Aside from a more focused and active warm up routine, other prehab techniques included strengthening the muscles that surround a joint. Knees, shoulders, ankles, and hips are the joints that most often become injured in sports. Ligaments and tendons are the parts of the body that connect our bones to each other, and our muscles to our bones. These structures themselves cannot be strengthened, so we are responsible for protecting those structures that are placed under a lot of wear and tear, by building strong muscles that surround them.

Knees, for example, twist and bend and straighten with high torque and force. To protect the ligaments in the knee (especially the ALC and MCL), athletes need to have strong quadriceps and hamstrings. Exercises that can help are lunges, squats, step ups, dead lifts, knee drives, etc. Another important aspect to consider is the form in which you bend your knees. The knee should never bend forward over the toes, and should never collapse inward toward your other leg (into a valgus position). When performing lunges and squats, pay attention to and correct any form issues you may have so that you are training those muscles to keep the joint aligned while performing in your sport.

Shoulders are prone to dislocation and separation, especially for throwing athletes. The shoulder cuff is made up of four muscles that keep the shoulder in its socket. The muscles are very small, so training and strengthening them should not use much weight. A good way to do this is to focus on external rotation exercises using small dumbbells or resistance bands. These can be done overhead or out to the side. Another beneficial movement is scapular retraction which is done with exercises like rows along with the stretching of the chest by placing hands on the outside of a doorframe and stepping through the doorway.

To prevent broken or sprained ankles, the three tiny ligaments on the outsides of the ankles must be protected. The muscles to strengthen are the muscles of the calf and foot. These are easily strengthened using a four way resistance band, or heel- toe walking. Although simple, these muscles are important to strengthen.

The hips are prone to tightness and straining. To prevent this from happening, the athlete must have a strong core. Core exercises are extremely important to every sport because they provide the base of balance and support for the rest of the body. The core can be strengthened in many ways. It is important, however, to realize that the core includes not only abdominals, but the back as well. Good back exercises include supermans, roman chair, and exercises on a swiss ball, alternating leg and arm extensions.

So to keep yourself safe, out of the training room, and on the field, it is important to concentrate and put forth a real effort to protecting the body that performs all the intense movements that make you a good candidate for collegiate athletics. If your body is injured, it can’t perform, so make sure to take pride in exercising properly by warming up well with a focused dynamic stretch routine, and good form in a lifting routine to strengthen the muscles that will protect your joints from injury.

You’re at the top of your game, running faster and jumping higher than ever before. You’ve been training hard and have been talking to prospective college coaches. You are ready to take your dream of being a collegiate athlete to the next and final phase. All those workouts, all those aches and pains will add up to this. There are only five minutes left in your last season’s game, and as you finish up your high school career with your dreams in plain sight, you watch your team from inside the training room, with your leg elevated, and the chill of the realization that you’re done with sports for the next few weeks, or months, or even more? Or is that just the chill of the ice surrounding your stiff joint?

Injury is an unpleasant and unfortunately common occurrence in athletics no matter what in the sport. The high demands of sprinting, jumping, kicking, throwing and more take a toll on muscles and joints. The twisting of a joint or the overstretching or tearing a muscle or ligament is extremely painful, can require surgery (which takes time for healing—time that the athlete is not working out and getting stronger), but can be prevented. Most athletes are aware of the fact that warming up and stretching properly are beneficial to injury prevention and the effectiveness of the athletes’ performance, but what they may not realize is that there are programs that can be incorporated into a normal workout that can actually strengthen and protect athletes as well. This blog is meant to give insight to a proper, focused warm up, and some key “prehab” techniques that can and will help athletes if they take the time to do them.

Warming up before working out is usually the time athletes take to go through the motions and appease their coaches and catch up with their teammates before getting into the workout. It usually consists of jogging a lap slowly and standing with their legs spread wider than shoulder length while the kids laugh and sway and catch up on last night’s tv shows or sport center highlights. I know, because as a dual collegiate athlete myself, that’s what I did. Whenever the coach glanced toward us, I’d bend down a little to appear to be “preparing” for our session.

After numerous injuries and taking classes like anatomy and physiology and kinesiology, I learned the importance of a good warm up in preventing those injuries I faced. Warming up is important because it raises the temperature of the body by pumping blood. Therefore, an athlete should break a sweat in their warm up. Once the body temperature is up, the muscles have enough blood flowing in them to loosen up to optimal performance lengths. To further optimize that, and slowly prepare muscles for activity, dynamic stretching should be used.

Static stretching is standing around in a circle holding a stretch for a count of 10, and is pretty ineffective, especially since the athletes probably aren’t even really paying attention to the stretches. Dynamic stretching is much better for pre-activity because it involves some focus; keeps the body moving, blood pumping, and temperature raised; it lengthens muscles that are sport specific by maximizing the range of motion; and studies show that it prepares your neuromuscular system as well, which means that your muscles will be able to contract harder, making you stronger. Examples of good dynamic stretches can be leg swings, hopping, skipping for height, arm swings, high knees, walking quad stretches—and anything else that involves movement and stretches the muscles.

Look for part two for more active ways to prevent injury.

We have all won championships and played in tournaments, received #1 medals, ribbons, and trophies; however, if you had the choice to go against the #2 or #3 team to decide the title, who would you choose? In some sports, the way that playoffs are structured is as follows:

First round:

#1 vs. #12, #2 vs. #11, #3 vs #10, #4 vs #9, #5 vs #8, #6 vs #7

Based on the winners of those games, #1 seed plays the winner of the #6 vs #7 game. Usually teams aim to go into playoffs being seeded #1 so that you are guaranteed an “easier” game to face off against the lowest seeded team. This is an earned position, the #1 team has performed well all season to dominate the field and have a stronger chance of advancing. Of course we have all witnessed the upsets in March Madness where the #15 team takes out the #2 seed at which time the debate arises, should the #1 seed play the #2 or #15 team to decide the true “Champion?”

In May 2009, our #1 seeded HS Varsity Girls’ Lacrosse team went up against the #2 seeded High School team in the county. The #2 team was clipping at our heels all season and the regular season games were tied 1- 1, they beat us away and we beat them at home. It was an incredible match up of talent and will and a cross town rivalry. The CIF playoffs culminated in a Championship game of #1 vs #2, the winner would truly have earned the CIF title this year. Our #1 team squeezed out a 6-5 win at the end of a game riddled with checks, interceptions, incredible saves, perfectly placed shots and some of the best girls lacrosse the fans, the Head Coach and I had every seen. It was an incredible sense of accomplishment and pride for the girls, it was a true championship and they felt they had beaten the team who challenged them and pushed them the most. I don’t think the 2009 CIF victory would have been as sweet against any other team, both teams have a great deal of respect for one another, they pushed each other to play beyond their normal capabilities and stretch their limits.

It’s important for coaches to teach their players, and for parents to teach their kids, that in order to BE the best you must BEAT the best. It’s a lesson that applies throughout life. In academics, in business, in any area in which your goal is be the “best.” Push and motivate yourself and your team to continuously improve your skill level, your game, and consistently challenge yourself to compete against the very best competition the field has to offer. You may lose at first but you learn lessons to improve and better prepare for the next time.

I believe “the dream” for any athlete, started the minute he or she watched a game on tv, or was at a venue, seeing pro athletes for the first time, aware of what was happening. For me, I can point to three incidents.

1982, I was only in 2^nd grade, but I remember watching Paolo Rossi lead Italy to the World Cup title in Spain. I remember the crowd chanting and the Televisa announcer’s high octane call of the action. The majesty of the Copa Mundial got me so hooked on soccer, I got the rest of the kids in my section of the Imperial Manor apartments in south San Diego (right between Sidro and IB) into soccer. We played “metegol” (shootouts) everyday, wearing the low budget goalie gloves (they were gold to me) that my pops bought me at La Popular sports shop in TJ.

1983, Russ Hall (Dude was awesome, he went out of his way to make a bunch of us little Mexican kids love sports) our coach from the South Bay Rec Center league, took our flag football team to watch the Chargers and Rams scrimmage in Training Camp. The moment I saw Dan Fouts thread one into Kellen Winslow’s hands across the middle, I knew I wanted to be a QB (that thought was cemented after watching a young buck named John Elway with a rifle that left crosses on receiver’s chests).

Of course 1984, the Padres went to their first World Series, and I remember eating a Padres Pack from McDonalds, watching the man who would become my hero, Tony Gwynn, use that sweet cut as he went “oppo”. Padres became Cub-busters and everyone wanted that t-shirt. By the way, former Dodger Steve Garvey may have been getting more attention, but TG19 was the one batting .350.

From those key moments, the little “guzanito” in me was born. The “guzanito,” is the little fire in the pit of the stomach that motivates you to do whatever it is you were born to do. It’s the feeling of “I can’t wait to pick up a bat, or a football, shoot a 3, or shoot on goal.”

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Last week, SportsForce partnered with the College Baseball Exposure Camp in San Diego, CA. Players from around the country competed before a panel of distinguished NCAA coaches from colleges including Stanford, USC, Hawaii, UC Irvine, UNLV, and Cal State Dominguez Hills. Head coaches from established Division I programs Gonzaga, Santa Clara, and UC Berkeley were also in attendance. They spent time evaluating and coaching players on the drills and skills taught at the college level. SportsForce was there to film all the action and prepare a video package for each player.

Day one began with a comprehensive assessment and training regime. Players were separated into their positions and given one on one instruction on advanced college level techniques. Instruction covered every element of the game from hitting to basic fielding techniques. Fundamentals were the main focus of the morning, emphasized by Coach Barbara (University of the Pacific), Coach Nakama (Stanford), and Head Coach O’Brien (Santa Clara). Simple lessons, from these coaches, like staying low and catching groundballs out in front, can prove vital to a young player’s development and the opportunity was not taken lightly. Top prospects Sheldon Gabriels (Sophomore) and Wesley Wallace (Senior) showed off their defensive prowess and strong arms during the shortstop evaluations.

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If you are an Orange County or Los Angeles area high school football player and you weren’t at Sage Hill high school on Saturday, June 27, you missed out on an amazing experience.

J.R. Tolver, former SDSU, Miami Dolphins, and Dallas Cowboys receiver, who is now the Sage Hill athletic director and head football coach, hosted what proved to be a once in a lifetime football camp. The camp was laden with experienced coaches, who proved that they know better than anyone what it takes to dominate the football field.

NFL Players Challenge the Athletes

Aside from the Sage Hill coaching staff, current and former NFL players including Kevin O’Connell, Robert Ortiz, Kirk Morrison, and Freddy Keiaho coached these Orange County athletes throughout a camp that won’t be forgotten.

Playing catch with Kevin O’Connell, joking around with Robert Ortiz, and watching Akbar Gbaja-Biamila evaluate pass rushing attempts of the high schoolers definitely proved to be the highlights of the camp for me. One can only imagine what the experience was like for the athletes attending the camp.

The Drills

The NFL player coaching staff immersed themselves into the camp. They got to know each player’s name, their tendencies, and did everything they could to make them a better football player. While New England Patriots receiver Robert Ortiz taught the high school wide outs how to catch and protect the ball, teammate and Tom Brady’s #2 man, Kevin O’Connell, was teaching the quarterbacks how to throw the perfect pass. Colts linebacker and Super Bowl champion, Freddy Keiaho, taught the linebackers how to find and close up the holes in the line, fellow linebacker Kirk Morrison of the Oakland Raiders worked with the defense trying to instill in them the same drive that pushed him to record 135 tackles last season (3^rd in the NFL). Running backs learned how to hit the holes with a burst of speed, defensive backs learned how to read the offense, and the line quickly discovered that size isn’t the only key to protecting the quarterback. Every position received quality instruction from these top NFL talents.

Needless to say, this camp provided high school players of all levels with the opportunity to learn from the best. Athletes learned that, while the game is physically challenging, success starts with the mind. Not only did these athletes learn the ins and outs of their respective positions, they got a sense of what kind of mentality is necessary to advance their careers on and off the field. From how to dominate in high school to what it takes to get to the next level, this all star coaching staff spent an extraordinary day giving these athletes all the tools they would need to succeed in the upcoming fall season and life beyond.

SportsForce at the San Diego All-CIF Awards

SportsForce started the week at the San Diego All-CIF awards at the San Diego Hall of Champions, which honored top Spring athletes including some SportsForce alumni. The awards ceremony honored a series of SportsForce profiled athletes. Profiled SportsForce athletes who were honored included the following baseball players, Noah Murray an infielder from Steele Canyon, Alex Murren of Romona, a standout outfielder and Dillion Haupt of MiraMesa who was named to the second All-CIF team for his performance as catcher this season.

Dillon Haupt – Baseball Recruiting Video from Sports Force on Vimeo.

Softball standouts Alex Miller of West Hills and Alysha Isaacson were named to first and second All-CIF teams respectively. Miller is an outfielder and Isaacson a left-handed pitcher. Catcher Bri Austin also of West Hills and outfielders Kaitlin McGinley, Valhalla Jr. and Katie Schumacher, Scripps Ranch Jr. were named to the All-CIF second team for softball as well. Girls Lacrosse stars and SportsForce alums Alanna Parker of Monte Vista Sr, who signed a scholarship to Davidson in the fall and Sammy Slattery Carlsbad Sr. were named to the first All-CIF team.

Kaitlin McGinley – OF – Softball Skills Video – 2010 – San Diego Renegades from Sports Force on Vimeo.

Earlier this season SportsForce had the pleasure of filming the following CIF Players of the Year: Myles Muagututia, of Francis Park for Boys Volleyball, Zach Leslie, Point Loma for Boys Tennis, Bobby Braun of Coronado for Boys Lacrosse and Jackie Candelaria of the CIF Champion La Costa Canyon for Girls Lacrosse team.

Football Skills Camp in Orange County Features Top NFL players

Aside from catching up with our San Diego area athletes, SportsForce was in Orange County for the Sage Hill Football Skills Camp on Saturday. SportsForce was able to get some great footage on some talented high school football players as well as conduct in depth on field interviews with some NFL players. In attendance were Kirk Morrison – Oakland Raiders – LB, Kevin O’Connell – NE Patriots – QB, Freddie Kieaho – Ind. Colts – LB, Robert Ortiz – NE Patriots – WR to name a few. We asked them about their transition from high school to college football, what the college recruiting process was like for them, what advice they have for high school athletes and more. Keep posted for a video interview to follow.

Boys Lax Players Head East for Nike Blue Chip Camp

SportsForce also finished working with some of the top Lacrosse Players in San Diego who are on their way to the east coast for the Nike Blue Chip Lacrosse Camp.

Coming up this week SportsForce will be at the Baseball College Coaches Camp, and holding down the fort in the office testing out our soon to be launched site as well.

Stay Posted!

Use the Summer to Step Your Game Up

Are you taking the rights steps to reach your athletic potential? Are you looking to have a breakthrough season or potentially win a starting position on the team? Either way you’ve got to have a plan to reach your potential.

The majority of this year’s high school sports seasons have ended and the rest are coming to a close. With summer right around the corner, it’s time to take advantage of your free time and step your game up. Here are few key areas to focus on .

Manage Your Time:

We all know that the summer is the prime season to relax and hang out with your friends. However, with proper time management, you can definitely find time in your day to get workouts in and still enjoy the good life that summer has to offer. Sit down and create a specific schedule tailored to the demands of your sport. I recommend you schedule your intense workouts in the morning as it’s more difficult to do them as the day moves on. Also you should assign certain days for specific areas of your training program such as resistance training, speed / agility training and conditioning. Some days you might have a training session and practice, in that case I recommend handling your strength and conditioning workout in the AM and your practice in the PM. Once you create this schedule, be sure to stick with it. This will certainly pay off once your season comes around. To make sure you keep up with the schedule, post it on a calendar in your home or at least hang it up somewhere visible in your room.

Set Personal Goals:

It’s always great to actually notice and feel some improvement in your conditioning and skills. Go ahead and set some goals for yourself so that you can feel inspired to get out and train each day. The key point here is to write your goals down and be specific. Goal example: “To improve my overall strength by 10% over the next 3 months.” You can measure this by keeping track of your workouts and the amount of weight you are using per lift / exercise. Once you start seeing the slightest progression in your game, you will definitely want to continue making progress with your training program. You can set pre-season goals, so that you’re in top shape and ready once pre-season practices start, as well as set goals for the season to motivate you to strive for perfecting your overall abilities in your sport.

Tackle Your Weaknesses:

The downtime you find during the off-season provides the perfect opportunities for you to analyze your weaknesses and tackle them head-on. There is always some aspect of your game that could use improvement. Take a moment to reflect on past performances and list the areas where you believe you could improve the most and why. I’d also ask someone you trust, whether it’s a coach or one of your parents, what areas of your performance could you improve the most. This will help provide clarity on what areas you should focus on.

Your weaknesses could range anywhere from rehabbing an injury to improving your flexibility to working on your jump shot. In general, progression in any sport is highly dependent on athletes’ abilities to address their weak points directly in order to become successful, complete and consistent performers. Read the rest of this entry »

As a high school varsity coach, we make a point at the pre-season meeting to set the tone with parents regarding how, when, and why to address the coaches and which topics we are willing to discuss. This way, it is clear to the athletes and their parents. We are setting the standard for communication before the season begins and we work to manage their expectations in order to prevent headaches later. We state clearly that at the varsity level we will discuss playing time, practice times, areas of improvement, and time off requests with athletes directly and NEVER with parents!

At the varsity level it is time for student athletes to learn how to manage their time, communicate and articulate their thoughts directly to the coach, without the crutch of their parents. We want our athletes to cultivate their relationship with us (coaches) without the help of their parents. When this precedent is not set, the coach’s job becomes much too large. Their job is to coach, not to handle an athlete’s social calendar or to counsel a parent regarding their child’s playing time. Parents have nothing to do with playing time; everything an athlete must do to increase playing time is 100% up to them, which is why any questions/concerns should be between the athlete and the coach.

Athletes can approach either the Assistant Coach or the Head Coach directly. The Assistant Coach is able to gauge whether or not the topic at hand is worth including the Head Coach. Typically the matter can be handled by the Assistant without distracting the Head Coach, this is part of the Assistant’s job – to handle any extraneous concerns. If an athlete has a question, it is appropriate to address the coach before or after practice or send an email to schedule a time to discuss one on one or over the phone. A discussion should never occur via email or text – it should only be used to schedule a time to talk.

That being said, I strongly encourage parents to introduce themselves to the coaches early on in the season, ask the coaches if they need any assistance or help with scorekeeping, management, ordering jerseys, pictures, team dinners, etc. Recognize when the coach does something you like and encourage other parents to do the same, this makes it much easier to address the coach later on. Positive reinforcement is not only appreciated by athletes but by coaches as well!

From 6am practices to weeklong road trips, life as a college soccer player demands passion and commitment. My name is Alex Fuller and I am currently a junior at Point Loma Nazarene University where I play on the Women’s Soccer Team.

Soccer has always been a huge part of my life. I grew up in a family centered around soccer. My dad played at the collegiate level for Notre Dame and my 5 younger siblings have all either played or currently play club soccer. Club soccer definitely requires major dedication. Similarly, college soccer calls for tremendous perseverance and determination. Being a member of the PLNU Women’s Soccer Team has been both challenging and rewarding. It has been a difficult road but at the same time, the most fun and fulfilling part of my life.

Life as a college soccer player is like being on a rollercoaster; with its ups and downs. There is nothing like being introduced to the crowd before a game or driving up to a hotel that reads “Welcome PLNU Women’s Soccer Team!”. I cannot begin to explain the satisfying feeling I get from representing my university through soccer and playing in front of screaming fans. At the same time, when I have to wake up before the sun rises for practice, I am not as giddy about my commitment.

A college soccer player’s daily routine consists of 4 things: class, food, practice, and sleep. Personally, I have to have all of my classes scheduled before practice at 3pm. Night class is almost impossible during season. If I am able to find 5 minutes to run into the cafeteria for a sandwich before practice, it’s a good day. In total, the amount of time I spend down at the field each day is around 4 hours. This includes time to get taped before practice, practice time, and time for icing and treatment after practice. By the time I leave the field for the day, the only thing I can think about is sleep, after I watch my daily episode of Seinfeld, of course.

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