September-2010 Buffalo Edition - PDF - Sports and Leisure Magazine

Page 12 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE September 2010
A lot to watch in 2010
By Dave Ricci
As the 2010-11 scholastic
sports season kicks into gear
there will be no shortage of
compelling stories and topflight
athletes to gain your
attention, especially in the fall.
“The Boys of Fall,” country
singer Kenny Chesney’s ode to
high school football will no
doubt be blaring in football
locker rooms come game day
this fall. But will the song
inspire greatness? Only time
will tell.
The eyes of the state will be
fixated on Section VI to see if
our area can four-peat for a
third consecutive year in the
state football tournament.
Last year Sweet Home
grabbed their second straight
Class A state title, while North
Tonawanda (Class AA),
Randolph (Class D) and
Southwestern (Class C) also
brought titles home to
Western New York.
The one player likely to get
the most attention will be
Williamsville South stud QB,
Joe Licata. Headed to UB to
play college ball, Licata will
lead a potent Billies offense
that, despite all of the talent
they have had in recent seasons,
has not won a sectional
playoff game in 10 years. A
skilled QB and all-around athlete,
those who know Licata
best will say what stands out
the most is his modest,
unselfish team first attitude
and great work ethic.
But if anyone can give
Licata a run for the money it
will be NT’s Joe Montesanti.
Having graduated Mike Tuzzo,
the Jacks will go into 2010
with Montesanti lining up
under center. It’s pretty rare
that a team can lose their starting
QB that took them to a
state crown and return with
arguably a better replacement.
But that’s where the NT
Lumberjacks are.
Quick, smart, and athletic,
Montesanti was a key cog in
last year’s team. Those who
followed NT closely last year
often quipped that 2010
would be the Joey Show. That
time is here. More than skill,
Montesanti is the embodiment
of the team-first, one-for-all
and all-for-one mindset that
helped the Jacks win states.
While Montesanti will
shine, he certainly won’t have
to do it alone as the Jacks
return his twin brother, Dan,
Quarterback preseason prep
Christopher Koenig,
PT, DPT, MBA
I remember my time on
the football field; I played
cornerback during practice
occasionally. My favorite play
was called “lightning,” where
the corner came from the
deep outside at full speed and
really put a solid hit on the
quarterback. If the QB was in
mid-throw or didn’t see it
coming, it certainly could
have been dangerous. Most
QBs understand that on the
football field you are the primary
target. You have 11
players on the other team
that could be involved in you
being pummeled at any given
time. According to a study by
the American College of
Sports Medicine in 2004,
over 80 percent of injuries to
a QB are traumatic, meaning
that they occur because of
contact. Outside of head
injuries, the most common
site for injury in QBs is the
shoulder.
Just by analyzing the biomechanics
of the movements
of a QB, there are many times
that they have to open their
body up to injury to concentrate
on the field and their
target. When a QB is at the
furthest point while preparing
for a throw, the shoulder
joint is in a position where it
can easily be dislocated, or
damage to the soft tissue
structures can occur.
Depending on the extent of
the injury, a player can be out
over a year if surgery is
involved. The rehabilitation
process to most shoulder
injuries is lengthy, as the
small structures of the shoulder
do not have a very good
blood supply to aide healing.
Overuse injuries such as tendonitis
to the rotator cuff or
bicep tendon do occur, but at
a much lower frequency than
traumatic injuries.
Some of the largest mistakes
that I come in contact
with, either at the clinic or in
the gym, occur from muscle
imbalances. How many times
have you seen the same guy
in the gym bench-pressing on
a flat bench 20 sets, then following
that up with multiple
sets of bicep curls, and then
doing the same exercises the
next day? What this does is
creates an imbalance in the
shoulder complex, pulling
the humerus forward in the
joint, and placing the cuff in a
compromised position. It’s
amazing how many of these
guys are high school athletes
or college students. As a
coach or trainer, one of the
first things you should advise
your athletes on is performing
a well-rounded strength
routine, and paying attention
to all muscles necessary for
them to maximize their training
in the time they have.
As I advocate with all
sports, injury prevention
through training should be
just as important as performance
enhancement. These
two concepts actually go
hand-in-hand, because performance
halts if you are off
the field. QBs certainly need a
well-rounded full body routine,
with significant concentration
on the shoulder complex.
Scapular stabilization
and strengthening, as well as
glenohumeral (upper
arm/shoulder) strengthening
should be addressed in all
planes of motion. Training
should hit the larger muscles
such as the pecs, lats, traps,
delts; as well as the accessory
and smaller muscles such as
the rhomboids, serratus, and
all rotator cuff muscles.
Unless you are a pro, you
more than likely do not have
hours per day to devote to
such a specialized, full routine.
I advise using compound
movements first after
a proper warm up, and then
isolated muscles individually.
Compound movements, such
as presses and rows will hit
the most muscle mass in the
quickest amount of time.
There is no doubt that
chest press movements are
integral for athletes in sports
such as football, but so are
many others. A program to
strengthen the upper body
and shoulder complex for
QBs should include multiple
angle chest press and fly-type
movements. I like utilizing a
crossover or diagonal-type
movement as a concentration
exercise for chest, as you can
incorporate some shoulder
rotation and continue the
movement further than midline.
This will make the
smaller muscles of the shoulder
stronger at tighter angles,
which is often where injuries
occur. Muscles of the back
and scapular stabilizers are
just as important as the chest
and shoulders. Multiple angle
row movements, high to low
with a mix of dumbbells and
barbells can be used. For
football, unless it is a cable
movement, I prefer free
weights because of the stabilization
that is required
throughout the movement.
Direct rotator cuff exercise
should be held until the end
of the workout, or performed
on their own flexibility day to
avoid fatiguing them for the
larger movements. Cuff work
should be done a few times a
week for a QB, and at least
once per week for the rest of
the positions.
One exercise I would like
to highlight is a great compound
cable movement. It
starts to incorporate the latissimus
muscles, and then
brings in all the trap muscles,
all delts, as well as most rotator
cuff muscles. For this, you
want to set a cable pulley to
its lowest position, and use a
rope attachment. Grip the
rope with a thumb up position,
with the bottom of the
rope above your thumb and
index finger. Step back from
the pulley, and place one leg
in front of the other. Start by
pulling the rope inward high
to your chest, and then continue
to pull the weight
upward and back, rotating
your arms and palms back,
finishing with the rope split
near your forehead. The picture
shows the end movement
for the exercise.
If you have any question
about preparing for your sports
season, injury prevention, or
performance enhancement, feel
free to email me at
ckoenig@mcguiregroup.com.
Christopher Koenig is a doctor
of physical therapy, and the
director of physical therapy at
Harris Hill and Northgate
Health Care Facilities.
and likely the team’s unsung
hero Travis Charsley. They
also add an unlikely bit of firepower
to their offense from
across the Canal as Justin
Bacon, a Tonawanda High
School transfer, will now be
suiting up for NT.
St. Joe’s QB Chad Kelly,
nephew of Buffalo Bill great
Jim Kelly, should also be
watched. The other major
gridiron news is that nine
schools from the Buffalo
Public system have joined
Section VI.
Volleyball also has its share
of stories and players to
watch, most notably North
Tonawanda and its core four
of Sarah Hansen, Lauren
Metzger, Jordan Tylec and
Delaney Laper.
Growing up together in the
Jacks system last year, these
four led NT to its first
Sectional title since 1999, but
the season ended in a valiant
battle in the Far West
Regionals. Can they take it a
few steps farther this year?
A hot bed for volleyball
action, the Niagara Frontier
League will boast two of the
best players in WNY in Taylor
Lewandowski and Ben
Bowler. Both students at
Kenmore West, Bowler is
without question the best setter
in the league while
Lewandowski (out side hitter)
has been key to the Lady Blue
Devils run of dominance in
the NFL.
Eden will look to defend
their state title and former
Lancaster standout Lindsay
(Garbacz) Morris has taken
over as the new coach at
Tonawanda High School.
Christine Gibbons and Nikki
Smolinski will also try to lead
Nardin to success.
Girls soccer will see a
changing of the guard as the
two hands down best players
over the last four years,
Brianna Smith
(Nichols/Canisius College)
and Breanna Catipovic
(Mount St. Mary’s/Niagara
University), have moved on.
Girls to watch include
Courtney Mann (Frontier),
Catherine Williams (Nichols)
and Kailee DeFranks (Holy
Angels).
Strong and skilled, Mann is
one of the most respected
players in the state. A pure
soccer girl, Williams has that
rare blend of being able to
score but can also set teammates
up with perfect passes.
A case could be made for
DeFranks to not only be the
best goal keeper in the
Monsignor Martin Athletic
Association, but all over WNY.
Playing in the highly competitive
MMAA North Division
against teams like Nichols and
Nardin, DeFranks keeps her
team in every game and gives
them the belief they are always
in the game. DeFranks also
spent a week this past summer
in Costa Rica as part of a missionary
journey with other
area soccer players.
Erin Linz (Lewiston-
Porter) was the most impressive
young keeper in the NFL
last year.
Tonawanda Warriors may
not get a lot of attention but
they boast two tremendous
players in Kasey Weaver and
Kaitlynn Moore. Weaver is
ready to break out after
injuries have interrupted her
last two seasons. Moore,
meanwhile, is just flat-out one
of the most talented scorers
and ball handlers around. If
she were playing at a bigger
school you’d hear about her
exploits every day.
October is National Breast
Cancer Awareness Month,
which means schools all over
the region will be doing various
fundraisers. Last year’s
Amherst High School held a
Pink Week, where all 11 fall
sports teams sported some
type of pink theme of either
pink balls, hair ribbons and Tshirts
for an entire week of
games.
Ken-Ton had a Kills For A
Cure doubleheader that saw
the Ken-West boys and girls
host their counterparts from
Kenmore East.
Finally, no trip to a high
school game is complete without
a trip to the snack stand.
While most concession stands
feature the usual fare of dogs,
burgers, pizza and candy, if
you search a bit you can find a
hidden gem or two in most
stands.
My two favorites are the
homemade chili at Tonawanda
soccer and taco-in-a-bag at
North Tonawanda girls swimming.
Made by Karen Russell,
whose daughter Alyssa used
to play for Tonawanda, Karen’s
chili’s is by far the best I have
ever had. Taco-in-a-bag is one
of the more unique items that
features taco meat, cheese and
your choice of topping in a
bag of Fritos corn chips.