WHAT'S IN STORE FOR 2009 by Coach Jim Massaro
The main consensus everywhere in the news and in the streets is Good Riddance to 2008. It will properly go down as one of the worst years in the history of the world financially, and let's all hope that the worst of it is behind us. But that subject is for other writers to dwell upon and analyze. I would like to recap some of the highlights of my life and in the life of the gym over the past year.
This was my first year as the strength coach for the Nyack girls’ lacrosse team. We had a young team, but from the first day of conditioning early last January, they came to work. What I see too often in the industry and the school system is that female athletes are treated “like girls” without the respect of being real athletes. Just like any other team I have ever worked with, their main goal was to win a championship. We made it to the playoffs but got knocked out in the first round. As I stated earlier though, we were young, so big things should happen this next season.
As for the Nyack football team, that was a completely different story. Here was a team loaded with senior leadership. We had 22 returning players with three years of experience on varsity. Coming out of a good off-season training program, we felt that as a team we were ready to make some noise. The word quickly spread around the section that we were the team to beat. And we didn’t disappoint any of the critics. We made it through the regular season with one loss and were the second seed in the playoff. After playing three of some of the most exciting football games seen around here in years, we won the Section 1 championship—my fifth in ten years as their strength coach. At the Regionals for the States we took care of that game too, winning in the final seconds of the game. At the State Semi-finals regrettably we fell a little short in another thrilling game. We lost 14-13 in the waning moments. It was a heartbreaker. Still trying to get over it, but all in all it was a great season. And our training for the next season coming up has already started.
As for Advanced Body, you all know the story of me returning and taking the gym back. Well, in the short time of a year I was able to build the business back to where it had been before I left, and then some. I have expanded my athlete training program, added in boot camps, and have had great results with my clients with the Warrior Diet. Advanced Body is the only recognized Warrior Diet Center in the Tri-State. Renegader, Coach Davies and I have run a number of training clinics at the gym and are planning for more in the upcoming year.
Let’s turn the page on last year… So what’s new for '09? I have recently been certified through Tilteist Performance Institute as a TPI Golf Fitness Instructor Level 1. This is a certification I have been wanting to get for a long time, but the timing was never right. Now I am able to perform a TPI physical screen on the golfer and can help to identify and correct, through a conditioning program, one or more of the 12 most common swing characteristics. I will also be pursuing my Level 2 certification this year. Sometime in the spring I will be adding a 3-D Analysis System to help determine the biomechanics of the swing to insure the proper kinematic sequencing. Check out the training that I am now offering to you local golfers out there: coachjimmassaro.com/Sample.asp?f=Golf
On a very exciting note, I am teaming up with Ori Hofmekler the founder and author of the Warrior Diet,. We have developed the most complete nutritional and strength training program for the high school and college athlete. The vision will be clear and our goal will be to provide the following:
Sport Nutrition—Specially designed meal plan and supplement layout for
extreme performance.
Exercise—Controlled Fatigue Training (CFT) - improving strength & speed
and the capacity to resist fatigue.
We will be launching this program in the early spring out in Southern California and then taking it to all the local schools. We will also be at the LA Fitness Expo January 24 and 25. Come check us out at our booth.
Back in the gym I will be hosting a number of clinics on kettlebells, basics of Olympic lifts, speed & agility clinics—all of which carry CEU’s from I.S.S.A. I am also putting together a speed & agility camp for the summer—one on the east coast and one on the west coast. I will also be co-hosting a clinic with Coach John Davies. My main goal for this year, as always, will be to build and inspire the most complete and informed athlete. If you thought last year was wild, my plans for this year are even wilder, so sign up for my newsletter and stay informed for the best year of your fitness education.
Stay strong,
Coach Jim Massaro