Brian Schiff’s Blog

Lately, my posts have focused on injury recovery and injury prevention. Time to switch gears a bit and share some of my philosophies on youth training for sport. I have worked with athletes of all ages (from 8 years old to professional soccer players). No two athletes are exactly alike. However, I often see similar technical and bio motor flaws in their movements.

One of the keys to making BIG impacts on their performance and movement capacity is teaching them simple drills to do repetitively at home. It is easy to overwhelm them with fancy drills and equipment (trainers can fall into this trap quickly). Admittedly, I did too early on when I first started in the industry. The real victory comes when you assess an athlete and identify 2-3 major things he/she can work to improve right away.

So, in my next 3 blog posts, I will share basic drills I use with all of my athletes that have made a significant impact on their form, speed and agility. The best part is that they can do these simple drills at home with minimal equipment too. The first video drill today is of a wall run.  See below:

The key in this particular drill is to maintain the proper forward lean and hip, knee and foot angles to maximize triple extension and facilitate motor learning so the athlete learns to synchronize arm and leg movement.  This drill can be done slow at first or even broken down into segments such as right, left, right (hold) and so on.  Personally, I have seen this single drill dramatically improve acceleration posture and running form in all of my younger kids.  Add it to your training arsenal if you do not use it now.  In the next post, I will reveal a lateral mobility drill that is my personal favorite for maximizing side to side foot speed.

In this video, I briefly discuss my “threshold training system” for returning athletes and weekend warriors back to play. The principles are also applicable if you are doing pre-season conditioning and want to avoid injury or overtraining.

Some of you may know the IYCA (International Youth Conditioning Association) and some of you may not.  It has been around for a few years, but is rapidly growing and aiming to revolutionize the youth fitness industry.  Founder, Brian Grasso, is pictured below addressing the crowd at the Speed Clinic I attended today.

2009 IYCA Summit

As a youth training expert myself, I was eager to see the IYCA up close and gain a better understanding about its mission, leaders and members.  I left convinced Brian Grasso is just as intelligent and passionate as he always comes across in his newlsetters.  His vision is clear and the IYCA members at the summit all seeemed committed to one goal – raising the bar and providing the BEST training possible to our youth.  No egos – just a ground army of coaches looking to learn from one another and change the way youth training is delivered.

I also came away pleased to know that people like Brian Grasso and Lee Taft approach training in much the same way I do.  What exactly do I mean by this?  Here are just a few examples:

1. High speed treadmills are not the best tools to improve speed
2. Deceleration is often overlooked and one of the most critical phases of training we must teach our young athletes to reduce injury and increase performance
3. Leading our children with passion and positive energy is a must
4. Teaching our athletes and parents the “why” behind exercise selection does matter
5. Less is really more in many cases and training should be FUN

These are just a few of the concepts that resonated with me over the weekend.  I was so impressed with the mission and leadership of the IYCA, I became a member myself.  I feel confident that this organization will help train and develop great youth fitness specialists, while making the lives of our young people better for years to come.  As a physical therapist and seasoned coach myself, I am a tough critic.  But today, I salute the IYCA and its mission.  I look forward to being a part of the organization and working with them to continue providing the very best in youth athlete training.

My video blogs will return this week as I continue to give you valuable info on shoulder training – do’s and don’ts to ensure you are training safely and effectively in the gym.  If there are certain questions you have, please let me know.

In today’s video, I reveal 3 distinct single leg progressions with the TRX to strengthen hip and knee. Again, these can all be done at home with a counter top. Stay tuned as I will show you suspended single leg TRX exercises in the next post designed to challenge balance and improve dynamic power and control.

This is the third exercise in my three part series on single leg training for improved running performance.  The prior two exercises focused primarily on quad/hamstring/glute development.  Today’s exercise addresses frontal plane hip control emphasizing the gluteus medius muscle as well as continuing to improve single leg stability. 

When doing this exercise, you will definitely feel the quads and glutes working to lower the body down, but to avoid the knee caving inward (a visible indication of excessiove femoral internal rotation and a weak gluteus medius) you must actively fire the gluteus medius to maintain proper alignment.  I utilize this exericse a lot with runners and my female athletes to reduce with ACL injuries as well.

The key thing to focus on here is keeping the knee in line and over the foot as you lower down.  For beginners, it is perfectly fine to lightly touch the reaching toe or heel to the ground once you begin to lose balance or control of the movement.  One pitfall to avoid is leaning the upper body away from the reaching leg to stay balanced.  Note: those with lower arches and overpronation may find this more challenging as well. 

It is always better to move a shorter distance with proper execution than to compromise form and use other muscles to complete the movement.  This exercise is particularly beneficial for runners struggling with anterior knee pain or IT band issues as well.  It conditions the muscles to reduce lateral dispalcement of the kneecap, a common scenario which often increases shear forces in the knee. 

Perform 2-3 sets of 10 on each leg as part of your training program once or twice per week.  As you advance, consider adding an unstable surface such as a pillow or soft pad (as demonstrated in the video below) to add difficulty.  The unstable surface also helps strengthen the ankle and reduce sprains.