Friday Inbox (on Wednesday)August 5, 2009Apologies for moving up the Friday Inbox, but technically this is the end of the week for me since I'll be vacationing at a lake house in the Ozarks with college friends over the next few days. Good, innocent, clean fun should be had by all (note: I will not be blogging about the reunion since family and a certain lady friend read the blog). I'm trying to convince Cuse (Matt Siracusa) that this mini-getaway will make for a great 'Fusion' piece in the October issue, but he disagrees. With that established, on to your questions for the week:Tamara (Walla Walla, Wash.): Love the Summer Training Guide issue, but why isn't there an eight-week guide for softball players?STACK: I've received a few questions wondering why a certain sport is not included in our guide. Long story short: limited space in the mag. I have a dream that one day at least one STACK issue will consist of nothing but 66 pages of unadulterated text, but until that happens, your hard-working content team must abide by strict word counts.
However, we do have plans this year to offer an eight-week training program for softball players online. Trust me, we're not trying to ignore your sport. Until that time, obviously incorporate appropriate drills/exercises from the other sports into your training and check out our softball page for training, nutrition and recruiting advice from top collegiate and Olympic coaches/athletes. Friday Inbox (on Wednesday)August 5, 2009Apologies for moving up the Friday Inbox, but technically this is the end of the week for me since I'll be vacationing at a lake house in the Ozarks with college friends over the next few days. Good, innocent, clean fun should be had by all (note: I will not be blogging about the reunion since family and a certain lady friend read the blog). I'm trying to convince Cuse (Matt Siracusa) that this mini-getaway will make for a great 'Fusion' piece in the October issue, but he disagrees. With that established, on to your questions for the week:Tamara (Walla Walla, Wash.): Love the Summer Training Guide issue, but why isn't there an eight-week guide for softball players?STACK: I've received a few questions wondering why a certain sport is not included in our guide.
Long story short: limited space in the mag. I have a dream that one day at least one STACK issue will consist of nothing but 66 pages of unadulterated text, but until that happens, your hard-working content team must abide by strict word counts. However, we do have plans this year to offer an eight-week training program for softball players online. Trust me, we're not trying to ignore your sport.
Until that time, obviously incorporate appropriate drills/exercises from the other sports into your training and check out our for training, nutrition and recruiting advice from top collegiate and Olympic coaches/athletes.Ben (Columbus, Ohio): What's the coolest college weight room you've been to?STACK: Hmm stroking white beard of wisdom, good question. Most big-time schools break up their athletic training facilities into two separate weight rooms/areas: one for Olympic sports (basically every sport other than football) and the other one for football. Since there are more football players on campus than any other sport, colleges usually have a separate facility for those athletes so there can be two or three sessions per day that the guys can get in the weight room (at their convenience around classes, training table and study tables). Keep in mind, college strength coaches have NCAA-mandated time limits per week with college athletes, so it's essential to get them in and out efficiently and effectively.With that said, I'd have to go with LSU, Ohio State or Georgia for the most stunning facilities. LSU's football weight room, led by strength coach Tom Moffitt, has a clean and efficient training space and every piece of equipment is strategically placed.
Connected to the weight room is the indoor practice facility, which is one of the nicest I have visited on my travels.Ohio State football's facility, Woody Hayes Athletic Center, is harder to get into than Fort Knox. If you don't have a secret security card or know the right person, you're not getting anywhere near the weight room (I'm also pretty sure the secretaries at the facility sit behind what appears to be bulletproof glass, but I cannot confirm or deny this). Like LSU, Ohio State's football weight room is connected to their indoor practice facility.
When I met Ohio State football strength and conditioning coach Eric Lichter for the quick tour, I was in awe. When he asked what I thought about the weight room and indoor practice field, I simply uttered, 'Holy expletive.' Georgia's Olympic training center is brand-spanking new and awesome. It's huge and has up-to-date equipment that most facilities don't have yet. Like most college weight rooms, everything is color coordinated (in this case, black and red). One interesting note: the UGA strength coaches have a sign posted on the door that prohibits any athlete from wearing colors that are not red, black, white or gray. They take their allegiance and pride for UGA seriously down there.Finally, Florida's football weight room was pretty sweet, too, but it was undergoing renovations when I was down there for a shoot with the volleyball team.
It's probably finished now and would definitely make my list of 'best college weight rooms.' Juan (San Ysidro, Calif.): Who is the fastest athlete you've seen?STACK: Lots of questions this week dealing with 'the best, strongest or fastest' athlete. If that's what you want, then that's what I'll provide. This is definitely a tough question to answer because how are you defining 'fast'? Linear speed? Speed respective to that athlete's sport? Who would win in a burlap sack race?Off the top of my head, I recall Beanie Wells and Ray Small booking it during their timed at Ohio State.
Basically, the players jogged the first 20 yards to build some speed/momentum, and then kicked it into high gear for the final 20 yards, which was timed by S+C coach Eric Lichter. Beanie covered the final 20 yards in 1.88 seconds.
He probably weighed 240 pounds at the time. What does that mean? If he busted through the line and built downhill momentum, he's going to either blow by you or truck over you in the open field if you're a DB. Very impressive. His teammate, WR Ray Small, clocked in at 1.87, which was the fastest time of the day for that particular training group.Also, I know Mario Manningham had a disappointing 40-time at the NFL Combine last year, but he was lightning-fast during his preparation for the combine. I recall him running between a 4.40-4.45 during his pre-combine testing with Tim Robertson.
What was really jaw-dropping was his ability to quickly cover the first 10 yards of the 40, which is what recruiters and scouts really value. We'll have training videos with Manningham, who should make monumental strides in his second NFL season, posted soon.Finally, David Oliver, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in the 110m hurdles, has no problem getting up and down the track (the hurdles do not hinder his speed at all, so I'm curious as to how fast he is without those barriers).Scooter (Richmond, Va.): How many full-ride baseball scholarships are available at the Division I level?STACK: Scooter, glad you asked so I can promote a new piece on the site. Last week I wrote an article that should answer most questions you have about the. I'm sorry to report that fully-funded collegiate baseball programs only have 12 or less full-rides available to spread among 20-30 guys.
Most collegiate baseball players only receive enough money to cover books—honestly, you have a better shot at receiving academic money.If you're a softball player, here's an article outlining the. Over the next few weeks, we will have similar recruiting pieces devoted to each sport to keep you informed.Francesco (New York City, N.Y.): What should I focus on during my basketball training?STACK: Well, I'm not sure what your strength and weaknesses are on the court, but it's a general consensus from all the basketball strength coaches I've worked with that you should recognize your skills as a player and work hard to enhance the strengths and improve the weaker areas. Some of the best general basketball training advice I've come across is from Elias Karras, founder of EFT Sports Performance in Chicago.
He claims that a basketball player needs to focus on five areas during training every day: 1) Mobility/flexibility, 2) Strength and conditioning, 3) Speed/agility, 4) Nutrition and 5) Recovery/maintenance. Luol Deng, one of his top clients, focuses on each of these five phases during every workout.Rodney (Lebanon, Ind.): I bench 315 pounds.STACK: slow clap that builds to applause Rodney, you win 'This Week's Reader of the Week Redundant' (TWROTWR) award.
For next week's Inbox, I'd like to know your thoughts about this year's Summer Training Guide. How did the workouts improve your game this summer? What were some challenging drills/exercises? What would you like to see in next year's issue?to stay up to date on the latest STACK articles, videos and shoots with pro athletes. You'll also get daily workout and nutrition tips from the industry's top experts.Friday InboxFriday, July 31, 2009A couple weeks ago we asked STACK Nation to rank eight athletes based on:.
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Athletic ability for their respective sport. Who you would want to read a training/life feature about in a future issue of STACK Magazine. Top name in the sports worldAfter pillaging through numerous responses, we've compiled the list. Without further Freddy ado:1. Tiger Woods2.
Dwyane Wade3. Sidney Crosby4. Peyton Manning5. Derek Jeter6. Kevin Garnett7. Serena Williams8. Landon DonovanQuick Thoughts:It was a little surprising to see Tiger take the top spot, but you gotta give the man credit: he dominates his sport like no other athlete on the list and exceeds each criterion (though I don't recall 'ability to marry a blonde Swedish nanny' as one).The biggest shock, though, was at number three with 'Sid the Kid.'
Crosby's quest for Lord Stanley made an impressionable mark for a few of our readers who ranked him number one overall. Also, it was a subtle way of telling us that we need more hockey content (don't worry, we have a two puck pieces in the upcoming August/September issue.