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I can honestly say that sometimes in our best interest to help young kids to succeed in athletics we miss the boat.  I am not saying that you should not workout, eat better, and change your mindset to succeed. But have we gone to far?

From our perspective, (3) 60-90 minute workouts per week. GPP type work will get you and your young athlete where they want to go and they still get to be a kid.  You allow your body to recover and respond.

Check out this link to what some teenage hockey players in Canada are putting themselves through. Click here

Leadership 

Stephen McCarthy, CFT, Director of The McCarthy Project, He has worked with over 10000 athletes with an emphasis on athletes aged 10 to 24. He has researched and developed innovative training techniques specific for the youth athlete for over 10 years. His athletes have received college scholarships and played professionally, as well as, won state championships and national championships.

Advisory Team

 Dr. Josh Sandell, D.C., DACBSP, A.T.C., C.S.C.S., Director of Spine and Sports Institute,He attended undergraduate school at University of Minnesota Duluth and holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Exercise Physiology and Human Biology. He is a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic and earned his diplomate in Sports Medicine from the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physician (DACBSP) He was selected as the official USA chiropractor at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He has pioneered innovative treatment methods that rapidly resolve injuries, restore function, and improve athletic performance. He currently serves as a sports medicine advisor to some of the country’s foremost sports training facilities, clinics, NFL agencies, and health care organizations. His list of clients includes NFL, MLB, NHL and Olympic athletes from around the country and the world.

I just left Ramon Pastrano’s office at ImpactLives.  What a great morning!!  I am pleased to announce our partnership. His ideas on leadership and social innovation are second to no one.  More information will be forthcoming on how we are going to be implementing his ideas into our training sessions.

lil Brian and Tmac at Elite Fitness

Great workout a couple weeks ago.  Trenton McCarthy, Brian Sandifer, Lil Brain Sandifer and Michael Floyd tried their hand at boxing at the Elite Boxing and Fitness Gym in St. Paul.

We use and support the following companies:

1.  Spine and Sports Institute: The best sports med docs in the nation.

2.  Mental Edge: Shaun Goodsell’s concepts are top notch and have proven themselves over time.
3.  CrossFitTC: Great location and great people for facilities
4.  Inov8: Leading edge barefoot technology in footwear
5.  MIchelle Mix:  Nutrition and lifestyle information that is changing people’s lives
6.  MobilityWOD:  The best do-it-yourself mobility and flexibility site on the web.
7.  Five Star Basketball:  World renowned teaching and skills development for basketball
8.  Impact Lives: Ramon Pastrano’s Leadership and Social Innovation programs for athletes.

The following information is an overview of our company and our training methods since its inception in 2001.

1. History of the Company
2. Staff 
3. Training Methods 
4. Client List 
5. References

Facilities Used for Training:

CrossFitTC
6493 Sycamore Ave North
Maple Grove, MN 55369

University of St Thomas
2115 Summit Avenue
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55105

Phone: 612-741-0982

Over the years, we have strived to develop a complete and comprehensive philosophy on how to develop elite performance in youth athletes.  Through many years of trial and error, as well as research,  we have landed on a some foundational concepts.  The six concepts or dimensions of training guide each decision we make, every day.

The 6 Dimensions are as follows:
1.  Training: The ability to develop all aspects of the athlete based on the individual and their sport.
2.  Sports Medicine: The understanding of current injuries, potential injuries, and how to develop programs that account for both areas.
3.  Sport Psychology: We attempt to teach our athletes “How To Think,” rather than “Just Do It” because that is what we are doing.
4.  Sport Nutrition
5.  Recovery
6.  Technology: Use of external devices to enhance the training effect. i.e. use of bands to mobilize and stretch on your own.

Then test the results, train, and test the results again.  We track performance with the following companies

1.  Spine and Sports Institute’s Athlete Functional Testing:  We document current strengths and weaknesses within each athlete and prescribe the training to match your specific situation.
2.  Nike Sparq Ratings: Allows you to see how you stack up with athletes within your team, as well as, all over the nation.

For more information, contact us at 612-741-0982.

At the McCarthy Project, we offer the following services:

1.  Individual Training
2.  Team Training
3.  Public Speaking

For more information, contact us at 612-741-0982

Over the last couple weeks, we have been working with the Spine and Sports Institute Doc’s to develop ultra leading edge training programs that develop performance and prevent injury for our clients. The area we chose to focus on first was our dynamic warmup.

In the past, we have used the same generic group of dynamic movements that prepared our athletes for the workout. After a couple hours of pouring over the details and protocols, we have come up with a new dynamic warmup that will accomplish performance enhancement and prevention of injuries. The warmup will implemented over the next couple weeks.

If you would like more information on our programs, contact Stephen at 612-741-0982.

After researching numerous testing protocols, the Nike Sparq Testing and Rating System provided a testing standard in which we can show the progress each athlete makes over the span of the training.

We will be administering the Nike Sparq Test to all athletes and if desired, posting their results on the Nike site.

For more information, contact us at 612-741-0982.

Young athletes and parents are pulled in every direction by high school coaches, camp directors, and youth coaches.  They are playing up to 3 sports at a time, training multiple different ways each week and playing games on weekends. Questions related to their development go unanswered and/or overlooked; At what age should I start to specialize? Am I ready for the training volume?  Whom should I train with and how often?  Is the high school program capable of developing my full potential or should I look for outside help? How do I prevent injuries from occurring? How does nutrition really work? Am I leadership material? Am I mentally tough?  And the ultimate question, what is the best path for me or my athlete’s long-term development in life, as well as, an athlete?

The McCarthy Project will turn your questions, frustration, guesswork and confusion on the process of developing elite performance into a clear and concise path that will allow the athlete to reach their full potential.  The McCarthy Project will build relationships with the athlete’s coaches, assess and develop a program based on the athlete’s individual situation and appropriately challenge the athlete by adhering to the best practices of athletic development throughout the entire year.  We will work directly with you and your athlete, on a personal and individual level, to develop a path for the attainment of elite performance in life and sport.

Attack Consulting:
1.  12 month consulting services over-seeing all areas of athlete’s development
2.  24 one-on-one training sessions
3.  Live, Game-Action Video Assessment
4.  Athlete Functional Assessment
5.  Athlete Strength Assessment and Nike Sparq Testing
6.  Nutritional Health Consultation
7.  Mental Toughness Mastery Training by Mental Edge:  Assess, Interpretation and Plan

Full Assault Consulting:
1.  12 month consulting services over seeing all areas of athlete’s development
2.  24 one-on-one training sessions
3.  Live, Game-Action Video Assessment
4.  Athlete Functional Assessment
5.  Athlete Strength Assessment and Nike Sparq Testing
6.  Nutritional Health Consultation
7.  Mental Toughness Mastery Training by Mental Edge-24 weeks

Location:

Rogers and Maple Grove, MN

Call 612-741-0982 for questions and/or a complimentary workout and consultation.

The following are the foundation concepts to pursuit of elite performance.

1. Develop a complete athlete with proper prescription of technique, weight training, agility, plyo-metrics, and speed drills to increase their work capacity. We always use science as our measuring tool, not the marketing fads of the day.

2. Promote recovery training and a balanced life: Killing athletes is “old school” and then not allowing them to recover with another beat down the next day should be outlawed. A very difficult workout should be used only in very special circumstances.

3. Develop coordinated effort: Use of neuro-confusion drills teach athletes to understand where they are in space and how to complete their respective athletic movements while not consciously thinking about those specific movement or events.

4. Promote injury prevention: Proper lifting techniques and the the Athlete Functional Test allow us to prescribe exercise, not just bunch lifts together because that is what we have done in the past or what my competitor is doing. We attempt to meet the goal of every athlete’s training be applicable to their specific situation.

5. Develop mental toughness with a unique combination of training methods: We have developed workouts that are made to test the athlete’s willpower and mental toughness.

6. Food, air and water sources in an athlete’s life are critical to their long-term health and elite performance.  The diet fads with synthetic products and genetically modified food will not produce the desired results.

7.  Limited medical interventions will allow the athlete to overcome many health concerns, as well as, not create additional challenges by having synthetic products inside the athlete’s body.

8.  Limiting technology (computer with social media, smart phones, and television) will increase the athlete’s IQ and ability to live a balanced life.

9.  Sleep and sleep patterns are critical to the long term recovery and health of every athlete.

Quality prescription of technique training, work capacity development, sleeping, and eating will assist each athlete more in accomplishing their goals than a “Survival of the Fittest” training regime over a long period of time.

We will be attending the Open at CrossFit Minneapolis next weekend. We will have Inov8 and VS Athletic footwear on display.

We look forward to working with Mike Jones and seeing the athlete’s perform at a high level.

Stephen

Here are some images from the weekend event in Little Canada, MN. Kate has a great facility and put a really organized event. The athlete’s were performances were amazing.