D3 Multisport Monthly Newsletter

Dear Athlete,

We are happy to announce this is our 36th issue of 'The Extra Mile'! That means it’s our 3rd year anniversary and thirty-six consecutive months of sending out our monthly newsletter. When I left the real world in August 2001, I had no idea that D3 would grow as much as it has and that I would have the opportunity to work with athletes from all over the globe. I had my hopes and dreams, but I was humble enough to know that it wasn’t going to be easy. As the old adage states: “Nothing great was ever achieved without adversity”. I try to keep that in mind when things get a little bumpy. J

In those three years D3 has hired 5 additional coaches and I would like to publicly thank them for their hard work and for helping D3 become as successful as it has:
Erik Cagnina - OH, Kevin Konczak - CO, AJ Johnson - CO, Jen Edwards - OH, and Mark Gavach - CO. Thanks everyone, without your efforts D3 wouldn’t where it is today.

Appropriately enough, in this issue we cover ‘Coaching 2006’ and ‘The Benefits of Hiring a Coach’. We are also happy to announce a new partnership with Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, where our athletes can now benefit from a variety of services. You can check out more info about the Boulder Center here: at www.bch.org/sportsmedicine

As the season winds down, I have been getting emails from some athletes asking me when they should take a break, what they should do this winter, how much fitness will they lose if they don’t continue to train etc.

Well, you certainly don’t want to lose too much fitness – if you do take a break from structured training until February or March, you won’t be back in gear again until May or June. In my opinion that is too stressful; trying to play catch up for the rest of the season while others that you compete against are miles ahead in their fitness.

One of my goals in the off season is to try to start the season in April at the same fitness level or better then when I end my season (usually November). In the off-season, I work on my weaknesses, improve my strength in the weight room and improve my technique in all three sports. I also cross train with skiing and snowshoeing.

The winter is THE time to work on your weaknesses – be it swim mechanics, bike power or run speed. The only way to possibly get better is to train. You can’t expect to lie around all winter, and then get off the couch in February and be faster. I hate to break the news to you, but it just won’t happen.

How much time do I take off? Typically, I advise two weeks of doing NOTHING – just rest, and then I recommend getting into a routine of going to the weight room, improving your strength and working on core strength and flexibility. If you need more time off, take it, but it will make the road back that much harder. You have worked hard this year, so don’t let it all go down the drain in a month or two of sitting on the couch!!

Enjoy the latest issue of ‘The Extra Mile’ and enjoy your off-season too!

If you can't see the newsletter in html format below - please click on this link to take you to there!http://www.d3multisport.com/enews/036enews.htm

Best regards,

Mike Ricci
USAT Level II Coach
USAT National Coaching Commission
www.D3Multisport.com




Edited by mikericci 2005-09-26 6:53 AM