Category Archives: Track and Field

Practice Like a Warrior

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Soldiers in every country train for battles.  Sports players practice for games.  What they do is very different but the reason they do it is not.  There are psychological and physical benefits to practicing for situations of high stress like battles and games.  Psychologically we train to build confidence under pressure.  We also train so that we become offensive and head into battle rather than shrink from it.  While sports are less life threatening than battles the same principles apply.  A football scrimmage with other team mates will help you mentally prepare for a game with an opposing team. 

But the real benefit of practicing is the physical side.  You can have all the confidence in the world but if you can’t get the ball in the goal you do not have a chance.  Muscle memory is where the big advantages come in.  Doing a task a few thousand times will help get it ingrained into your muscle and into your brain. Shoot a layup 2000 times and you will be able to do it like clockwork.  The greats of the greats like Michael Jordan spent a lot of extra time on the basketball court practicing.  He was out on the court after everybody left and this simple fact made him possibly the greatest basketball player of all time.  Once you do something enough it almost becomes an instinct.  Soldiers practice shooting, rushing bunkers, and jumping out of planes.  They do this so that when they go to battle they will have that instinct and the edge over the enemy.

The more you practice the better off you will be.  You do want to make sure that you train or practice the correct way as well because if you do it wrong 2000 times you will not have the advantage but a great disadvantage.

I would suggest checking out some coaching videos that will help you learn how to practice the right way.  You can find hundreds of them at www.morleyathletic.com.  There are videos on baseball, basketball, field hockey, football, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.

Morelyathletic.com also has the equipment you need to practice with.  Get the gear and the info and start practicing like a warrior today.

HOW TO AVOID HEAT STROKE

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As I watched the news this morning I was reminded once again of how quickly the heat index can turn a fun day in the sun into a nightmare.  Your level of fitness does not matter when it comes to the heat index.  Even the best athletes should be concerned about a high heat index and better yet know what to do and when to do it.  On the news this morning they mentioned that dozens of runners in a local marathon had to be treated, some hospitalized, for heat exhaustion.

Heat exhaustion is caused by a combination of environmental factors, mainly high heat index, combined with physical conditions of the body.  Some of the symptoms of heat exhaustion are cramping of large muscles, profuse sweating, weakness, nausea, vomiting, headaches and muscle spasms.  When your body temperature reached 106F you are suffering from heat stroke. At this point your body will stop sweating as your cooling system fails.  Heat stroke can be deadly. 

So we should all try our best to avoid these situations.  The Heat Watch is a simple device that allows you to easily check temperature, humidity and heat index readings all while providing an accurate stopwatch to use in practices.  Truly a must have for every coach and even a good idea for the general consumer who lives in hot, humid climates and enjoys physical activity outdoors.  With the heat watch you get a user programmable heat index alarm so you can set the watch to let you know when the heat index hits the level at which you feel you should get out of the heat. 

The Heat Watch can assist in keeping you prepared for the heat.  We all know that an intense practice or even work that has to be done outdoors is quite distracting.  Many people don’t think of the heat index until they are feeling the effects of heat exhaustion.  Let the Heat Watch remind you that you need to keep hydrated and get some shade.  When you are reminded of the danger you will be more likely to take a break in the shade or air conditioning.  In the case of athletes on the field a few minutes in front of a misting fan and some cold fluids will help keep you performing at your best as well as protecting you from the hazardous effects of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

So with the heat index climbing higher than usual get yourself a Heat Watch today.  Whether you’re a coach responsible for the well being of your team, an employer trying to keep his crew working in the high heat or just someone who loves to be active outdoors in the summer the Heat Watch is an effective, inexpensive tool that will help make your summer fun safe.  You will find the Heat Watch as well as other heat index meters and cooling products at www.morleyathletic.com.

Get In Shape For Summer Sports!

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If you play sports all year long you may be in pretty good shape but you may not be in shirtless shape.  Are you in shape for the shirts against skins games?  Who knows who will be watching from the sidelines!  If not it’s time to start working on that as the summer is about to heat up. 

When it comes to finding the right ways to lose that extra chub all it takes is a little extra effort.  An effective way of exercising is interval training.  This is pretty much a period of hard exercise followed by a period of rest.  There are many other articles out there that will get you the specifics on interval training.  I just want to give you some ideas on the exercise equipment that will help you get it done.

A basic item that has been used for years in training boxers and martial artists is the jump rope.  You’re laughing…?  When was the last time you tried jumping rope?  It is a simple cheap device that can get your heart pumping to the max.  Do a 5-10 minute interval training exercise with the jump rope and you will begin to respect it.  You can also get weighted jump ropes to help work out your arms.

Another basic item for interval training and working abs is the medicine ball.  The medicine ball has many variations these days but they all serve the same purpose.  They allow you to use a lot of the small stabilizer muscles in your body.  This will help tighten your abs and the rest of your body while making you more agile on the field.  Medicine balls are also great to use with a partner!

You can also use an agility ladder in your interval training program.  Your sports program may already use this but working it into an interval training program will get you results.  It will help your agility and increase your fat burning capacity.

One item that is required with any interval training is a stopwatch.  You can get a regular stopwatch, a table timer, or the jumbo wrist stopwatch.  The jumbo wrist stopwatch comes with a wrist strap, a lanyard, and a clipboard clip.  I would recommend the jumbo wrist stopwatch just because of its versatility.

So whether your in shape for the shirtless games or not it would be a good idea to try some interval training.  Summer is right around the corner and you don’t want to be one of the players with a shirt on when its 100 degrees out.

For more information and pricing on fitness items that will help you lose some flab go to www.morelyathletic.com.

Stopwatch or Transformer?

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Do you have problems seeing your stopwatch?  Do you have trouble figuring out what each button is because they are so small?  Do you wish your stopwatch had bigger digits and was easier to read?  How about versatility, do you wish it could go on your wrist, be held on your hand, or even be clipped to a clip board? 

Well there is a solution to your problems; it is the Referee Jumbo Wrist Stopwatch.  This stopwatch offers a big digit display. Each number measures ½” high by ¼” wide.  It is great for sports like football, soccer, wrestling, basketball, lacrosse or any game and fitness timing.  Referees and coaches alike are just raving about it.

The Referee Jumbo Wrist Stopwatch features: 1/100 second precision, maximum count up 9 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds.  It also counts down making this timer very versatile.  It counts down from maximum 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds.  It has 3 count down modes:  count down and repeat count down from preset, count down and then up from zero, and count down and stop at zero.

It has standard 12/24 hour format and a daily alarm with hourly chime.  Also when it gets a little darker out The Referee Jumbo Wrist Watch has electro-luminescent black lighting.

It also comes with a wrist lanyard so you can hold it in your hand.  Last but not least it comes with a clipboard clip which allows you to attaché the timer to a clipboard, your belt, or your clothing.

Also I should mention it is water resistant which means that if it gets a few raindrops on it there is no need to worry.  It doesn’t mean that you can go swimming with it. 

Check out the video review at www.morleyathletic.com  Order yours Today!

Jump This!

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Learning how to jump hurdles can be fun or it can be a nightmare!  For some the ability just comes naturally they see the hurdle they jump it and its over.  For others it turns into a battle both physically and mentally and the winner usually ends up being the hurdle.  I would like to introduce to you a few training items that just may change the outcome of those battles.

First lets start with the Adjustable Training Hurdle this hurdle adjusts from a small as 6 inches in height all the way up to 42″ in height.  This hurdle collapses for safety when hit.  Don’t worry it’s made strong with a high impact plastic cross board and 1″ powder coated steel legs.  This adjustable hurdle gives you the ability to adjust the height a little at a time, this helps take a little bit of the fear out of the equation. Also since it just collapses it a little bit of the sting should be taken out as well.  Trip on this hurdle and the hurdle surrenders before it can turn your face into something that resembles fresh ground beef with pebbles stuck in it!

Next I would like to introduce you to the indoor or outdoorFoam Hurdle .  This hurdle also adjust to heights of 30″, 33″, 36″. and 39″.  It is made out of a 18 oz. vinyl coated nylon with a solid urethane core.  The height is added through attachments that are held into place with double Velcro strips.  This hurdle is great for practicing indoors when the weather is bad and is also great for the timid jumper.  You are defiantly going to feel safe when your only banging into foam, instead of some awkward metal and wood.  Each hurdle weighs about 11 lbs. making them light and easy to place.

Third training item is for the advance jumper who needs to work on their form.  The Form Finder Hurdle forces the hurdler into the correct body position. It keeps hurdler’s arm movement in and makes them bring their trail leg under their armpit.  Cloth braces are attached with Velcro and break away upon contact making this item safe to use.  The uprights are made of steel and powder coated for durability.

Now that you have been introduced to these handy helpers it’s time to start thinking about who on your team could benefit from them.  Get one or all of the above and start making winners!  For more information on the items above or other track and field items go to www.morelyathletic.com .