Off-Season Training

A lot of folks have asked me about my off-season training regiment. How I gear up for each new season on the beach. So I figure I will give some insight into what I do once the last ball hits the sand in any given year.

Once that last ball was hit out of bounds by me in Brasil, it was time to gear up for the 2008 campaign. Throughout the month of October I vigorously rest, rest, and then rest some more. That rest includes lots of bottles of vino, a fair amount of hops, and even a bit of the hard stuff when applicable. It includes surfing whenever the swell is up and sometimes even when it is a little down. There is a lot of running around in the backyard chasing my son and a soccer ball. Even some running down by the river to try and get our chubby yellow lab Sully back into trim snuggling shape. It entails sitting on my beach chair and cheering on Hannah and Nate in their respective soccer games. As my wife said to me, "seems like you are on vacation" to which I heartily agreed with her.

Once that difficult break of October is done it is time to get "back to work." This year I will get back to work in November. Through the month of November I will go to the gym 3 times a week to work out with my trainer, Bob Alejo. Run about 5 miles down by the river twice a week. I will still surf as much as I can and I will try and stretch every day. Spend lots of time with the family of course and take a quick trip over to Hawaii to see my old UCSB teammate Alika get married.

Once December comes around I will up the work load a bit by continuing to do everything from November but also add in a training session at the track with trainer Sandy Combs. Usually means some 400's, stadiums, and a load of jumps.

After the confetti comes down for New Years I will continue on the course I have begun but start to add in some actual ball work at the beach/my backyard. Most of this is just Phil and I. We try and go 3 times a week, weather permitting. We do passing drills, setting drills, ect... Not to much jumping, just movement and ball control stuff.

In February we start training with other teams once a week and continue with the weight training 3 times a week, workout at the track, and training ball control stuff. We will usually add in a little more jumping in our individual beach sessions. I start to phase out the long distance running around this time. I actually like running with my dog Sully down by the river. I have a 5 mile course I run that goes through packed dirt, shifty rocks, and a long stretch of sand too. I time myself and try to improve as I go. I add in some interval training stair climber which tends to kick my derriere. I don't sweat much but for some reason the stair climber gets me drenched with sweat.

In March I am no longer doing any long distance running but continuing with everything else. Phil and I will usually try and train twice a week with a different team and once with just the two of us or just doing drills. In 2008, the end of March marks the beginning of the 2008 season. Hopefully Phil and I will be ready.