Year End Reflection

My yearly end of the season question.

What did you change in your program that you liked and think worked well? What did you change that didn't work out so great?

Could be scheme, culture, drills, etc.

We stopped conditioning at the end of practice.  We have a steep hill and a volleyball court sandpit next to our practice field and in between drills we would do quick agility and conditioning drills.

Implemented 2 scout teams when prepping for No huddle up tempo teams.

We ran the ball a lot.

Not a football coach anymore. But we have implemented velocity based training in our PE weights class. I'm really excited about it!

We quite conditioning and stretching 4 years ago...best decision I have ever made. We committed to only practicing time wise for 2 hours, and that included our warm up. Actual practice time was only about 1:40 per day or less. Made a huge difference in games, especially in the 2nd half.

We timed sprints on Mondays this year to track the freshness of our kids. Did 2-3 full speed 40's and timed them with the Freelap system. Was a great indicator on whether we could push them a bit more on Tuesdays and Wednesdays or back off a bit. I think it also helped keep our kids fresh as the season went along.

We included a bit more tempo during games this year...nothing like Rochester or the big dogs, but it was a start and our kids really seemed to like it.

Delta, I'd love to hear more about your velocity based stuff you're doing. How you implemented it, what technology you're using. Any information would be appreciated. Feel free to send me a DM if you have time. Thank you!!

lefty120 wrote:We quite conditioning and stretching 4 years ago...best decision I have ever made.  We committed to only practicing time wise for 2 hours, and that included our warm up.  Actual practice time was only about 1:40 per day or less.  Made a huge difference in games, especially in the 2nd half.

We timed sprints on Mondays this year to track the freshness of our kids.  Did 2-3 full speed 40's and timed them with the Freelap system.  Was a great indicator on whether we could push them a bit more on Tuesdays and Wednesdays or back off a bit.  I think it also helped keep our kids fresh as the season went along.

We included a bit more tempo during games this year...nothing like Rochester or the big dogs, but it was a start and our kids really seemed to like it.  

Delta, I'd love to hear more about your velocity based stuff you're doing.  How you implemented it, what technology you're using.  Any information would be appreciated.  Feel free to send me a DM if you have time.  Thank you!!  

Thanks Lefty.

Agreed, Delta I would love to hear about what you are doing with that as well.

We have 5 power racks in our weight room. Each rack has an iPad and a VBT (Velocity-Based Training) device that is attached to the barbell. The devices we use are from a company called PUSH. However, PUSH was recently bought out and is no longer selling the devices. I wish I would have purchased devices from VMax Pro. Much better technology.

Anyway, what we can do is train for different velocities like Strength, Power, and Speed. What the device does is track the speed of the bar in meters per second and gives the lifter immediate feedback. Here's some video of our kids using it:





What I like most about VBT is it is great for the huge number of multi-sport athletes we have. So, for example, I can have the basketball players who are in my PE classes train in the Power range (training weights about 60%-75% of 1RM and moving somewhere between .75-1.0 meters per second) rather than just having them train for absolute strength all year. For the in-season kids, it keeps the weights relatively light and allows them to focus on speed.

I've really just scratched the surface. I have a lot more to learn.

What is the cost of a VBT system?

Have you seen a direct effect on the field/court of using this system or is it too early to tell? How have your injuries been thus far while using the system?

dusty7 wrote:What is the cost of a VBT system?

Have you seen a direct effect on the field/court of using this system or is it too early to tell?  How have your injuries been thus far while using the system?

The PUSH devices are about $300 each. I would imagine the VMax Pro sensors are similarly priced. I don't know how much an iPad is...couple hundred bucks?

Too soon to gauge the impact BUT I can say that we have way less grindy reps, especially on squats. Bar speed is definitely up.

And I feel good about our inseason athletes, especially lifting on game day.