x…
We need a bigger Box… as in Plyo Box.
You thought I was going to say Boat… we need that too… more on the Bigger Boat later.
Here is a film showing two of our Strength and Conditioning classes… one 7th grade and one 8th grade (we have a total of 5 sections of 8th graders and 3 sections of 7th graders) doing a box jump routine.
We have done this routine 4-5 times this year. The first time we did it, we maybe had 1-2 athletes in each class that could make it up on the “Big Box”.
This time, the final time this year, we had more that could make it up on the box than couldn’t in each class… probably 40-50 total that could do it!
We see the same results in improved Vertical Leap, 40 yard dash and Pro Agility times… not to mention strength levels in our four core lifts of Bench, Squat, Push Press and Hang Clean.
Attribute it to increased strength, or improved confidence, familiarity with the drill, or class cohesion/ competition, maturation…. whatever your belief, the results speak for themselves.
And that is the thing that I have learned teaching Strength and Conditioning at our (Bingham) Middle School…
Whatever you believe and know to be true regarding the advantages of a good Strength and Conditioning program at the high school (or collegiate) level, the same benefits are realized in this age group.
Improvements in…
- Team Cohesion
- Strength
- Confidence
- Explosion
- Speed
- Quickness
- Training Habits
- Competing
- Overcoming adversity
And about that bigger boat…
Just as last year, (We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat) the number of students requesting this class is up… approaching 400 students listing Strength and Conditioning as their first PE choice, with only 200 slots available.
Nearly 400 students requesting Strength and Conditioning with the knowledge that it is a tough, strenuous class… with the knowledge that they will be required to (or rather”get to”) train 3-4 days a week.
It is even more evidence that this age group is the exact right time to begin a strength and conditioning program.
Related Posts:
- All Middle School Strength and Conditioning posts
- It is Never Easy
- If You Build it, They Will Come
- Efficacy and Safety in Middle School Strength and Conditioning
Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!
Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com