🏃‍♀️ Pro lacrosse player you need to watch, a must-read biomechanics book, + more

What’s up y’all? Cici here.

Welcome back to More Her Speed, a weekly no-BS newsletter all about women in coaching. This week I’ll share a book about biomechanics that I’m really enjoying, and tell you about an extremely badass friend of mine.

Control the Room

This past week, we officially ended the NFL offseason training for 2022. Our guys are headed back to their cities, camps are starting, and football season is almost in full swing.

Each offseason I try to learn a few new things that I can work on as a coach.

Obviously, on the speed and recovery side of things, I am always evolving, but I also want to specifically get better at being a coach.

It’s taken me a while to learn how to control a room & learn how to control my space.

The biggest thing I can say is it really does come down to spacing. That’s the key i’ve found: when coaching, be aware of your spacing.

Depending on how many athletes you have in a particular session, figure out where you sit in that space.

Make sure that you’re:

1. In front of them

2. Speaking loudly

3. Speaking confidently

These things may seem like a given...

but it’s important to keep them top of mind when approaching a session. Athletes can tell right away who is confident & knowledgeable, and who’s not.

Be yourself. Be authentic. Get your spacing down. That’s how you control a room.

Beneficial Biomechanics Book

I’ve been trying to read at least two hours a day (morning and night) and Les recommended a great book called ‘Force’ by Dan Cleather.

Dan Cleather is a strength coach and scientist in the UK and shares some great content and education. Anyone who is looking for a good biomechanics read- this is it.

My biomechanics professor in college was great, but this book goes into much greater detail of how important force and impulse is in sports performance with sprinting, jumping, etc.

He goes into depth about velocity-based training and performance testing, which are both tools that we utilize throughout our programming.

Testing is a huge factor in our speed management system because it allows us to profile each of our athletes, and bucket them into groups dependent on their strengths and weaknesses.

We are constantly testing, whether our athletes know it or not, using GPS, lasers, Output Sports, etc. and it’s extremely helpful in monitoring and tracking performance and progression.

My Famous Friend

Now we know I do this for the LADIES..

So this week I want to highlight one of my close friends and colleagues, Izzy McMahon.

In the mid-1900’s, many NBA and NFL players had to work second jobs during the offseason to pay the bills, because the popularity of their leagues hadn’t taken off yet.

Women’s lacrosse players are currently in the same boat. Athletes Unlimited, a professional sports organization, puts on a 5-week season each summer… but outside of that, these women have to make ends meet on their own.

Many, including Izzy, take on partnerships and endorsements. But, the smartest ones take advantage of their connections in their sport to launch a career (like Izzy).

I have had the pleasure of working with and training Izzy for over a year now and she is now creating a major stamp in the women’s lacrosse world.

Not only does she play professionally, but she has recently launched her training brand, IM Training and specializes in lacrosse and skills training.

The 2022 Athletes Unlimited season began this past weekend… if you want to watch Izzy compete for the next month TAP IN HERE.

Quote of the week

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails”

-Dolly Parton

This week’s quote comes from female icon and successful singer Dolly Parton. We absolutely cannot control what happens to us. We can’t. The second we realize that and instead direct our focus to our response to situations… that’s when we unlock our potential.

Y’all be well this week. Treat each other excellently.

Appreciate y’all,

Cici