Basketball Bootcamp! Fine tune your game before the 2011 season!

PRESENTED BY
AKRON GENERAL SPORTS PERFORMANCE and
COACH KELLY KENNEDY—Former Division I HEAD BASKETBALL COACH

GET FASTER!!
Athletes will cover ground faster and more efficiently
BEAT YOUR OPPONENT DOWN THE COURT = SCORE MORE

MOVE QUICKER!!
Athletes will change direction faster, safer, and more explosively
IMPROVE YOUR FIRST STEP ON OFFENSE AND DEFENSE

JUMP HIGHER!
Athletes will learn to increase their vertical jump!
IMPROVE YOUR REBOUNDING SKILLS and JUMP SHOT

BE STRONGER & MORE POWERFUL!!
Athletes will get stronger and play more physically!

BASKETBALL SPECIFIC SKILLS
combined with the SPEED, POWER, and AGILITY
SKILLS to improve your overall GAME.

Dates: September 10
and/or September 17th
Time: 9—11 AM

Questions: call Kelly Kennedy
330-329-5138

Location: Akron Sports Complex
925 Grant Street

Cost: $30 per session

Registration Form: Please cut this section and mail with check to: Akron General Sports Performance
4300 Allen Road, Stow, OH 44224 by Wed., Sept. 7th.
Session: Check the one that applies: ____ September 10 ($30) ____ September 17 ($30) ____ Both ($60)
Name: ____________________________________ Gender: _____ Grade: _____ Phone: ______________
Email: ____________________________________ High School: ___________________ Position: _______
Address: __________________________________ City: __________________ Zip: __________________

Athlete Spotlight #20) LaTasha Samson-Akpan

Hello Everyone!

Our next athlete spotlight focuses on a very dedicated volleyball player that is going to play Division One at Virginia Tech. She trains hard and fast. Always looking to get better she puts in the time and effort here at Sports Performance. She started with us in the beginning of May and made huge strides in performance, most notably in speed and power. It is now time to meet...

Athlete Name: LaTasha Samson-Akpan
Sport(s): Volleyball
Position(s): Middle Hitter
School: Copley High School (Virginia Tech)
Graduation Year: 2011 from Copley
AGSP Athlete Since: May 2011

Favorite Professional Sports Team: Miami Heat and Pittsburgh Steelers
Favorite Professional Athlete: Dwayne Wade and Troy Polamalu
Favorite Lift: Bulgarian Split Squat
Favorite Movement Skill: Lateral Acceleration


When I am not training at AGSP, I am: running, playing volleyball or hanging with friends.

What are your short-term goals? To start as a freshman.

What are your long-term goals? To survive engineering and get my degree.

How has AGSP impacted your performance as an athlete? It has increased my vertical jump, speed, and I have better balance.

CHECK OUT SOME VIDEO OF LaTasha TRAINING AT AGSP!

Keep Training!
Coach Nathan Burandt and Akron General Sports Performance

Get to Know Your Coach: Anthony Colarusso

Hello Everyone!

Athletes at AGSP get to work with the area's best sports performance coaches during their training sessions. Recently I did a Q&A with Coach Anthony Colarusso, check it out and get to know your coaches better!


Our athletes know you as Coach Anthony Colarusso. What does Coach Anthony like to do outside of making athletes better?
I am a pretty big proponent of practicing what I preach. I love Olympic Weightlifting and anticipate competing in several meets around Ohio in the upcoming months. I’m also a pretty big advocate of CrossFit training when properly implemented. I enjoy going outdoors when I can, especially if it involves going down to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and sprinting up big hills. When I’m not doing something that requires physical exertion, I enjoy relaxing at home, eating lots of good food, reading, and hanging out with friends.

How did you get started working with athletes?
I've been an athlete in some way, shape, or form for most of my life. Growing up in Northeast Ohio, I dabbled in all kinds of sports. Basketball was my first love, but I also played baseball and soccer as a kid. I ran cross country and track in junior high and played football in high school for Stow-Munroe Falls. In high school, I was a self-proclaimed gym rat. I never was the biggest, fastest, or strongest athlete, so I spent a lot of my time training in the weight room. It was there that I realized I wanted to be able to train athletes for a living. My first experience working with athletes came when I was a student at Baldwin-Wallace College. I spent a summer interning at Akron General Sports Performance with Coach Amanda and knew from the onset of the internship that this was the job for me. Fast-forward about two years and here I am now.


Based on your experience, what is the one, biggest physical skill that today's athlete lacks?
This varies from athlete to athlete, but I feel the biggest skill we try to teach as strength and conditioning coaches is kinesthetic awareness – knowing where your body is in space and how to control it. It amazes me how many great athletes out there cannot perform a proper bodyweight squat without rounding their back, riding up onto their toes, or claiming that they just cannot go any lower. This isn’t to say that athletes need to be able to squat to do well in their sport, but it certainly doesn’t hurt!

What do you like most about working with athletes?
The ability to make an impact and change a life is truly priceless. Coaches have the opportunity to do this every day. I live by the motto that a good coach will make you a better athlete, while a great coach will make you a better person. Obviously, I aspire to be a great coach, and I look forward to getting to know all the athletes who train at Akron General Sports Performance.


What advice would you give today's athlete?
Keep working hard, both in your sport and outside of athletics. Train smart, stay disciplined, and be patient. All good things come in time. Learn to transfer the work ethic you put into your sport to other areas of your life and success will follow.

Thanks Coach Anthony for your great energy and great coaching!

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance

Core 101, episode 2

Hello Everyone!

Core TV, episode 2 is now available at OhioOutside! Another set of exercises you can do at home to improve performance!




Keep Training!
Coach Amanda and Akron General Sports Performance