MOBILE, Ala. --- For the members of the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team on campus this summer, preparations for the 2010-11 season have already begun.

Strength and conditioning head coach Justin Schwind has the team going through a new workout program emphasizing basketball movements and conditioning.

“Right now we’re focusing on squats,” said Schwind. “For a basketball player especially, the more force you apply to the ground, the higher you jump, the faster you run and the harder you can box somebody out. They’re also pressing overhead, which is new. By doing that they’re getting a lot of stability out of the overhead movement. We’re training them more basketball-specifically, like teaching them how to land properly when we’re doing our plyometrics, teaching them how to stop and change direction properly.”

Schwind established the program with three goals in mind: increase strength and endurance, to have the team come together as one and establish discipline.

With injuries limiting key players down the stretch last season, the program is designed not only to build strength but prevent players from breaking down.

“Before we got started I talked with their athletic trainer, Matt Brown, to see where they were deficient. In the past we’ve had some injuries that my staff and I think are preventable,” said Schwind. “We want to trend those weaknesses and make them their strengths.”

“The players understand the importance of the program,” said men’s basketball head coach Ronnie Arrow. “With how we broke down at the end of last year with all of our injuries, they know for us to be successful, we need to be in top physical condition in preseason, during the middle of the season, and at the end.”

Currently the team is in density phase of the program, developing a conditioning base while the staff teaches proper technique before moving on to strength improvements.

Using non-traditional methods, such as working with sledgehammers, allows the entire upper body to be worked with one exercise.

“With the sledgehammer you’re working on shoulder stability, core strength and their whole upper body – biceps, triceps, back, everything, even your hips,” said Schwind. “So it’s a great functional movement.”

The new workouts have helped encourage a healthy sense of competition as the players engage in weekly contests to develop mental toughness under game-like intensity.

“In today’s game, no matter the sport, the mental aspect is so important,” said Arrow. “It’s being able to handle adversity, whether it’s in practice or in a game, and that’s what Coach Schwind and his guys bring to the table.”

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

—USA—