Communicating with your team can be a challenge. Accounting for last minute scheduling conflicts, relaying workout descriptions in the off season, and generally keeping track of a high volume of athletes can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve created software for strength coaches and the Team Stream feature to help streamline all communication with your individual athletes as well as the different parts of your department, from sports coaches to trainers. While this simple messaging system can significantly impact your athletes’ engagement and your tracking of their success, BridgeAthletic’s communication features also enable the rest of your training staff to collaborate more effectively.

Testing your athletes is crucial to measuring the success of your strength and conditioning program. While it can be time consuming and difficult to collect data and analyze your team's stats, the BridgeAthletic software for strength coaches allows you to compile, organize, track, and examine your athlete's tests against each other and over time.

Ask active young athletes who they look up to and good chance you’ll get the name of an Olympian, professional athlete, or perhaps the next rising star in their sport. Many aspire to achieve elite status, or a future collegiate or professional career in a specific sport. This can lead to an excessive amount of pressure by the athlete, coaches, parents, and teammates to pick a sport to specialize in early and put in hours of training year-round. Is this the only way to achieve the skill and experience to make it to the top? What are the downsides of this? This sports science article will provide some background on sports specialization, discuss the risks of early sports specialization, how early versus late influences performance, and, finally, provide some recommendations to coaches, athletes, and parents on training.

Success on the court comes from hard work in the weight room. A volleyball-specific strength and conditioning program can optimize a player’s performance, reduce the risk of injury, and lead to quicker recovery. Here’s a six-step guide on how to build a successful volleyball strength and conditioning program:

Soccer players spend the entire summer preparing for their dreaded preseason fitness test. Ranging from the infamous beep-test to a strenuous timed run, most soccer teams require their athletes to complete a fitness test at the beginning of preseason. It is the first chance an athlete has to make a good impression and will set the bar for the rest of the season.

A volleyball-specific strength and conditioning program can optimize a player’s performance on the court. Whether athletes are still developing or competing at the highest level, spending time in the weight room building a strength foundation can be the difference between winning and losing a game. Here are three key reasons why volleyball coaches should incorporate strength training in their program:

This month’s edition of Sport Psychology is for coaches and individual athletes who want to plan for success and set long-term goals with short-term objectives.

Soccer players all over the world cringe at the thought of tearing their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Unfortunately, this season-ending injury is very common amongst soccer players. In the United States alone, there are between 100,000 and 200,000 ACL ruptures per year (Friedberg). The ACL connects the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone) and serves as an important stabilizer in the knee to prevent bones from over-extension and over-rotation. However, typical movements in soccer can put an immense amount of stress on a player’s knee causing injury. An ACL rupture is certainly one of the most serious knee injuries in soccer, but after surgery and rehabilitation athletes can return to play within 6-12 months. Additionally, soccer specific training reduces the risk of injury. 

Nutrition is one of the most, if not the most, important aspects of being an athlete. The way an athlete treats their body before and after workouts on a daily basis can transform overall performance from being good to great. It is imperative to take time to prioritize and plan nutrition in order to keep your body healthy and happy!