Zone Ready teams up with Nike to test Los Angeles football players

 Zone Ready Press Release 2.12.09

Zone Ready teams up with Nike to test Los Angeles football players

Los Angeles, CA – The 2009 football season has already begun!  That’s true, if you’re of the similar mindset of companies like Zone Ready and Nike.  Autumn victories are often the byproduct of all the hard work and commitment that begins at the start of the off-season.  These days, the term “off-season” isn’t accurate of what’s occurring on most teams.  And the athletes wouldn’t want it any other way.  “I like getting back into the weightroom and on the track in January,” comments Jim Yukevich, an incumbent senior at Palos Verdes High School in Southern California.  “I enjoy competing in a different way, but it still feels like football.”

What this young man is referring to is the day in/day out competition of a properly designed off-season training program.  Zone Ready Coach Doug Gizzi agrees, “Why wait for August double days or spring drills to teach your athletes how to compete.  They can learn that on Day 1 of their Footballready © workouts.”  And what better way to start than to measure some fundamental athletic attributes.  A 40 yard dash, a vertical jump, and many others comprise a battery of tests that allow athletes to compete against themselves, teammates, and others from all over the country.  Previously, Nike has made it their business to encourage student-athletes to bring their “A-game” to various High School Combines that take place in all sports all over the country.  Football has a rich tradition in speed and strength testing throughout its modern history.  Now, Nike is soliciting the help of companies like Zone Ready to reach out to area high schools and bring that wholesome competitive opportunity right to their doorstep.

The program is the Nike/SPARQ Training Football Academy.  Collectively, this project encompasses over 30 area Los Angeles highs schools.  Performance coaches are providing testing and training instruction to players and to their respective football coaches to ready and prepare themselves for a memorable 2009.  Zone Ready has been hired as a consultant and executor for this project and will directly affect the “training lives” of three Los Angeles High Schools: Narbonne HS, Palos Verdes HS, and Peninsula HS.  Each school is unique in its football traditions, training programs, and backgrounds.  What they all have in common is a passion to win and that Zone Ready is in their corner all the way.  Peninsula Panther Head Coach Kevin Moen comments, “Getting our guys ready to go for the season is a big thing to us out here.  We ask our players to give 90 minutes to 2 hours 5 days per week – we want them lifting and running, but most importantly we want them to compete and work as a team.  If we can do that, we are creating opportunities for more wins come the regular season.”

The process begins with the initial assessment – the first chance for coaches to see the hand that they have been dealt for the 2009 campaign.  Nike/SPARQ Testing for football collects the following data points: height, weight, peak-power vertical jump, 40-yard dash, 5-10-5 agility shuttle, and the kneeling power ball toss.  Athletes are properly warmed up and instructed on the testing procedures prior to giving their all.  “This is the appropriate way to run a testing day,” denotes Narbonne Head Coach Manual Douglas, “the kids are given the best chance for success and the testing runs like clockwork.”  Thousands of athletes from across the country will partake in the Nike/SPARQ Football testing this year.  The test is the same wherever you go: digital timers are used to reduce human error and the testing protocols are thoroughly outlined to eliminate any room for interpretation.  By adhering to such a diligent protocol, Nike and SPARQ ensure that the kids have fun and learn to compete and that coaches have accurate and unbiased data to evaluate their players.

“Sure I have some butterflies, but I’m really excited more than anything,” admits Palos Verdes HS rising junior David Davis. He adds: “But that’s what it’s like on Game Day – you find a way to get it done.”  This ability to perform under pressure is something Zone Ready preaches with all the athletes, coaches, and teams it services.  “We can get people faster, stronger, quicker, swifter, whatever – but if they can’t do it when it counts what are we really teaching them?  We are committed to empowering athletes to perform when it matters, when the pressure is on!” emphasizes Zone Ready’s Chris Gizzi. 

And from the sites and sounds of it – that is exactly what is occurring.  Athletes are given the opportunity to dig deep and show their best effort.  Some meet and exceed expectations, some fall short – but one thing is certain: everyone leaves motivated.  Coach Chris Gizzi stresses to the athletes, “It doesn’t matter if you had the fastest 40-yard dash or the slowest – you still want to improve.  Be able to look yourself in the mirror and know you did your best – being proud of your effort and insatiable in your desire to improve is what makes a champion.”

Another fact that Coach Gizzi points out is that this type of testing doesn’t necessarily measure other key components that are essential to success in football.  He elaborates, “I think this type of testing is a great indicator of an athlete’s potential – unfortunately, nothing here that is directly transferrable to the grass (football field).  Optimal testing must incorporate reactivity, spatial awareness, and integration of these multiple ability and skill sets – among others.  Furthermore, it would have to maintain the sterility and reproducibility that the current system has mastered.  We are always in search of others who are hunting down this same path.  It will be then, and only then that we can tell our athletes that this test is an accurate portrait of you as a football player.”

The search continues…