Next Season....

As I have mentioned before, it is a grand time of year. Football is nearing a great point of the season: high school playoffs will be here soon...college is at its peak before the bowls...the pros are in mid-season form. Baseball just had a classic, well-played World Series between two well-deserving teams. Basketball is nearing the tip-off point of the season (already here for the NBAers). High school tennis just ended..the running/endurance sports (both rec & competitive) are about to move inside....soccer is nearing its only slow time of the year. Plus, there is that ever-refreshing change in the season & temperatures called fall. It's just one of my favorite parts of the sports calendar.

So why did I entitle this post "Next Season.."? I think, with the exception of the hoopsters, that this is one of the best times of the year to analyze your performance. If you are an athlete wanting to play again next season, it should go without saying that you should want to get better. Ask yourself these questions: Could I have been better this year? What areas of my performance were weak this year? What areas were strong? What is expected of me for next year? What are my goals for next year?

An athlete, no matter the level, should always be thinking ahead & looking for ways to get better. Areas to improve on: increasing overall speed, improved explosiveness & first-step, better agility, better conditioning, more strength, more mental toughness, better skill & position work. Is your mind focused on these things? If not, I would say you are in one of two categories: 1) you are about to retire from sports, or 2) you are complacent & lazy, maybe just relying on your natural talent.

If you are not working hard, rest assured that in today's sports world, someone else is working hard. That person may be your opponent, or worse yet, your teammate about to take your spot. Extra work is the key to improved performance.

Come see me or call me about what it will take to meet your goals.


"The more I train, the quicker I get.
The quicker I get, the slower they seem.
The slower they seem, the easier the game.
The easier the game, the greater my threat.
The greater my threat, the more attention I draw.
The more attention I draw, the tighter they play me.
The tighter they play me, the more I train."

Basketball-Specific Training

Sports-specific training has become one of the fastest-growing components of the fitness industry. People are realizing that, in order to take their game to another level, they need more than “just working out.” It now requires a specific approach to what their sport’s physical demands are. Basketball players are no different. In fact, I would argue that a basketball player needs more specific training than most other sports. A quick analysis of the demands of the sport will reveal why:

• Strength demands: a basketball player needs considerable lower body strength to be able to post up & also jump, as well as the upper body strength to not get pushed around
• Gender difference: females need just as much training as males, and yet the training is usually not individualized for gender
• Injury rates: basketball players have high knee & ankle injury rates, and therefore need training that targets the movements & muscles to help decrease their chance of injury
• Speed requirements: while a 40 yard dash does a basketball player no good, it is vital for a basketball player to excel in measurements like a 10 yard sprint
• Vertical Jump: the hallmark of a basketball athlete (“How high can you jump?” “Can you dunk?”)
• Lateral Quickness/Agility: a basketball player must possess incredible quickness & the ability to change directions like few other athletes
• Unique skill set: hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills (used while shooting)
• Endurance: four quarters (or two halves) of all the things listed above? You must have a strong cardiovascular system to handle all of this

When a sports training professional honestly takes all of these demands into consideration when designing a training program for the basketball athlete, it becomes clear that he or she can’t just take any strength or agility regimen and say it works for this sport. One must be very deliberate in implementing a program. In short, the professional must understand the athlete.

If you are looking at doing some basketball-specific training, there are some important things to look for in a program. Treat any training program like you would a visit to a doctor….ask questions, do your homework. Make sure that you have these areas covered before beginning:

• Emphasis on explosiveness: what is done to improve vertical jump?
• Endurance: will there be a definitive change in your metabolic rate?
• Footwork: what is done to improve quickness from step A to step B? What else is used besides ladder drills?
• Strength: are proper lifting techniques emphasized? Is it matched according to ages? Is there a periodization schedule?
• Speed: is there a strong emphasis on overall speed development & proper running form?
• Sports Medicine Approach: how does the program balance aggressive training while not causing overuse injuries? How does an old injury or imbalance fit into the training program?
• Research: is this workout proven? Can you look on paper at how this has helped athletes? Is there a list of success stories?
• Nutrition: how do the right foods/supplements fit into this program?

Once you have all of these questions answered, then you can feel confident that you are doing the right things to improve your game.

The programs at Arkansas Sports Performance Center are specifically designed to do the things targeted above. Call today for a free demo of what we can do for you! 501-539-FAST (3278)

Pitching Lessons

We are pleased to offer the following:

Jay Sawatski Pitching Lessons

Location: Arkansas Sports Performance Center

4215 S Shackleford Rd. Suite. 4D

Call to set up times and dates

Phone number: 501-960-6685

Email: jsawatski6@hotmail.com

What will be covered in the lessons?

Ÿ Pitching mechanics

Ÿ Pitching philosophy

Ÿ 10 keys to becoming a better pitcher

Packages

Single lesson: 30 min $30

Single lesson: 1 hour $50

Full week: Five 30 min lessons $120

Jay Sawatski’s baseball biography

Jay pitched and played 1^st base at Pulaski Academy where he was named to the All-Conference team 4 times and the All-State team twice. Jay then attended the University of Arkansas where he helped lead the Razorbacks to the College World Series in 2004. For the past four years Jay has pitched in the Minnesota Twins system.