FAST YOUTH ATHLETE

Vinny's pizza was a small spot in Hollywood, FL . My brother and I were always thinking of ways to make more money as we saw our mother struggle to make ends meet. This was perfect for us...so we thought. Our good friend Tyrone introduced us to Vinny and the rest is history. Vinny offered us positions as flyer carriers for different neighborhoods. That is just a fancy word for Vinny dropping us in the neighborhood with a bundle of flyers to hang on every door we could. I remember those days like it was yesterday. The sun was beaming hot and I would have done anything to be around my brother. I admired him because he was a natural born leader. He also was one of the best athletes I have ever been around. In fact, my brother was timed at a 4.39 40 yard dash in eighth grade. We had several private schools in the area who wanted him to play football for them. But my brother made some bad decisions that led him towards a different path. Let's get back to the Vinny exper

Many have asked me what the chamber is all about. They have heard us mention it when we are talking about training, so most thought it had to do with physical training. And you would be right. However, there is much more to it. The chamber is harnessing your God-given passion for training to change your mindset about training. I was a rookie to the chamber until I stepped on my college campus. Dan Helms and the example showed me what it really meant to enter the chamber.   The chamber has everything to do with overlooking your equipment limitations in the weight room or focusing on what you don't have. Our weight room was real old school. But, the more results I received the more I realized that fancy machines were not needed to get results. We had everything you need to obtain results. Let's take a trip down memory lane. We had some benches, rusty weights, bars, dumbbells, squat racks, and hammer machines. I can still remember the rust on my shirt when we left the we

This is something I have been wanting to address for some time. Coaches are in a great position to make a difference in a young man’s life. However, a coaching job can be very demanding. Many coaches are the first one there and often the last to leave. HS coaches sometimes have to teach a subject, manage students, manage athletes, study film, and the list goes on. I could recall when I coached leaving the office on game nights at 11 p.m. That is not exactly a formula for being chiseled. College coaches are also under tremendous stress to win and their schedules are hectic. I remember my college football coach sleeping in his office instead of his home during two a day practices. I also recalled watching a documentary of one of the best football programs in the nation and a coach saying he would skip lunch just so he could make it home by 10 p.m. I know if you don’t you don’t stay at the major programs, but there is no way I am sacrificing my family for football. You don’t get t

What are common areas of weakness you see with incoming freshmen? Most lineman and combos “linebacker, fullbacks, running backs, tight ends” typically come from a powerlifting style training program that are centered around the bench press “horizontal pushing strength” with less than adequate pulling strength, and poor shoulder mobility. This is recipe for a shoulder injury, and it’s amazing the number of 18 year old kids that have power lifting type injuries, like symptomatic labrum problems, also poor hip mobility is usually a given as well. WR – DB types typically are good to decent in the mobility area, but lack in the strength department. So let’s take a look at the absolute strength and the absolute speed continuum. Skill position athletes in high school tend to stay more far right “absolute speed” sprinting, jumping etc. with just body weight exercises not truly developing their strength potential. How can they better prepare themselves in HS to prepare for the rigor

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Answer provided by High School Sports Nutrition. Great questions and parents are always looking for the right foods to fuel their children with before games or matches. Here are my suggestions. Breakfast: Between 9-10 am and nice blend of complex carbs, lean protein, and a little healthy fat. Here are some examples. I don't know your kid’s food preferences but will give you a few examples to choose from. 1) 1-2 Whole Eggs (Eggland's Best or Nature's Harmony as they have more Omega 3) (if they want 1 egg, add 2 egg whites as well) 1/2 cup of oatmeal (Can add ground cinnamon and splenda for added taste) or 1 packet of Quaker Weight Control (it's low in sugar) 1 cup or piece of fresh fruit 1 piece of turkey sausage or 2 pieces of Center Cut Bacon ** If they are not a fan of oatmeal - use 2 slices of 100% whole wheat toast with a little real butter (1 tsp on each) Hydrate with water 2) 2 slices of wheat toast with Natural P

This is a very controversial topic, but one I often encounter as a fitness professional. Some football coaches believe that if they start conditioning the team as early as possible the team will be better prepared for the season. This is not the case…we have to remember that most teams are attempting to become stronger and faster. The energy systems that most coaches use for conditioning are not applicable to football. Let’s take a look at the three energy systems and which one is used in the sport of football. Adenosine Triphosphate, or ATP, is the immediate usable form of chemical energy for muscular activity. Any forms of chemical energy that the body gets from food must be converted into ATP before being used by muscle cells. ATP stores in muscle is limited and will deplete in 1 to 2 seconds unless restored. Resynthesis of ATP must occur immediately for muscular activity to continue. There are three systems available within the body to replace concentrations of ATP. Anaerobic Phosp

1. Hi Coach Mora. It’s great to have you hear at Fast Youth Athlete. Could you tell us about your background and how you became involved in coaching? My father was a coach so I grew up in the business. I can honestly say it is all I ever wanted to do. Being around the athletes as a youngster really made a positive impression on me; I respected the hard work, commitment, teamwork, and competitive drive they routinely demonstrated. My favorite time as a kid where hanging out with my Dad at practice, being on the sidelines at games, and spending time in locker room before and after games…I loved the intensity. When I ended my playing career at the University of Washington I became a Student Assistant as I finished my degree. Upon graduation I accepted a position with the San Diego Chargers working with the coaching staff, that job lead quickly to the position of Defensive Backs Coach at the age of 24. 2. Could you walk through the recruiting process when you coached in Colle

Strengthening the back can do wonders for your speed. Most people do not realize how important the upperbody is for sprinting. If your upper back is weak the body will not be able to stay straight while sprinting. If you can't stay straight it will take you longer to get to the end of the sprint. Guess what that means? You will be slower. Don't neglect developing the upper back. It will help your posture which will make sure your foot strike is on point. Camdon is performing inverted rows with blast strap to balance pressing vs. pulling exercises. We started with 6 reps and continued until he could do 15 easy reps. There are many variations to add resistance. We could add a weight vest,etc...The main thing is to make sure you progress weekly, but do not compromise your form or safety.

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