Wednesday, October 15, 2008



Jamie and I ran the "Dawg Dash" last Sunday, October 12th. It was Jamie's first 5k and he ran it in 37:24. A great place to start and build on.

Well done Jamie!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Barker boys mean business!


MaxSC would like to welcome our newest members, Jerrett and Griffin! These brothers are here to sharpen their basketball prowess and become on court machines.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Best of Western Washington

MaxSC Nation,

We are competing for King 5's "Best of Western Washington" in the gym division. As you all know, we don't compete to lose. We compete to dominate. That's where you come in. Please follow the link:

http://best.king5.com/maximum-sports-conditioning/biz/135107

We need your vote!

Monday, September 22, 2008

10 reasons to train at MaxSC (from vollyball parent, Robyn Bachesta)

The following is a response to a simple survey we sent out. We simply asked why they keep coming back to us!


1. Enthusiastic with a positive approach to training. Leads by example, gets down on the floor with the athletes.
· Choice of words are encouraging, motivating with positive feedback

2. Comes prepared and gives undivided attention. Is not distracted by cel phone, other clients, personal conversations.
· Lot’s of eye contact. Personal, on a first name basis with each student athlete.

3. Sets high expectations and hold student athletes accountable.
· Offers a dialogue of goal setting and its importance, provides learning tools ie., literature, notebooks, handouts, guest speakers, examples of role models.
· Follows up with student athletes; did they achieve their goals? Do they need a little nudge along the way? Gives examples on how to achieve.

4. Importance of nutrition.
· Always talks about importance of nutrition, the types of foods best to eat before and after work outs.
· Reminds the athletes of healthy choices.
· Provides additional information, handouts, availability of guest speakers.

5. Importance of training.
· Reminds the student athletes why it is important to train consistently and correctly.
· Reminds them of why it is important to get other team mates to train as well.

6. Sports Psychology:
· Communicates his passion for training and his belief in the accomplishments of each student athlete.
· Shows a sincere interest in their strengths, weakness and accomplishments of physical fitness.

7. Balance:
· Recognizes when a student athlete is over training.
· Takes the time to explain the risk of over training and the importance of taking a break.
· Develops a plan.
· Reminds both student athlete and parents the importance of a well rounded individual.

8. Respect: We earn the respect of each student athlete that comes through our program. In return, they begin to respect themselves and their fellow athletes.
· Camaraderie amongst the athletes begins to develop, especially with those that regularly attend. The mind set of receiving individualized training begins to subtly transition to the mind set of training “as a team”. The students begin to encourage one another unselfishly, pushing each other to successful results.

9. Develops leaders on and off the court or field:
· Promotes healthy choices outside of athletics.
· Encourages student athletes to step outside of their comfort zone and become role models to others.

10. BELIEVE ~ It doesn’t matter if the goal is grand or simply taking baby steps. You have to believe -
· We believe each student athlete can accomplish what ever they set out to do.
· We believe each student athlete can overcome challenges with dedication and perseverance.
· We believe each student athlete can achieve their dream because it is real.
Thanks Robyn!
-MaxSC

My Longest Year

The year 2003 is like a blur to me. Looking back, I have trouble distinguishing one month from the next, which is why I find it so ironic that at the time it felt as though 2003 would never end. Out of the 24 years I have lived thus far, it has seemed to be, without a doubt, the longest.

So why did it seem so long? In 2003, I finally did something about my life-long foot pain.

I had lived with foot pain since I could remember. I used to have so much pain in the morning that I could hardly walk to the shower and, especially after basketball games, could sometimes not walk at all. I tried countless remedies from orthotics to physical therapy. So when I visited with Dr. Sig Hansen at Harborview Medical Center, the rest of my options were practically exhausted. That was the summer of 2002, right before I began my first season of college football.

Together, Dr. Hansen and I devised a plan: Cut through my left heel and restructure my foot immediately following the season and perform a less-severe operation to relieve pressure on both feet by effectively loosening my calves. Recovery would be 8 months to a year depending on setbacks, so the best case scenario predicted my stepping back on the field right at the beginning of my sophomore season. It felt to me as if there was no choice in the matter. The present condition of my feet was beginning to severely hinder my ability to perform on the field.

After the surgery I began the long process of rehabilitation. I found comfort in my teammates as they were patient and encouraging, but I still became overwhelmingly frustrated at my inability to join them in our workouts. I watched as my leg strength diminished and my cardiovascular endurance regressed. Three months post-surgery the cast came off and I began pedaling on the stationary bike. Then came the elliptical trainer and body weight squats. But my recovery was not coming quickly enough.

Let’s be clear about one thing. When it comes to football, the only feeling worse then being injured is not being on the team at all. Watching my teammates push each other beyond their natural limits as I sat in the corner and stretched was almost too much to bear at times. In addition, the camaraderie that is built during that first off-season in college is hard to replicate and I always felt as if I was catching up to my classmates. That was the longest year of my life.

Fast forward to August of 2003 – nine months post-surgery. I am about to head back to school and join my teammates for training camp. Only one problem… my foot is still not completely healed! I still feel a jarring pain in my heel whenever I step on my left foot. So I go back to Dr. Hansen and he tells me that I should consider taking the season off to let my foot fully heal. But there is NO WAY I am going to let that happen, so I decide enough is enough and it is time to play.

Every season, Colby College opens training camp with a test of sixteen 110 yard sprints in under a certain amount of time depending on position. Repercussions were immense for any upperclassman that did not pass the 110s. Now picture this: I have not run in nine months. I have not properly lifted for nine months. My surgery is still not healed and there is still a considerable amount of pain in my foot. Plus, I had not even gotten close to passing the 110s my freshmen year. But when I stepped on that field to begin the test with my 70 teammates, I realized that there was no way I was going to let them down.

Since my physical capabilities were limited, I was forced to rely almost entirely on mental strength and perseverance. What else could I do? Somehow a switch was flipped in my brain. The word “fail” ceased to exist to me and as the test began, I was like a different person, determined to succeed at any and all physical price.

I passed the 110s that day and collapsed afterwards onto the grass in agony and relief. When I was helped up by the very teammates I had sacrificed for, it was like rising out of a dream. Later that day, while sitting in the training room with my feet in buckets of ice-water, I reflected on the experience and came to the realization that I had, for the first time in my life, harnessed the power of my mind to achieve a physical end. Ever since, I have been able to draw upon that experience as inspiration when I need to really center my focus to perform.

I am a better person for having gone through that difficult year of rehabilitation and the subsequent fitness test. Discovering the ability to draw on the power of my mind in times of physical distress has proven invaluable to my athletic career and to my development as a human being. I've learned that the mind can overcome nearly any physical limitation if you can figure out how to harness its power.
So although 2003 was the longest year of my life, it was also arguably the most important to my development as an athlete. I did not get any bigger, any faster, or any stronger, but the mental capacity I gained has served me better than any physical attribute ever could.


Dan Giuliani

Saturday, September 20, 2008

THE CONCEPT OF OBSTACLES

In a recent conversation I had with an old colleague of mine (whom I consider to be one of my mentors) the topic of roadblocks and obstacles came up. I asked him how he dealt with these kinds of impediments during his career (he is an extremely accomplished football coach), and how he continues to handle them as they come up. He responded by saying that as long as you keep a steady eye on your goals and where you want to go, obstacles don’t matter. In fact, obstacles don’t even exist. Obstacles are really just opportunities to learn and get stronger while traveling on the journey toward your goals.

As athletes, we will ALWAYS come across these opportunities. They show themselves when injuries arise, when difficulties occur in school or our social lives, if we don’t perform the way we expect to, if we get beat out by a teammate and don’t play as much as we feel we should, etc…

When these things happen we must remember to stay focused on our long term vision, and do whatever we need to do in order to get back on the path. Athletes lose (and sometimes never bounce back) when they become too distracted by these opportunities and cannot see beyond them.

No matter what experiences happen during our lives, bear in mind that ALL of them are positive. They are only opportunities that we can learn from and use to become better athletes and better people.

Daniel Jahn

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Chlorophantastic!

Most of us vaguely remember the word Chlorophyll from our high school science class. I would bet that few actually know the benefits of this great molecule. The most common time we see chlorophyll is when we look at plant leaves. In plants, it's primary function is to absorb and transfer light energy. In humans it can provide great benefits too:

Detoxifies Liver
Eliminates body odor
Cleans digestive tract
Prevents liver cancer
Used in cancer therapy
Good for anemia
Eliminates mold from body

Where can I get some? Easy - look for leafy green vegetables like spinach, romaine lettuce and green peas to start. Another easy method is in Nutritox Spirulina Energy bar, it can be an great alternative.