Stability Ball Knee Tuck

 Find more training tips from Core Performance!

Starting Position

• Pushup position with hands on floor and shins on the ball

Procedure

• Pull knees to chest until toes are on top of the ball
• Return to start position and repeat

Coaching Keys

• Keep bellybutton in and shoulders pushed away the entire time
• Don’t let the back sag

You Should Feel It

• Working your shoulders, abs, and hip flexors

Teen's Tragic Case

By Nadia Kounang, CNN

updated 7:04 AM EST, Fri January 27, 2012

Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been following the 2011 season of a North Carolina high school football team. In 2008, a player on the team died after sustaining a head injury during a game. For a closer look at the health and safety issues on the playing field, watch "Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Big Hits, Broken Dreams," this Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET.

(CNN) -- For 17-year-old Nathan Stiles, his senior year was supposed to be the best yet.
He was a straight-A student and homecoming king at Spring Hill, Kansas, High School, and was the Broncos' star running back. He was a starter on the varsity basketball team and loved to sing at church. He was the son any mother dreamed of having.

His mom, Connie, recalls, "He was an athlete, but school was important. His grades, his teachers and just having a family ... he had his priorities right."

The final game of his senior year turned out to be the final game of his life. Nathan died playing the game he loved, football. His autopsy would reveal he died of second-impact syndrome, when a player is hit again before the brain has had a chance to heal from an initial concussion.

But it would turn out that those repetitive hits Nathan took on the field would also make him the youngest reported case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). It's a degenerative disease found in football players and other athletes in contact sports who get repeated hits to their heads.

Nathan Stiles was a straight-A student, homecoming king, and the Spring Hill Bronco's star running back.

The day after homecoming, Nathan complained of headaches. But nothing unusual, until five days later, when his mom received a call from his athletics trainer. "Nathan's telling me he's still having headaches. You need to go take him to the emergency room.'"

Read the Rest of the Article Here!

Addressing the Issue of Verbal, Physical, and Psychological Abuse of Athletes

This information comes from positivesports.net

Abuse of athletes is a touchy topic. At the bright end of the spectrum, the vast majority of coaches would never even think of abusing an athlete in any way. At the dark end, most of us have experienced or heard of coaches who are clearly abusive.

There is also a grey area in the middle, where coaches with the best of intentions may be perceived as abusive by one or more athletes. In this grey area, what is perceived as 'tough love' from a coach by one athlete could be perceived as abusive by another.

Today it is very important for every coach to be self aware of how his or her behavior may be interpreted. This document from the Women's Sports Foundation provides clear and concise guidelines for defining, preventing, and responding to allegations of abusive behavior. And it is definitely not just for women's sports.

Download the Guide Here!

How to Build Ethics and Integrity

From Walkthetalk.com 

Ethics and integrity can best be seen in the behaviors that are exhibited and tolerated within your team. Here are a few questions to consider and ultimately address if your answers are not favorable. Have you and others on your team:

• Told an ethnically or sexually oriented joke?

 

• Gossiped or spread negative rumors?

 

• Bad mouthed the company or management?

 

• Pried into a co-worker’s private affairs?

 

• Posted something you shouldn’t?

 

• Passed along information shared in confidence?

 

• Withheld information that others needed?

 

• Taken credit for another’s accomplishment?

 

• Failed to admit to or correct a mistake?

 

Ethics and integrity are outcomes that occur thru individual actions and behaviors. And, let’s always remember that everything we do counts!

Lead well ... LEAD RIGHT

Please support this young man's cause!

 

I am doing this because my grandma had cancer a couple of years ago and I feel it is important to raise money for cancer research. My Grandma is a "survivor"!! Please help me to reach my goal of $500.00 towards this event. I have had my hair dyed now and will be shaving it off on February 3 at West Edmonton Mall at 5:30. Thank you for your supoort! UPDATE: After only a few days I have passed my goal of $500 so I am changing my goal to $1500 thanks Dylan 

Lets step up and help Dylan! Click Here To Donate!

Is a Casino Coming to a Rink Near You?

I've seen struggling ice rinks give up a sheet for a bounce trampoline, a sheet for roller hockey, board one up and put in a store and one that rented a sheet out for officer space. But bringing in a casino? That's a new one and don't think it couldn't happen here. The first salvo apparently is headed to the little Ontario community of Walpole Island, just across Anchor Bay from Macomb County. The parents are upset but it may be out of their control. As absurd as it sounds, don't put it past the entrepreneurial Native American communities in Michigan to do the same to help "revive" some struggling rinks. What's the problem? If I have to explain it, that's a bigger problem.  You can read the Walpole Island story by clicking below.

Read the article here!

Hunter has a great passion for scoring goals! Here are three of them against PA!
Hunter will be a top 5 pick in next years NHL draft! For all you young players, Hunter is a great role model regarding focus, work ethic, drive, passion and high character! Great person as well!

U-16 Alumni Connor Bleakley Brings It!

Coached Connor with the U-16 team this past year. Has incredible talent and with hard work he will one day be a pro player! Congrats Connor!

 Great shot!

Be Like Jessica Mendoza: Improve By Staying Humble

From the website stack.com


If you’re a top player and a team leader, you probably receive little or no negative feedback from your parents, coaches or teammates. On the contrary, they probably rely on you at critical points during games and lavish you with praise when you inevitably deliver.

Basking in the glow of such approval, you might easily think your game is fine the way it is. Unfortunately, this mindset leads to complacency and can slow your development as an athlete.

Jessica Mendoza, USA Softball Olympic gold medalist, stays on top of her game by staying humble. “Despite all the accolades and all the people telling you that you’re amazing, you still need to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and be accountable and responsible for your faults [in order] to get better,” she says. “When you lose your humility, you lose your success.”

Even if you have the talent to dominate, remember that thousands of athletes are shedding blood, sweat and tears every day to reach their goals. Realize that you are not a perfect athlete, find your faults and work on curing them. Even the best can get better.

Check this video out:

http://bcove.me/8xp8i5f9

How to Create the Breakfast of Champion Athletes

 From the Blog - Stock.com

If you routinely run out the door without eating breakfast, you’re not only sabotaging the rest of your day, you’re sabotaging your season. Athletes who never eat breakfast don’t get the jolt they need to wake up their bodies out of fasting mode and kick-start their metabolism. Study after study has shown that skipping breakfast hurts academics, sports performance, workout effectiveness and overall health.


Ready to start eating the type of breakfast that boosts performance on the field? Follow these breakfast guidelines and try these sample meals.

Breakfast Guidelines

• A good breakfast should contain 500 to 750 calories, roughly half from carbohydrates, 25 percent from protein and 25 percent from fats. Ideal breakfast carbohydrate foods are fruits and vegetables, whole grain cereal such as oatmeal and whole grain breads such as 100-percent whole wheat or rye bread. Great sources of breakfast protein (which also contain fats) are eggs, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, milk, cheese, yogurt and meat.
• Start with one or two glasses of water for adequate hydration following a night’s sleep. Squeeze some lemon or lime juice in the water for added flavor.
• Drink one cup of coffee or of black or green tea with your breakfast. Coffee and tea have antioxidants that boost immunity and help prevent disease. Caffeine can also provide energy, enhance metabolism and promote endurance.
• Opt for whole fruit over fruit juice. Whole fruit contains fiber, which enhances digestion, and delivers more antioxidants within their skins and pulp than juices, which often contain added sugar.

Athlete Breakfast Suggestions

• A handful of nuts or seeds with raisins, glass of milk or string cheese and a buttered whole grain bagel (690 calories)
• Apple slices topped with peanut butter, buttered whole grain toast and a glass of milk (455 calories)
• Banana with a cup of plain yogurt mixed with nuts (435 calories)
• A bowl of whole grain cereal and milk, topped with raisins and nuts, and a glass of milk (635 calories)
• Two hard-boiled eggs, buttered whole grain bagel, orange slices and string cheese (610 calories)
• Five-minute egg sandwich. Blend two eggs with a half cup of milk in a bowl. Add some butter or olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Place the bowl in a microwave for five minutes. While the eggs are cooking, put two slices of whole grain bread (e.g., 100-percent whole wheat or rye bread) in a toaster. The toasted bread and eggs should be done at nearly the same time. Use a spoon to remove the eggs from the bowl and slide them between the two slices of toast. Have a banana or other fruit such as grapes with the sandwich, and you’ll have a convenient nutritious breakfast! (580 calories)
• High-calorie meal for athletes who want to gain muscle mass: oatmeal, two eggs, a banana, two glasses of whole milk and a handful of almonds (885 calories)

Jim Carpentier is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, a New Jersey-licensed massage therapist and a health/fitness writer. He currently serves as associate health and wellness director at the Greater Morristown YMCA in Cedar Knolls, N.J.

What Kind of Sports Parent are You?

Parents have a natural desire to support their children in their extra-curricular activities such as sports. But displaying certain behaviours only hurts. 

 

 

Anyone who has ever attended youth sporting events has likely witnessed different kinds of parental behavior – or possibly even displayed them! Most people have personal opinions as to what is acceptable and what isn’t. Sadly, youth sports often bring out some of the worst attributes in parents.
Why is that?

It’s a simple yet complicated question, with no easy answer. But what is clear is that even well-meaning parents have such a deep emotional investment in their children that it can cause parents to make poor choices in terms of their attitude and behaviour.

We all like to believe that we can control our behavior and be positive role models for our children, but sometimes the opposite occurs. While we can quickly identify negative behaviour in other parents, can we in turn recognize it in ourselves?

Read rest of the article by Clicking Here!

From Website: Taking You Beyond The Game!

They have written some fabulous books with great info for all sports fans! Check them out here:

 (www.prospectcommunications.com and www.takingyoubeyondthegame.blogspot.com)