CONDITIONING PROBLEM by Coach Jim Massaro
Today's modern-day warriors (athletes) are bigger, stronger and faster than ever. Able to leap small buildings with a single bound.well, let's not get too carried away. Strength and Conditioning has become so advanced that today's athletes have surpassed all the limits of their sport. Linebackers weighing in excess of 240 pounds are running 4.5 and lower 40 times. The once light hitting short-stops are now batting in the 300s with 40 to 50 home runs and driving in over a 100 RBIs a year. Basketball players at one time were just tall. Now they're much more muscular. Just look at Shaq. Need I say anything more? True, the equipment has also gone through a major revolution. Technology has made great strides at making better bats, golf clubs, running attire, and a host of other equipment. By bringing the sport to a whole other level, this equipment has enabled the athlete to drive the ball farther, and to shave off precious tenths of seconds from times. But the main reason for the dramatic change is the conditioning of the athlete. They didn't get bigger and stronger just by luck. It takes careful planning and a lot of hard work to achieve mastery of a sport. Today's strength coaches have a greater wealth of knowledge to draw from and a very big arsenal of equipment to use. With this understanding, why is it still so difficult to make some coaches and parents aware of what the next step their athletes should take?
After conditioning our local high school football team for the last four years, and reaching the state championship two out of those four years and winning one, you'd think the conditioning program would've proven something. At the very least, it should have awakened some people to the fact that strength and conditioning is a very important component of athletics. But no, it hasn't. After offering my services to several other coaches at numerous meetings, no one has taken me up on my offer. Probably spoiled by the fact that they have had success in the past, they seem to be afraid of or oblivious to the future. Maybe they should realize that it might have been the play of the athlete that made them so successful. It is an injustice to the student-athlete not to have their full potential realized.
Have these coaches prepared their athletes for the next level of play? Many of the coaches still believe that if the athletes lift weights they will not be able to hit a baseball or shoot the basketball. Come on! Are we still living in the stone age? Our baseball coach has gone as far as to say that any kid he sees in the weight room will be thrown off his team. As for women's sports.that's a whole other story. These poor girls are just left out in the dark. Talk about not being prepared-and never knowing what their full potential might be. Not long ago I mailed out a considerable number of packets to all the local high schools and sports clubs. I introduced them to the Renegade Program, describing what we could do for their organizations, and how we can get their teams to the highest level of play. I even offered to sit down with the coaches and evaluate their strength and conditioning program (knowing they don't have one) and see whether we could help. Guess how many I heard from? That's right.one big fat ZERO. Not even one curiosity telephone call. Come on coaches.isn't it time to put the athlete first?
What can I say about the parents? They try hard. Sure they will go out and buy the best bat around, or the $200 pair of Nike sneakers. But they're missing the boat by ignoring the most important element. They are guided by misinformation. I have parents call me all the time and as soon as I outline all the work their kid has ahead of them I don't hear from them again. I guess it's too much for little junior. The mother of a very talented female field hockey player asked me to help with her daughter's running. Her field hockey coach wanted her to come into the season running eight-minute miles. So the question the mother asked was not what running work was needed, but what type of diet the girl could go on. I suggested a strength and conditioning program, but she said it was not necessary. The parents felt that if their daughter lost some weight it would solve her problem by enabling her to run the mile in the required time. Reasoning like this drives me crazy! Even more so now that I am involved in Renegade Training.
What I have learned up to this point from Coach Davies has me very excited. With drive and dedication, the sky is the limit for these athletes. Please stop tying the hands of the strength coach and let us do our job. Our goal is simple: to see those athletes perform at their highest level.