If you missed it, you can check out that resource
here:

Lee Taft Ground Breaking Athletic Movement

A lot of you made the intelligent choice to grab
a copy of his program.

Good decision

Well, the truth is I probably should have
‘introduced’ you to Lee and some of his thoughts,
opinions and experiences working with athletes
before recommending you go out and buy something.

My bad…

Whenever I talk training with Lee we always get
off the phone and say ‘hey that was great - we
should have recorded that because people would
want to hear it’.

So, we finally did. And I think you will be quite
interested in all the topics we cover.

Click here to listen:

http://tinyurl.com/3zx3vh

I try and stay in the forefront of what is going
on in the strength and conditioning community, but
it is not always easy. I am lucky enough to know
some great coaches and trainers that keep me updated
with the latest information, trends and even predictions
of the future of our industry.

I know you like to stay up-to-date with the latest
fitness info too so I wanted to share with you the
‘gossip’ and give you a little behind the scenes look
from a major conference.
Last March, the leaders from virtually all of the
leading health club chains in the world met at an
exclusive event in Denver, Colorado.

It was called the “Meeting of the Minds”, and over the
two days of the event a dozen of the world’s leading
fitness experts presented on the trends the fitness
industry is currently experiencing.

The 170+ attendees spent 48 hours brainstorming and
plotting to make sure their respective organizations
are ready to capitalize on the current and upcoming
trends our industry is experiencing and will soon face.

My friend, Brian Grasso, founder of the International
Youth Conditioning Association, was one of the handful
of presenters during this industry shaping event.

I was talking to him about the event and Brian gave
me the low-down of this exclusive event. I told him
that I was taking notes on what he was saying so I
could pass it on to you.

Well, Brian let me know that he created a video while
he was in Denver specifically for the fitness
professionals on his list to let them know what he
learned while meeting with leaders of the biggest club
chains in the world and where the industry is headed.

In fact, I just saw the short video that Brian is
calling ‘The State of the Industry’ and I have to
admit that what I saw on this video was actually
quite shocking.

I kindly persuaded him to let you have access to
the video (mainly because it is much easier for
me to have you check out a video instead of me
trying to decipher my notes).
Here is the link to go watch the video:
http://tinyurl.com/3um92e

Ohhhh, there’s one more thing: you don’t need
to enter your email address to see the video
either. But if you want to get on Brian’s list
to keep up-to-date with the future of youth
training and conditioning, you’ll want to enter
your email address anyway… the follow up
information that Brian will be providing is going
to keep you in the loop and give you incite from a
leader in youth development.

I’m going to sign off now so you can check out the
video. I’m sure you’ll find the video as important
and valuable as I did when you watch it.
http://tinyurl.com/3um92e

We also expect athletes not to question our authority
as coaches…simply because we’re the adults in charge.

I think this is dangerous for the same reason it’s
dangerous in society at large.

Now I won’t turn this into a social or political commentary
because some hypersensitive people will write me 25
pages of hate mail.

But I will say this…

If athletes don’t think about what they’re being
told to do, (respectfully) question whether it is
effective or safe, or ask how this will make them better,
then we just create a culture of robots. Of Sheep just
following the herd.

The world has more than enough people blindly follow
whatever the television tells them and who are more than
happy to live in the Matrix.

Let me give you the example that made me write this
article.

I have an athlete who is very smart. He has intelligent
things to say about the world we live in. But when I ask
him what event he wants to compete in or what he wants to
do for practice, he changes. His eyes glaze over and he
mindlessly chants ‘Whatever you want coach’. He can’t
give me an answer because he can’t comprehend the concept
of being allowed to.

And he certainly isn’t the only one.

I find this unacceptable.

I expect athletes to respectfully ask questions. I insist
they do.

If they know that I can answer their questions and have
a reason for everything we do, they buy into what they’re
doing. It leads to greater, more consistent effort. And
therefore better results.

The reason some coaches demand that athletes just shut up
and do what they’re told is simple. They don’t really
have good answers.

Some coaching philosophies are a bit like the 1983 movie
‘War Games’ starring Matthew Broderick. In the end, the
only way not to lose was not to play. In this case, the
only way not to lose is not to ever be asked the
question in the first place.

This is not how to get the most out of young athletes.

I don’t want them to blindly follow me off a bridge like
a herd of lemmings. Nobody truly succeeds under that
model.

I want them to follow me because they choose to, not
because they have to.

And that means I have to know what I’m doing every step
of the way.

And to maximize the potential of all your athletes, so
do you.

How? It starts here:

http://www.CompleteSpeedTraining.com

I asked him a few questions about training your jumpers
that address some issues that are being neglected,
especially at the youth and high school levels.

Now, the truth is this:

My microphone was not working so the audio isn’t
great. You’ll have to turn up your speakers a bit to hear
what Boo has to say.

But you don’t want to miss it because he raises a couple
very interesting points that aren’t often talked about
when discussing program design for improving jump height
and distance.

Click here to watch that video:

Boo Schexnayder Jump Training

But I have to give the Atlanta Hawks players credit.

After two snoozers they’ve almost made this a
series again. But I’ll wait until tonight’s game to make
a judgement on that.

Despite the Celtics being the best defensive basketball
team in the NBA for the entire season, the fast and
explosive Hawks players picked the defense apart Saturday
night.

Why?

Because their speed and explosiveness gives them an
advantage you can’t always counter with X’s and O’s.

Josh Smith, Al Horford and Joe Johnson simply drove
past the Celtics defense and got to the basket at will.

If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times:

Speed is the Difference Maker.

And as any intelligent coach, parent or athlete knows,
speed can be developed. It just takes knowing the proper
techniques and doing the right kind of training.

And you can discover those techniques and skills here:

http://tinyurl.com/68m7mf

To your success,

Latif Thomas

P.S. So while the Celtics fan in me hates to admit it,
when someone is quicker and faster than you, there’s
not much you can do to stop it.

Except make your own athletes quicker and faster.

==> http://tinyurl.com/68m7mf

Here are the questions and the results:

There is a State Level Freshman/Sophomore meet
coming up. There isn’t enough money in the budget
to take everyone, but parents volunteer to drive.
You would:

91.45% said:

Go to the meet with deserving athletes because it
is a great opportunity for up and coming
underclassmen athletes to participate against their
peers in a state meet atmosphere for both competitive
purposes as well as to keep them interested in the
sport.

8.55% said:

Not go to the meet because if the kids are any good
they will get plenty of opportunities to compete in
their regular duel meets, league meet and state
meets. How many meets do underclassmen need to run
in anyway? Plus those meets are just fundraisers
for the State Track Organization.
My second question was:

There is a State Level Invitational coming up.
Qualifying standards are the same as the State Meet
and the vast majority of the best athletes in the
state attend the meet. There isn’t enough money in
the budget to take everyone, but parents volunteer
to drive. You would:

Exactly 96% of you said:

Take qualifying athletes to the meet because they
need to compete in a State Level competition and
atmosphere against the best athletes in the State.
It’s a great opportunity to run personal bests and
these types of meets are what your best athletes
train for in the first place. To skip this
opportunity would be an injustice to your hard
working varsity athletes.

A mere 4% of you said:

Not go to the meet because only some kids will
qualify and it’s a waste to spend an entire day
with a relatively small group of athletes. Besides
if those kids are any good they don’t need to race
against top competition until the League and State
Championships. Running time trials against lesser
competition in duel meets will get them plenty of
experience for Championship Season.

So what do you think? What would you do? Share your
thoughts by posting below.

Now, the discussion I had with my colleagues got me
thinking about different types of coaching philosophies.

So listen to the audio below to hear my take on
the pros and cons of Socialist vs. Capitalist
programs and then weigh in below.

I want to hear if you agree with my logic or if you
think I’m just a crazy commy!

- Latif Thomas

<

By definition, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer,
but I would like to get a consensus of opinions on
this interesting topic.

So please take a minute to participate in this
quick survey  and let me know if you think this is
a Good Idea or Bad Idea for Track and Field Athletes?:

http://tinyurl.com/4gmmze

Click Here to get our New Complete Speed Training Report ebook >>

Learn more about Lee Taft’s Speed Development Coaching Seminar that is going on this May by clicking on the link below:

Lee Taft’s Athletic Speed Seminar

At Athletes Acceleration, we go to countless clinics, workshops and seminars to become better coaches.

Anyway, Latif and I have been to many seminars and often left disappointed. The information was basic, questions went unanswered and the ‘meat’ of the topic was never fully covered.

Now we only go to select conferences where we know we are getting only the best information. We look for conferences lead by an in-the-field coach that has a proven system that works, practical and hands-on information, along with a question and answer section where nothing is held back.

When we find any type of conference that is going to be the ‘real deal’ we will always let you know since we try pass on any great resources that we come across.

So, I wanted to let you know about an upcoming seminar that I know is going to be one of the best sports performances seminars of the year. It’s being put on by Expert Speed Coach Lee Taft.

Lee Taft never holds anything back. Everything he has learned from his over 20 years in the industry will be at your disposal. There is nothing better than learning hands-on from the top coaches in the industry - from people that actually do it every day at an elite level.

I recommend this seminar so highly that I gave Lee a call to see if he could explain his seminar in a little more detail so I could let you know all the info. He agreed and took it one step further.

Instead of just giving me something over the phone or sending me a quick email with some main points, he actually took some time out of his busy schedule (he’s married and has 3 kids along with coaching and running his company) and sat down and shot a video explaining exactly what is going on at his seminar.  Talk about over delivering - already.

Here is the link to that video:
http://www.CompleteSpeedTraining.com/taft.html

If you are looking to become a better coach, no matter how many clients you have or what sport you coach, you need to checkout Lee’s seminar.  You will not only be able to pick Lee’s brain and get his tips, techniques and speed training  methods, you will also learn how to build and grow your own speed training business.

Checkout more information on Lee Taft’s Athletic Speed Seminar by clicking on the link below:

http://www.CompleteSpeedTraining.com/taft.html

Have a great weekend!

Yours in speed,

Patrick Beith
Athletes Acceleration Inc.

P.S. - I wish a seminar like this was available earlier in my career (in fact I might even try to make this one if I can clear a little room in my schedule). Take a look at Lee’s video he recorded just for you as he explains why this is a “can’t miss” seminar:

http://www.CompleteSpeedTraining.com/taft.html