Fall 2005 PDF - Milton Academy

SportsMilton Thanks Tennis CoachHerb ChenellStrength and conditioning:Coach Steve Darling designsprograms for Milton teamsHerb Chenell, Milton tenniscoach since 1988, finished hisMilton career impressively withseven New England championships—includinga third consecutiveone in his last season—11 Independent School Leaguetitles and 10 undefeated seasons.Herb learned to play tennis atthe Sportman’s Tennis Club inDorchester, Massachusetts. Hehas taught tennis programsHerb Chenellthere and at the Boston AthleticClub, Weymouth Tennis Club,Blue Hills Tennis Club and theEaston Tennis Club.During Herb’s final match ashead coach, Milton beat theHotchkiss School, 4–3, inConnecticut for the NewEngland title. Mike Dusseau(science faculty) served as juniorvarsity coach in 2005; he willassume the position as head tenniscoach in 2006.Football great Herschel Walkeronce said, “If you train hard, you’llnot only be hard, you’ll be hard tobeat.” On- and off-season trainingmakes Milton teams hard to beat,and plays a crucial role in the successof the Academy’s athletic programs.In fact, 12 Milton teamshave won Independent SchoolLeague championships within thelast five years. Milton’s commitmentto the strength and conditioningof players helps prevent injuryand allows for the advancement ofindividual performance on thefield, court and rink. Steve Darlingjoined Milton Academy inSeptember 2002 as a strength andconditioning coach. Aside from hisdaytime responsibilities as athletictrainer and faculty member teachinghealth, Steve works after schooldesigning and implementing thein-season strength programs for theAcademy’s varsity teams, andassists athletes preparing in theoff-season.Why is strength and conditioningimportant in high schoolathletics?As an athletic trainer, I haveevaluated many injuries thatcould have been prevented, or atleast been much less severe, hadthe athlete participated in a formalstrength and conditioningprogram. Most of these injuriesoccur during the first few weeksof each season, and they usuallyoccur to someone who had notbeen very physically active in theweeks leading up to the season.What is involved in Milton’sprogram?Because practice time is so valuable,I try to create quick, effectiveprograms so that each athletereceives the most out of hisor her in-season strength trainingsessions. I have discoveredcircuit training to be valuable forour teams. For instance, duringthe fall, I train both the girls’soccer team and field hockeyteam (35–40 athletes) togetherduring a 10-station circuit. Thecircuit, which includes componentsof strength, balance, stabilityand agility training, allowsthe students to train the wholebody in 20 minutes.Do you train differently for differentsports?Yes. For instance, football playersneed to be strong and “explosive.”The sport requires eachathlete to go from a set positionto maximal effort strength inone or two seconds. This training,therefore, must includeOlympic and power lifting, variousforms of multi-directionalsprint training, and whole bodyexplosive training such as plyometrics.Soccer and lacrosseplayers must also be strong andexplosive, but need different cardiovasculartraining. A half insoccer lasts 45 minutes, so it isimportant for these athletes tohave aerobic-based endurancetraining. Tennis and squash athletescompete in smaller arenas(courts) and, therefore, mustconcentrate on multi-directionalspeed and lateral movement.Their programs focus onstrengthening the lower extremitiesthrough exercises such asstep-ups and squats.68 Milton Magazine