I once heard a quote that I often repeat: "A great athlete does every day what a good athlete does occasionally." You see, a great athlete does whatever it takes on a daily basis, while a good athlete does it when it is convenient. A great athlete trains every day, while a good athlete trains when it's comfortable. A great athlete goes out of his or her way to eat right so that his or her body recovers faster, while a good athlete eats whenever and whatever is available. James has develop this habit of getting it done everyday.

The current competitive schedule for the high school volleyball athlete does not allow for a typical preparatory period. In fact the competitive schedule performed by most, including the high school and club season, runs anywhere from 8 to 11 months long. In my time training volleyball players around this schedule I've learned many important lessons. Principally speaking, the limitations to the training program are typically not those of the strength coach, volleyball coach, or training program but those of the athlete. With that said, it is still possible to make progress if one is willing to analyze every part of the training year, phase, and session for ways to improve. Improvement is not limited by quantity but is dependent upon the quality of work performed. Mary's program consist of multi-joint movements with lots of myofascial release work.

Power is generated from the legs, hips, through the torso, then finally through the upper body. It is an accumulation of all these forces that lets the athlete generate enough power to hit the ball out of the park. As a major part of Max's program, closed kinetic chain movements are emphasized. 

Oregan bound football athlete, Tyler Rittenour training hard preparing for the next level. Lots of closed chain exercises within the phosphogen time limit and he will be  ready for the Ducks. Heavy Deadlifts, Clean Jumps, Prowler work, and lots of Myofascial work is all part of his work load.

De La Salle Linebacker performing heavy sled work. Sled work is an important part of are conditioning program. Heavy short sled prepares Josh for heavy squats and is a part of Dinosaur Training.

Big Ray is Miramonte's first 500lb. deadlifter. Not to mention the 800 lb. tire he flips at Raw. He plays DL/OL. These are the guys in the trenches and their program takes this into consideration since they have immediate hands-on contact every time the ball is snapped. Strongman training, Max Effort training Methods, Bands, chains, and lots of prowler work makes up Big Ray's training program.

Offensive linemen have a unique characteristic. They move without a pre-stretch. Pause squats and hang cleans from boxes can help prepare offensive lineman for their unique positional demands. Log press, giant tire, heavy sled, heavy farmers walk and keg lifts are some of Louie's favorite training tools.

Volleyball demands a lot of jumping, so jumping ability is very important. During a full match, many different types of jumps are performed. Jumps are initiated from different starting positions, and different levels of muscle activation. Often there isn’t enough time to perform a counter movement (blocking), so the jump begins from a static position. Ankle mobility is essential for ground force. Alyssa training involved lots of ankle squats and lots of prowler work to enforce ankle function.

Volleyball demands quickness and agility. Starting from a static position, the athlete will need a quick first step. Also, the athlete needs the ability to decelerate, change direction, and accelerate again. Explosive strength, power, and core strength are important to train. Sarah athleticism has come from good genetics and lots of functional leg movements. 

The game of baseball, as most of us know, is populated by coaches and players that have been doing things a certain way for many years. The rationale is frequently "this is how it was always done," or "this is how my coach used to do it." Our focus is on creating symmetrical movement patterns, while at the same time strengthening exposed joint structure, musculo-tendinous junctions, and the musculo-skeletal system as a whole. Peter's training program entails a large amount of weight and movement. Primary focus is on developing Mass Specific Force.

Strength and Conditioning was often overlooked for the sport of basketball. Many coaches thought that weight training would make you bulky, slow and affect a player's jump shot. That couldn't be farther from the truth. The role of the strength and conditioning coach in basketball has greatly expanded over the years as coach's have finally realized that strength and conditioning coach's can do more for their players than just lift weights.Chris complimented his training routine with lots of Olympic lifts and plyometrics.

In-season training for football presents some interesting issues. It is essential that a football player maintains or increases strength during the in-season period yet, they must do this while putting the body through the extreme stresses of physical contact on an almost daily basis. As part of Robert's pre-season routine he trained at Raw during the summer sessions preparing for the upcoming season. During that time he was undergoing surgery for a wrist fracture. A big part of his preparation was lots of myofascial release work.

Common injuries for volleyball players occur at the ankle joints (sprains), knee joints (sprains/ligament damage), fingers/thumbs, and shoulders (dislocations, impingement). Nikhil's program revolved around closed chain movements with a focus on mobility of the ankle, hip, and shoulder.

A swimmer must understand strength training strategies for increased performance. To reduce injuries to the low back and shoulders, training schedules should be taken into consideration. Swimmers will experience a loss in absolute strength in some overworked muscle groups. However a solid strength training and nutritional program should retain the power output. Morgan's program included a fundamentally sound rountine developing  mobility, stability and lastly strength.