"For me, winning isn't something that happens suddenly on the field when the whistle blows and the crowds roar. Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream." – Emmitt Smith, NFL Hall of Fame running back.
Summer usually means a respite from the rigors of studying, textbooks and exams, replaced by fun in the sun with family and friends.
But for student-athletes it also means preparing for the coming athletic year which requires a lot of running, weightlifting and conditioning.
Every athlete who excels at a high-level sport seems to always point out that in-season success comes when during times when the lights – and spotlight – is off.
Erin Hickok, Chaminade University's strength and conditioning coach, explains:
"Each season is different for each sport. Depending on what season the sport is in, defines the training program. Off-season, preseason, and in-season all are different in the way we train. The premise of the strength program is not necessarily only about lifting weights but it's about training athletes in such a way that it mimics sport specific movements and prepares them for the demands of their sport in conjunction with what the head sport coaches are doing. In order to do this and the philosophy of the strength program at Chaminade is we put a strong emphasis on mental toughness, power, speed, strength, injury prevention and last but not least nutrition.
"Nutrition has been a key element in the program in that we have the athletes hone in on nutritional aspects and work on having them gain lean muscle mass. We do this by having them log their meals in food journals and they are provided with individual feedback, as well as nutritional lectures on proper nutritional intake."
Nina Torio, a junior libero for the women's volleyball team, saw the rewards of the program as they advanced to the postseason for the first time in 14 years.
"The strength and conditioning program has been a great addition to athletics at Chaminade," Torio said. "The volleyball team and I have greatly benefitted from the tailored and intentional workouts that Erin prepares for us. The workouts challenge both mentally and physically, pushing us to be better each day. Erin and this program is such an asset to Chaminade Athletics and played a big role in our team's success."
Men's basketball also repeated the rewards of the Hickok's strength and conditioning program. Like volleyball, they also advanced to the postseason despite having just a nine-player rotation by season's end.
"Erin has been a vital resource for our program," assistant coach
Kyle Milligan said. "Her expertise in strength and conditioning and her dedication to our program has paid off in dividends. Since she has been here and implemented her methods, we have seen our guys get stronger, more explosive and less injury-prone."
"In my opinion, for the unique needs of Chaminade being that many of our athletes are not always on island, Teambuildr strength and conditioning software has been paramount to our success especially during the voluntary summer training months," Hickok said.
"We've had some of the best seasons from basketball, volleyball, etc., that we've had in quite some time and I solidly believe it's because these athletes are putting in effort in every single aspect on the field/court with their coach, in the weight room and outside on the 'hill' (a paved, inclined road at the top of the CUH campus), and in the training room recovering properly with the athletic trainers.
"I know this is just the beginning of more great seasons to come."
