No Pain, No Gain!

The "old school" ways of training and preparation will no longer get the job done. Nowadays you need to look beyond the norm if you want to be the best in the world.

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Head trainer Jerod Warf adds some weight to Kip Johnson's hill sprint.

"You guys push!" says Mike Box, an equipment manager with the 2000 USA Paralympic Rugby Team, who just recently returned to the sport after a long hiatus. He had been to a recent USA Wheelchair Rugby training camp and was amazed by how much the sport has changed since he's been away.

At a USA camp, 2.0s have the fluid speed of track racers, 3.0s dart and weave through traffic like elite basketball players, and should anyone get caught pushing with their head down the resulting hit will send athlete and chair sailing through the air like buckshot. Today's rugby players are faster, quicker, and harder hitting than ever before.

This did not happen by accident. In addition to recent improvements in chair setup and technology, one of the biggest reasons the game's speed and intensity have changed over the years is the level of dedication players are bringing to athletic training. At the elite level, wheelchair rugby is an 11-months-of-the-year, six-days-a-week commitment to training. Gone are the days when players could push around in their everyday chairs, practice a few days a week, and then go out and compete with the best in the world.

Check out the complete article in the November 2011 issue of S'NS.

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