Acceleration Performance

Quad tendon autograft donor site pain months after ACL surgery is more common than people realize. It doesn't mean something went wrong — it means the tissue is still remodeling and it needs to be managed. Before every session with this athlete, we start with heavy isometric quad contractions at a longer muscle length.

One exercise, three physiological effects: tendon analgesia to reduce pain at the donor site, neural activation to override the arthrogenic inhibition that shuts the quad down after surgery, and controlled tendon loading without the friction and shearing that comes with dynamic movement. Takes under two minutes. Changes the entire session. The details matter.

Save this if your athlete is dealing with donor site pain after a quad graft. Send it to someone going through ACL rehab right now. And follow for more evidence-based rehab and performance content.

Your liberos and your hitters have different jobs. Their training should reflect that.

Hitters generate force. Liberos absorb and redirect it — usually at a mechanical disadvantage, reaching outside their body to dig a ball that wasn't hit right at them.

This rotational partner toss trains exactly that. The ball is deliberately placed away from the body to increase the lever arm at the catch. More rotational demand. More trunk stabilization. More transfer to what actually happens on the court.

Train the position, not just the sport.

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The vertical jump hack for in-season athletes: stop jumping, start squatting.
The misconception: If you want to jump higher, you need to jump more. It's the industry standard, and to be fair, plyometrics absolutely have their place—in the off-season. But in-season? You're adding stress to an already overloaded system.
Research shows maximal squat strength has a strong correlation with vertical jump height (Wisløff et al., 2004). Weight resistance training improves jump performance without the repetitive joint stress of plyometrics.
Your athletes are already jumping 200+ times per week in practice and games. Their knees are taking a beating. This is when strength training becomes the smarter play—build strength in the weight room, express it on the court.
DM "VERTICAL" to learn more about our in-season training program.