Spring Break
Strength in numbers
Rebecca Nasca
Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: Sports
Today, collegiate sports are highly competitive, from Division 1 to Division 3. For Nicole Fecteau, a junior on Salve Regina University's women's lacrosse team, this means a nearly year round conditioning and training program. After a summer of running distance and sprints on her own, Fecteau looks forward to training with her team.
"I enjoy conditioning as a team," says Fecteau. "This way you know where you're at on the team and you have people cheering for you and motivating you to do your best."
Team motivation starts once Fecteau returns to campus before the fall semester. Her and her teammates' physical training centers on building endurance. They start "fall ball" focusing on conditioning and drills. Preseason begins in January where conditioning and physical training is still a large focus in the beginning. As soon as spring arrives, the team works on plays for the upcoming season. Through the school year, the team dynamic keeps Fecteau on track with her physical training.
Fecteau is not alone. Nation wide, an increasing number of people are turning to group training sessions to get fit. The "New York Times" cites a survey taken by the IDEA Health and Fitness Association tracking the increasing popularity of group
personal training. The survey shows in 1999 50 percent of personal trainers had two or more clients per session. By 2005, 71 percent trainers had that number.
Tom Blaney, manager of Salve Regina University's Sulliven Fitness Center, noted this trend in the conditioning programs sports teams at Salve Regina University follow. He explains that Salve Regina's fitness center writes specific training plans for many of the sports teams including football, men's and women's lacrosse, and the basketball teams. Blaney said in Division 3 coaches cannot require team members to exercise outside of practice, but to keep up with the team fitness is important.
Where there is interest, the fitness department will write a specific program for the team; a service provided free of charge. In a team setting, Blaney prefers to work with groups of ten or more. He says these programs are tailored to the needs of the players. For example, if the line backers need to work on upper body strength, he can tailor the program to isolate specific areas to work on. Usually, a sports team's program focuses on strength training using weights and lots of repetition in cardio exercises.
"I enjoy conditioning as a team," says Fecteau. "This way you know where you're at on the team and you have people cheering for you and motivating you to do your best."
Team motivation starts once Fecteau returns to campus before the fall semester. Her and her teammates' physical training centers on building endurance. They start "fall ball" focusing on conditioning and drills. Preseason begins in January where conditioning and physical training is still a large focus in the beginning. As soon as spring arrives, the team works on plays for the upcoming season. Through the school year, the team dynamic keeps Fecteau on track with her physical training.
Fecteau is not alone. Nation wide, an increasing number of people are turning to group training sessions to get fit. The "New York Times" cites a survey taken by the IDEA Health and Fitness Association tracking the increasing popularity of group
personal training. The survey shows in 1999 50 percent of personal trainers had two or more clients per session. By 2005, 71 percent trainers had that number.
Tom Blaney, manager of Salve Regina University's Sulliven Fitness Center, noted this trend in the conditioning programs sports teams at Salve Regina University follow. He explains that Salve Regina's fitness center writes specific training plans for many of the sports teams including football, men's and women's lacrosse, and the basketball teams. Blaney said in Division 3 coaches cannot require team members to exercise outside of practice, but to keep up with the team fitness is important.
Where there is interest, the fitness department will write a specific program for the team; a service provided free of charge. In a team setting, Blaney prefers to work with groups of ten or more. He says these programs are tailored to the needs of the players. For example, if the line backers need to work on upper body strength, he can tailor the program to isolate specific areas to work on. Usually, a sports team's program focuses on strength training using weights and lots of repetition in cardio exercises.
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