Tag Archives: football

Coach Alicia Weber Gives 5 Tips on How To Make A Varsity Team

By: Alicia Weber

All coaches look for similar characteristics in athletes across all sports in choosing who makes the varsity team. Individual sports like track and field and swimming as well as team sports like basketball and soccer look for specific qualities, but two characteristics that standout the most in the eyes of coaches are work ethics and confidence. You can make a varsity team in elementary, middle, or high school or college and today we will learn how to do so.

Coach Alicia Weber of the Coed Archery Fitness League of Central Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada!
Coach Alicia Weber of the Coed Archery Fitness League of Central Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada!
Every competitive athlete should strive to make the varsity team for the opportunity to compete with the best and reach your highest potential.

The fact is not every athlete who tries out for the team will make the varsity team right away. Only so many athletes can make the first string team, but every player is capable of becoming a star with the right attitude.

Tip 1: Practice regularly and talk to your coach on ways you can improve. Top players advise younger players to play on club teams on their off season to develop competitive instincts.

Once a very self-confident, sophomore from Laney High School, Michael Jordan, failed to make the varsity basketball team. Instead, he ignited a fierce competitive fire and took on the challenge to get better as he became a star on the junior varsity team. The following year, he grew to six feet and three inches. He made the varsity team as he averaged 27 points a game and established himself as a top player and major college prospect. He went on to become one of the greatest basketball players.

Tip 2: Be confident and show your skills and be able to play well under pressure and with an audience.

It is imperative to control anxieties. Varsity athletes need to be ready and attentive at all times and let it be known that you want to be there. Smiling and being overly zealous is a plus as coaches will get to learn of your strong desires to want to play on a varsity team.

Tip 3: Stay focused, listen, and consistently do what you do best.

Coaches look for players with certain abilities and they want those players to stick with those abilities. They want the athletes to focus on their strengths and keep getting them stronger. They want athletes who can follow directions and are willing to become the best they can be. If an athlete can’t follow directions, a coach is not going to want the athlete on a varsity team.

Tip 4: Show the coach you have passion for the sport and that you want to be part of a team.

Coaches look for athletes who can be great team players and leaders. The number one quality a coach loves is a great work ethic. A coach would prefer a dedicated athlete with great work ethics over a naturally talented athlete with no work ethics.

Orlando’s Downy Christian High School has a girls’ varsity basketball team where a 10 year old, Jaden Newman, is the star. She is known to have a tremendous work ethic, which is built from within. She is short and fast. According to Maxpreps, she averaged 30.5 points a game this past season. She gives NBA players a run for their money as she hopes to one day become the first woman to play for the NBA.

Newman is an example of a passionate and very focused athlete.

Different ages and genders can make a varsity team if they prove they can perform. Most coaches want athletes to take risks and try a sport that they may never have competed in before. They believe that as long as you can perform and excel, then you can play varsity.

Erin DiMeglio became the first female to play quarterback on a varsity football team in a Florida high school. She showed up for the tryout confident about her skills and ready to perform with the males. She proved herself and the rest is history.

Tip 5: Be respectful to the coach, teammates, and others, demonstrate good communication, and be presentable in proper attire.

On high-level play, such as division 1 NCAA athletics, it becomes mandatory that a coach becomes in tune with the varsity athletes as the way the coach communicates influences the psychology of the athletic performance. Both the athlete and coach have to make a committed effort to communicate positively and clearly for an athlete’s ultimate success.

END OF REPORT

Alicia Weber – All-Around Athlete and Orlando, Fl, and Lake County Florida Fitness Trainer

By:  Alicia Weber
Pictures contained in the article are copyrighted to AliciaWeber.com

I take my years of experience in my many sports and I have devised a sport specific training program for athletes in their respective sports. My sports specific training program has helped athletes prevent injuries, win championships, win college sport scholarships, and get athletes to their goals and beyond as some testify on Clermont, Florida, Winning Way to Wellness. To date, the sports I have helped athletes excel at include football, track and field, swimming, marathon running, cycling, triathlon, open water swimming, short-course pool swimming, hockey, soccer, and others.

Christian Monsanto, Elite Triathlete and Runner

One athlete has taken my expertise a step further.  He sought me out for sport specific training and diet advice for the best antioxidants and nutrients as I am also a certified Sport Nutrition Consultant.

Christian says this about my guidance in sport specific training and sport nutrition consulting, “Alicia has elevated my level of health and race results by her expertise in sports training and nutrition.”

Do you want to prevent injuries and elevate your success in sports?

Attention Athletes ages 4 -100 living in Orlando, Fl, or Lake County Florida, you can enter Alicia’s Sport Specific Training program and get nutrition guidance that can give you an edge in any sport and improve overall health. Rates are reasonable and locations vary. Call today for a free consultation at 352-874-4363 or email Alicia at Awinningway@gmail.com

Alicia Weber’s 2009-2010 Sports Highlights

In addition to the sports highlights below, I am a strength and endurance world record holder with a variety of physical fitness world records.

January 31, 2010 Southern Sprints Indoor Rowing World Championships
 
Alicia Weber- Silver Medalist 500m, Indoor Rowing Southern Championships

In my newest sport, I competed in my first major indoor rowing competition and captured the silver medal in the 500m sprint. The Southern Sprints Indoor Rowing Championships serves as a World Qualifier for the C.R.A.S.H. B Sprints Indoor Rowing World Championship held every year in Boston.

December 6, 2009 Xterra World Half-Marathon Championships Kualoa Ranch, Oahu, HI

During a week in Oahu, HI, which included an invitation to train with the U.S. Marines, I competed in what is to be considered the “World’s Toughest Half-Marathon”. There are many factors, which make the event so tough including 1. Elevation – 2,900ft mountain climb 2. Competitors aren’t allowed to see or practice on the course till the morning of the event! 3. Temperature and Terrain Changes – The temperature at the start of the race was 65 degrees, but by the first mile on the black lava rock it escalated to nearly 90 degrees. By mile 11, runners held onto a rope to run down a slippery, muddy, narrow path. I can surely say with my many years of running on the elite circuit that this truly was the world’s toughest half-marathon! I became very dehydrated, but still finished as 40th Woman in the World. A total of 393 runners were in this world championship run.

Alicia as her popular Strength Character “Aussie Amanda” training with the U.S. Marines in Oahu, HI

November 8, 2009 First Annual SUP Poker Run Siesta Key Beach, Florida

Alicia Weber - 1st time on Stand Up Paddle Board

In an event that is about winning a game of poker as SUP paddlers chased to each boat grabbing a card, I was the 2nd fastest female finisher. However, I didn’t win the poker game. It was my first time on a stand up paddle board and my first SUP race. SUP is the fastest growing sport in Florida!

 

June 13 -14, 2009  Sprint Kayak and Open Swimming Championships

 
 

Alicia Weber - Gold Medalist 500m, 2009 Florida State Games

I did back-to-back Championships in 2 different sports that use the same muscle groups and I had great success! On June 13th I took the gold medal in the 500m K-1 sprint kayak race at the Florida State Games and then I captured the silver medal in the 200m K-1 sprint kayak race. The following day, I finished 14th overall out of the men and women in the Master’s Swimming 1-mile Open Water Championships in Ft. Myers, Florida.


*Alicia Weber is a featured World Record Holder in Strength and Endurance for the top fitness blog www.Speedendurance.com

Importance of Balance Training

I have been selected as a premiere fitness expert at yourhealthupdates.com The following article has made the most popular article list for that site. Below, I provide the article again with follow-along-video demonstrations. Thank You & Enjoy! ~Alicia Weber

One may ask, what is balance training and what are the benefits?

It can benefit a person in so many ways and it starts with the spinal cord.

The spinal cord is involved with voluntary and involuntary movement where information is carried up and down the spine by bundles of fibers in the central nervous system (CNS) where sensory and motor information signal a movement. The goal would be to build a faster reaction with technical movements. First, try dribbling a basketball and notice how little concentration is invloved. Now, try dribbling a Reaction Ball – WOW, what a difference! Concentration and level of difficulty is 10 fold and one can feel the impulses to react!

Try the Following Reaction Ball Drill

This is just the beginning of the effects of balance training…

Proprioception is the ongoing awareness of body position or joint position and it is regulated by sensory organs (i.e. eyes, ears, and specialized receptors in tendons, joints, and muscles). Proprioception gets challenged in balance training too! The visual sense gives pertinent data about external stimuli and are extremely important in skilled performances. Try a simple “eyes shut” exercise, while standing on one foot to see how your propioception is challenged in balance training. Sometimes you may feel like you want to wave your hands around to maintain equilibrium. This signals coordination involvement in balance.

Try Some Beginner to Intermediate Bodyweight Eyes Shut Drills

Coordination involves an involuntary response that results in specific motor response with that response being dependent on the type and duration of the stimulus received. So in everyday activities coordination is rarely challenged. However, try to balance on 1 foot – turn one arm clockwise, the other arm counter-clockwise, and the other leg clockwise then counter clockwise. Now, we are talking about coordination! The results of working on that exercise over time will be building stronger somatic reflexes (reflexes involving skeletal muscle contraction).

Try Some Multiple Movements in Different Directions to Advance One’s Coordination

Balance training is challenging body equilibrium and teaching nervous and sensory receptor systems to perform highly skilled movement patterns.

How can balance training help the elderly?

As I trained patients with high-level neuromuscular and neurological conditions, the best results came from combining “eyes shut” exercises with coordination exercises all while doing a light aerobic activity. Results and graduation to a new fitness level were achieved in 4-weeks. Aerobic activity alone produced no results and coordination drills with eyes open only produced minor results. So to get the most out of balance try an array of activities such as the examples above.

How can balance help kids and adults?

When in good health, a person wouldn’t even recognize their nervous system and muscles executing a simple movement, but when there is a problem their nerves and muscles can become impaired. People can easily begin reaping rewards from balance training and apply them to sports like tennis and basketball. Balance training also strengthens muscle stabilizers, so if you are apt to get ankle sprains – then regular balance training can fix that problem!

Do you have weak ankles or have trouble balancing on 1 foot? If so, you can work on turning the weakness into a strength with the video below.

Here is an easy 2-minute exercise to strengthen muscle stabilizers in your feet to improve your balance and stability.

Watch my client master a very difficult balance exercise that also works the core and quads!

Contact Alicia Weber for online personal training or in-person training in Central Florida at Awinningway@gmail.com