Team Dynamics

Let me start by saying that the following thoughts are only my opinions and observations after being involved in teams of varying types from the time that I could walk. While I won't go so far as to say that this is the recipe for developing a team, I must admit that it has served me well on many occasions. There are many different aspects to having a team that can consistently function at the top of it's game for an extended period of time, despite the many pitfalls that will inevitably befall the team and the changes that it must endure. The first thing that must be in place to make an effective team is good leadership. This does not mean, however, that you have to have an amazing coach or captain, but rather a good core of people who are dedicated to excelling in all circumstances and growing forward into an amazing team. The real question here is how do you identify the people (especially but not limited to the newest talent) who want to excel and foster there desire improve most effectively? Personally, I have always seen it break down into essentially three categories: The Players that are ready, the on the fence players, and the social player.

The People Who Are Ready: This is the group that is relatively easy to identify. These are the players that come early and stay late to any activity that involves the team. They run hard, they hit hard and they play hard. In the best scenarios they ask good questions and try to implement any good teaching they can almost immediately. The good news is that these players are going to be good no matter what anyone does or says. The bad news is that they can be difficult to deal with at times because the drive and the ego that makes them who they are also slows them down from being able to listen objectively and grasp team concepts immediately. The best way that I have seen to deal with this type of player (though there is no wrong way if it is the right player) is to let them play with as little criticism as possible until they are able to understand the shortcomings in their game. This usually doesn't take long but being patient in the process can be a bitch. Don't be afraid to call their ego into check during this process but I would strongly encourage that it be done privately. The majority of your time as a team should go toward these types of players as they will be the quickest to respond.

The "On The Fence" Player: This is the player that is still figuring things out and is probably the most difficult to identify as they often mask themselves as one of the other two categories. These players can be sporadic, sometimes very accountable sometimes nowhere to be found. These players will typically ask for a lot of coaching, sometimes what seem to be good questions, but they will be slow to implement any tips if they do at all. The best way to deal with players like this is to include them in everything and answer what questions that they bring you, but limit the time that you actually spend coaching them. Seems a bit harsh? These players are in the process of making up their minds and the last thing they need from you as a team leader is to help them stay undecided. Give good advice and plenty of space for them to grow but spend your time with the ones who are ready to go. For the record, this is the group where many times you will find your best players but also where your heart will get broken.

The Social Player: This is the group of players that just want to belong. Usually it has nothing to do with their talent or abilities (many times the social players are the most athletically gifted) but for whatever reason, these players are not interested in dominating yet. This is not where you want to spend your time coaching and it is certainly not where you want to spend your frustration with lack of development. The best way to deal with these players (the ones who just wanted to be derby girls because it looked cool on a movie) is to let them belong and focus your efforts on the people who are ready to go now. There is nothing wrong with being a social player and they should not be ridiculed for it, but they should also not be allowed to create drama for the rest or monopolize the time that should be dedicated to improvement.

Again, the most difficult part of all of this is actually making the distinction on who is what player. Good luck with that one because people will always surprise you, but with a little practice and some good instincts you can use these tips effectively. Now back to the off-season workouts!

5 min warm up
Stretch
2x 20 push ups
2x 20 overhead presses
2x 20 seated rows
2x 20 back squats
4x 30 sec planks
2x 20 floor bridges
5 min cool down
Stretch

Give Me A Beat

I have hit a bit of a rut as far as music that gets me through a workout and I am in desperate need of some help from you. What can you do? Please make some recommendations and help find a groove that can carry us all through the cold days ahead. Other than that, have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow and we'll be back on Friday!

Enjoy!

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 12 burpee push ups
3x 12 step up to overhead press
3x 12 back flys
3x 25 meter lunges
4x 30 sec planks
4x 5 sec superman
2x 25 neg crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

Mediocrity

This one is going to read like a bullet so I figured that I'd warn you up front. I received a text the other day from a close friend of mine telling me that they had just been honored at a large function for being the "most valuable to the team". While this came as no surprise to me at all, I was shocked at my friends response. "I still have so much to learn. I am not even close to being as good as I could be. I have work to do..." My favorite part of this is the fact that it was all real. My friend wouldn't bother with false humility or any other manner of bull shit. This is what makes people of this nature who they are. Now as much as I love to brag about being friends with awesome people, today I am a little more concerned with those of us that should be awesome but are not meeting our potential. I remember when I played my last game, when I realized I was done with athletics as a career, and how much that hurt to leave the field. I also remember, being the arrogant bastard that I am, thinking that my team would probably not play nearly as well without me and the sport of soccer may come to a screeching halt with my absence. Neither of these came to be true whatsoever. I remember being a little depressed at the lack of anyone giving a damn that I was gone when an old coach called me up and met me for a cup of coffee. "Your problem is that you believe that you are something special" he told me. I was looking at him wondering why he had called me knowing that I was a little down already and decided to go with this line of conversation. " The truth is that you were not. You were an average player, one that at times brought more than was necessary to the team and at other times only did your part. Some people believe that when they leave something whatever it may be comes to an end but the truth is that is a childish way to look at the world much as believing that the world disappears when you close your eyes is." At the time I didn't understand and for that matter wasn't really interested in hearing anymore, but like every good coach I know, that didn't stop him in the least. "The truth is life moves on. Even the best players in the world are only missed. If you quit your job the company doesn't go under and if you have a bad day it doesn't mean that I will smile any less. You have two options with what you can do with this information. You can ignore it and go on pissing your life away or you can stop acting like mediocre idiot and do something that will be worth paying attention to. Remember, you were born as an individual, not as someone special. What makes you special is what you do with your life so go fucking do something!"he said and he walked away. Conversations like that have a tendency to stick with a person and that one certainly did for me. I can't tell you that every day since then I have been the most amazing human being to breath oxygen but I have had those words in the back of my mind and they do still influence the decisions I make. Today you get to choose whether or not you will work out and improve yourself. I would recommend it strongly as I am always in the market for more friends that are pushing the envelope and showing just how awesome they can be,

J


5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 12 chest press on stab ball
3x 12 front raises
3x 12 step up with db
3x 12 inverted rows
2x 25 side swishies
4x 30 sec planks
2x 10 plank crunches on stab ball
2x 25 reg crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

Off

With the tournament season officially over and one of the smallest off seasons known to sport, now is a great time to take a little break from roller derby. Like that actually makes any fucking sense given the audience I am writing to. Rather than carry on about how the body needs time away to rest (and I do mean completely rest), I think I'll save my energy. After all, this sport and it's competitors are rabid and there is nothing you can do for rabies but to let it take it's foaming at the mouth, out for blood course. This is, of course, why I love you all and I am sure that many of you are back to wortking on next season (that is if you took a break at all). The toughest part of the off season, even when you love what you do, is that with a lack of organized practice and training structure it is easy to fall into bad habits. My personal favorite was always copious amounts of alcohol but I never waited for an off season to begin that. Holidays are coming up, weather is turning less desirable, and most of your teams are taking a short breather. Solution? Get in the best shape of your life and stay hell bent on maintaining it. Or relax and heal for a week or two. It's really up to you as i won't be disappointed with either choice.

J



5 min. warmup
Stretch
2x 100 meters skipping for distance
2x 25 meters karaoke step(each side)
2x 25 squat jumps
2x 25 squat thrusts (burpees)
3x 10 push ups
3x 10 inverted rows
2x 25 lunge to overhead presses (each leg)
4x 30 sec. planks
4x 30 sec V sits(seated pike pos.)
2x 25 straight leg crunches
2x 25 side swishies
5 min. cool down
Stretch

Push Through

"Pain heals, chicks dig scars, glory lasts forever". Not so eloquently put but more true than you can believe. I am going to keep it simple today. Sometimes things are fun. Sometimes they are not. Sometimes they feel like hell. Winston Churchill said "If you are going through hell, keep going." The point? Good, bad, or otherwise, getting to the next stage and remembering to grow in the process is what is really going to matter in the end. If the road is easy (which I doubt) or if the road is hard, push your way through it by whatever means necessary and if you have to look the devil in the eye in the process, don't forget to give him a smile!

Enjoy!

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
2x 100 meter sprints
2x 200 meter sprints
2x 400 meter sprints
2x 50 meters skipping for distance
2x 25 meters skipping for height
10 min moderate cardio
4x 60 sec planks
5 min cool down
Stretch

Frustration

With a national champion soon to be crowned I will no doubt seem like a buzzkill of epic proportion but to hell with perception. The simple fact of the matter is that every team in the world save one will be frustrated in their pursuit of a national title. Some of you are already experiencing this. Each day it is part of my job to help people overcome their frustrations, whether they be physical, professional, mental, emotional, relational, or occasionally athletic (not really what you thought a personal trainer was there for is it?). I deal with people who have been injured and people who have been hurt (experienced some pain or discomfort that they were not prepared for and are struggling to overcome) but in the end, without fail they are all frustrated. Here is my particular dilemma today. I am frustrated, and as you can imagine, it has a tendency to seriously diminish my effectiveness in helping others when I am not sure I give a damn myself. Literally, I am going to attempt to reason this whole mess out with you right here with me. First of all, what are the sources of frustration? A belief that we are never to fail? That anything short of perfection is not good enough? That we should be able to control everything that happens to us or for that matter that we do? Who told us these lies in the first place? I mean none of these questions make any rational sense when they are written before us but we still hold to these and many other nonsensical ideas as we crucify ourselves again and again. So how do I get past these feelings of frustration. First off, maybe take it a little easy on yourself. I am harder on myself than anyone else could ever be in the world (and for the record a tongue like a razor will still slice through a brain even when it doesn't use a voice). Forgive yourself and try to keep a rational frame of mind. Rome wasn't built in a day and for that matter it took more than a day for it to burn so you probably can give yourself a little leeway. After that, go back to the lab, the drawing board, the locker room, or wherever else you go to make plans and draw up some revised fucking plans. Take into consideration incremental growth and stop believing that you have to be a phenom all of the time. Possibly most importantly, take the time to let a little healing take place before you go tearing away all of the new flesh that is trying to grow in your wound (literally and figuratively). Alright, I'm feeling much better actually. maybe you got something out of that, maybe not. Now I'm in the mood for scalping some pounds off some people and whatever baggage comes with....

Enjoy!

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
5x 5 burpee push ups
5x 15 meters of lunges
5x 5 squat to over head press
5x 5 inverted rows
5x 5 50 yard sprints
5x 5 10 yard sprints
5x 5 frog hops for height
2x 25 negative crunches
2x 25 side swishies
2x 10 supermans
5 min cool down
Stretch

Under The Covers

I am no morning person. I'd prefer to sleep late and stay up all night but life doesn't always bend to our wishes. Instead, I stay up all night and still get up before the sun. Sleep is a premium that I cannot afford because there are too many other things in life that I'd rather be doing. For the record I don't recommend this as a healthy approach as your body definitely needs it's share of rest, but we all have those few things that keep us from being perfect (or a laundry list). The only way that I am able to function most mornings is with a fair share of coffee and music that will move me into the tempo of the day. Today, most of those songs appear to be covers and while not necessarily better than the originals, they certainly bring a different flavor to the mix. Here is a quick playlist for you. Let me know if I miss anything.

J

1. Nothing Compares To You- The Stereophonics
2. Mrs. Robinson- The Lemonheads
3. Regret- The Get Up Kids
4. Stand By Your Man- Me First And The Gimme Gimme's
5. Hungry Eyes- New Found Glory
6. Radiation Vibe- Hem
7. Mad World- Gary Jules
8. To Love Somebody- Damien Rice and Ray LaMontagne
9. Sweet Dreams- Marilyn Manson
10. Crimson & Clover- Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
11. Leaving On A Jet Plane- Slightly Stoopid
12. Pony- Far
13. Lover, Lover -Jerrod Niemann


5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 5 pushups with rotation (each side)
3x 10 step up to single arm overhead press (each side)
3x 10 inverted rows
3x 10 tuck jumps
4x 60 sec. planks
3x 10 floor bridges
5 min cool down
Stretch

Some Like It Hot

I found myself caught in the middle of a rainstorm with falling temperatures on a bike today. The cold spray off of the back tire was more than a bit brisk as it completely soaked my back and I was squinting through the nasty drizzle as I pushed my legs to move as fast as possible. At some point the cold water mixed with sweat and just began to freeze me to the bone. With four miles left on a ride that seemed right out of hell, I found myself laughing uncontrollably. At first I was sure I had gone mad, as was the traffic that I was weaving in and out of like a man possessed, but then it all snapped into perfect clarity. I openly hate the cold with a passion. What I love is when a fight turns nasty and today, on the back of a goddamn ten speed, the fight turned nasty. Some of us, as if by some reincarnation of spartan code, just love the battle for the battles sake. We like the odds against us, we are the underdogs and we seek nothing more than to strive for the top. This touches on the very essence of what roller derby is all about. Not to be rude but the whole sport is a counterculture, a place for the people who play because they either cannot or refuse to play by anyone else's rules. This is the nastiest fight that we can encounter, the one for our own individuality and the roller girls I know have their straight razors sharpened and are in the mood for slitting some throats. Why do we do this? It is my personal belief that it is better in the fire than it is in the pan and we like it hot. So here's to jumping in with both feet!

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 8 burpee push ups
3x 8 inverted rows
3x 8 squat to overhead presses
3x 25 meters of lunges
4x 30 sec ball planks
2x 25 jackknifes
2x 25 neg. crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

Cutting The Strings

Today I am going to change things up a bit and deals in vague specifics. What the fuck does that mean? Watch this. One of the most difficult parts of joining a team is finding your place on it. For some people this is easier than others due to their brilliant personalities or super human athletic ability. Then there is the rest of us, the blue collar grunts of a team that have to work for every inch of progress we make and even then make it look like it may have happened by accident. This is the type of player that is probably most likely to see great results given the time to bust their asses long enough to earn them. The trouble is that inside of a team chemistry there is often little room for perceived error and, lets face it, teammates can be hell to deal with. I remember being hazed into teams fondly now but at the time it was miserable. I also remember putting new players through more than their share, not as retribution so much as out of desire to have only the strongest stand at my side when the whistle blew. I will make two points here. First, if you are playing for a team that does not force you to earn there respect (within reason), then you may want to find a different one. winning never came by welcoming someone so warmly into a team for effort they didn't put forth. Secondly, make sure you have an idea of what kind of player you want to be and go be it. You may have people that you want to emulate or mentors even who will take you under their wing, but at some point you have to develop as a player on your own. Specifically if you have a mentor who is bringing you along, you have to cut the strings and stand on your own or you will tangle up an entire team. In short, don't be afraid to put your own twist on the game, especially for the new players to the game!

Enjoy!

J


5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 8 dive bomb push ups
25 meters skipping for height
25 meters skipping for distance
3x 8 step up to overhead press
3x 8 inverted rows
3x 8 jump squats
25 min moderate to fast paced run
4x 30 sec planks
2x 25 side swishies
2x 25 neg crunches
5 min cooldown
Stretch

Halloween

Last night I could not really tell the difference between it being Halloween and a roller derby after party other than to say that last night was not nearly as fun. This morning November is here and Nationals are right around the corner. That also means that a new season begins in a 12 weeks or so, so it would be a good time for us to get back to pushing ourselves into the best shape of our lives. For today, we will be mixing a little strength training with a little endurance and voila, we are on our way!

Enjoy,

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 8 dive bomb push ups
25 meters skipping for height
25 meters skipping for distance
3x 8 step up to overhead press
3x 8 inverted rows
25 min moderate to fast paced run
4x 30 sec planks
5 min cooldown
Stretch