Coach Tee's Corner

  Why many ACL injuries occur over time, and how smarter assessment and training can dramatically reduce the risk If you’ve ever watched a game and seen an athlete go down with a non-contact ACL tear, the first reaction is almost always the same: “That was just bad luck.” “It came out of nowhere.” “Nothing could’ve prevented that.” But my experience tells a different story.  While the tear itself happens in a single moment, many non-contact ACL injuries are the final result of months, or even years,  of accumulated stress, poor movement habits, and unmanaged training loads . In other words, in many cases, a non-contact ACL tear behaves less like a random accident and more like an overuse injury that finally reaches a breaking point .  What “Overuse” Really Means When most people hear overuse injury , they think of stress fractures or tendinitis, injuries that come from repetitive motion.  But overuse doesn’t always mean doing the same motion slowly ov...

  Why speed training isn’t about what drills you do… It’s about how you do them.  The Truth About Speed Every athlete wants to get faster.  Every parent wants their kid to be the one who stands out — the one who breaks away, gets open, and finishes the play.  And the truth is this: if you do almost any type of speed training, you’ll probably see some improvement.  Your athlete will look faster. Their times might drop a little. Their acceleration might feel sharper.  But that’s not mastery, that’s adaptation.  Getting faster is easy.   Getting fast and staying fast,   that’s a different game. Speed Isn’t a Drill — It’s a Skill You can’t “copy-paste” speed.  It’s not about copying someone’s Instagram drills or doing the same workouts as an NFL player.  Speed is a neuromuscular skill .  It’s how efficiently your brain, muscles, and nervous system work together to produce and control force.  That means it’s...

  Why girls and young women are at higher risk, and how smarter movement training can prevent it. The Overlooked Hip Problem in Female Sports If your daughter plays soccer, lacrosse, basketball, softball, or flag football, you’ve probably heard about ACL tears or knee injuries.  But one area that often gets ignored,  until it’s too late,  is the hip . Hip labrum tears are becoming more common in female athletes, especially in lacrosse, soccer, and flag football.  Many experience deep groin pain, pinching in the front of the hip, or a constant feeling of tightness. These aren’t just “flexibility” issues; they can be early warning signs of labral stress. The hip labrum is a ring of cartilage that stabilizes the hip joint and helps absorb impact. When it’s repeatedly overloaded through poor movement mechanics, especially during sprinting, braking, or cutting,  it can tear. And once damaged, the labrum rarely heals on its own. Deceleration: The Missing Skill i...

  When most athletes think about getting better, the first thing that comes to mind is skill work ,   shooting more baskets, running more routes, or spending hours playing wall ball. Skills are crucial, no doubt. But here’s the truth most overlook: speed is the foundation that makes every skill more effective . Without speed, even the sharpest skills won’t translate to high-level performance. Why Speed Training Matters Speed Is the Great Equalizer At every level of sport, there are athletes who may not have the same technical skill as their opponents, but their speed allows them to compete and often dominate. Speed changes the game. A faster athlete gets to the ball first, creates more separation, and forces the opponent to play on their terms. Skills Can’t Show Without Speed Imagine a wide receiver with great route-running ability but no burst. Or a basketball player with amazing ball handling but no first step. If they can’t create space with speed, their sk...

In an era dominated by TikTok trends and Instagram reels, sports performance has found itself caught between two worlds: one grounded in evidence-based training principles, and the other enticed by viral drills that look "cool" on camera. Coaches across the world are seeing a troubling trend emerge: young athletes and their parents are increasingly prioritizing flash over function, drawn to trainers who trade substance for spectacle. The rise of social media has undeniably changed the landscape of athletic development. Platforms that were once used to share highlights and milestones are now flooded with high-intensity, eye-catching drills, often involving balance boards, cones in figure-8 patterns, or reaction lights. These drills might rack up millions of views, but the real question is: Do they actually work? The Rise of the Clickbait Coach Let’s define what we mean by a “clickbait coach.” These are trainers who rely heavily on visual appeal to promote their services. Th...

  Why Speed and Strength Training Should Be the Priority Over Sport-Specific Skill Training In the world of youth, high school, and even collegiate athletics, there's a growing misunderstanding about what truly sets elite athletes apart from the rest. While skill training, dribbling a basketball, swinging a bat, throwing a football, or shooting a soccer ball, is undeniably important, there is a foundational level of physical ability that underpins every single skill: the athlete’s speed, strength, and overall movement efficiency. This is why performance training, which includes speed, strength, agility, and power development, should be the priority before and even alongside sport-specific skill work. Skill Doesn’t Matter If You Can’t Move Let’s start with a simple truth: the best athletes in any sport tend to be the fastest, strongest, and most explosive. Coaches at the collegiate and professional levels often say, “I can teach you how to play the game, but I can’t teach you how...

  When you go to buy a car, there's usually a sticker on the window showing a picture of a gas pump. On one side, it might say "30 MPG highway" and "12 MPG city." This means you’ll burn more gas driving in the city due to all the stopping and starting, slowing down and speeding up. Similarly, it seems that colleges are more concerned with “highway MPG”,  or how an athlete performs in a straight line than with “city MPG,” which reflects how athletes handle deceleration, acceleration, and changes of direction. Don’t get me wrong , I’m not placing all the blame on strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches. More often than not, the push for more conditioning drills or heavy lifting comes from the sport coaches. But what’s often overlooked is the importance of teaching speed mechanics: acceleration, top-end speed, and proper deceleration, that will help the endurance of the athlete throughout the game and the season.  Take the Manchester run, for example. In this d...