It's coming!!! St. X will be highlighted throughout the season on the site www.highschoolplaybook.com every Wednesday starting this week. They will be All-Access Bombers style. They have covered our strength and conditioning sessions, practice and behind closed-door meetings throughout the summer. It should be interesting to see what kind of coverage they will be allowed to post on their site. They will cover us throughout the season. Hope you enjoy it.
Listening to music while you exercise increases brainpower, say researchers at Ohio State University. People did twice as well on cognitive tests after exercising with a soundtrack than after sweating in silence. Exercise fights off decay in the area of the brain responsible for “executive function” tasks, such as reasoning and sequencing. Music may “enhance organization of cognitive material, which is also an executive-function task,” says lead author Charles Emery, Ph.D.
You already know your body has to burn calories to process and store food. But now researchers at the University of Nevada have found that lifting weights before you eat increases the thermic effect on food. And increasing your thermic effect can aid in weight loss. When the researchers studied the impact of completing a 30-minute workout before a high-carbohydrate meal, they found that it increased the calorie-burning effect by 73 percent. Here’s why: Working out lowers glycogen levels, which trigger your body to process more of your post-workout meal into new glycogen.
Most lifters vary their workouts after a month because they know muscles adapt to stress. But two recent studies at Arizona State University show that when and how you vary your workouts is what determines whether you improve strength or endurance. In the first study, men who changed to fewer repetitions using more weight at every workout gained 50 percent more strength than those who made the same changes to their workout routine every 4 weeks. In the second study, men who increased repetitions while decreasing weight once a month, improved endurance. Improving endurance requires a gradual increase in volume, while strength responds to frequent changes.
Here is a 2007 interview from our good friends at Athletic Strength and Power with University of Florida Director of Strength and Conditioning Mickey Marotti.
Coach Marotti has been a mentor of mine since I first started in the field over 12 years ago. He was the guy that allowed me to come into his weightroom as a freshman in college at the University of Cincinnati and teach me the ropes of strength and conditioning at the college level, how to motivate and get the most of your players.
He has been part of great programs such as Ohio State, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and now the University of Florida.
Hope you enjoy the interview. If you want to check out some more podcasts, visit http://www.athleticstrengthandpower.com/
http://www.athleticstrengthandpower.com/2007/01/podcast_intervi.html
Optimal recovery means all body systems have returned to the state they were before exercise. The formula we promote is this: Work + Rest = Success. Recovery is a limiting factor. The better an athlete can recover, the sooner and better he can train. The process of recovery (regeneration) gets less attention than it should. Every athlete should have a systematic plan that includes recovery activities on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. The Gatorade Sports Science Exchange Roundtable offers recovery tips, which are laid out below. STRETCHOverly aggressive stretching before exercise puts you at risk for damaging the very tissue you are trying to protect. Stretching after exercise will minimize muscle soreness and may even help prevent future soft tissue injuries. Before activity, more active type-stretching routines are recommended. After exercise, the emphasis should be on passive or static stretching.CARBOHYDRATESThe muscles are primed for quick restoration of their carbohydrate fuel reserves (glycogen) immediately after exercise, so don’t wait to long to start eating foods and drinking beverages rich in carbohydrate. Pretzels, fruits, energy bars, and sports drinks all contain large amounts of carbohydrate.PROTEINSome proteins are broken down during recovery after exercise. For a faster buildup of muscle proteins during recovery, include a small amount of protein in the foods you eat. Milk, cheese, eggs, nutrition shakes, sandwiches, and energy bars provide carbohydrate and protein. Look for easily digestible protein sources following strenuous exercise.FLUIDS Replacing lost fluid is crucial. Top off your supply of fluids by drinking before exercise, continue to hydrate every 15 or 20 minutes during a workout, and replace any body weight lost during exercise by drinking while you recover.SLEEPThere is plenty of evidence to show that a lack of sleep can have an adverse affect on training and competition. You might get by for a day or two with inadequate sleep, but it will catch up with you sooner or later. It’s not eight hours for everyone – could be less, could be more. Then try to establish a routine that will allow you to get what you need to perform well. Understand that sleep is divided into 1.5-hour cycles. If you can time sleep cycles in increments of an hour and a half (1.5 hours, 3.0 hours, 4.5 hours, 6.0 hours, 7.5 hours, 9.0 hours), you have a better chance of waking up refreshed. The idea is to awake at the top of the cycle instead of at the bottom. And don’t dismiss the power of a 20-30 minute nap during the day.
By Steve Helwagen, Editor in Chief
stevehelwagen@bucknuts.com
Posted Jul 7, 2008
It has been quite a four-year run at St. X for head coach Steve Specht. Since taking the Bombers’ head coaching job in 2004, his teams have combined to post a 51-3 record with two 15-0 state championship seasons. This year the Bombers will try to add another title although it won't be easy. Questions and a daunting schedule await.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
DE Pat Muldoon (6-4, 255, Sr.), ILB Luke Kuechly (6-3, 215, Sr.), QB Luke Massa (6-5, 200, Jr.), OL Matt James (6-7, 290, Jr.), RB Connor Earley (5-11, 195, Sr.)
SEASON OUTLOOK
2007 Record: 15-0, State champions
It has been quite a four-year run at St. X for head coach Steve Specht. Since taking the Bombers’ head coaching job in 2004, his teams have combined to post a 51-3 record with two 15-0 state championship seasons.
Specht is a 1986 graduate of St. X, where he was a team captain. He spent eight years as a St. X assistant before replacing longtime coach Steve Rasso in 2004.
Last year, St. X plowed through Greater Catholic League rival Cincinnati Elder (45-14), Centerville (31-6), Cincinnati Colerain (29-14), Dublin Coffman (10-7) and finally Mentor (27-0) in the playoffs to claim the title.
But winning a third title in four years could be difficult. St. X has just two starters back on each side of the ball.
“I don’t think the expectations ever change,” Specht said. “We go into every year with the same focus – we want to win in Week 1. Then, we want to win our league. We know if we win the GCL South we will get into the playoffs.
“We like our kids to be challenged. You never graduate tradition. We had a good senior class last year and we are usually a senior-dominated team.”
The Bombers have won four straight GCL South titles. Specht said the lack of experience does not bother him.
“On our 2005 team, we only brought back four starters on our whole team,” he said. “The year before we were 11-1. We are a senior-dominated team year in and year out. These kids challenge themselves to get better. We think we can win with seniors.”
One key senior is Muldoon, who had scholarship offers from Notre Dame and Ohio State. Muldoon is rated as Ohio’s No. 26 senior prospect, according to Ohio High magazine. He had 10 sacks and 13 tackles-for-loss in 2006 and 12 sacks and 16 tackles-for-loss in 2007.
“He’s explosive,” Specht said. “His first step is as explosive and as quick as anybody I have ever coached at this level. I know the college coaches like him because he is big enough to play inside and quick enough to play outside. He will be able to do a lot of different things depending on what team or college he selects.
“He can do a lot of things and he has a great motor. He’s a 4.0 GPA kid and he plays with high energy. He never stops. He’s just a great kid.”
Muldoon is not the only major college prospect at St. X. Specht noted that Kuechly, a nice sized inside linebacker, has also “been offered by just about everybody. He can really run.”
Another key senior is Earley, who sat behind standout Darius Ashley at tailback.
“He is track fast,” Specht said of Earley. “Unfortunately for him, he was playing behind four seniors last year. One of them is now at Louisville and another is at UC. He has been biding his time. We think he is going to open some eyes this year.”
Massa, a junior, got some spot duty at quarterback last year and threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns against just one interception.
“We think Luke is going to be a great one,” Specht said. “He started our last seven games after our senior starter suffered a broken knee. He has a chance to be a great, great quarterback here before he is done.”
St. X has a handful of receivers who could contribute, including Drew Grombala, Trevor Hoedker and Ian Cummins.
“Those kids are all going to be seniors,” Specht said. “Drew is a little guy at 5-9, 160, but he can run. He played a bunch last year. Those guys have an opportunity to step in and play for us.”
The schedule, as always for St. X, is a meat grinder. The Bombers open against their Cincinnati-area nemesis, Colerain. The teams combine for three of the last four state championships with Colerain’s 2004 title and St. X’s wins in 2005 and 2007.
St. X took two wins over Colerain en route to the state title in 2005. Colerain then reached the state final four with a regional final win in 2006. St. X returned that favor with its regional final win last November.
The teams will again meet on neutral ground at the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium as the featured game in the Crosstown Showdown event on Aug. 22.
“My biggest issue with that game is that we are playing one of the top teams in Region 4 and we will each find out real fast where we are and what we need to work on,” Specht said. “That first game will expose some flaws and I think you make the most improvement from week 1 to week 2. To open with a team of that caliber, it shows you very quickly. I know the kids are excited about it. That’s what high school football is supposed to be about. It should be a great game for our city.”
The next four weeks will feature opponents from four different states as St. X meets Prattville, Ala., (a two-time state champion) in the Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge before hosting Indianapolis Cathedral and Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep and visiting Louisville (Ky.) Trinity. Trinity, led by Ohio State verbal LB Jordan Whiting, won a state title last year.
“Our schedule covers five states,” Specht said. “Because of the (OHSAA playoff points system), we do not get to play a lot of local games. When was the last time a team played teams from five states?”
Of course, the focus of any season for St. X is the Greater Catholic League and the battles with rivals Elder, LaSalle and Moeller. Specht knows each of those tradition-rich schools will be looking to end the Bombers’ run at the top of the GCL South.
“Every year, we want to compete for a shot at the GCL South championship,” he said. “We’ve been fortunate the last few years to win the title. In any given year, any of the four schools can win the title.
“We know Elder, Moeller and LaSalle will be looking to knock us off. We are the reigning GCL champions. But the perspective never changes. We don’t want to rest on our laurels. Our goal is just to prepare every day and work on how we can get better.”
SCHEDULE
Aug. 22 vs. Cincinnati Colerain, 8 p.m. (Crosstown Showdown at University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium)
Aug. 30 vs. Prattville, Ala., 8 p.m. (Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge at Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium)
Sept. 5 Indianapolis Cathedral
Sept. 13 Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep, 2 p.m.
Sept. 19 at Louisville (Ky.) Trinity
Sept. 26 at Cincinnati Elder
Oct. 3 at Cincinnati LaSalle
Oct. 11 at Lakewood St. Edward, 2 p.m.
Oct. 18 Cleveland St. Ignatius, 2 p.m.
Oct. 24 Cincinnati Moeller
This morning I trained the football team at St. Xavier High School in preparation for the August 22nd game against Colerain High School. We have been at it three times a week since the first week of June. Today had to be harder work than Monday, because we are giving them July 4th off.
Here are my observations from the workout.
1. The accumulation of volume over an existing period of time will ultimately increase work capacity.
2. No matter how hard the athletes think they are working, they can always go harder.
3. 2 sets of 20 rep leg press at 600 pounds followed by wall sits is brutal and can only lead to tougher athletes.
4. Throwing up in the weightroom on your way to the water fountain can be humbling.
5. Cleaning up your own puke afterwards sucks bad.
6. You must sweat in peace to avoid bleeding in war.
7. There should never be any children present when the Bombers train.
8. Anyone that is not part of the football program when we are training, stay the *#@! out of the weightroom
9. Only once you become mentally strong, do you become physically strong!
10. There can only be one winner on the 22nd and the beatings will continue until that fateful night in August.
For those of you who have not seen the new SPARQ Magazine, I highly recommend that you take a look at it. The guys at SPARQ have done an outstanding job of putting some great articles together that encompass all levels, and practices of sports training.
Take a look at the link below and hope you enjoy the magazine. Great job to all the SPARQ guys.
www.sparqmagazine.com
