by Shawn Dassie, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, USAW, Nike SPARQ
Director of Sports Performance
Athletic Republic – New Braunfels

The word plyometric is derived from the Greek word pleythyein meaning, “to increase”. Plyometrics refers to exercises that enable a muscle to reach maximal strength in as short a time as possible (power) by eliciting the stretch-shorten cycle of a muscle fiber. This sequence of events begins by having the muscle stretch and therefore store elastic energy prior to firing. The harder and faster that the pre-stretch phase of the muscle is, results in a harder and faster muscle contraction and therefore a more powerful movement! Plyometric exercises are a vital component in aiding an athlete ?maximal speed and should be included in any conditioning program for sprinters.

Although plyometric training is not likely to result in injury, unsound, unsupervised programs could potentially result in shin splints and knee, ankle and lower back problems. These types of injuries are often a result of too many workouts per week, too many jumps per workout, incorrect form, jumping on hard surfaces, and using plyometrics at too early an age or without the necessary strength base. To avoid these injuries follow these guidelines:

1. Preadolescent athletes should avoid plyometrics because of greater susceptibility to injury prior to puberty.

2. Plyometrics should be postponed for athletes who do not have a sufficient base of strength. Avoid lower body plyometrics until the athlete is capable of Leg pressing 2.5 times their body weight and avoid upper body plyometrics until the athlete is able to complete 5 consecutive clap pushups.

3. Athletes who do not respond well to instructions are also at greater risk of injury.

4. Precede a plyometric workout with a general warm-up period consisting of walk-jog-stride-sprint cycles for one-half to three-quarters of a mile, followed by careful stretching exercises.

5. Use footwear with good ankle and arch support, lateral stability, and a wide, non-slip sole.

6. Perform plyometrics only on surfaces with good shock absorbing properties, such as soft grassy areas, well padded artificial turf, and wrestling mats. NEVER do plyometrics on asphalt or gymnasium floors.

7. Boxes should be sturdy and have a non-slip top

8. Depth jumping from objects that are too high increases the risk of injury, particularly to larger athletes, and prevents the rapid switch from eccentric to concentric activity. The average heights for depth jumps are 0.75-0.8 meters (27-30 inches); athletes over 220 pounds should use heights of 0.5-0.75 meters (18-27 inches).

Once the safety precautions of plyometric training are understood and adhered to, a training program can be developed. First and foremost is the frequency of plyometric training. Plyometric training should be done no more than two days per week during the off-season and in only once during the in-season period. Since plyometric training is extremely strenuous; about 36-48 hours of rest is need to fully recover. Therefore, make plyometric training the very last session of the day. Also, due to the fatigue factor associated with this type of training, avoid doing heavy strength training on the same day as plyometric training unless lower body plyometric training is combined with upper body strength training or vice-versa.

To date, there is no magic number of jumps that produces the best results, but taking too few jumps is better than taking too many. Ideally, the number of jumps should not exceed 80-100 /session for beginners and athletes in early workouts, 100-120/session for intermediate athletes, and 120- 40/session for advanced athletes who have completed at least 4 weeks of plyometric training.

The intensity, or amount of stress placed upon the muscles and joints should also be examined when prescribing plyometric exercise. Skipping movements provide minimum stress and are considered low-intensity exercises; box jumping, two foot take-off and landing exercises, high speed movements, and using additional weight, all increase the intensity of the workout. A sound program should progress from low-to high-intensity exercises.

Remember that the goal of plyometric training is to improve your power, not endurance. Thus, stress quality, not quantity to your athletes and allow adequate recovery between repetitions, sets, and workouts.

Shawn M. Dassie brings his rich and successful history of performance training together to Athletic Republic – New Braunfels. He is a former strength and conditioning coach at Iowa State and Drake Universities and has trained top professional athletes from the NFL, NBA and MLB in addition to Olympic competitors and more. Shawn has also served as the sports training director for a world-class health club and specialized physical therapy practice, working directly with a vast array of athletes from beginners to Olympians and professionals. In addition, he was worked as a strength and conditioning coordinator for numerous national, professionally affiliated and independent sports teams. An award-winning trainer and leader, Shawn holds numerous credentials and is a popular speaker and writer for the industry.

Shawn’s history of success includes molding several 1st round draft picks in the NFL (Logan Mankins – NE Patriots, Ryan Clady – Denver Broncos), NBA (Danny Granger – Indiana Pacers, J.R. Giddens – Boston Celtics, Nick Young - Washington Wizards, Jason Smith – Philadelphia 76’ers, Adam Morrison – Charlotte Bobcats) and MLB (Mike Moustakas – KC Royals, Matt Dominguez – Florida Marlins).

At the 2008 NFL Combine, coach Dassie helped produce 24 top 10 results with at least one in every testing category. Shawn also has produced 7 of the top 20 pro day 40 yard dash times in the country and the 3 highest vertical jumps in the history of the NBA Pre-Draft Camp.

If you are an athletic booster club officer…

… please send us an e-mail ASAP. We’d like to get in touch with you about future events, and how we can help give our kids even more publicity through SAsports.com, KENS-5 TV, and other venues.

Our e-mail: jaytope@sasports.com.

Thanks so much!

‘SAsports.com High School Radio Experience’ starts this Friday on Ticket 760!

Friday nights will never be the same.

SAsports.com will now have a radio show Friday nights from 11pm-12 midnight on Ticket 760. This will not just be about football. Volleyball, basketball, cross country, band - all that is the high school experience - will be covered.

In addition, we will be recapping the KENS-5/SAsports.com Friday Night Football Scoreboard. We will also have contests, crazy music, and a lot of listener interaction via the phone lines, and Facebook.

Radio sponsorships are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Live Football Scoreboard on Fridays - we need your cell number!

If you will be at your favorite high school football team’s games - all 10, home & away - then we are asking you to e-mail your cell phone number so that we may call you during the games for score updates.

SAsports.com is now the official high school sports web site of KENS-5 TV and KENS-5.com, and will be providing the live football scoreboard for the ninth year in a row.

Our e-mail: jaytope@sasports.com ; send away!

If you email us and it gets bounced back…

… then we need to fix this.

At least 10 people have contacted us from Uvalde, Harlandale, and other schools.

Here’s what we need for you to do.

Please forward the bounced-back email (mail returned undeliverable) to shane.wall@wallmediadesigns.com immediately. That way we can fix the problem.

And thanks for making SAsports.com the #1 choice in High School Sports and Activity websites.

Women’s Basketball, Softball, and Cross Country

Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) announced that they have appointed Stephen Sherman as the men’s and women’s head cross-country coach, Daryl Vincent as the women’s head basketball coach and Marie Stone as the women’s head softball coach.

OLLU will begin competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in cross-country, basketball and softball  in 2009-2010. In 2007, OLLU entered the NAIA after a 22-year absence, with inaugural teams in men’s soccer and women’s volleyball. Last year, the university added women’s soccer, as well as men’s and women’s teams in tennis and golf.

Good luck to OLLU on returning to action!

Poth senior wins national powerlifting title!

How about this for a story… Tyler Garcia, a senior at Poth High School, just won the High School Powerlifting National Championship in her weight class last Saturday.

Prior to that she won not only the 2A state title, but the overall state competition from 1A thru 5A in Texas.

Her family, including Uncle Tony, is very proud of her and wishes her well when she travels to Brazil for world competition. Also, we must congratulate Tim Bordovsky, the Poth Powerlifting Coach.

Tyler is in various other sports at Poth, as well as being a cheerleader and was nominated for homecoming queen. She has represented Poth and Texas well and now the USA.

Oh, yeah and she weights 97 lbs and is 4′7 1/2.

Great job, Tyler!!

Advertise in the SAsports.com Magazine!

Coming July 1st, it’s the return of the SAsports.com Magazine!

Included in the publication will be all of the area football schedules and previews, interviews, recaps of area state champions from the past school year, volleyball previews, and so much more. The best news - the publication is free!

You can now reserve advertising space in this magazine; our biggest yet! E-mail jaytope@sasports.com for details.

OLLU hires head men’s basketball coach

(from ollusa.edu)

Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) announced the appointment of Russell Vanlandingham as the men’s head coach for the University’s inaugural basketball team. His official start date is March 9.

OLLU will begin competing in the Red River Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in basketball in 2009-2010. In 2007, OLLU entered the NAIA after a 22-year absence, with inaugural teams in men’s soccer and women’s volleyball. Last year, the university added women’s soccer, as well as men’s and women’s teams in tennis and golf. In addition to men’s basketball next year, OLLU will add a women’s basketball team and softball team, and a men’s and women’s cross-country team. The University will soon be conducting a search for head coaches in those sports.

Vanlandingham comes to OLLU after serving as assistant coach at Texas State University in San Marcos, where in 2008, he helped the team vie for a berth in postseason play; the team missed the playoffs by one game. During that year, he was instrumental in signing four of the top 40 players in Texas in his first recruiting class. It was the most in one class since the school joined the NCAA’s Southland Conference. In addition, since coaching at Texas State, the Bobcats have consistently improved their win total from the previous season.

“Although we had many highly qualified candidates contending for this position, we were very impressed with Russell’s successes at other schools,” said Jack Hank, Vice President for Student Life/Athletic Director. “We especially liked his record of success in recruiting top student athletes. He is on a first-name basis with most high school basketball coaches in San Antonio and beyond, and that will prove to be important as he begins formulating our inaugural team.”

Vanlandingham has had coaching positions at McMurry University in Abilene (2005-2006 and 1996-2001) and West Texas A&M in Canyon (2001-2005). At McMurry, his alma mater, the Indians averaged 97.2 points per game, ranking sixth in NCAA Division III. McMurry’s record was 18-9 in 2005-2006 in the American Southwest Conference, and the team advanced to the semifinals of the ASC Tournament. From 1996-2001, the Indians’ record was 122-36, and they had five postseason appearances, four ASC West Division titles, two ASC championships and back-to-back berths in the NCAA Division III national tournament. While at West Texas A&M, he helped the Buffaloes to three Lone Star Conference tournament appearances and a 2003 conference title; the team’s record was 71-44.

As a player at McMurry, Vanlandingham earned All-Texas honors as a guard and was a member of the Indians’ 1993-1994 team, which advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA Division II National Tournament. He led McMurry in assists as both a junior and senior. His 166 assists during the 1993-94 season still ranks as the fourth-most in McMurry history.

Vanlandingham received a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1995 from McMurry University and a master’s degree in sports and recreation management in 1999 from Hardin-Simmons University. He is originally from San Antonio, where he attended East Central High School. He and wife, Amber, have three children.

Which event will you be at today?

Plenty of high school activities today…

- Regional Wrestling Tournament, Blossom Athletic Center: If you’ve never been to a high school wrestling tourney, this would be a great opportunity. This is athleticism in the truest sense. And it’s not just the boys - the girls put on a great show of strength and skill as well. It all starts at 8:45am today and lasts until 2pm; tomorrow, it begins at 8:00am, with boys finals at 1:45, and girls finals at 4:00.

- Regional 5A swimming Championships, Josh Davis Natatorium: While you’re there at Littleton Gym, walk over to the Josh Davis Natatorium, and check out the best swimmers and divers in the 5A region.

- Girls Basketball seeding, and play-in games: The playoffs start next week, but there’s some unfinished business tonight…

1. Kerrville Tivy vs. Clemens, 7:00 at O’Connor. Winner represents 27-4A 4th place vs. Burbank; loser is out.

2. Judson vs. CC Carroll, 6:00 at McMullen County HS. Winner is 2nd place in 27-5A and plays Stevens next week; loser is 3rd and plays O’Connor.

3. MacArthur vs. New Braunfels, 7:00 at Steele. Winner places third and will take on Austin Westlake; loser plays national powerhouse Pflugerville.

That’s not including other girls and boys basketball, and other activities; go out and support what these kids do!