The entry below is from Sportsgist-an online community for athletes and sport enthusiasts. Our head trainer is a featured member and has agreed to submit a number of articles/blogs regarding training. The article/blog follows the brief intro:

Focus on Training for the Complete Athlete!!!

Sean Buzzard

• Director/Head trainer-Up and Running Sports, LLC
• MS Instructional Leadership/ Sport Management
• A.C.E certified personal trainer, NESTA SAQ trainer, SPARQ Member of SPARQ trainers network and NSCA
• USATF Level 1 track and Field Coach--WPSLA Coach of the Year 2006-
• US Lacrosse/Brine "Double Goal" Coach of the Year 2004

Sean has agreed to help our SportsGist Athletes with their strength and conditioning program.  He is putting the finishing touches on his athletic studio, Up and Running Sports as well as wrapping up his practicum-topic is a wholistic approach to developing athletes-which may be published after completion. His energy and love for what he does is second to none.

Sean, Pittsburgh, Pa. Buzzard has been active in Western Pennsylvania lacrosse and in particular with the North Hills Boys Lacrosse Club where he has been a seventh and eighth grade coach for the last four years. Buzzard has been a strong advocate for the "Honor the Game" motto of the Positive Coaching Alliance, a national partner of US Lacrosse.

Sean was WPSLA (Western Pennsylvania Scolastic Lacrosse Association) coach of the year 2 years ago and the former head coach of North Hills high school has been added to Carnegie Mellon's lacrosse staff and will be coaching the goalies. Sean will bring his vast experience from his private strength and conditioning business to the Tartans. He'll be handling all aspects associated with the teams conditioning, goalies, and defense.

Below is Sean's philosophy to training.  Enjoy reading the article and direct any questions to Sean. His screen name is Speedcoach23.

When athletes come to us, we are looking to improve their performance by focusing on the complete athlete. By this I mean developing speed, agility, and quickness--reaction time-hand eye coordination-explosiveness. Looking at nutrition, developing a solid functional strength base, using mental imagery training to turn nervous energy into positive focus, and modeling positive values/ decision making skills/ good sportsmanship (this area is often overlooked).

Biggest problem--athletes train to their strengths and don't challenge themselves. Example: Strong football lineman hits the gym and focuses on bench press and arms but neglects training for agility by getting on the ladder.

Other problems-athletes get caught up with high tech machines and fancy gyms. Simplicity is sometimes best. Most of our featured drills involve stability balls, dumbells and resistance bands. Don't get me wrong--some high end equipment is great,(I use the VERTIMAX jump trainer with all athletes), but an industry trend is shifting towards old favorites like kettlebells and sandbags to train for a solid strength base.

Next----Getting ready for Speed!!

Great Western Conference –

"I like the linkup with Nike and the valuable strength and speed information provided by the Midwest 99."

This note from the Midwest 99 recruiting camp detailing a Coaches opinion of the camp specifically refers to the combine style testing performed by Up and Running Sports to provide coaches with important info regarding the athletic potential of athletes they may be considering for their teams.

NH Sports » North Hills Coaching Accomplishments

Sean Buzzard, Head Boys Lacrosse Coach at North Hills, has been chosen to present at the 2008 US Lacrosse National Coaches Convention.