Thoughts on the Perform Better 1-day program

I went down to Boston last Saturday for the Perform Better 1-day clinic. I have to admit that I was disappointed with the program. First up was Brett Jones. I was not familiar with him and he gave an outstanding presentation on Kettlebell Push Press. I picked up a few technique keys, but all in all nothing new.

Next up was Lee Burton. I have heard Gray Cook speak on the Functional Movement Screen in the past and this was: different face, same speech. Nothing new here either.

I have always enjoyed hearing Mike Boyle speak and this was no different. His presentation was in essence his life story and he did an outstanding job showing how vulnerable he is. If nothing else, it was really a great story of how perserverance and work ethic can benefit you in the long run. In my opinion, best presentation of the day.

Last up was Todd Durkin. This was the second time I have heard him speak and he is undoubtedly a captivating speaker. His style has never resonated with me, though. I have never been a big rah-rah guy and that's what he is all about. His presentation was about setting goals and how to succeed. It was interesting, but no real take home message.

The afternoon sessions were typical 1-day sessions. I have come to the realization that the field has really hit a plateau lately. Kettlebells, indian clubs, and medicine balls have all come back into vogue and all the personal trainers that attend these clinics eat it up. I guess that we have been fortunate that with the limited budget we have, we have been forced to be a little more creative. Generally, the afternoon session was the same as it has been for a few years now.

Next up on the clinic schedule is the Maine NSCA symposium on April 8th. Eric Cressey is the feature presenter and if you haven't had the chance to hear him speak, you need to. He is an extremely bright guy with a great speaking presence. I am really looking forward to it.

-Coach Sawicki

Spring SQA begins today!!

There might be snow on the ground still, but the spring session of SQA begins today. I am excited to see the turnout. We had a few hearty lacrosse players who let me beat them up twice a week during the winter session. Rumor around campus is that there will be a healthy number of hockey players. Check back for updates of the spring.

-Coach Sawicki

Fitzpatrick Athlete of The Month for Early Winter

BA hockey coach Jonathan Lounsbury stated, "Offense sells tickets, but defense wins games" in defense of this month's Athlete of The Month, Brendan Fitzpatrick. The Winthrop, Mass. native was instrumental in the Wolverines 8-5-1 record before winter break. Coach Sawicki stated as he presented the award in chapel, "Sometimes it is hard to quantify defense. The plays that make a difference can be hard to detect, but it shows in the success of the team". We at Wolverine Strength congratulate Brendan on his award.

You can read about Brendan, as well as previous Athlete of The Month winners here:

www.bridgtonacademy.org/athmonth.cfm

Moore, Munyanya are first Athlete of The Month for class of 2011

Troy Moore (Worcester, MA) and Crispin Munyanya (Manchester, NH) are the inaugural Athlete of The Month for the 2010-2011 school year. Moore, a football player and Munyanya, a soccer player were both chosen for their game-changing play. In speaking with Coach Sawicki regarding the selection, he had this to say, "Moore looks the part. He walks into a room and you expect him to be a football player. More importantly, he backs it up. He changes the game and makes opponents work around him. Crispin, on the other hand, does it very subtley. These two guys couldn't be more night and day. Crispin gets it done though-it's as simple as that. He controls the middle of the field. He makes the plays so that his teammates can get into position for the easy goals."

The two join a long list of outstanding student athletes. For more information on these two as well as their predecessors, click here:

http://www.bridgtonacademy.org/athmonth.cfm

Wolverine Strength adds staff

The Wolverine Strength program is pleased to announce two new staff members for the 2010-2011 school year. The new staff will add unprecedented depth to the program as well as a tremendous amount of knowledge for our student atheltes.

Michelle Sturgeon:Michelle joins Bridgton Academy after 10 years of coaching and training in the Boston area.
Michelle earned a B.S. in Kinesiology from the University of Maine, Orono in 1997 and a M.Ed. with a concentration in Strength and Conditioning from Springfield College in 2002.
Michelle attended school while designing and implementing strength and conditioning programs for Springfield College as well as American International College. As a previous employee of Mike Boyle’s Strength and Conditioning, Michelle coached athletes from the NHL, NFL, NLL, WUSA and USA Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team.
Michelle has earned a Club Coach Certification from USA Weightlifting, Performance Enhancement Specialist Certification from NASM, as well as her Schwinn Certification.

Her primary sport responsibilities will be Soccer and Lacrosse. Michelle will also be serving the school as registrar as well as teaching classes in the science department.

Craig Moody:Craig joins BA as the school's first ever Intern Athletic Trainer. A recent graduate of the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Craig will be honing his trade in the athletic training room. Additionally, he will be working with the strength and conditioning program for the Wolverine baseball team. An avid baseball fan, Craig is currently finishing an internship with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Summer Workout Time!!

For the BA class of 2011, summer workouts are in full swing. To access the workouts, check out the workouts section of the BA website. The incoming students section is on the left column. For exercise demonstrations and descriptions check out the Exercise Demos section of the website. For any more information, contact Coach Sawicki at 207.647.7662.

Testing finishes up with success!!

The last day of testing for the class of 2010 finished up earlier this afternoon. There was a big crowd for outside running of the 40's. It was a beautiful spring day in Maine with temps in the 80's. Like the times inside last week, there were some tremendous improvements from the fall.

Overall, the year finished up with guys getting bigger, faster, and stronger. We'll say goodbye to the class on Saturday and start thinking about the class of 2011, which will start the summer program at the end of May.