Have you ever noticed there are certain topics that are debated endlessly when it comes to
optimal training for athletes?
Boy, Jennifer, …. Do we ever miss the point with all these debates!
We argue about strength.
Disagree about speed.
Discuss flexibility.
Get confused about assessments.
But we are missing the most important, critical factor.
Sure, we debate this topic as well.
And believe it or not, this issue is even MORE full of myths, lies
and deceit than any of the one’s I mentioned above.
Optimal Nutrition.
And yes…. We get it wrong most of the time.
My good friends and elite …

I can hear it how, “Taft doesn’t have a clue!”
If you don’t understand the enormity of my message in probably “the most important blog” I have ever posted, then you are not paying attention to the health of our youth. I don’t doubt the importance of health care and the mission of the government, but their attention should be directed toward improving the health and wellness of our youth. If we ignore our children’s health, then the health care issue doesn’t mean a thing. The attention will have to turn …

I have to admit, I do not do a good of a job with teaching my athletes to cool down. Basically, it comes down to time. In my training classes by the time I am finished with strength or conditioning it is time for the next class to start. I normally have the athletes do a quick functional flexibility routine before they head home.
Personally, when I finish my workouts I like to perform mobility and stretching excerises that re-aligns me. If I my workout focused on a lot of pushing …

Check out this video I taped this morning. My good friends at the IYCA and I laugh some times at how often we are misunderstood when it comes to our philosophies on deceleration. We agree on each others methods. We just attack it from different directions. Take a listen to me rambling about this topic. I love your questions about this topic and hope they keep coming.

P.S. -  If you have not registered yet for the IYCA 2010 Summit, then jump on it now. It is going to be fantastic …

Yesterday I had a great interview with one of  my long time friends in the industry, Brian Grasso. He and I have always agreed on how young athletes should be trained. It basically boils down to making sure they have fun while they are learning.
During the interview, Brian and I talked about how play is an important part of natural development in young athletes. Brian even spoke about how one of the Olympic figure skating champions he trained, Kurt Browning, use to play around during training sessions and challenge himself …

As many of you know, I have talked about creating a certification for many years. The reason I held off was the fact I did not want to just have another certification floating out there. I wanted it to have strong backing and I wanted it to have credibility. Well, a few nights ago the first step in getting, what many consider the best speed and agility certification of all time, was launched.
You have received my emails letting this past week explaining how you can be one of the first …