Another Couple of Wins...

The varsity girls XC team posted their 3rd win of the season winning the Corvallis invitational with a score of 43 beating Corvallis, Darby, Anaconda, Dillon and Drummond. Up next is the "world famous" Mountain West Classic in Missoula. The meet starts at 9:30 with the JV boys and finish es with the middle-schoolers about 12:30.

Our Middle school boys won their third meet of the year as well. The Broncs were led by Easton Albert and Karil Apedaile (1st & 3rd respectively).

Additional pictures in this blog are of scenes from our first "ultimate football" game at practice on Friday and our team dinner on Thursday. As our team shirts say, "Life is good...cross country makes it better!"
Good luck this week Hamilton Broncs.


Coach Albert

A Perfect Score!

Congratulations to the Hamilton Lady Broncs XC team. Last weekend in a dual meet with Ronan, the ladies did something few can lay claim to...even in a dual meet. They achieved a perfect score! For those of you who don't know, XC is like golf, the lowest score wins. Points are awarded by place. For example first place gets one point, 2nd place gets 2 points, 3rd place gets 3 and so on. Our girls took the first 5 places in the Ronan Canal meet...15 points, the lowest score possible. Hats off to Coach Gale Decker and his daughter Noelle for puting on a terrific meet...please keep Mrs. Decker in your thoughts and prayers as she is in a serious battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease.

My pictures this week are from a "Hill repeat" practice of ours here in Hamilton. What a setting for practice huh?!! I absolutely adore this place I call home. It is truly God's country. On this September 11, let's remember what a blessing and privilege it is to live in this great country of ours and reside in such as special place like Hamilton Montana!

Good luck tomorrow in Anaconda. Go Broncs!

Coach Albert

Ahh...fruits and veggies!

The last two weeks I have been inspired to drastically change my eating habits...primarily to fit into my dress pants for school which starts on Tuesday:)

As you can see from the pictures, fruit has been the main staple along with vegetables, nuts, fish, rice, yogurt, small whole wheat bagels...and of course, popcorn! I have completely avoided processed food, fried food, soda pop and really, all high sugar deserts. Water has been the primary beverage with an occasional juice or tea. I have allowed a small bit of dark chocolate so I don't completely go insane.

It's been good. I have more energy and have none of the side effects you get from eating all of the food listed above. I plan to add back moderate amounts of eggs, beef, pork and chicken. I hope I can be disciplined enough to continue this eating plan, it's obviously much healthier...especially for someone my age:)

In addition, I'm back to working out with much more intensity. I only spend 40 minutes in the weight room but attack arms, legs and abs in a way that leaves me exhausted. This is good. Just like shooting baskets, the more-game like intensity used during drills the more you'll get out of the workout. Just showing up is half the battle...the intensity will take you the rest of the way.

I encourage you all to eat healthier this school year. Be sure and get enough calories. You don't want to be in calorie deficit...you need the fuel! However, if you knew we could be one game or one meet better simply by eating more responsibly, would it be worth it? Would a state title be worth giving up pop and junk food for a few months? It would for me! Something to think about.

Go Broncs!

Coach Albert

You gotta love the off-season!

This fall is when we are going to get better. If we're going to play for the state title on our home floor (believe me, it could happen) then this fall you need to get in the gym and the weight room. Every Monday through Thursday 6:30 am - 7:45 am I will be available to lift and shoot with anyone willing to put the time in.

Go Lady Broncs!

August 20, 1988

Thanks to my beautiful wife Carla for the last

21 years of marital bliss:)

Fall 2009...the start of a new school year!

Just under three weeks until the first day of school! This may be exciting to some and dissappointing to others...either way, it's about that time:)

Remember that middle school cross country and girls basketball starts the first day of school, Tuesday, September 8th. You must have a physical before you can compete! The fall sports meeting is Monday, August 31st at 6:30 at HMS.

Other important dates include registration for classes at the high school. Wednesday, Sept. 2nd is the day to register for seniors (11:30) and Juniors (2:30) in the commons. Sophomores are at 9:00 and incoming freshmen are at 6:00 pm in the performing arts center (PAC) on Thursday, September 3rd.

Don't forget these important dates and enjoy the rest of your summer!!

Coach Albert

Learning to Manage Injuries

The unfortunate truth all athletes must face is the reality that they will become injured. Accepting this fact and learning how to manage injuries is an important skill for all athletes to acquire.

Common running injuries are shin splints, plantar faciitis, IT band soreness, knee pain and hip pain. If these become chronic or get too painful to compete be sure and see a doctor and/or physical therapist. (Report all injuries to your athletic trainer!)However, your goal is to "manage" these potential injuries before they become too serious. Perhaps the best thing you can do is ice, stretch and rest. Take care of the small "tweaks" before they become nagging injuries that keep you out of competitions.

Of course the ankles and knees (along with backs) are the most common ailments for basketball players. We already talked about knees in the last blog...let me address ankles. The most useful acronym I have found for dealing with ankle sprains is R.I.C.E. This stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. (Ashley is employing this right now after she sprained her ankle last night at open gym.) Be sure to get weight off your ankle. This may require using cruthes for a day or two. Ice frequently (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off). Wrap your ankle with an ACE wrap to keep the swelling down especially when walking around or sleeping at night. Elevation is the technique to use gravity to pull out some of the swelling. Prop your foot up on some pillows and get it above your heart for best results. The degree of sprains is different but the use of RICE can really help speed up the healing process.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you will be injured. However, accepting this reality and learning to manage these injuries can get you "back out there" a lot quicker and probably stronger than before.

Here's hoping for an injury-free season!!!

Coach Albert

ACL Prevention

As most of you know, we have incorporated landing drills as part of our practice routine in the girls basketball program for the past three years. I firmly believe they have made a difference for those kids who have focussed on executing the drills with the proper technique.

Last summer, Ashley strained her knee pretty good and it turns out she was a milimeter away from tearing her ACL. Fortunately the muscles around her knee were just strong enough to keep this injury from becoming too serious.

Of course there are no secret formulas to preventing injuries but the research does show what a difference landing and jumping drills can do to help significantly reduce the occurence of ACL tears.

Immediately after seeing Dr. Schutte at Northern Rockies Rehabilitation Center, Ashley was put on a landing program similar to the one we used from both Doug Martin of Hamilton Physical Therapy and Carla Albert of Catalyst Physical Therapy. They have really helped her recovery process. The only thing that I'm concerned about is that our athletes only do these drills during the season or after an injury has already occured.

Dr. Schutte recommends doing just 2 or 3 of these drills daily to strengthen the muscles around the knee and more importantly train these muscles how to "land," because it is in the incorrect landing that causes ligament damage. It's the nueromuscular training that makes all the difference!

Check out the following link for some drills or get a hold of a local physical therapist (I know a cute one:) and get some drills you can work on this summer. In fact, Carla would be happy to give you a specific program and the training to do it properly. (240-3494)

http://books.google.com/books?id=FIqw8LHQCeYC&pg=PA244&lpg=PA244&dq=landing+drills&source=bl&ots=PkZ2qkIi0t&sig=DMWZU_R5WIdeMaB3mrkkQymwFmk&hl=en&ei=vWWDSuX0BJDKsQPJrsWhAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9#v=onepage&q=landing%20drills&f=false

A great research article is found in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 33, No. 7

Happy Landing!

Coach Albert

Fall Sports Meeting Tonight

Tonight (8/11) at 6:30 is the annual fall sports meeting for cross country, football, soccer, golf and volleyball. It is a terrific informational meeting. We'd especially like to get an idea of who is coming out for our XC teams this year. We will have a meet and practice schedule for you as well as introduce you to our new assistant coaches...come find out who they are, I know you will be pleasantly surprised:)

Be sure and have a physical completed before the first day of practice on Monday, August 17 at 8:30 am. Remember too that pay to play is $80. We will bike in the evenings about three days a week. Our first meet is Tuesday September 1st in Butte and you will need to have attended a minimum of 10 practices and have your pay to play paid at that time..

See you tonight!!

NBC 2009

We had a terrific week at NBC Whitworth with our 7 Hamilton girls (Natalie Hayes not pictured). All six pictured here played in the oldest league and held their own...I was very proud! Not surprisingly, they were the most consistent shooters in the league and pretty skilled by comparrison. The time spent on fundamentals by these middle schoolers has really paid off! In addition, Hamilton was represented on the all star team by Jaylee and Taylor. I'm looking forward to watching these girls play school ball this fall and coaching them again during the AAU season. Congrats girls on a great week and good luck this season!