increasing an athlete” flexibility. Todd’s program primarily employs active isolated stretching principles (AIS). AIS is the innervating of a muscle (the agonist) to contract resulting in the opposite muscle (the antagonist) becoming inhibited and relaxed. The principle of reciprocal inhibition allows the muscle to lengthen without evoking a stretch-reflex contraction. This creates greater muscle length without any associated micro-trauma.

In Todd’s program, athletes stretch one muscle group at a time, thus actively contracting the muscle opposite the targeted group. The muscle is stretched gently (not to full range or discomfort) for two to three seconds. The stretch is released before the muscle senses the stretch and utilizes the protective contraction, facilitated by the excitatory proprioceptor, or the “The Muscle Spindle.” This is repeated four to 12 times each session.

Some of the stretches are performed with partners and others are conducted without assistance. At the beginning of each season, the coaches do more of the stretching to assure proper form and execution. Once the athletes learn the stretches, they stretch each other while the coaches supervise.

Below is a sampling of some of the stretches used in Todd’s program. Note that the first three are part of the “Sprinters Series,” which develops flexibility in the deep rotators of the hips. Each of these three stretches are done twice, first with active static stretching for 30 seconds, and then again for four to 12 reps with AIS.

Single-Leg Stretch: In this stretch, the athlete lies supine with the left leg straight and the right knee bent into the chest with the foot externally rotated and dorsiflexed. A partner kneels on his or her right knee facing the athlete, and places their right hand above the athlete’s left knee on the thigh to minimize iliopsoas shortening. The partner places their left hand below the athlete’s left bent knee with the athlete’s right foot on the partner’s abdomen, and the partner applies pressure down (toward the floor) and back (toward the shoulder). The process is repeated for the other leg.

Double-Leg Heels on Thighs: Have the athlete lie supine with both knees bent in toward the chest. The feet are externally rotated and dorsiflexed and in line with the knees. The athlete places his heels low on the partner’s thighs. The partner faces the athlete, takes a wide stance, and applies pressure down and back with hands low on the hamstrings.

The athlete should visualize and try to focus on the six deep rotators (piriformis, gemellus superior, gemellus inferior, obturator internus, obturator externus, and quadratus femoris), which collectively originate from the inferior lateral portion of the sacrum and various portions of the ischium and insert on the greater trochanter. With this focus, the athlete should be able to contract the deep rotators through external rotation of the hips. This contraction technique takes both time and good instruction to accomplish.

Double-Leg Feet on Shins: This stretch is quite similar to the heels on thighs stretch. With the legs wider and lower than with the heels on thighs stretch, this movement involves both the deep rotators and the adductor complex.

Hamstring Stretch: Lying on his or her back, the athlete lifts the right leg up to their potential range of motion either with a stretch rope or with assistance from a partner, and straightens the left leg. They first contract the quadriceps muscle group and pull with the hip flexors, then stretch the hamstrings for two to three seconds. This is repeated four to 12 times. Dorsiflexion of the foot will incorporate the gastroc and soleus complex, where plantar flexion will isolate the hamstrings.

Four-Point Lateral External Rotator: This stretch is often performed incorrectly. To start, the athlete gets into the “all fours” position, with knees and forearms on the floor. The athlete allows the knees to spread until a comfortable adductor stretch is achieved. The main focus of this stretch is for the athlete to push his or her hips straight back focusing on the deep rotators of the hips. The buttocks do not move inferior, but slide straight back. Normal range of motion is minimal.

The intent of this stretch is to target the pectineus and the iliacus muscles, which are internal hip rotators. Since both muscles insert on and just below the lesser trochanter of the femur, it is important to keep the pelvis neutral and the back flat while pushing the pelvis away from the femur.

Hip Flexor Stretch: The lunging hip flexor stretch is performed by the athlete on both sides of the body. The left leg is extended into the lunge position with the knee over the arch of the foot, yet not protruding over the toes. The right leg is extended straight back with the weight on the toes. It is very important that the athlete’s back is flat and the torso is upright.

This stretch is enhanced and can be active static if the athlete contracts his or her right gluteus maximus muscle to incorporate reciprocal inhibition for the iliopsoas muscle (iliacus and psoas major and minor). Because the psoas major and iliacus portions of the iliopsoas complex insert on the lesser trochanter, slight internal rotation of the right hip (by pointing the toes in 20 degrees) will lengthen the iliopsoas and increase the stretch.

After these static and active isolated stretches are completed, athletes perform a dynamic flexibility warm up. These exercises consist of knee tucks, butt kicks, triples, walking lunges, and hip rotators, among others.

Flexibility training does not start and end with increasing the athlete’s range of motion. With a program in place that incorporates flexibility training into a full strength and conditioning regimen, your athletes will be able to successfully complete their strength and speed workouts, and they’ll carry these improved fitness levels onto the field.

 

Syndicated from AthleticManagement.com with permission.

Offseasons spent building the power necessary to play above the net has launched Penn State to become one of the most dominant teams in the nation year in and year out.

By Cameron Davidson

When I started working with Pennsylvania State University women’s volleyball in 2009, the team was coming off back-to-back NCAA Division I national championships. My job was to help continue the tradition of one of the most successful volleyball programs in the country. No pressure, right? Fortunately, my philosophy aligned with the team’s high expectations, and the squad extended its streak with titles in 2009 and 2010, before tacking on two more in 2013 and 2014.

So how did I go about making an already elite program even better? I focused on developing what I call “volleyball-fit athletes.” This means improving the skills needed to play at the highest level, such as having an explosive first step, jumping high, taking big swings over the block, and maintaining body control when blocking.

However, my plan would not be successful without the support of legendary Head Coach Russ Rose. He believes in what I do, and we work together to create an annual plan that balances strength training with the needs of the sport to ensure the team peaks at the right time. Coach Rose’s input on what strength movements pay dividends on the court shapes my program immensely, and I am grateful to have his guidance as Penn State women’s volleyball continues to reach for new heights.

REBOOT THE SYSTEM Although my focus is on building better volleyball players, my top priorities are preventing injury and strengthening without creating dysfunction. Depending on how far the team advances in the postseason, our athletes can play until almost Christmas, and they are usually pretty worn out when they return from winter break a few weeks later. Therefore, before they even touch a weight in the offseason, we kick off our program by “pushing the reset button” with postural corrections and alignments.

For example, an anterior pelvic tilt is a common dysfunction in female athletes, and one of the best ways to attack it is by correcting posture. Since anterior pelvic tilt is often associated with overactive hip flexors and inhibited hamstrings, abdominals, and gluteal muscles, we make it a point to stabilize the hip joint via the gluteals. In a dynamic sport such as volleyball, this is extremely important for athletes’ long-term health and performance.

Resetting our players incorporates two additional strategies: diaphragmatic breathing—called “90-90 breathing”—and consciously training. To complete 90-90 breathing, the athletes lay in a 90-90 supine position with their feet against a wall and a pad under their head to help relax their pelvis, sacrum, lower spine, neck, and shoulders by activating the hamstrings and gluteals. These muscles assist in taking pressure off the lower spine by pulling the pelvis into a more neutral position. In addition, if done properly, 90-90 breathing can activate the transverse abdominis, which helps pull the ribcage downward. Together, these adjustments help stabilize the hips, making them more powerful.

We routinely use 90-90 breathing after workouts to help with recovery. Adding a few diaphragmatic breathing exercises at the end of a workout can help the body shift from sympathetic (aroused) to parasympathetic (resting).

Another benefit of effective 90-90 breathing is that it teaches our athletes kinesthetic awareness. This leads to our next important strategy, the effectiveness of consciously training. Becoming aware of what happens at the pelvis, core, and spine helps the athletes remain conscious of how they are moving and where their body is in space. Also, since many injuries occur in non-contact scenarios, we can decrease athletes’ overall risk for injury by improving how they move and react. Eventually, this conscious awareness translates into their strength work and volleyball skills.

For instance, teaching our players how to properly initiate a jumping motion without allowing a valgus knee collapse will add height to their jump and prolong their career. Similarly, getting our players to consciously jump, land, and be quick to the ball will allow for an optimal biomechanical display of athleticism. Over time, these practices will become habitual movements that require little thought.

BUILT FOR VOLLEYBALL

Once our athletes have fully been reset, we dive into our strength training regimen. I like to say our weightroom work is “an inch wide and a mile deep.” By that, I mean we don’t do a ton of different things, but we excel at the few we do.

We take this approach because it allows us to emphasize exercises that reinforce the sport-specific movements we are trying to improve. It also helps keep the process simple and effective for the athletes. If we threw in every lift under the sun, there would be too much going on for us to see any clear improvements.

Both our breathing and conscious training are combined in a dynamic, volleyball specific warm-up that we utilize throughout the year. The warm-up includes foam rolling, several variations of 90-90 breathing, half-kneeling hip mobilizations, T-spine rotations, and other mobility work.

A big component of the warm-up is creating better movement by mobilizing and stabilizing up and down the kinetic chain. Areas that are important to mobilize for volleyball players include the calves and heel cords, hip flexors, T-spine, anterior shoulders, and posterior cervical spine. Conversely, areas to stabilize include the knees, lumbar spine, pelvis, scapulae, and anterior cervical spine.

Many of these mobilizations and stabilizations assist in postural corrections, but they also relate to volleyball-specific stresses. For example, a stable and fully functioning scapula will allow the humerus to move through a swinging motion without impinging. In addition, by mobilizing the anterior shoulder, we are able to improve shoulder flexion range of motion, which affects a proper swing.

Coach Rose wants his athletes to “play as high as they touch”—that is, hit and block with force and control at the max height they reach during vertical jump testing. To achieve this, I place a big emphasis on developing lower-body explosive power in the weightroom.

Two of the most beneficial movements to build lower-body power are the power clean and power snatch. In my experience, these are best taught to women’s volleyball athletes using the three-position German snatch and three-position German clean. These drills require the athletes to pause at certain positions during the lift for two or more seconds, moving only on my cadence. The three positions are: above or below the knee, at power position (upright torso with legs slightly bent), and at the catch position.

The three-position snatch and three-position clean are the best exercises to use with beginner weightlifters (which many women’s volleyball players are) because they allow the athletes to feel the different positions. Pausing at each step helps reinforce the full movement, which leads to better leg drive and increased jumping power.

Our success with these lifts stems from my insistence on executing them properly. The most common mistake I see in the clean and snatch among volleyball players is exploding while the bar is still at their knee, using their lower back as the driving force. This causes the bar to swing away from their body, making it difficult to get an effective leg drive and potentially leading to injuries.

I teach my athletes to be patient and open their torso to the upright position before “pulling the trigger.” In addition, I instruct them to use their legs as the driving force with cues such as “open up and drive,” “push the floor with your feet,” and “push your feet and jump down.” Since our athletes obtain better positions, the bar stays closer to their body and allows for a better rack position. Not only will a more efficient and technically sound clean or snatch lead to athletes jumping higher, but it can also aid in decreasing overuse and acute injuries.

Besides hitting and blocking with force above the net, two other important skills I strive to improve on the court are taking big swings and having an explosive first step toward the ball. Taking big swings involves producing force through a full range of motion while creating rotational torque at the trunk and shoulder. Proper strengthening through breathing techniques and improved body awareness leads to more efficient stabilization at the core and shoulder, which allows for the desired force and torque production.

Some exercises I utilize to help develop players’ arm swings are:

• Bench T-spine mobilizations
• One-arm landmine presses
• Prone Y-raises
• Ring Y-raises
• Back-to-wall shoulder flexions
• External rotations to wall
• Snatch grip overhead shrugs
• Kettlebell waiter carries
• Medicine ball throws.

 

Exercises used in our program to improve torque at the trunk are:

• Medicine ball throws
• Band or cable Pallof presses
• Wide stance anti-rotational chops
• Half-kneeling diagonal chops
• Ring fallouts
• Plank position physioball rotations
• Turkish get-ups
• Standing cable presses with overhead reach
• Breathing planks.

An explosive first step to the ball is improved by forcefully pushing against the ground with the foot. This is made possible by having strong glutes. To build these muscles in our athletes, we incorporate:

• Forward, backward, and lateral band walks
• Barbell glute bridges and hip thrusts
• Band glute bridges and hip thrusts
• Pistol squats
• Lunges
• Band pull-throughs
• Back extensions.

We also target an explosive first step by adding plyometric drills such as broad jumps, lateral jumps, box jumps, and hurdle jumps to our workout.

YEARLONG PLAN

One of the most crucial elements of catering my strength and conditioning program to volleyball is designing an annual training plan with Coach Rose that works around the team’s practice and game schedule. We go through a number of different training cycles, and the emphasis of each changes based on the stresses of volleyball at that particular time.

Our goals for spring offseason training are to develop the players’ strength and power. We lift three days a week, using one to six reps for each exercise. Although they start lifting at 60 percent of their one-rep max in the spring, the athletes quickly progress to 80 percent and eventually to 100 throughout the summer.

Once our preseason training block starts in July, we drop the intensity down to the 75 to 90 percent range and switch to contrast training. Using this method, athletes superset a heavy exercise with a light, explosive one. When compared to maximal effort and/or dynamic training, contrast training has been shown to foster better results in rate of force production and jumping performance. The ability to generate force quicker gives our athletes the opportunity to get to balls faster, hit harder, and jump higher. (See “Preseason Push” on page 28 for a sample contrast training workout.)

Our athletes’ willingness to stay on campus for our July preseason block is one of the biggest keys to our overall success. It allows us to take steps forward as a team. The July block also prepares the squad for Coach Rose’s notoriously intense preseason practice program that starts in early August and involves two weeks of two- and three-adays. I scale back the team’s strength work during this time and work with the squad’s athletic trainer to emphasize recovery.

We are able to maintain 75 to 90 percent intensity in our lifts once the season begins. We keep the volume relatively low and only hit the weightroom once or twice a week, depending on the team’s game schedule. By training at high intensities throughout the offseason, our in-season percentages feel less intense.

When we head into the postseason, we drop the weightroom intensity below 75 percent and decrease the volume further. Using lighter weights during this time helps the players feel well rested and more powerful in preparation for the NCAA Tournament.

No matter the activity, everything we do comes back to improving volleyball performance. Belly breathing and body awareness leads to better technique. Better technique leads to proper strengthening. Greater gains in applicable strength help prevent injury, which leads to healthier, stronger athletes. And that, of course, increases our chances of winning. Despite the elevated expectations that can come with training one of the best women’s volleyball programs in the country, as long as I continue to put our athletes in the best position to succeed, I know I’ve done my job.

 

Syndicated from AthleticManagement.com with permission.

Factoring in a busy lifestyle, puberty, and the pressure to look a certain way, the nutritional considerations of high school athletes differ from other age groups. Our expert serves up advice.

By Emily Edison

The challenges are numerous. They have hectic schedules, possess an aversion to breakfast, and combine socializing with eating junk food. They inhabit bodies that are rapidly changing and they tend not to take responsibility for their food choices.

I’m talking about high school athletes (who else?), which can be one of the toughest populations to design effective nutrition programs for. They want to be the best they can be at their sport, but they struggle with embracing good nutritional practices.

The available research on nutrition for high school athletes supports a meal plan that incorporates eating multiple times a day and balancing macronutrients to maintain performance. It also requires consuming a lot of calories and limiting packaged food in favor of dreaded vegetables and whole grains.

How can you help them follow such guidelines? I’ve been working to answer this question for the past 10 years in my role as coordinator for the Washington Interscholastic Nutrition Forum (WINForum), a science based sports nutrition resource geared toward high school athletes, coaches, athletic support staff, and parents. The keys to progress, I’ve found, are explaining the basics and giving them specific fueling strategies.

BASIC NEEDS

When it comes to macronutrients like carbohydrates, protein, and fat, it’s important that high school athletes are getting adequate intake. To start, they should get more than half of their daily calories from high-quality carbohydrates, such as grains, fruits, and dairy.

Unfortunately, this does not always happen because many high school athletes misunderstand carbohydrates. They are quick to adopt fad diets that restrict gluten or cut out valuable sources of carbohydrates such as bread, rice, and pasta. Of course, any athletes with medically diagnosed conditions, like Celiac disease, should stay away from gluten. But for the rest of the population, carbohydrates play a valuable role in their growth and performance.

Protein also needs to be a significant component of a high school athlete’s diet to maximize muscle growth and repair. Generally, teenage athletes require between .7 and .9 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. Because the body can only process about 25 grams of protein per feeding interval, athletes should focus on consuming small, high-quality doses throughout the day. Dairy, eggs, meat, fish, tofu, edamame, and soy milk are all high-quality sources.

Additionally, new research suggests that a pre-bed snack consisting of 20 to 25 grams of high-quality protein can help the body assimilate muscle tissue during sleep. Acquiring muscle while they sleep? This should be an easy sell to high school athletes.

It can be hard for teenagers to figure out how to consume protein throughout the day, so I find it helpful to provide them with ideas and examples. Here’s a sample eating plan I drew up for Sara, a 16-year-old, 5-foot-11-inch, 150-pound basketball player. She needed 120 grams of protein per day to maintain stamina and gain muscle during her offseason training.

Breakfast: Two-egg scramble on two pieces of toast with avocado and tomato and eight ounces of milk          = 24 grams of protein.

Snack: Six ounces of Greek yogurt and fruit = 12 grams.

Lunch: Three ounces of tuna on two slices of bread, granola bar, carrots and hummus, and fruit = 24    grams.

 Pre-practice snack: Half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a fruit leather = 7 grams.

Post-practice snack: 12 ounces of chocolate milk = 12 grams.

Dinner: Three-ounce portion of grilled pork tenderloin, steamed broccoli, baked sweet potato, and fruit salad with yogurt = 25 grams.

Pre-bed snack: Cottage cheese and fruit = 15 grams.

Finally, high school athletes need fat— the good kind. Be sure to educate them on the importance of consuming healthy fats from fish, nuts, vegetable oils (e.g., olive and canola), and avocados. These support energy, muscle growth, immune function, and recovery

TAILORED TO TEENS

In my years of working with high school athletes, I’ve learned to conquer the three main roadblocks of getting them to fuel properly. The first is convincing them to eat a quality breakfast.

I’ve yet to meet a teenager who willingly wakes up earlier than they absolutely have to, so it can be difficult to convince high school athletes that consuming a morning meal is more important than a few extra minutes of sleep. It helps to explain that those who skip breakfast won’t have enough gas in the tank for a focused afternoon practice. This missing fuel can lead to muscle loss—not to mention the potential loss of a starting spot on a team.

Two other ways I’ve had success getting athlete buy-in are through visual aids and by organizing team breakfasts. I use Pinterest to create visual boards that I share with athletes, so they can see how easy it is to make a microwave egg sandwich or toaster waffle “Big Mac” (layer toaster waffles with peanut butter and bananas). For team breakfasts, I suggest making oatmeal in a large slow cooker and assigning players to bring their favorite toppings, such as nuts, granola, milk, and fruit.

Just because breakfast is the most important meal of the day, doesn’t mean it has to be the most complicated. There are tons of quick, high-carbohydrate, moderate-protein options that will keep athletes energized and their muscle tissue intact. Some I recommend are a bagel with eggs, a banana, and milk; yogurt, oatmeal, and an orange; and waffles with peanut butter and strawberries.

You’ll notice that none of my go-to options include a bowl of cereal. This common breakfast item for high schoolers is often loaded with sugar and rarely provides long-lasting energy. Advise athletes to ditch their corn flakes and honey-nut O’s for something more substantial. If they must have cereal in the mornings, it should serve as an appetizer to a heartier breakfast.

The second challenge is getting high school athletes to snack throughout the day. Approximately 25 to 30 percent of their total calories should be consumed after waking up and prior to lunch. For the athlete who needs 3,000 calories per day, this means 750 to 1,000 calories should come in the form of breakfast and a morning snack.

Snacks for the rest of the day should contain carbohydrates for energy and protein for repairing muscles and keeping athletes full. Since time between classes is short and many schools limit eating and drinking, good snack options should be nonperishable and easy to store in lockers or book bags. One of my clients, Luke, a freshman cross country runner, recently learned the benefits of all-day fueling. When we started working together, Luke complained of fatigue and felt his performance was lacking. His eating habits reflected, well, a typical high schooler’s. His breakfast consisted of one bowl of cereal (“if there was time”). Lunch was finely crafted cafeteria pizza or chicken nuggets, chips, fruit snacks, and a carbonated drink, and he capped off the day with a home-cooked dinner after practice.

Together, Luke and I developed a performance nutrition game plan that better suited his dietary needs. Here’s what it looked like:

Breakfast: Waffles with peanut butter and bananas, yogurt, and coffee

Snack: Trail mix Lunch: Sandwich, veggies, fruit, goldfish crackers, and a granola bar

Pre-practice snack: Dried fruit and peanut butter pretzels

Post-practice snack: Chocolate milk and an energy bar

Dinner: Grilled fish, veggies, salad, bread, and milk

Pre-bed snack: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich with fruit.

After a short time practicing his new meal plan, Luke reported significant improvements in his performance. He broke two freshman school records, made first team all-freshman in his conference, competed in the state championship meet, and is now ranked nationally.

Finally, the third challenge of working with teenage athletes is accepting that they won’t always make healthy choices. That’s actually okay, as good nutrition doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Creating rules like “no sweets” or “no fries” sets athletes up for failure and increases the likelihood of binge eating and secretive eating behavior.

Instead, try to balance high-performance fueling with realistic expectations. I recommend high school athletes follow the 80-20 rule. If they focus on high-performance foods 80 percent of the time, 20 percent is left for eating “cheat” foods.

I also tell athletes to use some of their favorite treats to fuel performance. For example, if an athlete loves her dad’s chocolate chip cookies, I suggest including them as a pre-practice snack with milk. This way, her body can use the carbohydrates and protein for energy and muscle growth, and she feels guilt-free about her choice.

OUT TO EAT   

   Between Friday night pizza with friends and stopping for dinner when traveling to away games, high school athletes go out to eat a lot. A few easy tips can help them stick to their nutritional game plans, even when their meals are handed out a drive-through window.

The following terms generally indicate high-performance food choices when eating out: broiled, steamed, poached, gardenfresh, in its own juice, tomato sauce, marinara sauce, roasted, wood-fired, stir-fried, and grilled. Wraps, sandwiches, and baked potatoes are often good choices—just lay low on sauces and dressings. Where is fat hidden? Watch for words like mayo, aioli, au gratin, creamed, creamy, crispy, deep-fried, and gravy.

At typical teen hangouts like pizza joints, fast food restaurants, and movie theaters, my advice is to limit fat intake whenever possible. When ordering a pizza, athletes should select lower fat toppings like ham, pineapple, veggies, and chicken sausage, and order the pie with half the amount of cheese. At fast food restaurants, I tell athletes to follow a “pick-a-fat” method—they can have avocado or mayonnaise on a sandwich but not both. And at the movies, they should aim for “healthier” snacks like pretzel bites, trail mix, or chocolate-covered raisins as alternatives to popcorn and candy.

Fueling while traveling for away games or weekend-long tournaments can bring additional challenges for high school athletes, as they aren’t always in control of when or where they eat. Remind them that foods high in fat delay digestion and slow the passage of high-energy carbohydrates to the body’s muscles and liver. If food is still sitting in an athlete’s stomach come game time, it hasn’t been converted into energy to fuel muscles for optimum performance.

It takes at least three hours to digest a regular meal, so if there is less than two hours before a contest, have athletes try one of the following mini-meals:

• Fruit and dairy-based smoothies
• Turkey sandwich with mustard and lettuce
• Instant breakfast drinks with fruit
• Low-fat chicken wraps
• Burrito minus the sour cream and guacamole
• Bowl of cereal with milk and fruit
• Dry cereal and yogurt.

LOSING & GAINING

   High school athletes do a lot of looking in the mirror, and they aren’t always happy with what they see. Like most teenagers, high school athletes can struggle with selfesteem, and some may want to make their bodies look a certain way through fat loss or muscle gain. It’s important that they pursue either option in a healthy manner.

Athletes’ weight and body composition desires are influenced by coaches, athletic trainers, media, teammates, parents, and their own athletic and aesthetic goals. These influences and pressures can tempt young athletes to restrict calories and eliminate food groups in order to lose weight.

I recently worked with a high school swimmer, Ciera, who wanted to lose weight after she heard her coach say that dropping a “few pounds” can help athletes swim faster. She quickly put his blanket statement of, “Stop eating sweets to lose weight,” into action.

Ciera removed all things with sugar in them from her diet, including her pre-practice snacks, which cut about 800 calories from her daily intake. The frequent praise she received on her appearance once she started losing weight encouraged her to continue with her calorie restriction. She created a new rule, “No White at Night,” and cut out all carbohydrates that were white, such as bread, pasta, and rice.

For an athlete with extremely high carbohydrate needs like Ciera, restricting these foods can lead to low energy availability, amenorrhea, fear of eating with friends and teammates, and the potential for developing an eating disorder. With a starting body composition of 19 percent body fat (already low for a teen swimmer), Ciera did not need to lose a few pounds, and the calorie restriction was too great for her to maintain muscle and bone mass, as well as energy.

While I worked alongside Ciera’s physician and therapist to adjust her eating habits, she took a break from competition. After six months, she was able to face her fears around eating, get back to a healthy, strong weight, and gradually return to the pool. She is now swimming faster than ever.

To prevent a frustrating and potentially damaging battle against the scale, encourage athletes to ask themselves three important questions before they start a weight-loss plan:

   Why do I want to lose weight? There are many reasons athletes think they need to lose weight, and improving their overall health is not typically one of them. Some think it will increase their athletic performance, but many are fueled by a desire to look “better.” As Ciera’s case shows, calorie restriction for the wrong reason can be dangerous.

   Do I need to lose weight? Athletes frequently hear that losing weight improves sports performance, but that is not always the case. In many circumstances, cutting calories can lead to nutrient deficiencies, muscle loss, and performance declines if energy needs are not met.

   Communicating best practices and choices for an athlete’s health and performance should be a “team” effort that includes coaches, athletic trainers, parents, nutritionists, and family physicians. This will help ensure athletes reach their goals without compromising well-being.

Is this the right time to lose weight? Optimal timing for weight loss is in the offseason to ensure it has minimal effects on performance. In addition, periods of high stress (e.g., finals weeks, family conflicts) and times of growth (puberty) can make weight loss more difficult to attain.

There are a few select situations where fat loss could be appropriate for a young athlete: if they have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes, or when injuries occur due to excessive weight. In these instances, the best way to lose body fat while preserving muscle is to focus on eating the most when the body is active and consuming less when the body is at rest. Weight-loss athletes should also fuel every three to four hours, eating smaller meals more frequently.

Learning to be self-aware of hunger and satiety can help athletes stick to this fueling schedule. Remind them to listen to their bodies for true hunger cues, such as a growling stomach. Some may benefit from keeping a hunger and fullness chart (rating hunger and fullness on a scale of one to 10 throughout the day) or setting an alarm on their phones to eat every few hours.

High school athletes looking to gain weight may think their road has to be paved with muscle-building supplements. Contrary to popular belief, simply consuming extra protein in the form of powders and pills and hitting the gym on occasion is not enough to gain muscle. To see results, high-quality protein must be consumed in multiple small portions (20 to 25 grams) throughout the day and combined with a well-planned strength program. I advise a three-step “Ready, Set, Go,” approach when working with athletes who are looking to increase muscle mass:

Ready: Have athletes start a strength based, sport-specific lifting program designed to maximize muscle gain. Then, create an eating plan to support growth that includes a meal-snack-meal-snack pattern and caloric distribution spread around practices and games.

   Set: Be realistic when helping athletes set goals for muscle gain. A good target is to add 400 to 500 calories per day, which will build half a pound to a pound of muscle per week.

   Go: Provide consistent support for the athlete. Advise them to fuel during training by consuming extra energy sources.

   It is vital to remind high school athletes about the importance of recovery and repetition in a muscle-gaining program. Encourage a recovery snack after each training session that includes carbohydrate and protein. Good options are chocolate milk, yogurt and cereal, banana and peanut butter wrap, frozen yogurt, or a protein/fruit smoothie. Stress that staying consistent with eating and training habits will ultimately help them reach their goals.

While there are roadblocks to overcome, engaging high school athletes in sports nutrition can be rewarding and effective. Building a solid nutrition game plan in their teens will help them continue to enhance performance as they move along in sport.