L-M Athletics to Offer New Strength and Conditioning Programs

The Linn-Mar Athletics Department is taking student strength and conditioning programs to the next level.

After putting the program through a thorough evaluation by athletic department administration and head coaches from all sports, Linn-Mar’s program was compared to similar programs statewide.

According to Athletic Director Dave Brown, the Athletics Department is excited to announce a partnership with Performance Therapies.

“The first step in developing a better program for us is to have experts in the field come in and organize all of our programs and students into one Linn-Mar Strength Program” Brown said. “Various options were explored and we felt strongly that Performance Therapies is the best option for us to meet our goals.”

The company is able to create specific programs for our coaches to use once athletic teams start moving in the same direction and understand the movements within the program.

“Our plan for the first year is to have Performance Therapies manage all of our high school summer lifting programs,” said Brown, “This would include speed and agility schools for our high school athletes.” The company will also work with Linn-Mar to help prepare future athletes by offering strength training opportunities for students entering 7^th and 8^th grade. “This summer, we’ll also offer speed and agility clinics for athletes in grade 5-8,” he said.

“During the 2017-18 school year, they will work with us on site as needed,” Brown stated, “We anticipate having them on campus both before and after school to hold our out-of-season athletic programs and also help implement our in-season programs.”

The decision was made to make improvements to our program after identifying areas of concern Brown said. The areas identified were:

• Athletes experiencing gaps in programming as the move from being “in-season” to an “out-of-season” athlete.
• Not all teams follow the same program philosophies which lead to inefficiency in our student’s overall experience.
• Lower level programs at the high school do not have the avenues in line to get their athletes into a solid program through their freshman and sophomore years.
• Female athletes are not participating in year-round strength training programs as much as male athletes.

The Linn-Mar Strength Program Will:

• Improve the performance of all athletes and teams by working together to implement common practices for year-round preparation in the areas of strength, speed and flexibility.
• Minimize athletic injuries by educating athletes, coaches and the community on proper training techniques; in season, leading up to competition, pre- and post-competition as well as out-of-season in preparation for the rigors of an athletic season.
• Increase athletic participation by developing universal practices for all athletes in all sports. Therefore, giving student-athletes confidence that they are prepared for all athletic possibilities and not specifically trained for one sport.
• Create a team atmosphere that fosters positive relationships between athletes, coaches and the community.

Brown says he anticipates the program to evolve over time and is excited for the opportunities it will provide to Linn-Mar’s student athletes.

Learn more about the strength-training programs:

• L-M Speed & Agility School (for students entering 5^th – 8^th grade in 2017-2018)
• L-M Middle School Athletic Enhancement Program (for students entering 7^th or 8^th grade in 2017-2018)
• L-M High School Athletic Enhancement Program (for students entering 9^th-12 grade in 2018-2018)