Today we'll make the first installation of several posts that will cover the strength training and conditioning program used by the National football powerhouse St. Xavier Bombers. Their final ranking in the USAToday Super 25 2005 was #5. And, after several runner-up visits to the Ohio High School State Championship games...they finally won it all in 2005. 
ASAP: Athletic Strength And Power wants to educate coaches, athletes and parents on all things related to the physical development of a high school football player.Therefore, we went straight to one of the perennial state powers and present defending champ to find out exactly what they do. This top notch program can't afford to have a strength training program that will hold them back.... so they brought in Carlo Alvarez to cover all the angles. With Carlo's experience at the University of Notre Dame under Mickey Marotti (ASAP Advisory Board) and a stint as the Head Strength Coach for the Cincinnati Reds, the St X Bombers have the leader that they need. His methods, education and common sense approach to strength training does not compromise the risk of injury to athletes in the weightroom. He has developed a system that propels athletes to perform to their potential...and after a visit to St X.... with their huge size up front and their speed to go with it... well, we can't help but believe that this is one of the most organized high school programs anywhere. As the Bombers prepare to take on the USAtoday version of the 2005 High School National Champions, Lakeland High School (Lakeland Fla.) ASAP took a good luck at St. X and their strength program. Lakeland will arrive to play the Bombers at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, September 16th with no less than 6 of their players already commited to football scholarships at The University of Florida! There's no question that the Bombers will have to be at their best. Conditioning and strength will play a key role in this one. Here's our first segment:
The program starts with Carlo Alvarez and there's no doubt that he has the background to command this program. He's learned the trade at the University of Cincinnati, Notre Dame, the Cleveland Indians and the Cincinnati Reds. 
That's Carlo Alvarez (pictured on the right) with ASAP Director Ted Lambrinides. Carlo is on the Athletic Strength And Power Staff and many of his former athletes have been training at The Workout @Covington in preparation for their college careers.
If Carlo had to pick just 5 exercises to train the St. X Bombers, here's what they would be:
- Neck; they use the Hammer 4-way
neck machine and supplement that with manual resistance training. There's no question who the football players are at this high school...their the guys with the big necks!
2. Trapezius training on the "Trap" bar. Depending on the player, they'll use heavy weights ranging from 135lbs to 275.They also use heavy dumbells.
3. Rows: for Lat and back training, they use dumbell rows, then they go to the seated Hammer Iso-Row Machine and they finish off with the Hammer Iso-High Row machine.
4. Shoulder Press; They use the Dumbell Shoulder Press, the Hammer Behind the Neck Press, the Barbell Shoulder Press and also they do Plate Raises
5. Squats; this is a big part of the lower extremity training that the Bombers do. However, Coach Alvarez is very wary of this exercise. Players must meet a certain litany of criteria prior to ever making it to the squat rack. So, not every athlete in the program allowed to squat. Until they are, they use one of the three Hammer Leg Presses. But, the players must be able to do a deep squat with perfect form with a broomstick. The broomstick is actually held overhead and the player decends slowly lowering himself down into a deep squat position. Furthermore they have to be able to perform a straight legged hamstring stretch. If they can't meet these two tests... No Squats, yet. Period.
St X Squat Coaching Points
- barbell on the groove of the upper back
- heads are up...6 inches above eye level...keep the eyes fixated at one point, high.
- feet shoulder width apart
- toes pointed forward or up to 15 degrees out...depending on the tightness of the hips
- drop the hips to parallel....knees behind the toes
- Descend to 90 degrees, then pause at the bottom before rising
- press with the heels all the way up through the shoulders...try not to use the instep at all
That concludes the first segment in the series of posts that we plan on doing on the St X Football Strength Training Program.... until next time, Coach Cicale
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