NFL Fantasy Files: The Best Players

This is a combination of the best NFL Fantasy Player Files. Each video contains a different NFL player doing a cool move whether its passing, catching, or kicking the football. I ordered the videos from good to the best.

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Why Hockey Players Must Train Like They Play

Determining how to condition properly for hockey is a controversial subject that is debated by coaches from the atom ranks all the way up to the pros.  When it comes to designing an off-season training program, most experts agree on how to best develop strength, speed and power in young hockey players, but there is always disagreement on how to best develop conditioning.

 

Slow & Steady Does NOT Win the Race

The game of hockey is characterized by short, explosive, high-intensity efforts interspersed with periods of complete rest.  The best hockey players in the world are the ones who are strong, fast, agile and powerful – not those who can run at 10 miles in the fastest time.  Hockey is simply not an endurance sport.  In fact, the best players on the ice tend to be the ones who perform poorly on off-ice tests of endurance.  

The challenge is that players feel as though they are becoming more fit for hockey by focusing on increasing their endurance in the off-season.  Players who go for long slow distance runs over the summer will definitely develop their endurance, but this enhancement will come at the expense of their ability to perform at the highest intensity level consistently throughout the game.

 

Do You Want to  Be “Fit” or “Fast”?

Ultimately, on the issue of proper conditioning for hockey, it comes down to choosing between being aerobically ‘fit’ or being strong, fast and powerful.  Players must make a trade-off when it comes to conditioning.  They can either possess a high level of endurance or game-breaking speed and quickness.  It is physiologically impossible to develop both of these qualities to their highest extent in athletes.  

Elite hockey players are speed and power athletes and must train to enhance those qualities.  Players must develop their ability to perform repeated high-intensity intervals and maintain their ‘jump’ and explosiveness throughout an entire game, instead of focusing on their ability to go for long distances at a moderate pace.

In the majority of cases, young players are simply unaware that the endurance training they are devoting so much time and energy to is actually detrimental to their overall performance on the ice. 

Bottom line:  When young players focus on doing long slow distance training instead of high-intensity interval-based training, they are quite often training themselves OUT of hockey shape and are making themselves SLOW. 

 

How fast are professional soccer players supposed to be?

I love soccer and I want to become a pro like my idol Ronaldinho Gaucho.I want to know these two questions.
1. How quick do pro soccer players (midfielders and forwards) need to finish a mile run.I heard they need to at least run for and hour but I don’t know how fast mph they need to run it.
2. How long are pro soccer players (midfielders and forwards) need to run on the treadmill.

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What baseball players will be forced into retirement this year?

We know quite a few baseball players will not have a job come spring training. Who do you think will be out of baseball/retiring soon?

My money is on Frank Thomas, Nomar, Tom Glavine, Moises Alou, Ivan Rodriguez to officially hang it up soon.

I am not sure about Jim Edmonds, Ken Griffey, or Luis Gonzo for that matter.

Who do you think will be out of baseball come the 2009 season?

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Independent Professional Baseball Players: Why They Play For Such Little Money

If you have attended an independent professional baseball game then you know that the level of play is equivalent to different levels of the regular “affiliated” Minor Leagues. What is not known by many fans, however, is how little money many of the independent baseball players make.

Unlike many jobs across North America, independent baseball players do not have a union or company department like Human Resources. They can be released almost at any time, for almost any reason, and there is usually nothing in their contracts which guarantees any sort of payment after players retire. When told all about this, many fans say, “Why would these players do that?!?”

Here are a few of the reasons:

A genuine love of the game: Many players in independent baseball believe that they have been overlooked by the Major League teams’ scouting departments. They genuinely believe that they deserve a chance to be in an “affiliated” farm team with one of the Major League organizations; and they truly love playing baseball. Many fans whom have attended independent baseball games comment on the hustle and passion of the players. A player who believes that he was overlooked may play with a “chip on his shoulder” in order to prove that he belongs with a Major League-affiliated farm team.

A need to be closer to home: Often, there are a few guys in each independent league who genuinely belong in a higher level of baseball. For whatever reason, however, they need to be closer to home with a less-grueling travel schedule. Sometimes players just started a family, others need to help out with a sick family member, and others need the support of friends and family in order to be comfortable with playing at the professional level.

A desire to continue his career in baseball: Many players will play in an independent baseball league in order to gain credibility for his post-playing career. Certain players want to manage or coach in professional baseball, others want to coach at the college level, and others want to transition to the front office of a professional sports team after they retire.

A need for camaraderie: If you have ever watched any documentary about “life in the minors” then you know that the players love playing baseball, enjoy crazy antics with their teammates, playing cards in the clubhouse, and the chance to develop lifelong friends especially on those long bus trips! If a player is good enough to be considered professional then many will take the opportunity to play in the independent leagues because he knows how competitive the demand is. Other players from around the continent are more than willing to take his spot, so he knows that he part of an elite level of baseball even though it is considered to be independent of the affiliated organizations.

A chance to rebuild his career: Sometimes an extremely talented player ends up in an independent league due to an injury, salary cap move, or simply due to “politics” in organized baseball. Such a player will play on an independent baseball team in order to prove to scouts that he is healthy, willing to go back at a more economical price, or simply that the other team which released him made a mistake. In a given year, dozens of players in independent baseball sign contracts with affiliated Minor League teams; and each year a few will get to play in the Major Leagues.

The next time you see an independent baseball game, or if you meet some independent baseball players around town, now you have a better understanding of why they do what they do regardless of the price at which they play. If you ever have said that you think pro athletes need to play with more passion and that they are overpaid, then be sure to attend an independent pro baseball game. You will be pleasantly surprised!