THE 2019 Hopkins Lacrosse Fallout Shelter (44, we want more!)

[wgdsr]

-- i don't know how many posts i've read about the president and administration of hopkins on boards over the years, but it is easily 50x more than every other school combined, and i still don't know what you guys are talking about.
-- cooter is probably correct in that maryland has been more in the transfer/recommit market, subsidized maybe by an equal number of late adds as a unc/hopkins. noted that unc doesn't win a champ without their late add. it helps when you can bring in 15+ guys/year, as umd and hopkins can and do. but it doesn't help as much when you fill all of those spots with early guys, as has been noted.
it's why you are thin, even with 15+ coming in every year.
it's why you don't have any middies playing middy.
it's why your shorties aren't deep and don't look like other team's shorties.
and it's why you are giving up 13 goals per game, and an absurd 17, 18, 14 and 16 goals in your losses. your offense better be frickin' awesome if you're gonna let up that many goals.

defensively, i hate to sound like doc barrister on anything, but maybe... maybe... there are too many rules for the defense. too many calls. i heard before the season that virginia had (last year or this year) like 70 permutations on defending on ball/off ball. that is patently insane. most goals are scored because one or 2 guys misses a beat and doesn't do his job. for God knows how many years, hopkins (and uva) defenders have looked indecisive. or lacking instinct. if that is a result of trying to fit the peg into the circumstance instead of reacting naturally, then that is on coaches. that takes too long and someone is going to break down, no matter if you practiced reps 24 hours a day. if they are playing instinctively, they very simply will have far fewer breakdowns, and reduce the chances for good looks dramatically. everybody will read the situation by impulse. that's much more difficult to score on than a counter for every situation.

i put the midfield problem on early recruiting. maybe goalie also, and fogo. when it was sexy to have attackmen as middies, with all the substitution, as a former middie i think that is a turrible idea. if coaches just extend that out --- recruiting can take you to where you have 9 attackmen playing your attack and top 2 midfield lines. it's a different skill set. a few attackmen have it, but many don't. now they can't move the defense and they can't stretch it. nevermind getting caught in the hole.

anyway -- the one possible solution i see with the guys on the field for offense is williams and smith switching, as i've said before. so get another attackman up there at the midfield. they can get williams' shot % at middy. he's got some size and speed. he'll draw attention there, too. smith is in maybe a position to convert and more room for marr. it won't matter if the defense doesn't play better.

what is amazing to me is now how many years the freshmen who don't play are the best players at hopkins. they'd be great backup quarterbacks. either their recruiting gets better every year, or everyone @ hop must peak at 18-19 years old, less than a year out of high school.

[Chitown]

I went to the Virginia game last Saturday (and attended practice on Friday). You observe things in person that you don't when you are just watching them on TV.

1. The JHU team is physically small, slow and not athletic enough to play competitively for the National Championship at the Div. 1 level. This is obvious. And the Team just runs "out-of-steam" in the 4th Quarter. Maybe the training is not strenuous enough? Coach Scott knew way-back-when that he needed bigger players to beat Navy (the old Sports Illustrated Article about our first victory over Navy had quotes from Scotty that he knew that he had to get bigger players in order to compete). It is an obvious advantage to be bigger and faster in a sport like Lacrosse. Why haven't our Coaches done that? Remember the famous quote from Coach Tierney, "I can teach players to catch and throw. But I can't teach speed, size and athleticism." I don't blame the players. They seem to make the effort.


2. The JHU Coaches (Benson & Pietramala) stood behind refs in the 4th Q, when the refs were near the sideline, and just screamed at them. It was embarrassing, I never had a HS or JHU coach do that. I was sure, and so were the other former players around me, that they would get a penalty, but the refs never turned to look at them, and Virginia was putting us away anyhow in the 4th Q.


3. At Friday practice, Benson had the attack at one end of the field, Pietramala had the defense at the other end of the field, and Dwan stood over by the sideline at midfield. I mean he just stood there. What does that mean ????

4. If your team is smaller and slower, aren't there schemes to cover those weaknesses until we can get bigger faster players? I think that there are. At this stage the Coaches should be more inventive and creative. Basketball coaches can do it, and basketball is derived from lacrosse (Remember that James Naismith was a lacrosse player first -- he played at McGill Univ. and then the NY Lacrosse Club before he "invented" basketball.). As fans, we should expect better from our current coaches.


5. There were lots of youth teams playing at Homewood -- many from Long Island. I asked some fathers what they thought generally of JHU Lacrosse. I was quite surprised when they told me that every kid "dreams" of playing for JHU and at Homewood. It means that our Brand is still alive and valuable AND it is not too late to right the ship.

6. The Campus just looks beautiful. The walks and drives are all red brick and white granite (not black top). The quads and buildings look terrific. Colleges like JHU have always cost a tidy amount. That has not hindered our recruiting in the past. With Bloomberg's One Billion Eight HUndred Million Dollar gift to make JHU need-blind, I think Hopkins will always be competitive in a little sport like lacrosse.


7. The Coaches need to do a better job. They look "tired". Maybe time for "Next Man Up".

[Hopkins34]

Chitown:

Excellent post and 100% accurate.

[51percentcorn]

I also like Chitown's post - maybe the only issue I would take is that eventually if you are small and slow at half the positions on a 100 yard field you will be exposed. If you want the answer on Dwan - I believe from reading between the lines is that his major roles before losing Dave Allan basically incorporate:
- Preparing film
- Serving as the good cop to Petro's bad cop
- Petro's buddy
- Running the box during games
Since the switch from Allan to Quinn (one N or 2?) he now has face-off duties - I don't know if he knows anything about face-offs but he blows the practice whistle well
I thought Jay Dyer was a fitness guru and a tough one - I remember the infamous "fun run" from campus to BWI (or wherever) that put several kids in the infirmary
Then didn't we have ex SEALS working the team at one point?
Maybe that's my issue - it seems this coaching staff chases the "next thing" to some degree
Too soft? let's run 50 miles
Too hard? let's take Thursdays off
Need Jimmy Bitters and Joey Sankey's? Let's get about 9 of them - too bad none of them are as good as they were
Oh we need bigger guys? let's have a freshmen class with 11 players 6' or better- 8 6'3" or better - Unfortunately it's the 5'11" guy that can really play

[Hoponboard]

1. The JHU team is physically small, slow and not athletic enough to play competitively for the National Championship at the Div. 1 level. This is obvious. And the Team just runs "out-of-steam" in the 4th Quarter. Maybe the training is not strenuous enough? Coach Scott knew way-back-when that he needed bigger players to beat Navy (the old Sports Illustrated Article about our first victory over Navy had quotes from Scotty that he knew that he had to get bigger players in order to compete). It is an obvious advantage to be bigger and faster in a sport like Lacrosse. Why haven't our Coaches done that? Remember the famous quote from Coach Tierney, "I can teach players to catch and throw. But I can't teach speed, size and athleticism." I don't blame the players. They seem to make the effort.

The most obvious attribute to fasten on in lax recruiting is stick skills. Unfortunately, most lacrosse players are not recruited on the basis of size, strength, toughness, 40 times and cone drills like football players. So there is no benchmark to determine whether a recruit has the physicality, speed and agility to play midfield for Hopkins. It’s the issue of losing individual matchups in the middle of the field that is killing the Jays’ season. While Tinney was not big, he made up for it with scrappiness, guile, skill and quickness. So there is no exact formula in lax recruiting. But with the 80 second clock, you better recruit a bevy of midfielders who can run all day and copy Tiffany’s training methods to ensure that all your middies maintain their speed conditioning throughout their four years. I cannot imagine that DeSimone would see the field as a sophomore at UVA.

Petro is not an innovator when it comes to recruiting. He is a trend follower with mostly detrimental results. Years of losing to Carolina led to recruiting like the Tar Heels. No surprise with the similarities that Hopkins offensive personnel share with Carolina’s.

4. If your team is smaller and slower, aren't there schemes to cover those weaknesses until we can get bigger faster players? I think that there are. At this stage the Coaches should be more inventive and creative. Basketball coaches can do it, and basketball is derived from lacrosse (Remember that James Naismith was a lacrosse player first -- he played at McGill Univ. and then the NY Lacrosse Club before he "invented" basketball.). As fans, we should expect better from our current coaches.

Try getting underneath your opponent near the cage after you spread the field to give your smaller players more room to pass. Just like basketball, spacing is critical in lacrosse. The ball travels faster than feet. Shooting 16 feet up top is better than shooting 8 feet from a poor angle. Newsflash: Epstein is not only Hop’s best attackman, he is the best zone buster from outside. Play Joey in a variety of positions where he can average 8 goals a game. That will open up space for Marr to score. Use Williams’s size to advantage by playing him in the middle on EMOs.

6. With Bloomberg's One Billion Eight HUndred Million Dollar gift to make JHU need-blind, I think Hopkins will always be competitive in a little sport like lacrosse.

Bloomberg’s tuition gift is a game changer. Hopkins’ acceptance rate has fallen below 10%. You may see the acceptance rate fall below 5% in coming years as parents fully grasp that loans to attend Hopkins are a thing of the past. This will mean that the university’s academic reputation may climb even higher and a lacrosse slot will become like gold.

[DocBarrister]

I went to the Virginia game last Saturday (and attended practice on Friday). You observe things in person that you don't when you are just watching them on TV.

1. The JHU team is physically small, slow and not athletic enough to play competitively for the National Championship at the Div. 1 level. This is obvious. And the Team just runs "out-of-steam" in the 4th Quarter. Maybe the training is not strenuous enough? Coach Scott knew way-back-when that he needed bigger players to beat Navy (the old Sports Illustrated Article about our first victory over Navy had quotes from Scotty that he knew that he had to get bigger players in order to compete). It is an obvious advantage to be bigger and faster in a sport like Lacrosse. Why haven't our Coaches done that? Remember the famous quote from Coach Tierney, "I can teach players to catch and throw. But I can't teach speed, size and athleticism." I don't blame the players. They seem to make the effort.


2. The JHU Coaches (Benson & Pietramala) stood behind refs in the 4th Q, when the refs were near the sideline, and just screamed at them. It was embarrassing, I never had a HS or JHU coach do that. I was sure, and so were the other former players around me, that they would get a penalty, but the refs never turned to look at them, and Virginia was putting us away anyhow in the 4th Q.


3. At Friday practice, Benson had the attack at one end of the field, Pietramala had the defense at the other end of the field, and Dwan stood over by the sideline at midfield. I mean he just stood there. What does that mean ????

4. If your team is smaller and slower, aren't there schemes to cover those weaknesses until we can get bigger faster players? I think that there are. At this stage the Coaches should be more inventive and creative. Basketball coaches can do it, and basketball is derived from lacrosse (Remember that James Naismith was a lacrosse player first -- he played at McGill Univ. and then the NY Lacrosse Club before he "invented" basketball.). As fans, we should expect better from our current coaches.


5. There were lots of youth teams playing at Homewood -- many from Long Island. I asked some fathers what they thought generally of JHU Lacrosse. I was quite surprised when they told me that every kid "dreams" of playing for JHU and at Homewood. It means that our Brand is still alive and valuable AND it is not too late to right the ship.

6. The Campus just looks beautiful. The walks and drives are all red brick and white granite (not black top). The quads and buildings look terrific. Colleges like JHU have always cost a tidy amount. That has not hindered our recruiting in the past. With Bloomberg's One Billion Eight HUndred Million Dollar gift to make JHU need-blind, I think Hopkins will always be competitive in a little sport like lacrosse.


7. The Coaches need to do a better job. They look "tired". Maybe time for "Next Man Up".

Thanks for the great post, Chitown.

Last time Hopkins had an “issue” with team speed and athleticism, they implemented a new “motion offense” that used quick passing and active off-ball movement to compensate. Was pretty successful and also pretty to watch.

Have to note that the Blue Jays are plenty athletic on the defensive end. Obviously, it’s the offensive midfield that may lack speed, size, and athleticism. But as you said, coaches can do better to compensate, and they did so just a few years ago. Don’t understand why they didn’t bring that motion offense back.

DocBarrister

[DocBarrister]

I also like Chitown's post - maybe the only issue I would take is that eventually if you are small and slow at half the positions on a 100 yard field you will be exposed. If you want the answer on Dwan - I believe from reading between the lines is that his major roles before losing Dave Allan basically incorporate:
- Preparing film
- Serving as the good cop to Petro's bad cop
- Petro's buddy
- Running the box during games
Since the switch from Allan to Quinn (one N or 2?) he now has face-off duties - I don't know if he knows anything about face-offs but he blows the practice whistle well
I thought Jay Dyer was a fitness guru and a tough one - I remember the infamous "fun run" from campus to BWI (or wherever) that put several kids in the infirmary
Then didn't we have ex SEALS working the team at one point?
Maybe that's my issue - it seems this coaching staff chases the "next thing" to some degree
Too soft? let's run 50 miles
Too hard? let's take Thursdays off
Need Jimmy Bitters and Joey Sankey's? Let's get about 9 of them - too bad none of them are as good as they were
Oh we need bigger guys? let's have a freshmen class with 11 players 6' or better- 8 6'3" or better - Unfortunately it's the 5'11" guy that can really play

Nothing against Coach Dwan as a person ... everything I hear about him is very positive.

Having said that, I have long believed that what Coach Pietramala needed most was a true defensive coordinator who could compel Petro to change his defensive schemes. Dwan is just not that person.

DocBarrister

[WOMBAT, Mod Emeritus]

Wow, some of you are going to be removed from the Pietramala Christmas Card address list.

[OCanada]

Sub-Committee? Hopkins was doing better before all that stuff. Which doesn’t amount to much of substance. Drop Mic. None of it is causative.

Hopkins has manipulated its academic processes with the goal to rise in USNWR. It’s data manipulation.

The capital plan to make Hopkins more like UPenn was begun long before Daniels arrived.

His contract was renewed because Bloomberg likes him. He also help bail out the capital campaign. Can’t argue with Bloomberg having a huge input.

You can’t make adjustments if you don’t have the players to make them work. You first need to get the players. Tierney is having that pdobkentbis year as well.

Getting the players is a result of a complex interaction of a lot of strands. The assumption some have that the coach controls the outcome rather than is one part of the outcome is naive.

Coaching behavior? Please. If you are embarrassed stay home. Tierney is idolized as the best coach in decades af he and DP are very similar in their behavior on the sidelines and their demands of players. Others? Chic, Richie Moran. Simmons etc

Zinn? I hoped he would start but if he is going to be a liability on defense and be the mismatch to attack better he doesn’t.

Yoga and stretching are becoming standard and cut down on injuries

[runrussellrun]

Sub-Committee? Hopkins was doing better before all that stuff. Which doesn’t amount to much of substance. Drop Mic. None of it is causative.

Hopkins has manipulated its academic processes with the goal to rise in USNWR. It’s data manipulation.

The capital plan to make Hopkins more like UPenn was begun long before Daniels arrived.

His contract was renewed because Bloomberg likes him. He also help bail out the capital campaign. Can’t argue with Bloomberg having a huge input.

You can’t make adjustments if you don’t have the players to make them work. You first need to get the players. Tierney is having that pdobkentbis year as well.

Getting the players is a result of a complex interaction of a lot of strands. The assumption some have that the coach controls the outcome rather than is one part of the outcome is naive.

Coaching behavior? Please. If you are embarrassed stay home. Tierney is idolized as the best coach in decades af he and DP are very similar in their behavior on the sidelines and their demands of players. Others? Chic, Richie Moran. Simmons etc

Zinn? I hoped he would start but if he is going to be a liability on defense and be the mismatch to attack better he doesn’t.

Yoga and stretching are becoming standard and cut down on injuries

They do? Prove it.

Dr. Mirkin who coined the term RICE (rest, Ice, compression, Elevation) in his pook published in 1978 (The Sports medicine book, ISBN 0316574341) writes on his webpage that he was wrong and there is NO evidence of ice decreasing swelling or pain or accelerate healing. THe opposite is the evidence. Unfortunately, we all have been "icing" injuries ever since and assume "a lot of ice helps a lot".

How long does a dynamic stretch last? Are there more "injuries" in the second half of lacrosse games because there isn't a half time break dynamic stretch. Seriously, I would like to know. So when those "profile" players, (coach looks down a deep bench ) get to play in a blowout, or players like Zinn have been standing around for a quarter (20-30 minutes), the dynamic stretch routine has to be done before he goes on the field. And if you watch the dance routine 95% of the players arent' even doing it correctly, just going thru the motions. Goose step high kicks

It makes you feel good, stretching. And the dynamic was intended to replace the "warmup", which is a good thing to do. (just wondering the stretching routine for marathoners, you don't see dynamic stretching at cross country events )

Hopkins is famous for medical stuff, should be LOTS of research/studies on stretching and prevention of injuries. I haven't found any.

[steel_hop]

I understand the point of your questions. But, many times lack of support is not demonstrated in what you say and do but what you don't say and do.

- Daniels - wasn't I here when your lacrosse only building went up?

Unless Cordish wasn't going to donate the money until Daniels came hat in had to ask for it, I doubt he had any real impact in this. No university president is going to turn down globs of money to fund a building project on their campus

- Daniels - didn't I oversee a 4 year extension to your head coach?

Unless he had to sign off on the extension, I doubt he had any input on this decision.

- Daniels - don't I authorize a Director of Lacrosse Operations?

Again, I doubt he had much sway on the decision outside of making sure the Athletic Department's books were balanced. It certainly would mean an increase in costs for the department so in some level his approval would be needed though I don't know how Hopkins budgetary process works.

-

- Daniels/Shanahan - didn't we oversee the establishment of the lacrosse advisory board?

Outside of a trip to NYC, that isn't a huge cost and probably funded by the people on the advisory board. The board are all volunteers so it is only their time that is impacted. We can make fun of it but all it does is formalize a process that was already well in place.
-

- Daniels/Shanhan - didn't we oversee the establishment of the Lacrosse endowment fund?

Much like a building, I doubt any university president is going to stop someone from starting a fund to endow something at a school baring it being something embarrassing like naming the fund the "Robert E. Lee Fund for studying the civil war." I've known a couple of people that started a scholarship fund at Hopkins for a deceased Hopkins grad. The process isn't that onerous for the school. All it requires is fortitude on the part of the ones wanting to create the fund. The only thing Hopkins does do is that it gives you a time period to raise the money and if you don't reach your goal in the set timeframe, Hopkins will transfer the money into its general fund.
-

- Daniels - can you provide me a list of lacrosse recruits that wanted to go to Hopkins but were prevented form doing so by my academic standards?
While I know of anecdotal evidence that Daniels is an academic prima donna and I have been told by some Hopkins coaches in DIII sports personally that the increased academic standards and lack of "stretches" were going to impact the performance on the field - it must also be noted that Hopkins is in the lead for the Directors' Cup.

Here is where I think Daniels has impact the teams. He can set down parameters on how far they will change their numbers to get a kin in. As you say, limiting "stretch" guys into the school reduces your ability to recruit various players. Some teams have done better in expanding that ability to get players. Take the Hopkins football team as an example in the 90s, seventy percent of the team came from 3 states - New Jersey, Maryland and PA. Now those three states make up 1/3 of the team. There are more kids from Texas and California on the team than MD. I know the men's basketball team hasn't been as successful in the last decade of Nelson's career as it was in the 90s and early 00s. Maybe he struggled in expanding his reach. But, regardless, adding more restrictions on the players you want to bring in has its impact.

One more thing, is that ND football had returned to glory under Holtz. But, he at some point, a year or two after the epic FSU-ND game, that he knew he wouldn't be as successful because the school was tightening its restrictions on who could come in the door because the administration changed. While it has somewhat reappeared as a national players under Kelly (especially the last 3 years), it wander the college football hinterlands for 10 good years and only changed direction with a new president and AD coming in. Unfortunately, I think Hopkins is going down a similar path.

Some of Hopkins recent success can be attributed more to individual players within individual driven sports (tennis, cross-country, track) than its team sports. As I mentioned the recent retirements of a number long-term coaches at Hopkins all around the same time and the Calder internal transfer sends a signal to me.

I also think this isn't just a athletic specific case. As OC mentioned, Hopkins (like all schools) is trying to manipulate the data. I also know from several friends trying to get their kids into Hopkins that being a legacy is almost a detriment to getting into Hopkins given Hopkins' diversity goals. (Again, not something that is bad when looked at in a global picture but does impact the local view.)

[runrussellrun]

"We need to further study this. Hey NIH, can we have another $500 million for research on this topic"

https://www.runnersworld.com/health-inj ... -injuries/

Ian Shrier, M.D., a past president of the Canadian Society of Sports Medicine, has been drilling into the stretching literature since the early 1990s. In a 1999 paper titled "Stretching Before Exercise Does Not Reduce the Risk of Local Muscle Injury," Dr. Shrier lists five reasons why stretching shouldn't be expected to work. Among them: stretching won't change eccentric muscle activity (when a muscle simultaneously contracts and lengthens, as in downhill running), which is believed to cause most injuries; stretching can produce damage at the skeletal level; and stretching appears to mask muscle pain, which could cause the exerciser to ignore this key pre-injury signal. He concludes: "The basic science and clinical evidence today suggests that stretching before exercise is more likely to cause injury than to prevent it."

[steel_hop]

The most obvious attribute to fasten on in lax recruiting is stick skills. Unfortunately, most lacrosse players are not recruited on the basis of size, strength, toughness, 40 times and cone drills like football players. So there is no benchmark to determine whether a recruit has the physicality, speed and agility to play midfield for Hopkins.

Unless summer camps have changed in the last 20 years, typically, there is lots of benchmarking going on. Players would definitely do 40 runs, cone drills or other benchmarking type drills. So this information is out there. If Petro isn't doing that at his camps or looking at this information generated at other camps than that is a mark against him. Toughness can't be measured in a drill but you can tell by the way kid plays on tape.

[HopFan16]

Zinn? I hoped he would start but if he is going to be a liability on defense and be the mismatch to attack better he doesn’t.

Sorry, this is total nonsense. Is he a worse defender than Concannon, DeSimone, Baskin, Keogh, and Smith? Newsflash, nearly the entire defense is a liability right now. Zinn is big and fast—in fact I don't recall opposing offenses attacking him specifically very often. Maybe because they know he is big and fast and athletic and would rather go at one of the munchkins? He has more caused turnovers (3) than the rest of the midfield combined (1). You don't sit your best midfield weapon because he might be a liability on defense, which isn't even true to begin with. Because of his speed he is quite literally the only offensive middie capable of getting back in the hole to stop transition. Did you watch the game last weekend? And you still think it's "better he doesn't" play? Unreal. This kind of thinking is why Hopkins is in the toilet.

[steel_hop]

His contract was renewed because Bloomberg likes him. He also help bail out the capital campaign. Can’t argue with Bloomberg having a huge input.

That's the one that gets me. The fund raising drive under Daniels was not successful so much so that I figured he was out the door once his contract was up. You don't extend fundraising times unless you aren't reaching your benchmarks. But, he most have a pretty dark nose because he was bailed out not once but twice by Bloomberg. The first time was the initial fund raising drive and the second time was the recent 1.8 billion donation.

I'm sure you can do something to PO Bloomberg but I look at asking him for donations is sort of like asking your grandmother for a cookie. She is not going to say no unless mom/dad say no.

[DougELax]

Sub-Committee? Hopkins was doing better before all that stuff. Which doesn’t amount to much of substance. Drop Mic. None of it is causative.

Hopkins has manipulated its academic processes with the goal to rise in USNWR. It’s data manipulation.

The capital plan to make Hopkins more like UPenn was begun long before Daniels arrived.

His contract was renewed because Bloomberg likes him. He also help bail out the capital campaign. Can’t argue with Bloomberg having a huge input.

You can’t make adjustments if you don’t have the players to make them work. You first need to get the players. Tierney is having that pdobkentbis year as well.

Getting the players is a result of a complex interaction of a lot of strands. The assumption some have that the coach controls the outcome rather than is one part of the outcome is naive.

Coaching behavior? Please. If you are embarrassed stay home. Tierney is idolized as the best coach in decades af he and DP are very similar in their behavior on the sidelines and their demands of players. Others? Chic, Richie Moran. Simmons etc

Zinn? I hoped he would start but if he is going to be a liability on defense and be the mismatch to attack better he doesn’t.

Yoga and stretching are becoming standard and cut down on injuries

They do? Prove it.

Dr. Mirkin who coined the term RICE (rest, Ice, compression, Elevation) in his pook published in 1978 (The Sports medicine book, ISBN 0316574341) writes on his webpage that he was wrong and there is NO evidence of ice decreasing swelling or pain or accelerate healing. THe opposite is the evidence. Unfortunately, we all have been "icing" injuries ever since and assume "a lot of ice helps a lot".

How long does a dynamic stretch last? Are there more "injuries" in the second half of lacrosse games because there isn't a half time break dynamic stretch. Seriously, I would like to know. So when those "profile" players, (coach looks down a deep bench ) get to play in a blowout, or players like Zinn have been standing around for a quarter (20-30 minutes), the dynamic stretch routine has to be done before he goes on the field. And if you watch the dance routine 95% of the players arent' even doing it correctly, just going thru the motions. Goose step high kicks

It makes you feel good, stretching. And the dynamic was intended to replace the "warmup", which is a good thing to do. (just wondering the stretching routine for marathoners, you don't see dynamic stretching at cross country events )

Hopkins is famous for medical stuff, should be LOTS of research/studies on stretching and prevention of injuries. I haven't found any.

Disagree with the bolded part above. I go to a lot of cross country races and see dynamic stretching at every one of them and by most all of the teams. I attended a summer program for youth coaches several years ago that Hopkins nationally recognized strength coach stated that Hop doesn't do any endurance training - only speed workouts. Maybe that is part of the reason Hop runs out of gas in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

[runrussellrun]

Offspring runs cross country. Team one of the best. Gone to dozens of meets. Never saw a dynamic stretching routine, evah. Maybe is a New England thing.

[Typical Lax Dad]

Offspring runs cross country. Team one of the best. Gone to dozens of meets. Never saw a dynamic stretching routine, evah. Maybe is a New England thing.

The cross country team doesn't warm up?

https://yogainternational.com/article/v ... g-injuries

[runrussellrun]

Always stretch before practicing karm sutra activities.

This is a good drill. Use it often.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivm2d55bOY8

Issue I have with it is to much standing around. Split the team in half. More touches, more running. Every drill should attempt to incorporate hidden conditioning. The way this drill is run, it doesn't incorporate conditioning. too much down time.

[runrussellrun]

Always stretch before practicing karm sutra activities.

This is a good drill. Use it often. But use goalie warm up sponge balls instead of tennis balls. Weight closer to a real ball.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivm2d55bOY8

Issue I have with it is to much standing around. Split the team in half. More touches, more running. Every drill should attempt to incorporate hidden conditioning. The way this drill is run, it doesn't incorporate conditioning. too much down time.