James Smith

Small Sided Games For Athletic Development Course Most training relies on controlled drills & predictable patterns. But sport is dynamic, unpredictable, & constantly changing. This course shows you how to design training environments that behave like sport, activities that look, feel, & act like the game itself. Through practical video demonstrations & coaching guidance, you’ll learn how to use SSGs to develop movement skill, decision-making, gamespeed, & adaptability. If you’re a coach, athlete, or parent, this course will give you the tools to build better training environments & unlock true skill transfer to sport. theuofstrength.thinkific.com…

Most training programs focus on developing speed, but overlook teaching the gamespeed behaviors that shape movement in sport. One key offensive behavior? Exploiting space. Here’s how we challenged it by creating a defensive advantage scenario, then manipulated constraints to encourage the offense to recognize & exploit available space. Inside the Activity: ▪️ TWO defensive zones ▪️ ONE defender per zone ▪️ Defenders CANNOT leave their territory ▪️ Offense must exploit space to catch the ball or frisbee inside the playing area The big picture? Manipulate constraints to shape behaviors & create opportunities for the offense to perceive openings, adjust timing & discover functional movement solutions.

Functional Fitness vs. Functional Movement Solutions They’re NOT the same. Just because an exercise looks functional doesn’t mean it prepares athletes for the problems of sport. 🔹 Functional Fitness Develops physical capacities👇 Strength. Power. Coordination. 🔹 Functional Movement Solutions Develops adaptable problem-solvers👇 Perception. Decisions. Actions. Intentions. The big difference? One builds the physical tools. The other challenges athletes to use them when, where, & how the situation demands. The goal? Not movement that looks like sport, but movement that functions in sport.

Most warmups focus on rehearsing movements. We create opportunities to explore. At #uofstrength, we have our non-negotiables: 🔹 Foot Sensory Drills 🔹 Eye Movements 🔹 Isometrics 🔹 Crawling & Rolling 🔹 Extensive Plyometrics But we also design environments that challenge individuals to discover movement solutions. Inside the Activity: Landing Preparation ▪️ Jump over the obstacle ▪️ Hands can ONLY contact the box ▪️ Land on two feet The big benefit? Developing adaptable 🤚 & 🦶contact strategies within the same repetition. Less memorization. More exploration. Change the constraints. Expand the movement 🧰.

EXPAND Your Coaching Toolbox! 5 Digital Resources. Endless Possibilities. 🔹 Agility 5.0 🔹 Gameplay 7.0 🔹 Speed Toolbox 5.0 🔹 Throwing & Catching Patterns 6.0 🔹 Elastic Solutions 4.0 New ideas. Fresh perspectives. More movement solutions. Explore The U Academy & take your coaching to the next level! theuofstrength.thinkific.com

Hunting vs Trailing: Speed with a Purpose Same positional disadvantage. Different intentions. 🔹 HUNTING (Defensive Pursuit) The defender starts BEHIND the opponent & must accelerate to close space, neutralize the disadvantage, or regain positional advantage. 🔹 TRAILING (Offensive Pursuit) The offensive participant starts BEHIND the opponent & must strategically manipulate speed to create opportunities & gain a positional advantage. The big difference? ▪️ Hunting: Chase, close space & recover. ▪️ Trailing: Manipulate speed, exploit space & attack. Speed isn’t just about moving FAST. It’s about knowing WHEN, WHERE & WHY to accelerate. Different roles. Different intentions. Different movement solutions.

Everyone trains the GO. Faster sprints. Bigger jumps. Explosive cuts. But what about the STOP? Deceleration: The overlooked side of athletic development. 🔹 Control momentum 🔹 Accept & redirect force 🔹 Manage COM over BOS 🔹 Store & reuse energy 🔹 Organize effective braking strategies Inside the Activity: Partner Toss & Unilateral Med Ball Catch The Task: ▪️ Catch with ONE hand ▪️ NO additional movement after the catch The Purpose: ▪️ Challenge total body coordination ▪️ Manage COM/BOS relationships ▪️ Explore upper body yielding strategies ▪️ Develop adaptable force acceptance solutions Coaching Focus: 🔸 Strong hand contacts 🔸 Avoid excessive collapsing 🔸 OWN the catching strategy The BIG takeaway? The effectiveness of the STOP influences the effectiveness of the GO. Smooth braking creates opportunities for sharper cuts, smoother transitions & faster re-accelerations.

Why Do We Lift? Heavy lifting isn’t the END goal. It’s ONE tool in the athletic force development toolbox. At #uofstrength, speed and agility expose athletes to rapid, high-velocity demands. But athletic development isn’t just about moving FAST. Sometimes, we need to SLOW things down. Heavy resistance training helps: 🔹 Build tissue resilience 🔹 Increase force potential 🔹 Develop connective tissue capacity 🔹 Balance high-speed demands 🔹 Improve tolerance to training loads The BIG picture? Heavy lifting develops the capacity to produce & tolerate force. Sport challenges athletes to express that force under changing conditions. The goal isn’t simply to lift more weight. It’s to expand the athlete’s toolbox for force capabilities. Come experience our DIFFERENT approach to athletic development at our NEW home in Bedford, NH — Opening Soon! theuofstrength.com

Sport isn’t played in a vacuum. Why should training be? At #uofstrength, we design environments that challenge the problem-solving process under changing conditions. Inside the Activity: 1v1s 🔹 Drop-In start 🔹 Noodle trigger determines roles 🔹 Noodle FALLS= Defense 🔹 Noodle STANDS= Offense 🔹 Offense: Secure the opposite-side ball 🔹 Defense: Steal the scarf 🔹 1 point per defensive steal 🔹 First to 3, 5 or 7 points wins!

Speed. Strength. Power. We measure what we can SEE. But what about what we CAN’T? 🔹 Perception: What information matters? 🔹 Anticipation: What’s about to happen? 🔹 Decision-Making: When should I act? 🔹 Adaptation: How do I solve the problem? At #uofstrength, we blend physical development with perceptual-cognitive challenges. ▪️ ALIVE activities over robotic repetitions ▪️ Information over instructions ▪️ Problem-solving over predetermined patterns ▪️ Adaptability over perfection The goal? Not just athletes who move fast, but athletes who recognize opportunities & act when it matters. Because in sport, it’s not just HOW fast you move. It’s knowing WHEN, WHERE & WHY. The U of Strength is coming to Bedford, NH! theuofstrength.com

Forget the same 8–10 movements on repeat. At #uofstrength, we embrace movement diversification & exploration. Enter: Landing Prep Same jumping task. DIFFERENT self-passing strategies: 🔹 Around the body 🔹 Between the legs Different constraints. Different ground contacts. NEW movement solutions. The goal? Challenge how athletes organize, adapt & solve movement problems. The warmup isn’t just the beginning. It’s an opportunity for learning & skill adaptation.

Who says athletes need to master movement before they can explore it? Clean reps. Perfect technique. One RIGHT way. We flip the script… Movement development thrives on: 🔹 Variability over repetition 🔹 Exploration over perfection 🔹 Problem-solving over prescriptions 🔹 Adaptability over rigidity MESSY reps aren’t BAD reps. They’re LEARNING opportunities. Change the environment. Change the problems. Expand the movement solution toolbox. Want to experience a DIFFERENT approach to athletic development? Come check out our NEW home in Bedford, NH — Opening December 2026! theuofstrength.com

At #uofstrength, we manipulate surfaces & environment constraints to challenge the athlete’s relationship with the ground. Uneven surfaces👇
▪️Introduce variability
▪️Challenge 🦶 shape & contact strategies
▪️Develop adaptable jumping solutions
▪️Build resilience for chaotic sport environments The ground is constantly providing information. The athlete’s job is to organize, adapt, & solve movement problems in real time. Jumping is more than developing power. It’s an opportunity to build athletes who can organize force smoothly under changing conditions.

Right vs. Wrong or Movement Opportunities? Too often, movement is labeled RIGHT or WRONG. But what if the “imperfect” rep is actually an opportunity to LEARN? At #uofstrength, we prioritize: 🔹 Opportunities over rehearsals 🔹 Constraints over constant cueing 🔹 Principles over positions 🔹 Exploration over perfection 🔹 Adaptability over rigid repetition The BIG question? Not “Was the movement correct?” But “Did the movement solve the problem?” Movement ATTRACTORS are guides, not rigid templates. FLUCTUATORS reflect individual constraints & solutions. The goal? Not perfect movement, but functional movement that solves the problems of sport. Come experience our non-traditional approach to athletic development at our NEW home in Bedford, NH — Opening December 2026! theuofstrength.com

Complex & contrast methods are key to our force development approach. The goal? Train across the force-velocity continuum within the SAME SET. Here’s a look at two of our pairings: 1️⃣ Unilateral Press ➡️ Throw 2️⃣ Unilateral Deadlift ➡️ Jump Strength to speed. It’s not just about how much force you can produce. It’s about how FAST you can generate it. MORE force. MORE speed. MORE power.

The 3-Rep Approach Three reps. Three intentions. 1️⃣ PERCEPTION – Understand the problem. 2️⃣ ADAPTATION – Adjust to feedback. 3️⃣ EXECUTION – Apply the solution. Three reps might not seem like much. But when every rep has PURPOSE, it becomes more than repetition. Explore. Adapt. Execute. The goal isn’t just MORE reps. It’s making every rep MATTER. Come see this in action! We’re coming to Bedford, NH this December!

Who’s REALLY driving development? 🔹 COACH-CENTERED The coach DIRECTS. The athlete FOLLOWS. ▪️ Prescribed movements ▪️ Predetermined solutions ▪️ Coach-controlled decisions ▪️ Repetition & compliance 🔹 ATHLETE-CENTERED The coach GUIDES. The athlete EXPLORES. ▪️ Individualized environments ▪️ Constraints shape behavior ▪️ Training autonomy ▪️ Discovery & adaptability The BIG Difference? Coach-centered: Move how I want. Athlete-centered: Discover what works & what doesn’t. At #uofstrength, we don’t want athletes who simply follow instructions. We want PROBLEM-SOLVERS. Less dictating. More facilitating. The U of Strength is coming to Bedford, NH — December 2026!

Want to UPGRADE Your Warmup? Add contact prep to your pre-training toolbox. We finish our pre-training process with roughhousing activities that challenge force, coordination & problem-solving. Inside the Activity: 1v1 Chaotic Kneeling Tag 🔹 Both youthletes remain in a tall kneeling position. 🔹 TAGGER: Tag your opponent within 5 seconds. 🔹 RESISTER: Use resistance to prevent the tag & exceed the time limit. The Goal? Prepare youthletes to manage force under physical interference.

Introducing Inside The U 2.0! Go beyond traditional drills. Discover the WHY behind the WHAT. 🔹 Creative activity designs 🔹 Non-traditional training methods 🔹 Real-world applications 🔹 NEW content added DAILY More than a video library. A constantly evolving resource to CHALLENGE conventional thinking, FUEL exploration & EXPAND your coaching toolbox. theuofstrength.thinkific.com…

Being FAST means nothing if you can’t READ the game. Speed in team sports isn’t just about movement. It’s about how quickly athletes can perceive, decide & act under uncertainty. That’s why we use SSGs to challenge: 🔹 Visual scanning 🔹 Spatial awareness 🔹 Anticipation 🔹 Decision-making 🔹 Adaptable movement solutions Inside the Activity: Perception Meets Acceleration The task? Enter one side, exit the other as FAST as possible, while avoiding dynamic lateral obstacles (other participants). Every rep presents a NEW problem. Opponents move. Space changes. Information changes. Solutions adapt. The goal? Develop perceptual monsters who don’t just move fast, but perceive, decide & act fast. Train the information that guides movement.

The 3 Bs of Human Movement 1️⃣ BRAIN – Perception 2️⃣ BIOMECHANICS – Actions 3️⃣ BEHAVIORS – Offensive & Defensive Intentions Too many training programs focus on ONE: Biomechanics (Output). But movement is more than mechanics. We perceive to act. We act to perceive. It’s a continuous, interconnected process. Perception guides action. Intentions shape behavior. The goal? Stop training movement in isolation. Start designing activities that connect all 3 Bs. Train the system, not just the movement. The U of Strength is excited to welcome athletes to our NEW home in Bedford, NH — opening December 2026!