SST PROGRAM

SST’s goal is to build quick, powerful, explosive athletes!We do this by focusing on 6 major skill areas.

EVALUATION – You can’t get where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. This is of utmost importance when talking about testing. We want to see where each individual athlete is in his/her development before we start the training program. This initial evaluation will help us design our program. We will also post test each athlete at the end of the training sessions to determine improvement and areas that still need attention. The type of evaluation used will vary, depending upon age level, skill level and sport.

DYNAMIC FLEXIBILITY– Dynamic flexibility is the use of sport-specific body movements to increase range of motion in the joints and muscles. Dynamic flexibility is designed to start easy and build toward game like movements. It should last 8-15 minutes and the athletes should be sweating and feel ready to play afterwards. Common dynamic flexibility exercise includes high knees, butt kicks, power skips, monster walks, lunges, lunges with twist, and backward runs.

RUNNING MECHANICS AND SPEED IMPROVEMENT- Speed is the measure of how fast an athlete can sprint a distance. A common misconception among coachs, parents and athletes is that speed can not be taught - that it is genetically pre-determined. The good news is that nothing could be further from the truth. All athletes can improve their running speed with improved mechanics and increased leg and core strength. Running speed comes down to two simple factors: stride length and stride frequency. SST will work to improve both aspects of your running mechanics.

QUICKNESS AND AGILITY TRAINING- We have stated that speed is the measure of how fast an athlete can sprint a distance. While this is true, this is not necessarily an indicator of how successful an athlete will be on the field of play. Quickness is a better indicator of overall success. Quickness refers to the athlete’s ability to change directions with precise, explosive movements while not losing speed and maintaining control. This is what separates the great athlete from the rest. Their agility and quickness is outstanding. SST’s prime focus is developing quick, powerful, explosive athletes.

PLYOMETRICS-. Plyometics are exercises designed to link strength and speed of movement to produce power. Speed of movement is key to producing power. For example, think of a baseball swing. The quicker the bat speed, the further the ball will go, regardless of the size of the athlete. The speed of the movement generates the power.
Plyometrics are based on the muscles stretch-reflex. Stretching a muscle right before a contraction of that muscle will produce greater power. Think about a rubber band. When you stretch a rubber band, there exists the potential for a rapid return to its original length.

CORE TRAINING- The Core is the foundation of the body. Core training is designed to dynamically and functionally strengthen the body. The core muscles include the abdominals, low back, hips, quads, glutes and hamstrings. This is the powerhouse of the body. Without good core strength, the body will not be able to function at its peak. A strong core can help correct postural problems that will sometimes lead to injuries and hinder optimal performance.