Topic
Baseball & Softball.
380 articles
Rotational power and arm care for the diamond. The BFS Magazine archive holds 380 articles on Baseball & Softball, published from 1980 to 2020 — coaching how-tos, athlete profiles, and program stories drawn from five decades of the magazine.
Recurring themes include Baseball, Football, Squat, and Speed. Coaches and writers featured here include Dr. Greg Shepard, Kim Goss, and Greg Shepard. Every story is free — read it online or open the original magazine layout as a PDF.
New Weight Rooms and New Connections
One of the perks of being a BFS Clinician is the sheer number of great people we get to meet and interact with as we travel across the country. From teachers and coaches and high school athletes at the highest level, we love the chance to impact lives. However, we also know that we are equally impacted by the people we are fortunate enough to come across in our journey. Case in point: BFS Clinician Jim Brown.
ReadWaterloo Baseball: 400 Wins and Growing!
Asked about the theory that baseball players should avoid weight training because it can make them “muscle bound,” Vogel replied. “There are still a few ‘old school’ coaches who are reluctant to have their players lift, but most baseball coaches have come around to where they see the benefits of weight training for their players.”
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Strong Beginnings: Amber Moss
One of the distinguishing aspects of today’s best athletes is that they tend to get an early start with sport skills and also conditioning. This trend prevails in women’s sports as well as in men’s – and one young woman who is benefiting from early sports preparation is Amber Mos
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Mike Carter Jr. Muscles Up at Rutgers
When we first interviewed Mike Carter Jr. for our September/October 2013 issue, he had just graduated from Bloomfield High School in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He finished his baseball career with a .450 batting average and became the all-time school leader in hits with 152, exceedi
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Physical Superiority Made Simple
When the strength coaching profession was in its infancy in the 1970s, it was difficult to find information about periodization. Much of the material appeared only in articles published in expensive journals or a few hard-to-acquire books, many not available in English. All that
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Upgrade Your Coaching with the Six Absolutes
In the coaching profession there is an overwhelming amount of information available about biomechanics. If you want to know the optimal position of your thumbs at the start of a 40-yard dash, you could probably find some research study on it. Although these details are important
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Multisport Powerhouse Sesely Omli
football and strength coach, Terry King. “Sesely is an amazing talent.” What makes this high school senior so impressive? Sesely is, first of all, a student-athlete. She carries a 3.96 GPA and plans to attend college to study kinesiology and dietetics. She also is involved in man
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The Benefits of Unifying a PE Curriculum
Dulaney High has benefited in many ways by integrating the BFS program into their physical education classes and school curriculum. of Unifying a PE Curriculum Dulaney High brings BFS into the classroom It used to be that the interests of physical education and athletic department
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Running Faster: The Tools You Need
than if they eing able had tested to run fast their vertical is a key jump before athletic quality that squat that virtually all workout. athletes want to Here’s how it develop, especially works. those who play Let’s say field sports such as an athlete is football and soclifting
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Character Education NOW!
BFS founder Dr. Greg Shepard is shown at one of his inspirational Be an 11 seminars, a character education program he created. Now! What coaches, athletes and parents will experience at a Be an 11 Seminar Those who know about the BFS organization associate it with strength and co
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BFS Advisory Board
To keep abreast of the latest information in the areas of strength and conditioning, BFS has assembled an advisory board. One of the goals of the advisory board is to help teachers, parents, coaches and student-athletes understand the risks of concussions and a child’s right to s
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Total Program Success at Ferris High
hat an awesome start these last three years have been for Aaron Emeyabbi, the athletic director and head football coach at Ferris High School in Ferris, Texas. The school has experienced a huge turnaround since Emeyabbi took over the athletic program three years ago and implement
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The Truth About Functional Training
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT 3KRWRVE\%UXFH.OHPHQV Muscle size is not necessarily an indicator of muscle function. Indonesia’s Erwin Abdullah and Bulgaria’s Yoto Yotov both competed in the lightweight (about 150 pounds) bodyweight division. Abdullah snatched 314 pounds and clean and j
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Keeping up with the Carters
At Bloomfield High School, Mike Carter Jr. was a multisport athlete who excelled at football playing quarterback and at baseball playing centerfield. Keeping up with the Carters How BFS helped high school baseball player Mike Carter Jr. earn his college scholarship t takes great co
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BFS Goes to the Arnold
WHAT’S HAPPENING 3KRWRVE\6WHYH)DXHUZZZIDXHUSKRWRUHÁHFWFRP BFS Goes to the Arnold The Arnold Weightlifting Championships were held on March 1-3, and in attendance this year were BFS editor Kim Goss and BFS scholarship winner Brittanie Mastricola. Mastricola not only made
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Back to the Basics with Static Stretching
Model: Emilie Williams, Hunter High School, Salt Lake City Sound advice on developing a safe and effective stretching program t is our intention at Bigger Faster Stronger to provide coaches with a stretching program that not only benefits the athletes but also is useful in coachi
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The BFS Difference
Here is Coach Shepard spotting a heavy squat when he was a strength coach at BYU. note: Although this article week developing their bench press by The BFS on the(Editor’s origins of Coach Shepard’s training doing many exercises and sets because Difference It has never been easier
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Finding a Way to Win at Mason County
BY DAVID BUCHANAN, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH MASON COUNTY HS, MAYSVILLE, KY t Mason County High School we have an old-school athletic program. By that I mean we still want our student-athletes to play multiple sports. We believe this approach is beneficial to the students and ethical a
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Coach Andrea Hudy's Path to Basketball Greatness
Coach Andrea Hudy’s Path to… Andrea Hudy is a hands-on strength coach whose collegiate basketball teams have played in two Final Fours. How this D1 strength coach produces champions at the University of Kansas BY LAANNA CARRASCO, MA desire to motivate and improve those around her
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Frequently Asked Questions about BFS
BFS is a company dedicated to helping young people succeed on and off the athletic field. about BFS Information for our readers about the company and its program FS is a unified program designed to get all the coaches in a school working together to improve the overall physical an
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Unity and Organization: Your Winning Secrets
All high school athletes, male and female, will benefit from a total athletic training program. This photo was taken in 2005 during a BFS clinic at Amherst High School in Amherst, Wisconsin. Unity and Organization: Your Winning Secrets A look back at how BFS can put an entire athl
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A closer Look at the Be an 11 Program
At a BFS clinic in Snowflake, Arizona, BFS clinician Jeff Scurran inspires young men and women to set high goals and develop action plans to achieve them. Be an 11 Program Why young athletes need this great character-building program more than ever BY DR. GREG SHEPARD, BFS FOUNDER
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Getting Young Athletes Off to a Strong Start
BFS PROGRAM Through his clinics Coach Shepard has personally inspired countless young athletes to achieve their goals in all areas of their lives. A look back at how BFS helps young athletes catch the vision of athletic success (Editor’s note: Although this article on the origins
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The Power to Prevail
Athens athletes are using BFS to win games and prepare for life after high school BY LAANNA CARRASCO, MA “Nothing can duplicate the confidence you gain from working hard in the weightroom. It gives you a physical and mental edge.” — Luke Mroczenski, senior at Athens High School e
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The Roar of the Grizzlies
he 2012 Fruitland football season began with the bar set extremely high. Coming off six straight appearances in the Idaho 3A Championships, this Idaho high school team was expected to return for a seventh appearance with a team that included two Division I Boise State University
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Monitoring Athletes for Physical Superiority
n weightlifting and powerlifting it’s natural to assume that the athletes who lift the most weight have the best training program. At the last two Olympics in weightlifting, the Chinese lifters dominated both men’s and women’s lifting, so obviously they know what they are doing.
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The Evolution of Athletic Training Programs
Editor’s note: Although this article on the origins of Coach Shepard’s training methods was written 16 years ago, the ideas are still relevant today.) op coaches who desire state-ofthe-art strength and conditioning programs must be acutely aware of the importance of a total progr
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Girl Power at Leesburg High
Sydney McWilliams and Kendra Young have turned themselves into legitimate state-level weightlifters – and have the medals to prove it! Girl Power at Leesburg High A powerful program for strong women BY COACH JOSH BOYER t Leesburg High School I teach weight training and also coach
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The Lighter Side of Weightlifting
Geoff Fleming is a former weightlifter and publisher of the classic weightlifting newsletter parody, The International Weightlifting Newsletter and Gazette. Fleming is allowing us to share with BFS readers some of his cartoons, such as this one describing the history of barbell b
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Breaking Barriers: Women in Strength Coaching
Breaking Barriers: Strength Coaching Strength coach Nikki Gnozzio is changing perceptions in her profession BY LAANNA CARRASCO, MA Nikki Gnozzio has worked hard to earn a position as a college strength coach. ou could call them your secret weapon. Or your quiet iron. They are str
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How Olympians Train: US Skiing and Snowboarding
FOR WOMEN ONLY 0DOFROP&DUPLFKDHO$OSLQH&DQDGDSKRWR Stacey Cook finished last season ranked 10th in the world in downhill skiing. How Olympians Train: US Skiing and Snowboarding An exclusive interview with strength coach Ernie Rimer BY LAANNA CARRASCO, MA rnie Rimer is a stren
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BFS High School of the Year
3KRWRE\-LP(OOLV0LDPL1HZV5HFRUG 2NODKRPD High School of the Year After one year with BFS, the Bears went from being a 0-10 football team to a 9-3 team. Wyandotte High is the recipient of BFS’s highest award yandotte High School is a terrific place to get an education, not
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2012 Power Clean Championships Set for Vegas
FROM THE EDITOR A Message from BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss, MS Confirm As Friend? section – it will be devoted to content of particular interest finally broke down and started a Facebook page. No, I to young women athletes, their parents and coaches. won’t use it to tell the wor
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Scholarships for Women: Come and Get ' Em!
FOR WOMEN ONLY $OORVVRDFWLRQSKRWRVE\3DW&RQQHOO\ Kiley Allosso was our 2007 BFS High School Female Athlete of the Year. She carried a 3.933 GPA in high school and earned a field hockey scholarship at Boston University. Scholarships for Women: Come and Get ’Em! How young women
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Going Strong at Cameron High School
ameron High School is a small school in rural West Virginia set in a town of about 1,200 people. There are no “big name” restaurants, just locally owned and operated places run by local people. Cameron High serves grades 7-12 and is one of 13 schools that are part of the Marshall
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2011 BFS High School of the Year
High School of the Year How Dulaney High embraced the principles of the BFS Total Program BY LAANNA CARRASCO, MA eenagers who become physically fit and happier will always be a great thing to see. That’s what the students at Dulaney High School in Timonium, Maryland, have become
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The BFS Football Experience
Football Experience Why the BFS program has proven to be the choice of champions Heritage High School won its first-ever state championship in 2009 after adopting the BFS program. y the time this magazine gets into the hands of most high school football coaches, their seasons will
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What's Happening
FROM THE EDITOR A Message from BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss, MS The Voice of Reason the standard by which you are measured professionally – it’s ne of the best things about being the editor of BFS your behavior in your profession. Let me put it another way: magazine is chatting w
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The Dark Side of Sports
on Sports Liability Informative, and sometimes shocking, statements r. Marc Rabinoff has been contributing to BFS for nearly a decade, and he has written dozens of articles on many aspects of liability in sports and fitness. He has discussed the value of waivers, the basics of we
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2011 BFS High School Male Athlete of the Year
Male Athlete of the Year Parker Adams is this year’s winner of this prestigious award ne of the requirements of being eligible for the BFS High School Male Athlete of the Year award is being a good student as well as a great athlete. Parker Adams is great in both, excelling in mu
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Whats Happening
FROM THE EDITOR A Message from BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss, MS Staying with It in a game? After all, you have a supportive audience watching ack when I was a strength coach at the Air Force your every move, your teammates and coaches encouraging Academy, I remember one summer in
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Striving for SIXCESS: Panther Softball
BY KEVIN WERTH Head softball coach, Piedra Vista High School hen I took the job at Piedra Vista High School in the summer of 2004, I never imagined that seven years later we’d be six-time Class AAAA State Champions. Farmington, New Mexico, has a rich tradition of baseball and sof
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Whats Happening
FROM THE EDITOR A Message from BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss, MS The Public’s Right to Know f you’ve ever watched TMZ or visited their website, you players who had to be hospitalized after a workout. Because of this latter incident, Chris Doyle, the may wonder how these people can
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How to Develop Powerful Athletes
BY KIM GOSS, MS n comedian Eddie Izzard’s standup routine on martial arts, he notes that tai chi is not very effective for self-defense because it is “a little too slow.” Likewise, one of the reasons for Bruce Lee’s popularity was his incredible speed, and it was reported that fo
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A Brief History of the Be an 11 Program
Be an 11 Program An inside look at a revolutionary character education program hampions are not born but made. Only after a lot of hard work and hard choices does an athlete earn the title of champion. Think about Lance Armstrong overcoming testicular cancer and going on to win t
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Positive Results with Negative Training
hen performing core BFS exercises such as the power clean, bench press and hex bar deadlift, your focus is on pulling and pressing the weights explosively. After all, speed is king in sports, and if you want to be faster and more powerful, you need to lift fast. But sometimes to
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Six Absolutes of Perfect Technique
Now in Print: Six Absolutes of Perfect Technique These important training principles finally have a book of their own lthough many individuals in the field of athletic fitness call themselves pioneers, the truth is that it’s rare that a single individual has more than one remarka
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Eagles Soaring High
Fort Bend Baptist Academy features one of the finest high school football stadiums in the country, part of a recent multimillion dollar renovation and expansion program. Eagles Soaring High Fort Bend Baptist Academy’s path to victory ohn Chapman, otherwise known as Johnny Applesee
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Success in Unity at Brook Hill High
rook Hill High School is enjoying tremendous success with its athletic teams, thanks in large measure to the implementation of BBrook Hill School, located in Bullard, Texas, competes in the Tapps Division 3 and has 191 students enrolled in high school. Many students letter in mul
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What's Happening
FROM THE EDITOR A Message from BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss The Ethics of Service record. The result was that the corporate office refunded he following incident might not make the next ediall my labor costs and gave me two new tires, with the tion of the Be an 11 Guidebook, but
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A Closer Look at Absolute #6
eep your eye on the ball!” is a popular bit of wisdom heard often in golf and baseball, but it also has expanded to many other sports. How often, for example, have you seen a football player fail to catch a kickoff because he took his eyes off the ball for a split second to deter
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Of Tribes and Triumphs
Coach Wade McGee (left) receiving Coeur d’Alene Tribe Chairman’s Award of Excellence from Chief Allen. hen Wade McGee came on board as a clinician at BFS, we felt blessed. His passion for helping young men and women achieve their goals, and his commitment to the BFS program and i
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Top Ten Reasons to Use BFS
nformation overload is an expression that describes how having too much information makes it difficult to make decisions. Information overload can certainly apply to high school and middle school coaches who are trying to decide on the best type of workout program for their athle
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2010 BFS High School Male Athlete of the Year
Male Athlete of the Year Austin Ryf achieves the balance that has made him an exceptional student-athlete here is a mistaken belief that the winner of the BFS Male Athlete of the Year should be bench pressing 400 pounds and running 4.40 in the forty. Yes, the award is given to ex
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The New Science of Training Female Athletes
Coach Paul Gagné working with Chloé Dufour-Lapointe. Chloé is only 18 and placed fifth at the Vancouver Olympics in freestyle mogul skiing. The important gender differences we must understand BY PAUL GAGNÉ STRENGTH COACH AND POSTUROLOGIST erhaps stemming from the belief that there
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A Closer Look at Absolute #3
Absolute #3 A key teaching cue to help protect the lower back he strength training community tends to jump on new trends, thus changing the way athletes are trained as well as how a particular Tcoach is perceived in terms of identity and reputation. In the ’70s, static stretching
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Structural Balance and Auxiliary Exercises
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT 3KRWRFRXUWHV\8QLYHUVLW\RI/RXLVYLOOH6SRUWV,QIRUPDWLRQ Structural balance training is required in sports such as field hockey, which requires exceptional levels of lateral quickness to reach the highest levels. Demonstrating her skills is Janelle Avila, w
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Staying Strong at Schalmont High
3KRWRE\7LPHV8QLRQ$OEDQ\1< Belief in the BFS Total Program has paid off for these New York athletes t’s been said “You can’t go home again,” but someone forgot to tell that to Michael DiCocco. In 1993 DiCocco graduated from Schalmont High School in Schenectady, New York. No
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2010 BFS High School Female Athlete of the Year
Female Athlete of the Year Amy Elizabeth Medina is a winner in all aspects of life here are many exceptional high school athletes in this country, and there are many exceptional students. The BFS Female High School Athlete of the Year is presented to a young woman who combines ex
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What's Happening
FROM THE EDITOR A Message from BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss Meeting of the Minds “To be honest, they are in need of improvement,” says ne of the great aspects of my work with the Poliquin Depta. “There are not enough hours for the kids in physiStrength Institute is that I meet a
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A Closer Look at Absolute #1
Absolute 1 Selecting the best stance; an athletic stance or a jump stance t’s the shoes!” is a popular advertising slogan that suggests there must be some special quality in a pair of athletic shoes that makes one athlete superior to another. It’s an effective slogan, no doubt, a
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A Tradition of Excellence at Cary-Grove High School
#8 Tyler Krebs #36 Steve Hapanovich #25 Eric Chandler #34 Alex Hembrey #53 Rich Kersten #43 Cole Connington #55 Matt Leinbforth #65 Hayden Baker #67 Ben Luedtke #7 Chad McCarron #24 Trent Sorenson #6 Alex Lyons This Illinois high school knows how to stay on top he athletes at Car
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2010 BFS High School of the Year
High School of the Year Alexander High School excels in athleticism and physical fitness hen Coach Sean Arno transferred to Alexander High School five years ago, he had what can best be described as a rude awakening. The football team had not seen a winning season since the 1990s
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Six Absolutes Overview
isit the office of any high school coach who handles the strength training program of his or her athletes and often you’ll find basic concepts of biomechanics and feels no need for an occasional review, but more often it’s that the material is presented in a complex manner with S
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Mortimer Jordan HS: Softball Powerhouse
3KRWRV 'HQQLV9LFWRU\.'36SRUWVSKRWRVFRP 100-6 t’s not often you see a win-loss record such as this, but that’s exactly what Mortimer Jordan High School accomplished in winning their past two state 5A championships in softball and being ranked in the top ten in the country by U
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The BFS Difference
BY BEAU JOHNSON ead football coach David Bell knew something was missing at Southwest Georgia Academy in Damascus, Georgia. This private high school has a wonderful football tradition; they’ve won six state championships, with the last coming in 1998. But then the Warriors starte
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The Hunter High School Experiment
BY KIM GOSS, MS hen I moved to Salt Lake City in 2004 to work fulltime as the editor of BFS magazine, I eventually realized that in order to write competently about working with high school athletes, I would need to do some fieldwork. In 2007 I found the perfect learning environm
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Gridiron Rebels With a Cause
The 2009 season resulted in the Rebels’ best win-loss record in a decade. Berrien High School turned their team’s struggles to triumphs et’s get this straight from the start: Berrien High School in Nashville, Georgia, did not win one of its prestigious state championships this ye
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Secrets to Developing Rotational Strength
BY KIM GOSS Over the past decade there has been a trend in the strength coaching profession to distract athletes from getting stronger. I’m not talking about training that is augmented with complicated periodization programs that require a slide rule or at least a basic knowledge
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The History of the BFS Total Program for Athletes
Breaking personal records with perfect technique is key to the BFS Set/Rep system, as shown here in this photo taken at a BFS clinic. Total Program for Athletes Why BFS is still on top after 33 years BY DR. GREG SHEPARD, FOUNDER/CEO BFS You can’t argue with success. More than 9,0
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Capital Results at Capital High School
A look at a great unified program Our signature success story in BFS involves a school that has been doing poorly in sports, and then quickly starts enjoying success after implementing the BFS total workout program. We call these stories our “Worst to First” articles. But there is
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2009 BFS High School of the Year
BFS High School of the Year Aztec High School wins BFS’s prestigious award Aztec High School’s motto is “Where the crossroads of academic excellence and opportunity meet.” BFS concurs, and we are so impressed with Aztec High that we selected it as our 2009 BFS High School of the
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Meet the Clinician: Bob Bozied
Meet the Clinician: A look at one of our most experienced clinicians One word that is often used to describe a BFS clinician is loyalty. Our clinicians are dedicated to the sound training concepts of the BFS Total Program workout and to the ideals of the character education progr
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Develop Athletic Superiority with Contrast Training
The BFS Push/Pull Sled is ideal for performing contrast training, one of the most effective ways to improve running speed. How to use the science of motor learning to make athletes faster and more powerful BY KIM GOSS One of the first things I look at when I visit a coach is thei
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BFS Position Paper: Strength Training for Young Athletes
Young athletes need to get a head start with the BFS Readiness Program. Strength Training for Young Athletes The risks and benefits of having preadolescent and adolescent athletes train with weights When someone starts lifting weights seriously, we often say that this individual h
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Coaching Winners at Colby High
It’s been said that the Midwest is sometimes a bit behind the rest of the country when it comes to trends and breaking news, but that may not be such a bad thing in this time of recession. Especially if you’re a studentathlete at Colby High School in Colby, Wisconsin. “The summer
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Meet the Clinician: Ray Cosenza
Meet the Clinician: Our clinicians are the heart and soul of BFS, and this issue highlights a clinician we are particularly proud of: Ray Cosenza. His extensive educational background includes a BS in physical education and a master’s in psychology. As for his athletic background
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Spreading Success Around: The Auburn Rockets
Photos: Mark Seliger 2008, SeligerPhoto@aol.com Spreading Success Around: The Auburn Rockets Every athlete is a winner at this Massachusetts high school At BFS we love stories about football teams that go from cellar-dwellers to champions, and you don’t get much better than the s
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2009 BFS High School Female Athlete of the Year
Hannah Donnerberg is a country girl with a shining past and an even brighter future There are many factors that go into our selection of the BFS High School Female Athlete of the Year. The winner should excel at multiple sports, succeed academically, be of high character and work
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Meet the Clinician: Paula Davis
Meet the Clinician: A look at a great role model for young athletes At BFS we’re proud of our clinicians. All of them have considerable coaching experience and great personal stories that we believe will inspire young athletes. Case in point: Coach Paula Davis. Davis joined the B
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What's Happening
L-R: Coach Doug Ekmark, Lloyd Busch, Tom, Jean Busch, Dr. Greg Shepard Here is what BFS Founder/CEO Dr. Greg Shepard had to say about Tom Busch when he was selected as the 2003 BFS Athlete of the Year, “I have done a lot of interviews in my career of writing articles for BFS maga
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How to Armor-Plate Your Lower Back
A strong lower back is needed to make great tackles, such as this one of Joe Cerrone of Wayland High School in Wayland, Massachusetts. Wayland went 13-0 in 2006 and 10-2 in 2007. ow much can you deadlift?” is a question not commonly heard in the sports media when it comes to inqu
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Meet the Clinician: Wade McGee
Wade McGee A look at a remarkable coach of young athletes Coach Wade McGee (left) receiving Coeur d’Alene Tribe Chairmans Award of Excellence from Chief Allen. Wade McGee is one of those rare individuals who enrich the lives of everyone they meet. One of our newest clinicians, he
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BFS Position Paper: Unification
Unification BFS guidelines on why and how to implement this important training concept Unification is the concept that all high school and middle school athletes, and even some college athletes, will follow the same basic training philosophy. This means that regardless of the spo
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2008 BFS High School of the Year
BFS High School of the Year Photo: Bil Bowden, York Daily Record/York Sunday News Susquehannock High School earns BFS’s most prestigious honor Susquehannock High School is a great place for young men and women to get an education. Along with its challenging academic program and c
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A Closer Look at the BFS Unilateral Power Press
BFS UNILATERAL POWER PRESS Taking your athletes to the next level with this valuable exercise machine Are you someone who thinks that machines have no value for an athlete? While BFS believes that most of an athlete’s training should be with free weights, there are many machines
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Certification: It's More Important than You Think
Quality education is key to becoming a successful instructor, whether it is in physical education, personal training or strength coaching. The rise and fall of continuing education for coaches If you ever have the good fortune to meet Glenn A. Morris or to take one of his weight
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Coming on Strong: Mission Oak High School
A great weightroom is giving this new school a head start Mission Oak High School in Tulare, California, is a brand-new school that opened its doors to students on August 14, 2008. The first students are freshmen and sophomores; next year juniors will be added, and after that, se
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The Dark Side of Sports: Pom-Poms and Broken Necks
Pom-poms and Broken Necks What must be done to stop the devastating epidemic of injuries in cheerleading BY DR. MARC RABINOFF It is impossible for me to put into words the emotions I experience when I am called into a courtroom as a forensic expert for cases with high school chee
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Strong Women: It's About Time
Chloe Van Tussenbroek is a multi-sport athlete who uses weight training to make her strong and lean. She competes in Olympic weightlifting and is a Level 10 gymnast with a 27.6inch vertical jump. The 15-yearold attends West Jordan High School in West Jordan, Utah. women’s sprinti
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The Utah Utes' Power Tennis Program
The days of champion tennis players such as John McEnroe dominating the court with their touch and ball placement are gone. To win today – at the professional level and the college level as well – tennis players need more than just good endurance. Case in point: world number two,
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2008 BFS Female High School Athlete of the Year
There are some who believe that it’s not possible to achieve the highest levels of athletic and academic achievement at the same time. After all, there are only so many hours in the day, so you have to focus on one or the other. Proving this theory wrong is DeAnn Pertz, a senior
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A Closer Look at the Power Snatch
BFS PROGRAM The power snatch works the same muscles as the power clean, but does so through a greater range of motion. Shown with great form in this exercise is Utah State University gymnast Maegan Snodgrass, who represented Team BFS when she broke the School Age American record
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28-0! Eden Prairie High School
The Eagles are proving that With 3,100 students, Eden Prairie High School is the largest high school in Minnesota. Last year the school was ranked by Newsweek in its list of the top 1,200 high schools, and 71 percent of the school’s teaching staff hold master’s degrees or higher.
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Back to Basics at Newman Catholic High
Mthis made us realize that we were not following the BFS program exactly. We had gradually made some changes to the program that we thought would work better. As a result, we were getting athletes who were lifting too Mason City Globe Gazette photo ike Dirksen is the head footbal
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2008 BFS Male High School Athlete of the Year
Athlete of the Year Multi-sport talent Colby Jackson wins our most prestigious award Last year Colby Jackson ran for 2,597 yards and 42 TDs, leading his Crusaders to 10 wins. If there’s a single word that best describes a BFS High School Athlete of the Year, it’s balance. Yes, th
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What's Happening
Bobby Doyle is the son of BFS clinician Bob Doyle; and despite being only a sophomore, he has already been contributing to the success of the Naval Academy’s football team. This year against Duke, for example, he threw a touchdown pass that enabled Navy to tie the game and eventu
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Maxcast: The Fundraising Advantage
If you’re on a tight budget, a school network of television channels might just be the easiest way to ease the pain and pump up your funds Maxcast offers a great way to publicize school fundraisers such as car washes, but there are many other exciting – and potentially far more p
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The BFS Coaches Who Help Coaches
When Dr. Greg Shepard founded BFS in 1976, being the only employee he was obviously the only clinician. But that situation changed quickly. In 1983 the company incorporated, and by then the number of clinicians had increased to a dozen. Now, with BFS presenting more than 400 semi
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Lutheran North High School, Small School BIG Punch
Lutheran High North: Small School, BIG Punch A commitment to unification has paid off for these athletes from Houston When it comes to state educational systems, it’s not true that everything is bigger in Texas. But it is true that sometimes smaller can be better; just ask the stud
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Squaring Round Shoulders
About 10 years ago I attended a weeklong seminar on evaluating and correcting posture. One of the interesting “tools” we were shown for correcting round-shouldered posture was a harness that strapped across the torso and had an electronic device positioned between the shoulder bl
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Wising Up: The Education of a Strength Coach
Tim Adams has gone where few professional strength coaches have gone before Tim Adams, a few years ago when he was the head strength coach of the Oakland Raiders. When we first visited Tim Adams in our Fall 2003 issue, he was very busy as the head strength coach of the Oakland Ra
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Secrets of the Bentonville High School Girls
For the past three years Newsweek magazine has ranked Bentonville High School in Bentonville, Arkansas, as one of the best 1,000 high schools in the country. The school offers 19 advanced placement classes, and the class of 2007 received more than $3 million in scholarships. Bent
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What's Happening
Stop the Presses! Recently Robin Jennings, our head of BFS Baseball, came into BFS headquarters with a stunned look on his face and said, “I’m in a book!” Not just a mention or a footnote, but an entire chapter with photos even! The book, by Kurt Dusterberg, is Journeymen: 24 Bit
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BFS Baseball: Total Pitching Program
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT BFS Clinician Rick Bojak discusses BFS Baseball with a young athlete and his family. BFS Baseball: Teaching young pitchers the proven mechanics of today’s MLB players Although a talented hitter who has mediocre fielding skills can still be a valuable member o
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Player Profiles
Kathy Leither Kathy Leither is a very special senior at Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota. First, she’s smart, with a 3.71 GPA and career aspirations in sports medicine. Next, she is strong, able to bench press a school record 180, squat 275 for two reps, Hex bar deadl
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Radical Energy System Training
BY KIM GOSS Innovative methods of losing body fat and developing sport-specific endurance From 1987 to 1994 I was a strength coach for the US Air Force Academy, and one of my primary duties was to design weight training and conditioning programs for the football team. What I obser
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BFS Baseball: The DVD Series
The best sports training DVDs for young baseball players have just arrived When Robin Jennings walked into our BFS offices in Salt Lake City last winter to discuss his approach to coaching baseball, we were impressed. First, Robin had played 12 years of Major League Baseball with
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Still Going Strong: Adam Edwards
52 STILL GOING STRONG: Adam became a starting center for the Air Force Academy, and played in the 1995 Copper Bowl. Most athlete profiles that appear in BFS magazine are snapshots of a few years of an athlete’s life: an outstanding football season in which an athlete rushed for 2
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Marcus Hendren: 2007 BFS Male High School Athlete of the Year
Looking for a positive role model for young athletes? Consider Marcus Hendren, a senior at JohnstownMonroe High School in Johnstown, Ohio. We did, and we were so impressed with this young man that he was BFS’s unanimous choice for the 2007 BFS Male High School Athlete of the Year
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Thomas Jefferson High's Declaration of Victory
with back-to-back state titles 002 was a memorable year for the Jaguars of Thomas Jefferson Academy High School, but for all the wrong reasons. That year the football team didn’t win a single game, and neither did the basketball team or the baseball team! That just didn’t sit rig
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The Case Against Stability Training
Stability Training Research is exposing many fallacies about the value of Swiss balls and other types of unstable exercise equipment In one of his trips to Moscow, the late sports scientist Dr. Mel Siff visited the Sport Psychology Institute. Having done his master’s thesis on br
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Beyond Bats and Baseballs: The BFS Total Hitting Program
Beyond Bats and Baseballs: Teaching young hitters the proven mechanics of today’s MLB players ear and you forget, see and you remember, do and you understand.” Although this Chinese proverb was written many centuries ago, its wisdom describes the best way to teach baseball player
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America's Strongest Girl
Weightlifter Kelly Lynch is proving that there’s more to life than sports, even if you are the best Kelly winning the 2004 School Age Nationals, one of her many titles. Kelly Lynch is a typical teenager who likes to hang out with friends, go to movies and listen to music. She com
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Breaking Tradition at Heber Springs High
Leaping into Glory: Heber Springs High The BFS program helped the Panthers capture their first playoff victory in 27 years A4-6 season may not seem like the kind of success that a football coach ordinarily would want to talk about, but Coach Steve Janski’s first season with the Heb
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BFS Baseball Goes Pro
Former major league players are taking baseball training to the next level with motion analysis and the BFS Baseball Total Program. This comprehensive, unique program promises to significantly improve all aspects of baseball performance. The BFS program will make you run faster,
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Coaches Helping Coaches
o you want to be a coach? Are you ready to take your profession to the next level and increase your value to your athletes and the schools you’ll coach at? Then listen up, because we have something really special going on at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
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From Concept to Completion: Madera South High School
Conceptto Completion: Madera South High School This California high school decided there’s more to a good weightroom than barbells and dumbbells “Build it, and they will come!” is a popular expression that applies to a lot of things. Build a playground, and children will come to
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Video Analysis Made Easy
he phrase “paradigm shift” was popularized by Thomas Kuhn in his 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolution. It is used to describe a change in basic beliefs about a ruling theory of science. It can also be used to represent a major change in personal beliefs on any subject
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Pain-Free Front Squats
TRAINING & EQUIPMENT Coach Karen Kuplicki, Olympus School of Gymnastics, Sandy, Utah. Front Squats Here’s a practical way to perform this valuable exercise without wrist pain any strength coaches believe the front squat is a better leg exercise than the back squat for athletes. O
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