… Turner, on his knees, starts with his hands and forearms on the floor before turning the top of his head onto the floor. Taking his knees off the floor and stretching his legs fully out, with his rear end up in the air and his long legs extended out with toes still touching the floor, Turner begins to shift his 250 pounds from his knees toward his back and then to his head and arms.
He inches his toes closer toward his body as if he is on tippy toes to transfer all his weight toward his core until his upper torso is above his head. He then curls his knees in the air toward his chest before pushing both legs straight up.
It takes the young Indiana Pacers center four tries to do something he has spent the past three months working on — his 6-foot-11 frame is upside down and in a headstand for nearly 30 seconds before he grunts and finally breaks out of the pose.
… The Green-hosted “Grind Week,” run by All-In-One Management and its founder Jacquail “Juice” Jacox, is being held through Thursday in Soldiers Town Gym. Green, the Golden State Warriors forward, began hosting the event last year. He said he used to attend a similar camp early in his career that was hosted by former NBA guard Mo Williams in Dallas.
Each daily session begins at 9 a.m. PST with an hour of private weightlifting. Next is a 90-minute workout led by pro basketball trainer Travis Walton in the gym in the Jack London Square neighborhood. Private high-level pickup basketball takes place for 75 minutes afterward. There is also light shooting available in the evening. The players have lunch and dinner together and have breakfast delivered to their hotel rooms. Green plans on hosting the camp again next offseason.
… So Fournette improving on his rookie season is pretty much up to him now. A breakout season would appease Jaguars fans as well as fantasy football owners. Though ranked among the top 10 running backs in many fantasy rankings, Fournette might slip out of the first round in drafts.
Bortles is betting on a breakthrough.
“Obviously the season he had last year was awesome as a rookie,” Bortles said. “I think what has been impressive is that I think it is easy in that situation to take an offseason off. He just went through a whole [season]. That is the longest year of your life when you come from college and you train for the combine and then you go right into rookie minicamp and [training] camp. That is a really long year. I think it is easy to kind of get lazy in the offseason. That is not what he did.”
Casey Sadler knew his start on April 12, 2015, would be a one-off. Francisco Liriano went on paternity leave, so Sadler showed up at Miller Park and allowed two runs in five innings in a victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.
He couldn’t have known that would be his final major league appearance for more than three years.
Sadler ended the drought Thursday night when he pitched the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants, returning to the major league mound three years after Tommy John ligament replacement surgery.
“Most of all, it was a lot of fun to get out and put all the work that you put in over the last three-plus years, to use that and be able to go out and pitch again,” Sadler said.
How fast is UVA quarterback Bryce Perkins? Verifiable data tells the story.
UVA strength coach Shawn Griswold clocked Virginia’s starting quarterback at 22.2 miles per hour this summer.
“Yeah, I remember the day he texted me,” said Perkins of when Griswold let him know of his speed. “It was after one of the long circuit things we do. It was the last 75 yards and he told us to sprint. So, I just got out and competed. I didn’t know [at the time] that it was 22, but I felt pretty good after running.”
… “Going on my head coach interviews, everyone wants to know, ‘Hey, what’s going to be your culture?’ ” Shanahan said, about three hours earlier in his office. “Everyone wants some magical trendy thing that sounds neat and excites an owner. My whole thing with culture—a coach can talk all they want and say what they want, but culture has to do with the people in the building.
“If you bring in the right people, the culture takes care of itself. And so our whole deal was, we want people who work hard, overachievers, whether they’re talented or not, because they’re grinding and they’re always trying to earn something.”
… During his medical testing in Turin ahead of his official unveiling, the Serie A side’s doctors revealed the Portuguese icon had the physical capacity of a 20-year-old. It has to be said that Ronaldo, a joint-record five-time Ballon d’Or winner, is a freak of nature and a one-off, but that statistic – derived from the results of muscle mass, body fat testing and overall top speed along with various other degrees of attribution – came as no real surprise.
Ronaldo’s pursuit of relentless perfection over a 15-year period has been underpinned by stringent physical work, yoga and stretching techniques, a superb diet and first-class rest and recovery. However, aside from an occasional social media post, we rarely see behind the curtain and how he prepares but his end-product on the pitch, is evidence no stone is unturned.
The benefit of having a close-knit team working with him, day in, day out, has been crucial to his overall longevity. It wouldn’t have been possible without his drive and desire, though. Ronaldo, who is arguably the world’s most recognisable sportsman, continues to be a pioneer for his generation and the next.
… I was almost 18 when a track and field coach saw me and my tall, lean physique working at McDonald’s and gave me the phone number of a high jump coach at the University of Toronto. That fateful day led me to become a member of 20 national teams, an eight-time Canadian champion, an Olympian and a multi-medalist on various major Games, spanning a career more than 15 years.
I attribute my quick progression in the high jump to the various sports I played growing up. Had I started specializing in my sport at an earlier age, I doubt I would have lasted for as long as I did or had the same level of success.
The path to becoming an Olympian requires a mixture of important ingredients that may vary according to the sport and the individual athlete. Ultimately, for many, the path is navigated through deliberate play and involvement in various sports, developed through a commitment of deliberate practice, and reinforced by support, resources, motivation and effort.
Most importantly, in sports where peak performance occurs after maturation, early sport specialization is not the answer to becoming a super elite athlete.
Pressure is part of sport. So how can coaches help players embrace or reduce this significant psychological factor to enhance creativity and freedom when performing? Psychologist and Lecturer at Staffordshire University, Dr. Martin J. Turner shares examples and research in this area.
In the two part series “The Future of Baseball Technology” in 2015, Jesse Wolfersberger examined state-of-the-art sports technology as it pertains to baseball. In Part 1, Wolfersberger provided an overview of the technology that had already been adapted for baseball use, and was immediately available. Part 2 was a look to the future and the technologies under development in other areas, but that could provide an advantage in the baseball world.
While we can’t quite say that the future is now, the landscape has changed significantly in the time since Wolfersberger’s exploration of the technology making its way into baseball.
The most significant development isn’t a technological advance per se, but rather the implementation of a policy that incorporates the use of technology on the field. Once again, MLB is at the forefront of adopting new technology, and recognizing the benefits it can bring to the game.
The fast growing sport technology sector is to focus on Melbourne over the coming days through Australian Sports Technology Week.
With sports technology one of Australia’s emerging export successes, events today and tomorrow will see the showcasing of sports tech triumphs and emerging start-ups.
Covering data, digital, technology, sports, media, entertainment, performance and eSports, Australian Sports Technology Week will feature a Sports Start-up Day, Awards ceremony, and the largest Sports Tech conference in Asia
With more than 1,500 attendees expected across all events, the Week will lay the foundations for what the Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN), says will be Australia’s own ‘Silicon Valley’ of Global Sports Technology by 2030 – pioneering jobs and economic growth throughout the Asia-Pacific.
Guice, a projected starter for Washington and one of the league’s brightest young talents, is forced to put everything on hold for a year after suffering a torn ACL in Washington’s first preseason game. Is it time to rethink the preseason buildup process?
The University of Maryland, College Park will launch an external investigation into the football program’s coaching practices in the wake of damning reports about the team’s staff and treatment of players, school President Wallace D. Loh wrote in a letter to the university community Saturday night.
The letter was sent about an hour after third-year football coach DJ Durkin and three other staff members were placed on administrative leave. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada has been named interim coach, and the team opens its season in less than three weeks.
The school already has hired a sports medicine consulting group, Walters Inc., to investigate the protocols and procedures relating to the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair.
… “Most teams haven’t yet really become interested in hockey analytics,” Rob Vollman, the hockey analytics writer, was saying in a recent interview.
Vollman would know. The Calgary-based author of a shelf of books on the subject has consulted with various NHL teams and is also intimately tied into the small network of analytic gurus who have found work around the league. In his new book, the insightful and entertaining Stat Shot: A Fan’s Guide to Hockey Analytics, which comes out next month, Vollman points out that “most” NHL teams still have an analytics department consisting of precisely one statistician.
“Suffice it to say, I have had many, many discussions with many teams trying to persuade them to build an analytics department,” Vollman said. “It’s a tough battle.”
