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 7^th grade and one 8^th grade (we have a total of 5 sections of 8^th graders and 3 sections of 7^th 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

Follow @youcandomore1

No buildup or promo is needed…

It is not a matter of mass marketing or launching a social media campaign…

It is genuine… honest… organic…

Everyone in the room knows that they are witnessing something special…

There is a mutual respect… admiration… for what is being attempted…

Everyone stops what they are doing and watches…

Anxiously…. nervously… hopefully…

Wanting to witness a successful attempt.

This happened yesterday in one of my Strength and Conditioning classes.

Airianna Miller, an 8^th grader in her second year in this class, was attempting a new PR for her 8-rep max on push press.

Airianna plays basketball, volleyball, and is a competitive cheerleader.

This is what happened at the end of class yesterday.

None of this was staged or pre-arranged.

The class knew what she was attempting… and as you can see in the video… more and more people stopped to watch as she successfully completed each rep.

By the time she had finished everyone had stopped to watch.

At the end there was great excitement. You can only see the beginning before the film cuts off, but the whole class stopped to give Arianna an ovation.

Including me.

• Who says 8th graders are silly and immature?
• Who says 8th graders are mean spirited?
• Who says 8th graders are irresponsible?
• Who says 8th graders can’t work together?
• Who says 8th graders are not physically or mentally ready to take a Strength and Conditioning class?
• Who says 8th graders like bodily function humor?

OK… maybe the last one is correct… the others… not so much!

This job can be really awesome!

Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1

Q1) What’s your favorite Olympic lift for triple extension? What’s the common fault you see in it & the cue you use to correct? ‪#ironchat

Coach David Taylor’s (@coachrdt) response was:

A1) Hang clean is our top triple extension exercise, and the biggest issue we see is landing with our feet too wide ‪#ironchat

This was a sentiment echoed by many participating in the chat… clean was the favorite Olympic lift for triple extension, with incorrect foot placement (too wide) on the landing or catch phase of the lift a common problem.

Coach Taylor then finished his response with his idea for a “fix”

A1) cont… Crazy idea, make your athletes clean inside a small hoop, forcing them to concentrate on landing with feet in athletic stance within the hoop ‪#ironchat

I take video pretty much daily in my Strength and Conditioning classes… and recently have recorded hours of our athletes doing explosive lifts… clean, push press, and snatch. The video has a number of uses for me… sharing with other coaches, posting on twitter or my blog, archiving for future reference, but mainly for checking my teaching.

It is very easy to see what the athletes are doing well, and equally easy to see what they need to work on. If there are any common threads regarding technique flaws with a number of my athletes, then typically that is something that I have not done a very good job of teaching, coaching or explaining.

In looking at recent video, two things were apparent to me:

• Our athletes… pretty much across the board…. are doing a very good job during the explosive (triple extension) phase of their lifts, and…
• Many of our athletes are exhibiting the same flaw as was mentioned in the #ironchat by Coach Taylor (and echoed by many others)… their feet were “flying out” during the catch phase of their lifts (clean, push press, and snatch)

Last Friday I dedicated the class in an attempt to correct this technique error… and the method I incorporated into the class was the “Hula Hoop” indicator.

OK, granted, it was a pretty “low tech” attempt at correcting this flaw…. low tech but highly effective.

I gathered up 6 Hula Hoops that had the diameter that I was looking for, and as a bonus they all were constructed with fairly thin tubing. I put each hoop inside the rack and had the athletes begin their clean with their feet situated in the hoop on what would be the diameter.

The athletes did 3 sets of 8 reps using the weight from their workout card on the first set of their light day workout… which is about 62% of their 1RM.   This weight was light enough where they could concentrate on foot placement, and heavy enough where they still needed to use good technique during the explosive phase of the lift.   Here is what I found out:

• There was immediate tactile feedback whenever the lifters feet varied much from the norm… including width, stagger, or movement forward or backwards
• The lifter did not need to look down (which would effect their technique) to benefit from the hoop
• The feedback was not so much as to disrupt the rep or endanger the lifter, but enough for the athlete to know foot placement was incorrect.
• As they progressed through their 3 sets of 8 reps, nearly everyone who was experiencing “foot flyout” saw their technique improve

As you can see in this video (which was not uncommon) this athlete’s feet struck the hoop on their first rep, and their base narrowed incrementally after each reap.

Here is another, similar video.

These are a fairly typical sampling of the video that I recorded that day.

Here is a bit longer movie showing several athletes doing their “hula hoop cleans“, followed by video without the hoop, shot the following Monday on their “heavy” hang clean day, (sets of 8 reps with 75-80% of their 1RM).

Although their foot placement is not perfect, it is considerably better than previous to using the “hula hoop technique” to emphasize foot placement.

Thanks again to Coach Gardner (@CODY_GARDNER ) the host of #ironchat, (Thursday nights at 8:00-9:00 pm CST) and Coach Taylor (@coachrdt ) for this training idea.

Related Posts:

• Correcting Squat Technique
• Perfect Squat Reps
• Supplemental Lifts – The Hang Snatch
• Don’t Take the Light Day Lightly

Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It! 

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1

Last week during the #ironchat (a strength and conditioning chat held on twitter Thursday evenings) I mentioned this workout. A few colleagues were asking about what we do (and video) so this is the expanded version… one drawback to the #chat format is depth of detail is at times difficult with 140 character limitation.

We workout in pairs, using one medicine ball per pair.   The athletes choose a ball between 5 and 10 pounds, dependent on their strength level.

I want the athletes to understand that this workout is NOT about doing a lot of weight, or even doing a lot of reps… we do that on other training days. The most “weight” anyone will be lifting (in addition to their body weight) is 10 pounds, and the most reps we do on any one drill are 10 reps.

This workout IS about:

• Balance
• Posture
• Flexibility and
• Doing all the “Little Things” right

We do 13 different drills in the workout, typically doing 10 reps for each drill. On drills that the athletes do 10 consecutive reps by themselves (not passing the ball between the partners) we ask the athlete not active to “coach” their partners…. letting them know if they are doing it well, and fixing any technique flaws that they see.  It is also another way of checking for understanding with your students.

Here are the 13 drills we do, the order that we complete the drills, and the “little things” …the coaching points… for each drill.

Lunge with a twist – Across basketball court

• Sink hips
• Keep shoulders back
• Keep arms extended and parallel to the ground

Figure 8 – 20 passes

• Back to back about 3 ft apart
• Feet “in concrete” stationary – do not even pivot
• Hand the ball (do not toss) with two hands to partner
• Ball should make a figure 8 pattern, crossing between partners

Sit ups – 10 each

• Feet 2-3 feet apart
• Extend ball above head
• Sit up with ball and body moving in the same plane
• Toss ball to partner who extends ball above head, goes down and touches ball to ground, trying to keep ball and body in the same plane

Vertical Chest Pass – 10 each

• Partner drops ball from about eye level
• Partner on back extends arms
• When ball touches hands, collapse arms to chest
• Immediately “punch” ball as high as you can
• No pause at top when ball touches hands or at the bottom at chest

Overhead Squat – 10 each

• Low and Slow
• Arms extended above head
• Perfect squat technique – Head up, shoulders back, feet flat
• Partner not active in the drill will “coach”

Front Squat – 10 each

• Low and Slow
• Arms extended an parallel with ground
• Perfect squat technique – Head up, shoulders back, feet flat
• Partner not active in the drill will “coach”

Squat Pass – 10 passes each

• Both partners in perfect squat position through all 10 passes
• Two handed pass to partner
• Remain stable and balanced – arms only body part moving

Squat Jump – 10 each

• Seat ball in chest
• Lower to full squat position
• Explode, maximum effort, feet off the floor
• Reset base after each jump
• Partner not active in the drill will “coach”

Overhead Pass – 10 each

• No step or upper body sway
• Extend ball above head with elbows by ears
• Dip ball behind head and execute 2 handed pass to partner
• Try to isolate triceps
• Remain stable and balanced – forearms only body part moving

Slam Pass – 10 each

• Step with slam ball into ground about 2/3 way to partner
• 5 throws stepping with right foot, 5 with left

Squat Put – 10 each

• Execute perfect full squat
• From the squat position explode off ground – 2 hand push for height and distance
• Keep shoulders back – Don’t bend at the waist

Squat Toss (Front) – 10 each

•      Extend ball in front
•      Arms parallel to ground
•      From the squat position explode off ground – tossing ball for height and distance
•      Keep shoulders back – Don’t bend at waist
•      Throw the ball with your legs

Squat Toss (Back) – 10 each

•        Back to partner
•        Extend ball in front
•        Arms parallel to ground
•        On command – from the squat position explode off ground – tossing ball for height and distance
•        Keep shoulders back – Don’t bend at waist
•        Throw the ball with your legs

I would encourage you to check out the Twitter #ironchat on Thursday nights.  An explanation of how the Twitter chats (#chats) works can be found in this post… #TXHSFBCHAT… The Fastest 60 Minutes on the Internet

Related Posts:

• Jump Rope Training
• Throwing a “Changeup”
• A Master Craftsman
• Augmented Reality and Coaching

Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1

2015 was a terrific year for this blog, YouCanDoMore.net, with more views (over 60,000) and downloads (over 15,000) than ever before.

These were the top performing posts in terms of views this year… if you are a recent follower, some of these may have escaped you. Please click through to dig into the content.

1. Defensive Game Planning – The Call Sheet (6,000 views)
2. Weight Room – 101 (3,000 views)
3. Film Grading Tool (3,000 views)
4. Defensive Game Planning – The Play Grid (1,700 views)
5. Making a Screen Recording (1,500 views)

These were the most popular series of posts in 2015. As you can see, the Defensive Game Planning series continues to be far and away the most popular.

1. Defensive Game Planning – All Posts, Forms, and Videos (13,000 views in the series)
2. Coaching Tools (9,000 views in the series)
3. Recruiting (8,000 views in the series)
4. Middle School Strength and Conditioning Program (5,000 views in the series)
5. Lessons from the Masters (2,000 views in the series)

And finally, the most popular downloads this year.

1. Defensive Call Sheet (1,000 downloads)
2. Film Grade Template (800 downloads)
3. Defensive Game Plan Play Grid (700 downloads)
4. Practice Template (400 downloads)
5. Workout Template (400 downloads)

But wait, there’s more… one more link to make it 16 links for 2016!  A popular post about multi-sports athletes:

1. Fast “Track” to a Great Football Program

Thanks again for your loyal readership. One request…. if you have found the information on this blog interesting, helpful, informative or entertaining, please share with your colleagues.

Now, go watch some bowl games and enjoy the remainder of your holiday break!

Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1

At this time of the year, after just finishing MAP tests in our school and district, it got me to thinking about testing in general.

In answer to his initial questions, we test on our four Core Lifts (Bench, Squat, Hang Clean, and Push Press) for anyone that is new to the program. We test on a multi-rep max, and use this conversion chart so we can enter it on their workout card, which calculates their workout percentages while they are in our program.

We also give a battery of tests that we feel provides us with some good information regarding their athletic progress:

• Weight
• 40-yard dash
• Vertical Leap
• Pro Agility

And their card calculates:

• Power Quotient and
• Pound for Pound ratio

After this initial testing, we do not test on their Core Lifts again … ever… and here is why.

Testing takes time away from what I really want them to do…. train to be better athletes! I am really not overly concerned about what their “maxes” are, other than how that relates to their athletic improvement. Their workout card provides them with information so they can gauge their progress (see Breaking… it’s a good thing) and know what their new “maxes” are…. without retesting.

I am not training members of a powerlifting team, but members of the football, basketball, and volleyball, etc. teams. I want their training to transfer to the court(s) or field(s) of their choice. If it does, then both the athlete and I are happy… if it doesn’t, no matter how strong or how well they tested, then I have failed as a strength coach.

And this is how it relates to testing in the classroom… to MAP or STAAR (insert your state/ district standardized test name here) testing.

I am amazed annually about the amount of time, (instruction time, professional development time), energy (student, teacher, administrator), and angst that is put into the preparation and administration of these tests.

Our teachers administer all kinds of predictive tests in prepping for the MAP test… STAR test, Acuity test, and many also give an EOC exam in their classes. This year they also had to spend time practicing the MAP test because of the new, tech based test.   They (teachers and administrators) spend an amazing amount of time dealing with all of this… prepping for all of this… and worrying about all of this… for a test score.

And that is my point… and how it relates to strength and conditioning…

I have to believe that in the long run our students (and teachers and administrators) would be much better off if they could spend ALL of the time they now spend in test prep on actual instruction…. Imaginative, Innovative, Individualized… Instruction.

Instruction that is geared toward learning… learning skills that will transfer and allow them to excel in the “real world” rather than excelling on a standardized test.

Are we interested in creating a legion of good “test takers”… or do we want to send out into the world students that are inquisitive, lifetime learners, problem solvers, and adaptable?

In my strength and conditioning class I am not interested in training members for an Olympic Powerlifting squad, but I want them to be better athletes in their respective sports.

In the classroom I think we should be more concerned about training better, well prepared citizens rather than great test takers.

Just my opinion.

BTW… we do test on the 40, vertical, shuttle, etc. annually… but even then try to be efficient in our administration and condense it down into the shortest amount of time possible as not to lose training time.

You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It! 

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1

I decided to amalgamate all of the posts into this single, hopefully easier to navigate, post. I have tried to put them in (somewhat) chronological order.

These links will also direct you to the “nuts and bolts” of our program, including philosophy, the workout card, lifting technique, videos, etc.

• Efficacy and Safety-Middle School Strength Training
• If you build it, they will come
• Mirror, Mirror
• Larger than Life
• It is all Relative
• The Case for Middle School Strength and Conditioning
• It is Never Easy
• The Impact of $4
• We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

Here is a link to a Flipboard Magazine I put together with all of the posts :

Flipboard – Middle School Strength and Conditioning

If you have any questions, just shoot me an email… I will respond!

You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1

At the time there was much buzz, excitement, and some trepidation among the students, faculty and administration.

As I wrote about in this, more recent post, (The Case for Middle School Strength and Conditioning) the first year of the Strength and Conditioning class has been a huge success in our building.

Now, with enrollment beginning for next year, the real test is upon us. Has the class generated enough “buzz” with the current students to sustain or increase interest and enrollment for next year?

The numbers are in…

The good news…

We had nearly 400 students (7^th and 8^th graders next year) request this class for the 2015-16 school year.

Every current 7^th grader who is taking the class (56) requested it again for next year!

The challenge…

Our current class structure limited the enrollment to 150 students in the class… six classes with 25 students each.

With a couple of adjustments, we were able to increase that number to 200.

I currently teach all of the Strength and Conditioning class at our school, and have six sections. We have a seven period day, and I have a plan period, so our number this year was capped at 150 students.

Next year our building is going to an eight period day (we are getting rid of our “home room” period), which will allow me to teach seven classes of Strength and Conditioning. In addition, another instructor will be teaching the class during my plan period, which will put our cap next year at 200 students (eight periods x 25 students per class).

We still have a somewhat daunting task ahead… trimming nearly half of the students who put the Strength and Conditioning class as their #1 request for Physical Education.

We feel like it is a good problem to have, and one that demonstrates our district is headed in the right direction with this class offering.

If your district is not offering this class, my experience this year leads me to believe you are missing the boat… this age group is physically and mentally ready to excel in a class of this type.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you have regarding this class (setup, curriculum, equipment, lessons, etc) or related to any other posts on this blog… I will respond!

You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1

Actually, I had the students invite their teachers to come down to the weight room… sometimes a scary place for a classroom teacher… lots of noise, metal clanging, occasional shouts, etc… I told my students it was…

“National Invite Your Classroom Teachers to the Weight Room to See How Hard You Work on Heavy Squat Day in Strength and Conditioning Class”, day.

OK, I made the day up, but…. we did get a few teachers to venture down to the weight room.

My purpose… I wanted their classroom teachers to see how hard these students work … daily… in this class… and I wanted them (their teachers) to see their students in a different light, and a different setting than they were used to seeing them.

One colleague who came down watched in amazement as the students worked out… and did the little things that they do daily… and do pretty much on their own.

• Reading their workout cards
• Calculating the weight needed to be put on the bar
• Disciplined behavior
• Putting the weight on the bar
• Adjusting the rack
• Spotting
• Encouraging
• Laughing
• Working
• Transitioning from one lift to the next
• On task
• Coaching one another
• Seriously training!

These are 8^th graders.

He asked “How long did it take to get them to this point?”

It is an excellent question. At this point in the year, into the 4^th quarter… the class is very low maintenance…. I am sure it appears that it is an easy class to teach… and at this point of the year, it is!   I spend very little of my day, and very little of my time each hour babysitting, redirecting, disciplining, or managing behavior. I get to spend the majority of my time teaching, coaching, and motivating.

But as you know, it does not happen all at once, or by magic. The heavy lifting (pun intended) of the class is front-loaded. I spend a great deal of time in the first 6-8 weeks on every small detail including…

• Introducing the Core Lifts and teaching correct technique
• Introducing the Supplemental and Changeup Lifts
• Introducing and managing the Workout Card
• Setting clear expectations
• Teaching correct spotting techniques and safety
• Making sure everyone is engaged
• Teaching muscular-skeletal system basics
• Care and use of the equipment

After that first couple of months, it just becomes reinforcing the good stuff… fine-tuning a few things each day by constant assessment of where they are with their technique, knowledge and strength level.

At this point of the year, the class is a well-oiled machine.

It is just like the football program that makes reeling off winning seasons, conference championships, and playoff appearances look easy.

It is not easy… it is not ever easy… It is a result of hours, months and years of hard work… concentrating on every bit of minutia… every detail in the program.

Being a good teacher is hard work… being a good coach is hard work…

But it is so very worth it.

If you have not had the chance, I hope can read my post from last week, The Case for Middle School Strength and Conditioning. If your District offers this class, kudos… if not, this may persuade you to hop on a soapbox. 

You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1

When this decision was made, there were some skeptics… in the community, in the district, even among peers in our department.

Here are the concerns “They” voiced about the class…

• “They” said that the class wouldn’t “make”… that there would not be enough interest.
• “They” said that middle school students would get bored with this (a full year) class
• “They” said that middle school students did not have the attention span needed for this class on a daily basis
• “They” said that the class would not be safe at the middle school level
• “They” said that middle school students are not physically ready for a strength and conditioning class
• “They” said that middle school students are not mentally ready for a strength and conditioning class.

Well, after nearly a year into teaching this class, all I can say is that apparently “They” do not know these 156 students that I have had in class this year.

In my 30+ years of teaching, this has been one of the best, most rewarding years I have had, and it is a credit to the administrators, students and colleagues in our district and our building. These students have been nothing short of AMAZING… pretty much daily.

Regarding the above mentioned concerns… I spoke to most of these in my original post, Efficacy and Safety – Middle School Strength Training.   Regarding the interest level, attention span, or mental readiness questions, here is what I have found.

This, the first year of the class, we offered six sections… two for 7^th grade and four for 8^th grade… and in order to keep class sizes manageable due to space and equipment limitations, capped each class at 24 students.

We had over 200 7^th graders initially sign up for the class, and 180 8^th graders, which meant that we had to trim about 2/3 off the 7^th grade list and 1/3 off the 8^th grade list.   There was more than enough interest.

I ended up allowing a few more students than the capped number in case any student wanted to drop out after seeing what the class was all about… and ended up with 156 students enrolled in my classes.

Out of the 156 students originally enrolled in the class, only 2 dropped out and opted for a different PE course. I also added several students at semester that wanted to get into the course after seeing what it was all about…. The students did not get bored, they have the attention span, and there is an interest.

The nuts and bolts of the class organization can be found in my various posts on the workout program, but in a nutshell, here is some general information:

• Typically we are in the weight room training Monday and Wednesday and every other Friday.
• Tuesday we are in the classroom doing the Health part of our curriculum,
• Thursday we do speed, agility, or functional strength work either outside (weather permitting) or in an area of the gym
• Every other Friday is “Choice” day where they get to choose an activity along with all the other PE classes.
• We have 4 “Core” lifts that we have taught and comprise the majority of our workout: Bench, Squat, Hang Clean, and Push Press
• Each week we include 3 of the 4 lifts in the cycle and eliminate one lift, rotating the omitted lift each week, thereby having 4 different weekly combinations.
• Each week we normally do a “change up” lift one day… clean from the floor, front squat, hang snatch, clean to push press, etc.
• Every student has a workout card that is individualized and proscribed to them based on their current strength level… a perfect example of differentiated instruction.

I don’t want to get too long winded with this post and stray from the intent… to write about the merits of this class. If you want more information, details of the program can be found on my various posts regarding the workout program.

I also tweet daily with activities and video from the class (@youcandomore1)

My closing thoughts:

• Some will use the “readiness” argument… that student are not physically or mentally ready to take a Strength and Conditioning class in middle school… I argue that it probably is the perfect time to introduce elements of this class
• This class and these students have been nothing short of amazing (and I am usually not prone to hyperbole) … pretty much daily… they have handled everything that has been thrown at them, and are learning how to compete.
• While the majority of the students in the class are athletes, there are some that are not… and they have responded equally well.
• I do believe this class will have positive ramifications in our athletic teams at the high school level. Our students will go to high school with a good understanding of strength training concepts, techniques, and a better understanding of what it means to compete.
• If your district does not offer this class at the middle school level, I would get on the bandwagon and lead the charge… if not it is a missed opportunity.

If you have specific questions about the program or how to implement, please feel free to contact me… I will respond!

You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1