The Founder and Owner of SMARTER Team Training, Robert Taylor will be featured on Inside Lacrosse. Check out the first video by clicking here. There will be blog posts and more video clips coming this week and through the remainder of the month to help showcase what Coach Taylor is doing to help prepare the lacrosse players that train with him at the Gordon Institute for Sports Performance for the upcoming season. For more information on the unique sport-appropriate training programs that Coach Taylor has developed for lacrosse, as well as many other sports, please call 410-828-8218 or email him at coachtaylor@smarterteamtraining.com.
WOW! What a day. It was great to hang out and learn from Dana, Coach Patel, Dr. Nickelston, Nutritionist Jenna, and the numerous other presenters and attendees. Sacred Heart University was a great location and a fabulous host for the conference. Talking shop with those in the trenches has only helped encourage me to expand what STT has done over the past year already. It is always nice to hear back from STT nation and listen to what is needed to help give back to the profession. I hope to be invited back to present at the ML Strength Conference in the future. Heading to dinner with the presenters and some VIP’s now. Then getting ready to get home early tomorrow morning. A quick weekend, but a worthwhile experience without question. I am always honored to be asked to present and share to tips and insights. Thank you to ML Strength and to those who attended, sponsored, and put the amazing event together.
Coach Taylor is presenting at the Major League Strength Conference tomorrow and is heading to Connecticut today. Looking forward to presenting with Dana Cavalea from the New York Yankees as well as the many other presenters. Catching a mid-day flight, a short car ride to Sacred Heart University, and then meetings through the evening to catch up on new tips and techniques to bring back to STT nation. I will follow up tomorrow with some updates from the event. Check out twitter too in case something pops up that is needed to be shared.
For more information about where Coach Taylor will be presenting next, or to find out more about the 2011 SC/AD Conference and regional events, go to www.smarterteamtraining.com.
Far too often I am asked about this “new” diet. I have honed in to become ready for these questions about two days after we put the current magazine in the cardio area. More often than not the conversations start with “What do you think?” I simply ask “Have you eaten breakfast?” When the answer is “NO”, then I am certain we need to start from the beginning. Stick to recommending drinking lots of water and using a multivitamin daily. If you can keep that routine up, then we’ll teach you about healthy nutrition choices before even discussing next month’s new diet.
What do your clients or athletes have in common? I will give you a hint. Do the words shoulder, chest, hamstrings, and hips help? They are tight! On just about everyone these areas are particularly tight, which can lead to imbalances in your muscle groups and ultimately injuries. Stretching needs to be individualized just like the strength and conditioning programs we design. Unless you tailor your flexibility training to the strengths and weaknesses of your clients and athletes, you may stretch already overstretched muscles and miss areas that need more focused training. Pay particular attention to older adults, pregnant women, and people with injuries. They may need special precautions when involved in a flexibility program.
Looking for ways to get your kids away from that TV? How about teaching them something else that is entertaining and rewarding to boot. With today’s busy lifestyles, families don’t always eat as healthfully as we would like. Get the youth of our country involved with meal time. Have them make several fruit and vegetable snacks that they can eat throughout the day. Schedule a snack time and stick to it. Space snacks at least two to three hours before a meal. Kids can do more than just set the table. Involve them in meal planning and preparation. Children often will eat foods they help plan and prepare. The most important part, find a place to sit down together for at least one meal. The dinner table has become the couch in far too many households. How about taking a dinner vacation to the backyard? The local park? Or to the library? Who knows maybe they’ll even learn a bit about you and their surroundings outside of what they saw on the Discovery channel.
If you are a lacrosse fan, coach, or athlete this clip is for you. The feedback has been great from STT nation. This is week two of STT being featured on LaxLessons.com’s Tip of the Week! A low budget drill that can be done with an entire team or used as a “focus” challenge. Continue to think outside the box and remind yourself and your players that it boils down to effort and attitude. Good things happen when you work hard and stay positive. Check out this clip and let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing how your patterns differ from those described.
The phone rings and a conversation begins. The call is to see what we do for some of our more advanced jump/landing drills. As the conversations goes on, we find out that the caller would like to use the drills in an upcoming part of their new website. Sounds like a great opportunity right? Well check out the featured clip that Ryan Rabidou posted on LaxLessons.com that started the collaborative effort. More exercise tips will be posted from STT’s founder, Robert Taylor, on LaxLessons.com soon. So keep in touch! Check out the post and clip today by going to:
Use these links to keep in touch with STT and to see what others have to say about their SMARTER Team Training experience: STT on the Web, STT on YouTube, STT on Facebook, STT on Twitter, and STT on LinkedIn.
What’s the number to that great pizza joint around the corner? If you read that question and know the answer or worse yet have the number on speed dial, ask yourself this one next… What is your blood pressure? Better yet, what is your HDL/LDL count? If you have no idea what yours is then set up a schedule to check it regularly. Ideally your blood pressure should be below 115 over 75, LDL cholesterol under 100, and resting heart rate under 70. If your numbers aren’t close to these, ditch that list on speed dial today.
Ab and low back exercises should be part of your routine every time you workout. From warm up to strength training to flexibility, the region of the body often called the “core” needs to be trained properly. The muscles of the abdomen and low back need to be warmed up, stretched, trained, and allowed to recover just like every other muscle of the body. Find time to fit each aspect into your program and to address flexion, extension, and rotation of this area of the body. Do not forget that this area of the body also inhibits the body from completing these motions too. Incorporate exercises that promote stability like planks and anti-flexion/rotation exercises is important also.
For more clips, check out STT on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a comment for each of the clips. More are coming soon, so check back with STT often for tips, exercises, and drills to help your athletes.
SMARTER Team Training has been developed to focus on athlete and team development, performance, and education.
By incorporating the SMARTER Team Training programs into your year round athletic development program, you will decrease your injury potential, increase individual athleticism, and maximize your team training time.
