The shoulder consists of three bones including the scapula, more commonly called the shoulder blade.  As a ball-and-socket joint, the shoulder has the greatest range of motion of any joint in the body.  However, with this range of motion, the shoulder can become very unstable.  By strengthening the muscles and tendons surrounding the scapula we can prevent the scapula from riding up and causing tendonitis, rotator cuff injuries as well as elbow pain.  This is especially important in tennis as all strokes originate from the ground and transfer energy up through the body and out the hand (and racquet) in a process known as the kinetic chain.   In addition to causing injuries, an unstable scapula will also cause energy to be lost as the kinetic chain passes through the shoulder and out to the arm, thus weakening shots.

One of the exercises Athletes Edge uses to stabilize the scapula is the scapular retraction push-up.  Start in a push-up position and keeping your arms straight, lower your body a few inches down, allowing your shoulder blades (scapula) to pinch together.  Pause and then roll the shoulders back up to the starting position.  Repeat for 15 reps.  This is a very small movement but is very effective at stabilizing the scapula.

For more information on this exercise and the complete Athletes Edge Tennis Performance Training Program, please contact us at 954.406.0716.  You can also find us at www.AthletesEdgeTraining.com/tennis and follow us on Twitter @AthletesEdgeTen

When we train our tennis players at Athletes Edge we have a complete matrix of hip exercises utilizing stretch bands to improve hip strength.  The bands come in varying strengths and can be stretched around the ankles, the knees or both, depending on the player.

One of these exercises is to assume a good athletic position with the feet slightly more than shoulder width apart.  Proper posture is very important with the head and chest up, the back straight and the knees bent.  Begin by moving to the right 6 inches at a time with each foot.  Be aware of not letting the trail foot snap back too close to the lead foot; resisting the negative move is important.  Continue 15-20 feet and then move back to the left with the same small steps.  Keep your shoulders and your hips level; don’t rock side-to-side as you move.  Looking in a mirror as you move will help you achieve this.  Also, keep your head still and level, too.  Imagine you have a pencil in your mouth and you’re trying to draw a straight line on the wall as you move.  Repeat this exercise 2-3 times.

The next exercise in the sequence will also involve a slight hip opening like the one you make as you move out to a shot.  Start from the same athletic position as in the first exercise.  As you lift your right foot to move out to the right, turn your foot and knee out so they point in the direction of movement.  As you move your left foot closer to complete the motion, pivot on your right foot so it is turned forward again and you are back in the starting athletic position.  Continue this movement 15-20 feet and then return to the left.  Repeat this exercise 2-3 times.

For more information on these exercises and the complete Athletes Edge Tennis Performance Training Program, please contact us at 954.406.0716.  You can also find us at www.AthletesEdgeTraining.com/tennis and follow us on Twitter @AthletesEdgeTen

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Over the past 5 years, the Athletes Edge has trained over 5,000 youth and high school athletes and over 150 professional athletes, including #5 overall pick Pat Peterson of the Arizona Cardinals, #8 overall pick Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons, #11 overall pick Deck McGuire of the Toronto Blue Jays and former UFC World Champion Rashad Evans.

For more information, please visit www.AthletesEdgeTraining.com

By Alexis Brudnicki via Canedian Baseball Network

DUNEDIN, Fla. — First stop, spring training. Dunedin.

Second? Lansing, Mich., for a 140-game season in the class-A Midwest League in the Blue Jays system, plus three games in the first round of playoffs, two games in the second and another three in the championship round.

Next up, a three-game exhibition series in Cary, N.C. That will be followed by a trip to Panama for the World Cup and a trip to Mexico for the Pan Am Games.

This is the year that Marcus Knecht (North York, Ont.) and Michael Crouse (Port Moody, BC) have been having. And what, may you ask, did they decide to do in the little bit of down time they had between the end of their season in Lansing and the beginning of their first stint with the senior national team?

They headed back to Dunedin to get in some workout time and play some more ball.

“This is kind of recharging,” Crouse said after a morning workout at the Bobby Mattick training centre. “We started working out again and to us, this is recharging. Starting to work out and starting to get back into the routine.”

While neither outfielder appears to be showing blatant signs of wear or tear, the long season was a huge change for Knecht. He left the world of college baseball to embrace the confines of pro baseball, and embrace it he did. For the Lugnuts this season he batted .273/.377/.474 with 16 home runs and 86 RBIs.

“It was good,” Knecht said of his season. “At times it was a struggle. But all in all, looking back on it, it was a great season.”

Though the Lugnuts lost three straight games in the championship series, the two Canadians made their mark in the post-season. Knecht helped knock out the league favourites Dayton Dragons in the first round with an RBI-double and a solo home run in a 4-3 Game 3 victory. He also scored eight runs in their eight playoff games.

Crouse, who batted .261/.352/.475 with 14 home runs and 38 stolen bases over the regular season, drew a one-out bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth to take the second straight game against Fort Wayne, sending his team to the championship.

“This summer was great,” Crouse said. “I learned a lot from the coaches and through the players and just hope to repeat that next year. I hope to learn from that and then outdo that summer. That’s basically what we’re trying to do every year.”

The two young Canucks won’t have to wait until next year for more learning opportunities however. They’ll join Team Canada for the first time as a part of the senior team on Monday when they head to Cary to play three exhibition games against Team USA.

Having met in 2007 at the Canadian Junior National Team tryouts and playing together for the junior team, Knecht and Crouse are familiar with the feeling of representing their country. But the experience isn’t one that could become old hat.

“It’s exciting,” Knecht said of playing for the senior national team. “Every game counts.”

Crouse shared his teammate’s sentiment.

“Every game is meaningful,” he said. “You only probably have a 10-game schedule to get to the championship. It’s like how we were in the playoffs for Lansing. Every game counts. It’s just intensified.”

Intensified would be a good descriptor of the daily lives of these young men. The ambition, drive and dedication it takes to get through the season and just keep working toward the next one isn’t exactly commonplace among their demographic. At the ages of 21 and 20, respectively, Knecht and Crouse are living a life that not many can imagine and for them, it couldn’t be better.

“It’s awesome,” Crouse said. “I mean, how many people want to travel the world and see new things but don’t actually get the chance to do it? And through baseball, we get the chance to go to Panama, to go to Mexico, and to not only see the world but play ball and experience their culture.”

Panama City, Panama plays host to 16 countries for the 2011 IBAF World Cup, starting Oct. 2. Team Canada’s preliminary round competition consists of Puerto Rico, Japan, Greece, Chinese Taipei, Netherlands and the USA. From there, the top four teams from each pool will head to the second round, with medal matches happening on Oct. 15.

After that, Team Canada will head to Guadalajara/Lagos de Mareno, Mex. for the Pan Am Games, which take place Oct. 19-26. The Games welcome eight countries, with four teams advancing to the semi-finals.

Knecht and Crouse have been traveling this year-long journey together the whole way through. They literally road-tripped down to Dunedin from Lansing together, along with two of their other teammates. And if they can survive 20 hours straight in a car with each other after a six-hour drive back from Quad Cities following a loss, they can probably get through anything.

Beyond the jokes about fighting with one another and getting sick of each other all the time, the two stress that they have more in common than just a love for the game.

“I feel like we’re the same type of player as in what we want and what our goals are,” Crouse said, with Knecht nodding in agreement. “We compete off of each other every single day and overall, it makes us better for what we want to become.”

Despite having already spent several months together on the field and off, Knecht doesn’t mind having Crouse with him in the next phase of their season.

“We’re living together now,” Knecht said. “And we’ll probably room together with Team Canada. It’s good to play with people you know on a team where you don’t know a lot of people.”

They’ll meet the rest of their teammates on Monday, some of whom they’ve faced this year in competition and some they’ve never met. While the main goal for Knecht and Crouse is an obvious one, it will also be common ground for them with the rest of the national team.

“We want to win,” Knecht said. “It’s going to be a good experience. I want to see the pitching, see how the older players play the game and kind of feed off of that and learn from that. But above all, I want to win.”

Added Crouse: “Yeah, just go there and get that gold medal. I’ll stay with my approach that I’ve had all year and compete and go out there and continue to learn.”

Contact us for a FREE Youth performance training session !!

If you are a pitcher and want to improve your velocity you must focus on 3 areas in the weight room, hips, core and the posterior shoulder. In fact, most elbow injuries can be traced back to a weakness in all three of these areas. Elite pitchers use their hips to drive off the mound, the rotational power of their core to accelerate their arm and the posterior shoulder and upper back to decelerate their arm. A weakness in any of these areas will lead to decreased performance and a potential shoulder or elbow injury.

To strengthen our pitchers hips we use Lateral Split Squat Jumps with Rotation, this is not only a great motion to strength hips but it also simulates driving off the mound. With this motion, we load and progress the actual drive phase of a pitchers delivery. For core we use an array of rotational band presses. This allows our pitchers to train rotational power and pressing simultaneously without compromising the integrity of the shoulder capsule. Our most popular posterior shoulder movement is a dumbbell row with external rotation. This strengthens the posterior shoulder and also helps the rotator cuff work in conjunction with some of the bigger muscles of the upper back.

The Athletes Edge is a Sports Performance Training company located on the FAU campus in Boca Raton, Fl. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.