An important part of being a successful coach is the ability to adapt and make changes on the fly.
Last Thursday I went to DeMatha for a pre-season strength workout. As always, I had written the workout up the night before. I was prepared and I had a plan.
As soon as I parked my car, I crumpled up the workout and tossed it in the trash can.
Why?
It was 81 degrees and sunny and I knew we wouldn’t see many more days like this. So I decided to hold our strength workout outside!
I wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and break the monotony of being in the weight room. Our guys deserved a change of scenery, and after all, we would be confined to that weight room for the next 5 months. So it was the perfect time to take advantage of a viable alternative.
After a thorough warm-up… this is what our 30 JV and Varsity players went through:
Push-ups with mini-bands
Supersetted with
Med ball explosive chest press
Performed 10 reps of each, back-to-back (3 sets)
Underhand modified pull-up with partner
Supersetted with
Manual resistance lateral raises
Performed 15 reps of pull-ups and 6 reps of lateral raises, back-to-back (3 sets)
Medicine ball pivot and rip through
Supersetted with
Sandbag front squat with mini bands
Performed 5 high rips with right pivot foot, 5 high rips with left pivot foot, 5 low rips with right pivot foot, and 5 low rips with left pivot foot and 15 reps of front squats, back-to-back (3 sets)
Combo lunge matrix – front to back lunges, lateral to step behind lunges, and diagonal to crossover lunges
Performed 10 reps of each lunge, each leg (1 set of each)
That took about 45 minutes. I always end each workout with a team challenge. On conditioning days, I have the entire team perform the challenge. On strength days, I have one or two players perform the challenge on behalf of the entire team.
If they pass – the entire team wins. If they don’t – the entire team loses. In basketball, a team certainly wins or loses together… yet many times… the final outcome hinges on the performance of one player (if the score is tied and there is a foul… only one player shoots the free throw with 1.2 seconds left in the game).
This particular challenge involved two players. One player started at the bottom of a 40 yard hill (about 10% incline) with a stack of 6, 35-lb sandbags. The other player started at the top of the hill. Player #1 had to pick up a sandbag, sprint up the hill and drop it off, then sprint down the hill and repeat 5 more times. Once all 6 sandbags were at the top of the hill, player #2 had to pick up a sandbag, sprint down the hill and drop it off, then sprint up the hill and repeat 5 more times. Once all 6 sandbags were at the bottom of the hill (where they started), the drill was over. I gave them 4:00 minutes to accomplish the task. If they beat 4:00 minutes… the workout was over. If they didn’t, the entire team would head into the gym for a series of (less than enjoyable) sprints.
The guys finished in 3:57. It was close, but they made it! The part I was most impressed with was how supportive the other 28 players were. They cheered for their teammates and were actively involved. And then, without prompting, they all came together at the end to celebrate the victory. It was awesome.
I am so thankful to work with such an amazing group of kids. I am honored to be a part of the DeMatha Basketball family. This year promises to be a fun journey.
Click here to watch the workout: http://TinyUrl.com/DeMathaOutdoorWorkout
Work hard. Have fun. Enjoy the journey.
Alan Stein
www.StrongerTeam.com
www.Twitter.com/AlanStein
www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam
PS: I posted a picture today at www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam and am giving away a big time prize for whoever comes up with the funniest caption! Please join in the fun!