Athlete Spotlight - James Meko
James Meko is a junior at Portsmouth Abbey who came to us two months ago with the goal of playing college lacrosse. He’s gone through approximately 15 personal training sessions and has experienced some tremendous success.
With personal training clients, we first conduct an initial consultation. For athletes, the consultation generally consists of observing movement patterns (walking, running, squatting) and initial testing (10-yard dash, vertical jump, etc.)
Here are our initial observations after Jame’s first session.
Initial Assessment Summary
Ankle → Stiff ankle stability/ Needs more time under tension while keeping the inside part of the ankle in a healthy state
Knee → No varus or valgus/ Have to enforce staying in back chain
Hip → Lack of internal rotation/ Relates to ankle stiffness; Need to implement “cornering and leaving” at the hip
Objective → With James getting ready for the winter and spring seasons (hockey and lacrosse), the objective is to implement speed and agility as it relates to hockey and lacrosse. Due to this being the only “off-season” time we will have until the summer, we will begin with our sports performance training and then implement proper body alignment and movement patterns while in season.
Testing Numbers (September - November)
10-Yard Dash - 2.31 -> 2.17
Flying 10 - 1.78 -> 1.48
Vertical Jump - 18 -> 24
VJ - Approach 21 -> 28
Our mission before the season is to make sure James understands lateral movement as it relates to his ankle stiffness. Naturally, he is a great athlete while working laterally, but increasing stability at the ankle will just make him better. Due to him being a goalie, the first goal was to maintain staying low and keep a good center of gravity. Similar to a catcher, goalies are in a deep squat for the majority of the game, so we have to train with that same center of gravity. Following that strong lower half, we enforced producing force from the outside part of the foot rather than the inside part (4th and 5th toe over 1st toe). Not only does this help with ankle stability, but it also allows that ankle to stay healthy in explosive environments.
James comes in on a daily basis and replicates how we mold our athletes at Island Athletics. He comes into training sessions with a positive attitude and an eagerness to learn and grow. Not only does he strive to become the best athlete he can, but he also works towards shaping himself as a better individual and that is a challenge for a high schooler. Whatever happens in sports for James, I fully believe that he will be successful in anything he does and that's a reflection of his work ethic.