Core One: Meditation

Mental health is important to instill at a young age for a variety of reasons. Teaching them how to handle wins and losses early are vital. As technology advances, this is a practice that may be a lost art to many. We use mindfulness training to increase awareness, visualization, reducing anxiety, affirmations, and finding inner peace. If you believe it, if you can see it, you can become it. Long before the lights come on, the fans fill the arena, and your feet hit the dirt, we play the game in our heads way before it begins. Although you may not have a perfect game every time, this tool will allow you to ultimately be in control of whatever happens good or bad on and off the field. We believe in meditation to access self-belief. It is important for many reasons. For one, finding the calm in any storm, you can always come back to your training to help center your focus. We use our breath to dictate our actions. The reason why it is the first core is because life ends and begins with the breath. Secondly, it allows you to have the confidence to face any big obstacle that is ahead of you. We’ve all heard of the story of David and Goliath. Without David having the self-belief that he could win long before battle began; he would have easily been met with his ultimate death. All the odds were stacked against him, but because of his self-belief and his faith, he defeated the giant with only a sling shot. Lastly, it takes courage to face the unknown. It takes heart, strength, and desire to put yourself in a position where you may not know the outcome. The game is 90% mental and 10% physical. You may not be the strongest, the smartest, or even the fastest, but we instill these methods now, so that throughout life, any giant that comes their way, they will be prepared to face it head on.

Core Two: Speed and Agility

The games we play are games of inches. If you are off by even .01 of a second, one yard short, one dropped ball, one fall start, that can make all the difference between winning and losing. We incorporate this because we want every single thing we do to be fast. Slow feet don’t eat in our book. Pick your feet up and put them down as fast as you can. Being able to move sideline to sideline, running base to base with great speed & agility can make all the difference.

Core Three: Strength

Strength training is vital for success. You must have power to hit a ball, throw the ball, make a tackle, and to beat whoever your opponent is in front of you. We focus on body weight exercises for self-control. It’s important that they learn how to use their body strength earlier, so that they can become stronger down the road. We like to call it self-maintenance. Once you learn how to use your own weight, you can channel that power in your throws, swings, and your hits. We incorporate band work, resistance training, and core exercises. Using these tools now will help prepare them for when they are ready to get under the bar. Learning proper technique will also help prevent the likely hood of future injuries. We want our students to be strong and know how to use their bodies properly.

Core Four: Balance

Good balance in sport means you move with greater efficiency and with better control. Dynamic balance is especially useful for competitive sport, since it means one has more control over their center of gravity in an ever-changing environment. Body awareness, coordination, joint stability, reaction time, and long-term health are the main factors to keep our athletes from getting complacent and will help challenge themselves to maintain stability.

Core Five: Recovery

 Yoga, stretching, cold and hot contrast are key. We incorporate these techniques to keep our athletes on the field. The faster we can recover from injury, the better. Building this into their training now will create sustainability. It also will push them mentally to know how to play through pain and know the difference between being hurt & being injured. If you notice, it is easy to self-sabotage and think that you can’t go on any longer. Mental toughness key. Throughout our practice, they will develop a sense of flight or fight. They will learn how to endure the pain and use it for their gain.