January 31, 2019

Fool’s Gold and Diamonds in the Rough: The Adolescent Growth Spurt in Boys

January 31, 2019/ Volt HQ/ Joe Eisenmann, PhD

An athlete’s potential is typically predicted from a young age, many times based on their size. In tryouts, coaches tend to home in on the big kids first, and forget the smaller boys. Coaches note how hard the big kid throws and hits the ball — irrespective of his technique or coachability. On the other hand, the smaller, weaker boy — who possesses a good understanding of the game and great footwork and hands in the infield (yet struggles to throw it hard) — gets discarded because “well, he’s too small.” Has this coach selected the Fool’s Gold at the top of the pile? And didn’t dig deep enough for the Diamond in the Rough?

November 05, 2018

See Jack Zig and Zag: Teaching Fundamental Movement Skills

November 05, 2018/ Volt HQ/ Joe Eisenmann, PhD

An athlete’s success on the field or court can be defined by their speed and ability to change directions. But too often, fundamental movement skills like running, backpedaling, shuffling, decelerating, and changing directions are not taught and coached in young athletes. In Part 4 of his series on Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD), Joe Eisenmann, PhD, shares how to teach athletes how to efficiently move their body from point A to point B—and why it’s so important.

September 13, 2018

See Jane Jump: Teaching Fundamental Movement Skills

September 13, 2018/ Volt HQ/ Joe Eisenmann, PhD

Watch any sport and you’ll see a variety of non-sport-specific movement skills at play: running, jumping, skipping, shuffling, decelerating, cutting, and more. And like technique-based sport-specific skills—swinging a bat, shooting a free-throw, and so on—these fundamental movements should be taught, coached, and trained. In Part 3 of his series of long-term athlete development (LTAD), Volt’s Head of Sport Science, Joe Eisenmann, PhD, provides practical coaching cues and sequences to help coaches teach athletes how to excel at these fundamental movements: athletic stance, bodyweight squat, hip hinge, jumping, and landing.

July 17, 2018

Saving Our National Pastime

July 17, 2018/ Volt HQ/ Joe Eisenmann, PhD

Somewhere across America, an early-maturing 12U All-Star is pitching in his third game in two days for his second team. Elsewhere, in an operating room, an orthopedic surgeon performs Tommy John surgery on a 16-year-old. Our national pastime is facing some challenges — but luckily, USA Baseball is implementing a Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) plan to combat them. Volt’s Head of Sport Science, Joe Eisenmann, PhD, takes us through USA Baseball’s model for developing athletes and discusses potential solutions to the challenges facing America’s game.

June 08, 2018

Life in the NBA: Damaged Goods and Youth Training Habits

June 08, 2018/ Volt HQ/ Joe Eisenmann, PhD

Life in the NBA is a grind. And with athletes playing for 9 to 10 months straight—or even longer, if they make the Playoffs—it’s not surprising that the NBA is plagued by an injury epidemic. A $350-million-per-year epidemic. Volt’s Head of Sports Science, Joe Eisenmann, PhD, addresses the underlying causes behind this influx of injuries and asks: What if it’s related to how youth basketball is structured in the U.S.? Read on to learn more about the state of youth basketball in America, and how several organizations are working diligently to turn it around.

May 14, 2018

The NBA Combine, Correlation, and Tryouts: Individuality Matters!

May 14, 2018/ Volt HQ/ Joe Eisenmann, PhD

Each May, the NBA invites top college basketball players to participate in their annual Combine, a series of physical measurements and athletic tests that can help determine a player’s fate in the NBA Draft in June. But combine performance doesn’t necessarily correlate to performance in the NBA (just look at Kevin Durant’s failed combine bench press attempt!). Breaking down the research on the validity of the NBA Combine, Joe Eisenmann, PhD, examines the statistical concept of correlation and how it relates to combine testing, and shares some valuable lessons for coaches about tryouts at the youth and high school levels.

April 23, 2018

LTAD Part 2: Is Early Specialization Good or Bad for Athletes?

April 23, 2018/ Volt HQ/ Joe Eisenmann, PhD

We live in an age of youth sports where our kids' schedules are jam-packed with practices, camps, private coaching sessions, and pay-to-play leagues—all specific to a single sport. But we also live an age of research, and studies are now showing that athletes who participate in a variety of sports have fewer injuries and play sports longer than those who specialize before puberty. Volt's Head of Sport Science, Joe Eisenmann, tackles this issue as part of his series on long-term athlete development (LTAD) and unpacks the research about early specialization, and what parents and coaches should do.

March 19, 2018

LTAD Part 1: Definition and History

March 19, 2018/ Volt HQ/ Joe Eisenmann, PhD

What is the purpose of youth sports? Are we trying to produce 8-year-old city champions—or healthy, active adults who can give back to the game? Volt's Head of Sport Science, Joe Eisenmann, kicks off his series on long-term-athlete-development (LTAD) in this new article, which unpacks the definition of athleticism and the history of athlete development—from Ancient Sparta to JFK's America to today.

February 23, 2018

The Science of the NFL Combine: What High School Coaches Should Know

February 23, 2018/ Volt HQ/ Joe Eisenmann, PhD

Every February, 300 or so of the country's best college football athletes gather in Indianapolis to participate in the NFL Combine: essentially a job interview consisting of a battery of physical, medical, and psychological tests in advance of the NFL draft. So what does the Combine measure? How do those measurements correlate to on-field performance? And—most importantly—should high school coaches test their players the same way? Volt's Head of Sport Science, Dr. Joe Eisenmann, unpacks the research and takes a hard look at the purpose of testing, asking: are we measuring what really matters?

February 07, 2018

Long-Term Athlete Development: From Cradle to Grave with Dr. Joe Eisenmann

February 07, 2018/ Volt HQ/ Joe Eisenmann, PhD

How should we be training young athletes? Issues around youth fitness and sports—like whether early specialization in a single sport is beneficial for young athletes—are becoming more prominent. That's why we're excited to team up with Volt's new Head of Sport Science, Joe Eisenmann, PhD, to address these topics in an article series on long-term athlete development, or LTAD. In this initial article, Dr. Eisenmann outlines his approach on "cradle-to-grave" physical development, and why parents and coaches should pay attention.

Articles