Adarq.org

REA SQUATS :

-Going up was damn explosive , because of all the effort in the transition. So explosive that i could not decelerate at the top so i was jumping a few inches off the ground. Is that bad?

I have the same question, actually.

ankle hops:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9671WVt034

bench:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a85yOjy9FBI

Sprints is true too , i forgot my watch so i didnt know how much i was pushing,  whenever i dont monitor i push more.

+1. Mostly because I take too-short rests.

Nahhhhhhh , its the bad session before sunday's 34'' PR     

Good luck! I would just about crap my pants if I jumped 34" between now and Sunday

Thanks adarq, good advice as usual.

Couple ?s:

• I get that plantar flexion is less than ideal w/r/t the plant, but what do you mean by "staying back a little more"?
• Makes sense about the ankle hops. I'll lose the box. Do you have a preference/recommendation for true stiff-leg hops vs. pogos or even tuck jumps?

Damn, getting to be a lot of journals on here. Today:

Warm up
kind of quick cause I got to the gym before anyone was using the court and I wanted to take advantage

Work
DLRVJ from 3+ steps, not so great. Need more practice on a rim. 3 step approaches were better than run-ups.
low-box ankle hops 2x10
jump squat 2x3x95
squat 5x265 -- felt way better than last time
superset x3 of pullups x5 and pushups x20

Cool down
stretch
foam roll

crazy, why forego high school and go that college though?

To play against competition closer to his level. You can't get better if you're a shark in a garden pond full of goldfish. See: all American soccer "stars" before the current crop of Howard, Altidore, Dempsey, etc. An international-level American player would be wasting his time on a college team or in the MLS (ahem, Donovan, ahem) because he'd be too far superior to everyone else. Same reason someone like John Wall has no business playing in college. What's the point?

Just got my club tournament calendar for the rest of the year:

June 26: One-day round-robin with DC area teams (8 of 'em). Informal, kind of just to see where everyone is at.

July 31-August 1: Full tournament in eastern Maryland. Still pretty informal but some teams from around the mid-Atlantic.

August 28-29: Chesapeake Open. Serious tournament, teams from all over the country. Seattle, Bay Area, Boston, Texas, Chicago, Montana, Atlanta, etc. We will get annihilated by a lot of the teams here but it's a good test.

September ??-?? (probably 18-19): Capitol Sectionals. I will light myself on fire if we don't make it out of our section (top X number of teams advance from Sectionals to Regionals; X varies from year to year). In fact, we should finish second or third in this tournament at worst. Our section was LOADED at the top last year but two of the top teams (including last year's national champs*) aren't gonna be there this year so it's a bit more open.

October ??-?? (probably 9-10): Mid-Atlantic Regionals. Goal is to place well (top 5), or, if we get decimated by injuries like last year, say fuck it, drink a lot and heckle teams we don't like. We're not good enough to make Nationals but that's not the point of the team, so no big deal. And if we catch fire and somehow beat teams that are built to easily handle fun-oriented teams like mine, well, we'll need new shorts and plane tickets.

Basically, one tournament a month between now and October. That's pretty good, not as many as I was expecting which means more useful training time. Tournaments are draining and always require at least a couple of days of pure recovery.

*Highlights of my season last year were two sick plays I made in our quick defeat to these guys at Sectionals. I'm an okay player and make good plays from time to time. But it feels so much better to do it against the best competition, even if you're getting blown out in the game.