FAST YOUTH ATHLETE

I thought about what we did in college after a game. Then again, that depended on whether we won or lost. We generally watched some film, which was equally as brutal as the run afterwards. We would get ripped apart about not being where we were supposed to be on different plays. But it did teach us a lot about the game of football. My problem was the coaches running us into the ground as their way of relieving the soreness from Saturday’s games. It does not make sense now that I know better. After a game, most football players are sore from the heavy lactic acid build up in their muscles, the knots in the muscles from tissue damage, and mentally drained. The last thing you want to do is another conditioning session of gassers as that will produce more lactic acid in the muscles. Remember, the post game workout should be about RECOVERY. Speed work is out of the question as the athletes’ muscles are in a state of fatigue. And they would not be able to sprint at a maximal effort. Furtherm...

I am sure most people have heard about former NFL Agent Josh Luch’s tell all story about paying many players as part of his recruitment process. You can find the story at http://tinyurl.com/27wkr98 . Luch speaks about many former and current NFL players who took money throughout their collegiate careers. The thing that is interesting about this story is the timing of this confession. It only occurred after he was no longer involved in the NFL agent lifestyle. Is that coincidence? I don’t think so…I think he exposed the scandal for his own selfish motives. Could it be he wanted to clear his name about the commission check he took from Keenan Howry? Although, I have to commend Luchs for deciding to tell the story because there are still many agents that refuse to take responsibility for what they have done. I do understand the reasons many of these young football players took the money. Many come from impoverished families and sacrifice to play for these universities. However, I do not ...

I know many athletes will be able to identify with this story. I can remember it like it was yesterday.As a high school senior at Miramar high school—home of the Florida 2009 Football State Champions I was a 5’9” 145 lb cornerback. This isn’t exactly the body type that has D1 scouts knocking at the door. I know now if I had a better nutritional strategy and lifted differently I would have accelerated my size at a much quicker pace. Whether we like or not, It plays a factor when recruits make a decision to offer scholarships. I was tired of being categorized with the group they referred to as the “pencil necks.” I attended Guilford College, a D3 school in NC, and vowed to myself that I would be dedicated in the weight room.Some of my teammates and I would research old strength training books from different universities to decide on what workout we would use during the in season or offseason. The process of designing our own programs accelerated our learning curve as we practiced what we...