Peak Performance Course Resources

You’re literally just trying to launch that thing into orbit. We’re primarily training hip extension here but remember we’re trying to use as much of our body as we can to get that thing as high as possible.

The ball should go up and slightly behind you. Use a ball that’s heavy enough that it goes 10-20 feet in the air: 10-30lbs depending on how strong you are.

You should shoot for no more than 8-10 of these tosses. If you’re throwing them up against a wall and can gauge how high you’re throwing, simply stop when you can see a noticeable drop in height.

No Medicine Ball?

No worries! You’ll don’t have to fork out the cash for one of these if you can’t afford it. Instead, you’ll just have to get a little more creative to find an appropriate object you can fling around the place. Here are some ideas.

Use an old backpack. One that you don’t care if it gets damaged. Fill it up with sand, dirt, or hell… even rocks.

Find a big rock. Might be difficult depending on where you live, but I bet you could find something of reasonable size without having to travel all that far. Obviously, make sure you’re throwing this on a grassed or sandy/soft surface.

Use a dumbbell. It doesn’t matter that it’s not a ball. As long as you can get a good grip on it and there’s somewhere soft for it to land, an old 15lb dumbbell would work perfectly for this!

WRING THE TOWEL - Dry

Roll up the tea towel into a sausage shape. Grab the towel at each end. Begin twisting the towel using both hands. When it gets very tight, unravel it the other way. When you’ve been doing this for around 30 - 60 seconds you'll start to feel that burn.

WRING THE TOWEL - Wet

Simply wet the towel, you would preferably do this over the sink to save any mess! The addition of water to the towel makes it considerably harder to twist therefore placing more strain on the forearm and wrist.

FARMERS WALKS (BUCKET VERSION)

Farmers walks are one of our favorite exercises for building raw grip & back strength. You simply can not go wrong picking weight up with your bare hands and moving with it. Unfortunately, most of us don't have access to plate loadable farmers' handles. But we do have access to buckets! Depending on what type of bucket you have access to, you can fill your bucket with various things.

We find the best and easiest way is to fill the bucket with water, it’s pretty easy and you can water the plants after training. Alternatively, you can fill it with stones, soil, basically anything that's going to add a bit of weight.

To perform this exercise you want 1 bucket in each hand,

DEPTH JUMP TO LONG JUMP

If you’re looking for a plyometric exercise to help you quickly build explosive lower-body power, the Depth Jump to Long Jump will do the job nicely. Here, the exercise is performed with a plyo box, but feel free to substitute any stable knee-high platform. Stand on a knee-high box, Jump off, landing on the ground with bent knees in a quarter-squat position. Immediately and quickly jump forward as far as possible. Land softly in quarter-squat position.

SINGLE-LEG BROAD-JUMP

As long as you have 10 yards of free space, you’ll be able to perform the Single-Leg Broad Jump anywhere, from your basement to your backyard. Add it to your workout to improve lower-body explosive power, balance, and stability.

Jump forward on one leg as far as possible. Land with the knee slightly bent and immediately jump again. Forcefully swing arms forward to increase jump distance.

DEPTH JUMPS: THE SHOCK METHOD

Depth jumps are the holy grail of plyometric training for the vertical jump. It’s literally just an eccentrically loaded vertical jump. To perform a depth jump is relatively straightforward. Simply jump off a 12-24 inch box, chair, or platform. Once you hit the ground, absorb the force and spring back up into a jump in one smooth motion.

Once you land from the initial drop-down, your goal is to perform a normal vertical jump, so go as deep as you normally would, and use an arm swing as you normally would.

We aren’t trying to get rapid ground contact times here as we’re trying to train the same stretch-shortening cycle used for a max vertical jump attempt.

MAX JUMP ATTEMPTS

Who would have thought that one of the best things for increasing your vertical jump would be to literally just practice jumping!? It’s almost so simple it doesn’t seem right!

At the end of the day, what all the fancy plyometric exercises are trying to replicate, is the act of jumping. We often say the best exercises have the highest jump specificity. Well, nothing is more specific to jumping, than jumping!

HOW TO BEAT THE 5-10-5 SHUTTLE RUN

Start with a great stance

The stance is among the main areas where time is lost in a pro agility drill. To start:

Squat into a comfortable and confidence-inspiring athletic base.

Load your weight slightly into the balls of your feet and the hand on the ground.

Importantly, ensure that you’re not leaning towards the ground because when you start running, you’ll stagger forward first instead of sprinting laterally.

Perfect how to transition out of the line

The other area where athletes lose most of their speed is when getting in and out of cuts. The major problem with most players is that they don’t set up their bodies to change direction once they start accelerating from one line. So as they approach the opposite line, they take quick choppy steps to avoid overshooting.

Ultimately, making efficient turns during this drill comes down to understanding your steps and being aware of where you are as you get closer to the line. This awareness will make it easy to control the body angle allowing you to explode out of each line with minimal speed loss.

Another crucial aspect here is to lower your center of gravity during the turns. This helps a lot in maintaining balance to avoid loss of control.

Get as much distance from your first step

Another common mistake that athletes make when running a 5-10-5 shuttle is standing up before accelerating to their top speed. You want to explode laterally from the word go. Remember that any fraction of a second spent correctly will help you cover more ground with each step.

Explode through the finish

As you run the last 5 meters, you’re not thinking of making another quick turn. So kick in that last gear and bomb through the finish line as you would in a 40-meter sprint.

Perfect your steps, then work on speed

If you are scheduled for a pro agility test, it only makes sense to try it a couple of times before the actual test. This is vital for several reasons, but the most important is knowing how many steps you need for each cut. The amount mainly depends on your strides and overall quickness.

Once you understand how many steps it takes you to get to the opposite line, it becomes easy to control your body angle, thereby making the most out of your shuttle run technique.

Course Bibliographies

CTE Sport Psychology 1A Course References:

Unit 1 References

Carolina Performance. (2015, November 18). Where it all began: The history of sport psychology research. https://www.carolinaperformance.net/new-blog/2015/6/24/where-it-all-began-the-history-of-sport-psychology-research

Joyce, N., & Baker, D. (2008, July-August). The early days of sport psychology. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/07-08/sport-psych

Unit 2 References:

Baum W. M. (2013). What Counts as Behavior? The Molar Multiscale View. The Behavior analyst, 36(2), 283–293. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392315

OSU. (n.d.). Department of psychology: What is Psychology? https://psychology.osu.edu/about/what-psychology

Widiger, T. A., & Crego, C. (2019). The Five Factor Model of personality structure: an update. World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 18(3), 271–272. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20658

Englert C. (2016). The Strength Model of Self-Control in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 314. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00314

Ives, J., Neese, K., Downs, N., Root, H., & Finnerty, T. (n.d.). The Effects of Competitive Orientation on Performance in Competition. https://thesportjournal.org/article/the-effects-of-competitive-orientation-on-performance-in-competition/

KES. (2019). Adaptability in sport. https://www.theibsc.org/uploaded/19AC_WorkshopPresentations/Block3_GeorgeBrowning_DevelopingAdaptableCreativeResilientPupils_Adaptability_in_Sport.pdf

American Museum of Natural History. (n.d.). What is theory? https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/darwin/evolution-today/what-is-a-theory

Berger, M. (n.d.). What motivates successful athletes. https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/what-motivates-successful-athletes/

Castleberry, E. (2021, October 29). Personality & social media: How innate traits affect your online experience. https://www.waypointwellnesscenter.com/personality-social-media-how-innate-traits-affect-your-online-experience-and-what-can-you-do-about-it/

Williams, J., & Krane, V. (2015). Applied Sport Psychology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education

Unit 3 References:

Aicinena, S. (n.d.). When pride goes wrong. https://thesportjournal.org/article/when-pride-goes-wrong/

Human Kinetics. (n.d.). Purpose of assessment. https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/purpose-of-assessment

Lim, A. (2020, June 15). The big five personality traits. https://www.simplypsychology.org/big-five-personality.html

Soto, C., & Jackson, J. (2018, January 12). Five factor model of personality. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199828340/obo-9780199828340-0120.xml

USA Baseball. (n.d.). Intrapersonal knowledge: Quality coaching framework. https://www.usabdevelops.com/USAB/Blog/Intrapersonal_Knowledge.aspx

Unit 4 References:

Anthony, J. (n.d.). Manipulating the paradox of perfectionism: Promoting healthy perfectionism in sport. https://believeperform.com/manipulating-the-paradox-of-perfectionism-promoting-healthy-perfectionism-in-sport/

Hanson, B. (n.d.). 11 Qualities of optimal sports learning environments. https://www.athleteassessments.com/qualities-optimal-sports-learning-environments/

Holmshaw, S. (n.d.). Deliberate play vs deliberate practice-are fun games the best approach in youth development? https://samholmshaw.com/2020/05/01/deliberate-play-vs-deliberate-practice-are-fun-games-the-best-approach-in-youth-development/

Nutritionist Resource. (2021, June 1). The importance of sports nutrition. https://www.nutritionist-resource.org.uk/memberarticles/the-importance-of-sports-nutrition

Perry, J. (2016, March 22). Sport Psychology: A Complete Introduction. John Murray Press.

Sarnell, L. (2016, December 27). Clinical and sport psychology services. https://www.drlonniesarnell.com/blog/2016/12/27/when-to-put-your-game-face-on

Taylor, J. (2014, November 12). 3 Essential mindsets for athletic success. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-prime/201411/3-essential-mindsets-athletic-success

Unit 5 References:

AASP. (n.d.). Find a certified mental performance consultant. https://appliedsportpsych.org/certification/cmpc-directory/

American Medical Society For Sports Medicine. (n.d.). Hypertension in athletes. https://www.sportsmedtoday.com/hypertension-in-athletes-va-13.htm

Anatomical Concepts. (n.d.). Biofeedback in sport. https://www.biofeedback-tech.com/biofeedback-in-sport

Dittmann, M. (n.d.). What you need to know to get licensed: Experts offer a lesson on how to become a licensed psychologist. https://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2004/01/get-licensed

Horikawa, M., & Yagi, A. (2012). The relationships among trait anxiety, state anxiety and the goal performance of penalty shoot-out by university soccer players. PloS one, 7(4), e35727. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035727

Masters in Psychology Guide. (n.d.). General psychology. https://mastersinpsychologyguide.com/specializations/general-psychology/

Physiopedia. (n.d.). The role of the sports physiotherapist. https://www.physio-pedia.com/The_Role_of_the_Sports_Physiotherapist

Voelker, R. (2012). Hot careers: Sport psychology. https://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2012/11/sport-psychology

Preez, B. (2021, May 6). What is competitive state anxiety. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-competitive-state-anxiety-bonita-ackerman-du-preez

Psychology. (n.d.). Relaxation in Sport. http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/sports-psychology/psychological-skills/relaxation-in-sport/

University of Virginia. (n.d.). VO2 Max testing. https://med.virginia.edu/exercise-physiology-core-laboratory/fitness-assessment-for-community-members/vo2-max-testing/

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