At Blockout Academy Strength and Conditioning, I hold the athletes to an extremely high standard. One way I do that is tracking metrics long-term. The more data I collect, the more information I have to make appropriate coaching decisions. Watching how athletes improve over long periods of time also helps them gain confidence and inspires them to continue putting in the work necessary to reach their goals.

To keep it sport-specific we track single-rep vertical jump and a multiple-rep vertical jump using the Probotics Jump Mat. We measure each of those items unilaterally and bilaterally. We also measure the pro agility and 10-yard sprints using smart-speed laser timing gates. And we use the Vald Performance FD Lite force decks for a squat assessment. In addition, we do another bilateral and unilateral multi or maximum effort countermovement jump assessment.

Our goal is to build a more comprehensive athlete profile since athletes are training for the longer term. This can present challenges that short-term testing and a single snapshot of team performance can bypass. But I’m always up for a challenge that will produce better results.

Once we get everyone on board, we will begin to track strength measures and power measures using the barbell. We will start with isometric pulls utilizing the Vald FD light force decks. Then we will begin to track the squat and hex bar deadlifts and some measure of a horizontal push.

The assessments selected coincide extremely well with our training progression and provide relevant feedback for each athlete. Along with seeing their progression, I am able to use certain assessments to look for abnormalities and determine movement patterns or spikes in measures that are evidence of overtraining or even undertraining. This process can help and mitigate soft tissue overuse injuries.

Over the next few months I’ll be keeping you up-to-date and will release some of my previous charts, trends, and tracks from the teams and individuals I’ve worked with in the Blockout athletic community now that I’ve tracked these progressions and measurements over time. I look forward to implementing additional training protocols based on the testing outcomes.

Coach DJ Taylor is an educator and strength coach. His experience as a former collegiate athlete allows him to relate to the athletes he works with. He works with athletes spanning youth sports through professional competition. He also instructs “Weight Training” at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Coach DJ is a National Strength and Conditioning Association - Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach , with Distinction (CSCS, *D).