“What you should be doing this off-season to improve your game for basketball and volleyball.”

Play a jumping sport? Focus your training this off-season on NOT  jumping and here’s why! 

  1. Overuse Injuries
    1. Your joints need a break from the repetitive movements required of these sports. 
  2. Burnout and Mental Fatigue
    1. When combining school and travel leagues, the average high school level basketball and volleyball athlete plays more games than those at the collegiate level!
  3. Lack of core strength especially in female youth athletes.
    1. Most youth athletes lack adequate core strength. Core muscles provide stability for the hip, knee, and lower back joints. 
      1. For example, stability is required to prevent knee valgus. The knee valgus motion is the predominant motion in non-contact ACL injuries.

Here is what to do instead…

  1. Get stronger through these three lifts
    1. Front Squat, Power Cleans, and Pull-ups.
      1. These foundational lifts build an athlete’s base strength which will improve your vertical jump.
  2. Work on Injury Prevention (what is injury prevention? Click link here).
    1. Strengthen your core muscles with these exercises to prevent knee valgus
      1. Band Fall Outs
      2. Glute Ham Raise
      3. Single-Leg RDL
  3. Play other sports!
    1. Different sports require different movement patterns and skillsets. Participating in other sports will help mitigate these overuse patterns that develop from doing one activity year-round. 

Coach John & Coach Rory