Beineke Semi Pro Football Conditioning Program Update:

Last week we had a small session due to the holiday weekend and a possible conflict with the Pats game on Monday night (although I still got home in time for it). The guys who did show got a great workout designed by Rob Tanguay from CATZ sports. After our dynamic stretch/warm up we worked on some top end speed mechanics and sprinting. We did sprint build ups and then some specific work on arm swing efficiency. Next the guys got a chance to use the quick step ladder, Rob introduced us to some new drills I have not seen before to work foot speed, acceleration, power, and even upper body strength and hand quickness. We finished the workout off with resisted sprints dragging 45 pound plates; we did them both forwards and backwards. The workout concluded with a static stretch.

Effort Award:

This week's effort award goes to Rick Mackenzie, FB from the Seacoast Hawks. At 250 pounds Rick has a lot of beef to haul around, but he pushes himself to the max and was keeping up with the smaller guys the whole session. Nice job, Rick.

Prorgram Requests:

Some of the guys were asking about overspeed training at the end of Monday's session. This should generally be done when players are already in top shape (which excludes most of our guys), however, it would be good to have the guys do some of these techniques so they have this knowledge for future training. My favorite overspeed technique (and probably the most simple to do) is just holding some 2 pound hand weights (like bean bags with lead shot in them) for the first 20 yards of the sprint and then dropping them for the overspeed burst for the remainder of the sprint. The CATZ sports staff will put together something along these lines.

New Players for the Conditioning Program:

There are still 5 sessions left in this offseason's conditioning program at Acton Indoor Sports. Players can still join in at the $15 a session rate. The next session will be on Monday 1/2/06, the warm up will start at 7pm.
Please only contact me if you are serious about coming to the workouts or have legitmate questions about it . . . . I get between 5-10 calls/emails per week from guys saying they are coming to the conditioning program and then they never show up. The program is for real, the coaching is for real, and you should be too if you say you are going to train with us. I can be reached at aaronbeineke@hotmail.com or 978-761-3860.

Weekly Training Article: Tips for Improving your 40 Yard Dash

One of the key factors in determining how far your football career will go and what level you can play at is you time in the 40 yard dash. Yes, it is true that the 40 is not always indicitive of how a player will perform on the field, but it still remains as football's number 1 measuring stick for athletisism. A lot of players believe that running the 40 is just running as fast as you can. However, there is actually technique to running the 40. The start, which much of this article focuses on, is probably the most technical aspect of the 40, and for most is the place where the most improvement can be seen.
I will add a few notes to what the article has to say. One area of improvement that most players need in running the 40 is arm swing. The arm swing should be tight, a big arm swing will slow you down. The turnover of the legs will mimic what the arms are doing, so if you want fast leg turnover you need fast arm turnover. The arms should fixed at a 90 degree angle and the focus should be on driving the elbows back on each turnover.
One other note that I will add, you should be relaxed in your form. Too much straining tends to cause the player to tighten up and run slower (reduced stride length). This can often be seen in the face of the runner, if the face is strained then the form too tight. If you watch film of top sprinters, you will see that the muscles in their face are loose as they run. I good rule of thumb is to focus on keeping your jaw loose (not clenched) as you sprint.

The full article is in the training Forum at http://newenglandfootballleague.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=10 , enjoy!!

_________________
-Aaron Beineke, Defensive Coordinator/DL Coach
aaronbeineke@hotmail.com
"Hardest Working Coach in Semi Pro Football"