Section 1 - Introducing "The Athlete Inside"
Section 2 - Athletic Training & Conditioning Class: The
First Week
Section 3 - Need to Know! Fitness Terms & Exercise
Principles
Section 4 - Athletic Training Workout Design
Section 5 - Sports Lectures & Workouts
Section 6 - Another Game/Student Projects
Section 7 - More Sports!
Section 8 - It's All in Your Mind (at least 75%)
Section 9 - Personal Trainers & Group Instructors: How to
Use this Information
Correspondence Course Assignments
Online Course Descriptions
"How to Order."
Exercise Q&A Relay
Inline Skating
Karate
Lacrosse
Now that the students have a lot of basic knowledge, they can play the following game. I have them help put this game together using construction paper, markers, and pens.
Three general topic areas:
Assign each of the students to think of a question and answer for each topic. Have them write their question and answer for each topic on one side of a piece of construction paper, so that each student makes three Q&A sheets. I recommend using three different colors of paper, one color for each general topic. On the other sides of these papers are written an exercise of the student's choosing (12 jumping jacks, 10 curl-ups, hop on one foot for 30 seconds, etc.) Encourage the students to think of a large variety of exercises lasting 30 seconds or less. The papers are hung on a wall with the exercise side facing out.
Divide the class into two large teams. One member of each team is up for the first "answer." After a coin toss, the winner selects an exercise sheet. When the question on the back is read the two opposing team members first run to the end of the room and back, winning the run before answering the question. If the answer is correct, the entire other team must perform the exercise on the front of the paper. If the answer is wrong, the entire team of that person who answered incorrectly must do the exercise.
Score can be kept for the correct answers and prizes awarded as you see fit.
My favorite part of the Athletic Training class is the Student Projects. After the students learn how to design sport specific workouts from my presentations, it is their turn to develop their own. They each choose a sport not yet discussed (in pairs if there are a lot of students). They must:
I give them one week to do their own research, then I bring my resources to class and they use them to finish their research and design the programs. Here are three student projects that I especially like.
History
Sara's Theory of Inline Genealogy: A combined history of roller skating, ice hockey, and skiing.
Roller Skating
In the 1930's, competitive artistic roller skating became widely known, after other
versions of the sport, mainly racing and marathons, had passed through decades of ups and
downs. According to historians, roller skating came into being in the early 1800's when an
un-named Hollander attached wooden disks to shoes in order for his countrymen, who loved
to ice skate on the canal, to continue playing their favorite sport in warm weather.
Since then skating on wheels has steadily grown as a recreation and mild form of exercise, as well as a sport requiring a high degree of skill. As a legitimate competitive sport, roller skating may be divided into speed or racing, hockey and artistic. From these competitive sports inline skating emerged. Inline skating can be competitive or strictly recreational. Although competitive skaters normally start serious practice in the early fall, the season for major competition begins in the spring.
US involvement in world competition has been confined to artistic skating, which originally was copied from the ice. Probably the most spectacular events from a spectator viewpoint are the freestyle and pair-skating contests which involve the kinds of jumps, spins, lifts, and footwork normally associated with the big professional ice extravaganzas.
Ice Hockey
The origin of ice hockey can be placed in Eastern Canada in the 2nd half of the 19th
century. The work "hockey" is said to be a French term "hoquet"
meaning shepherd's stick, which resembles the stick with which hockey is played. The first
two sites of hockey in the US were in Yale University in Connecticut, and Baltimore,
Maryland, where events were held in 1893. Two Yale tennis stars visited Canada for
tournaments, became enthusiastic about hockey while they were there, and brought the game
back to their campus. The Yale collegians prompted other tennis players to try ice hockey
as an off-season pursuit.
Skiing
Inline skating and skiing share many similar body positions. The earliest ski runners
presumably were bones from the large animals, strapped to the shoes with leather thongs,
as were snowshoes. When man sought a faster way of proceeding over frozen wastes, where
the land was flat, he used smaller bones. The joints of the bones were smoothed so as to
produce a flat surface, which permitted a swift, gliding motion. Skis were used in the
northern part of Europe and in Asia prior to the Christian era. The oldest pair of skis
known are in Sweden dating to be at least 5,000 years old.
Inline Training Tips:
Rules of the Road:
Sport Training Routine:
Sara's Workout:
History
Contrary to what most people think, karate did not originate in Japan. It was actually
born on Okinawa, the largest of the Ryudyu Islands in the East China Sea. Chinese traders
and missionaries brought Chinese martial arts to Okinawa, where the peasant farmers
adapted the arts to suit them. When Japan invaded in 1470, intent upon making Okinawa a
Japanese colony, the peaceful islanders suddenly found themselves unarmed, without even
bladed farming tools with which to defend themselves or attack their adversaries. The
study of empty-handed self-defense suddenly became earnest, as the peasants trained
secretly in techniques of weaponless one-blow killing. Although their determination saw
them successful in their training, and many opponents dead, the Japanese army had come to
stay and would not be put off despite any insurrection. Eventually schools were opened
under many Okinawan masters, and training was given openly. The Japanese became interested
in the art, then known as Okinawan-te when the admiral of the Japanese naval fleet saw a
demonstration given by one of the island masters, Gichin Funakoshi. Funakoshi was invited
to the mainland (Japan) to demonstrate before the emperor. The year was 1917.
The first karate demonstration before Westerners was given at a US airbase in 1948. The airmen were so impressed that Gichin Funakoshi spent the next several years touring airbases in the Far East. In 1953, karate was introduced to the United States. Two years later, the Japanese Karate Association was formed. With 6 million people practicing karate, the JKA is the world's largest body for one style. In fact, every country in the world has at least one official karate instructor. There are, of course, many different styles of karate today, as various instructors have put emphasis on diverse aspects of the art. All, however, hail from the long ago Okinawan-te. "It took the better part of two thousand years for the martial arts to evolve and develop, and just 60 years for it to conquer the entire world." (Martial Arts by Peter Lewis, p 76; 1987 Bison Books Corp)
Movement Analysis
A casual observer of karate may get the idea that power and strength are the key factors
in a good technique, when in fact, they are not. When a karateka (a practitioner of
karate) tries to power his way through his techniques, he tightens his muscles, which ends
up slowing him down. The result is a slow, easy-to-block attack. Also, tightened muscles
give his opponent some idea of what technique is coming, making it easier to defend
against the attack. The true key to martial arts is RELAXATION. When you relax, your
muscles are looser, making it easier to throw faster punches, kick higher, and react
quicker to attacks. But, relaxation is also a state of mind. A martial artist must
condition his body so that he is able to be relaxed when practicing or when it is
necessary to defend himself.
Martial artists spend (or should spend) a lot of time stretching. Flexibility is a major factor in many aspects of karate: speed, balance, good technique, and coordination. Flexibility makes it possible to hit a target that's just out of the natural range of motion. Properly stretched muscles can extend to their full range of motion, allowing them to make contact using maximum speed and maximum force. Flexibility is essential for maintaining good balance. Without flexibility, techniques won't be as sharp or as controlled and throwing multiple techniques will be nearly impossible.
In karate, speed is of the essence. The power of any technique thrown depends upon the speed with which it is delivered, not just the mass of the deliverer. This makes karate an excellent tool for self-defense among women. Again, flexibility is the key factor which makes it possible to achieve great speed, and speed is the secret of the karateka's power.
Training Needs
A large portion of karate training is necessarily aerobic. Katas, free sparring and speed
drills increase cardiovascular endurance, but supplemental aerobic workouts, such as step
training and high impact aerobics are beneficial also. As we have already seen,
flexibility training is essential. Stretching exercises should be done every day and
before and after every workout. If this is practiced, the muscles will retain their
increased elasticity. Repetition of techniques done at varying speeds builds muscle
endurance. Endurance can also be increased by weight lifting using light weights and many
repetitions. Strengthening of muscles is achieved by using heavier weights and fewer
repetitions. However, this is optional for the martial artist. If strength training is
chosen, it should be used alternately with muscle endurance training.
Training Routine
History
The game of lacrosse was played by North American Indians before Columbus landedin what is
now upper New York state and the lower Ontario region of Canada. Played by the Six Nations
of the Iroquois as well as the Cherokee, the sport was much rougher than it is today.
Among some tribes as many as a thousand players took part, with the goals being miles
apart. The games could also take up to three days to play. Each player tried to disable as
many opponents as possible with the stick and then they would concentrate on scoring a
goal. Cherokee called their version of this game "little brother of war."
Because of the endurance required and the injuries that had to be borne with fortitude,
"Baggataway", its Indian name, was considered excellent training for combat.
Lacrosse is the French name for the sport, named after the stick which, to the French
settlers, resembled a bishop's cross.
Requirements
Lacrosse is one of the fastest running sports played today. It is played in local city and
regional clubs as well as high schools and colleges, primarily in the eastern United
States. The use of protective helmets, face masks, gloves, and arm protection have
lessened the chances of injury considerably.
The field measurements are:
110 Yd long
60 yd. wide
Goals are 80 yd apart, goal posts are 6 ft high and 6 ft wide with a cross bar and netting
on top of the posts
Player requirements:
10 players on the field:
The game play consists of 4 periods of 15 minutes of play with one minute intervals between the first and second quarter, and the third and fourth quarter. There is a 10 minute rest at the half. In the event of a tie game there is a 5 minute intermission with two periods of 4 minutes of play with a one minute rest in between periods.
Training
In training for Lacrosse one must pay attention to the strength required for overall
performance. The injuries most common are those to the lower extremities, sprains and
strains as well as joint injuries of the ankles, knees, and pulled hamstring muscles.
Lacrosse incorporates the running endurance of a soccer player and the physical contact
endurance of a football or hockey player.
Workout:
As you begin the training a series of static stretches is included in the warm-up. Be sure
to stretch all major groups: Hamstring, groin, quadriceps, lateral leg, Achilles tendon,
and low back. The workout needs to consist of a balance for the muscle groups, the
shoulders, arms, back, chest, total legs, and the abdominals. (Similar to football
training) Cardiovascular training should focus on jogging and cycling.
Sport Specific Drills:
Section 1 - Introducing "The Athlete Inside"
Section 2 - Athletic Training & Conditioning Class: The
First Week
Section 3 - Need to Know! Fitness Terms & Exercise
Principles
Section 4 - Athletic Training Workout Design
Section 5 - Sports Lectures & Workouts
Section 6 - Another Game/Student Projects
Section 7 - More Sports!
Section 8 - It's All in Your Mind (at least 75%)
Section 9 - Personal Trainers & Group Instructors: How to
Use this Information
Correspondence Course Assignments
Online Course Descriptions
"How to Order."