Under Armour and IMG Academies announced today that they are forming a partnership to develop a unique comprehensive athletic training platform that will establish a global measurement standard for improved sports performance, health and fitness called “Combine360.”

By utilizing the performance and training expertise of Under Armour and IMG Performance, Combine360 will measure and record sport-specific ability and mental aptitude, nutritional level, ability to communicate and a variety of other performance disciplines allowing athletes of all abilities from across the world to compare their scores.

As part of this new venture, beginning in early 2010, Under Armour and IMG Performance will host over 100 combines at regional sites across the country. Staffed by some of the world’s top performance specialists from Under Armour and the IMG Performance Institute, the combines will lay the foundation for a consistent platform for athletic analysis. This partnership will also help establish testing metrics, training methodology, certification standards and continuing educational programs to maximize athletic development and performance potential.  The focal points of this integrated training platform are at three levels: 90 (Core Physical), 180 (Sports-Specific Physical) and 360 (Advanced Elements). These tests will include physical conditioning, muscle regeneration, nutrition, sports medicine and anthropometric assessments.

To kick off the partnership and showcase the multi-sport applications of this joint initiative, Under Armour and IMG Performance hosted a special grassroots combine for dedicated football, soccer and rugby players (ages 8-18) this past Saturday, October 24^th at London’s Finsbury Park Stadium in conjunction with the NFL game in London between the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Over 250 talented athletes participated in this first-ever program. The head of the IMG Performance Institute’s Strength and Conditioning program, Jeff Dillman, along with performance specalist Corey Stenstrup, and the Head of Mental Conditioning, Dr. Angus Mugford all crossed the Atlantic to work with some of the UK’s young athletic talent. Athletes attending the combine got some hands on coaching and sport skill work from some of the best coaches out there, including IMG’s own Director of the IMG Soccer Academy - Tom Durkin, in addition to Drew Brees’ Strength Coach and head of the Under Armour Performance Training Council Todd Durkin, Big E, Eric Ogbogu, who is the face of Under Armour and Under Armour Combines coach Noel Mazzone.

To see video of the UK Combine click here.

This Saturday, October 24th, Under Armour Combines will take their game global! In partnership with IMG and the Dynamic Sports Academy in London, Under Armour is hosting an All-Sports Combine at Finsbury Park Stadium from 1-5pm.

Athletes from soccer, rugby and American football will compete in Combine style drills as well as P360 testing, giving each athlete the one true measure of their athletic potential.

The competing athletes will receive instruction from some of the best coaches in the world including Todd Durkin, the head of the UA Training Council and trainer of Drew Brees, Carson Palmer and LaDainian Tomlinson. Also at the Combine will be former NFL and college coach Noel Mazzone who has worked with star NFL QB's Brett Favre, Philip Rivers and Eli Manning. Rounding out the coaching staff will be UA All-America coach Don Cox, and IMG Academy trainers Jeff Dillman, Corey Stenstrup and Tom Durkin.

With top local professional athletes slated to appear as well, this is sure to be a one in a lifetime event for the athletes competing.

For more information, check out: http://bit.ly/4BU1IV and http://twitpic.com/m48kh

Under Armour's Patrick Willis was all over the field yesterday, leading his San Francisco 49ers to a commanding 35-0 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

Willis had 2.5 sacks and capped his day with a thrilling interception return for a touchdown, the second of his sure to be illustrious NFL career.

After the game, Willis' coach, Mike Singletary (regarded as one of the best players at Willis' position, middle linebacker) praised his defensive captain, saying that he could end up better than Singletary himself was before its all said and done.

Media outlets throughout the country have used yesterday's performance to strengthen the argument that Willis is following in the footsteps of many great middle linebackers, including fellow Under Armour athlete Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens, who many view as the best current player at the postion.

Always the team player, Willis refused to focus on his individual achievements after the game, instead focusing on the play of his entire defensive unit and stressing to the press that their goal is to become the top defense in the NFL.

Patrick is also known for being a great student in the film room, and in typical Willis fashion, he will put yesterday's accomplishments aside and immediately begin studying for a tough opponent next week in the Atlanta Falcons.

For the second consecutive year, the athletes competing in the Elite 24 event got to see, feel and experience just what it takes to make it to the next level when they went through a performance training workout and combine drills with Under Armour TNP Performance Training Council member Steve Hess. Hess, the Strength and Conditioning coach for the Denver Nuggets, spoke to the players before the workout and told them that if they wanted to make it to the top, they would perform like this everyday. This is the type of conditioning work that he puts Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the Western Conference finalist Nuggets through daily. Steve told the athletes that there are 350 jobs in the NBA, and billions of people in the world, telling them that its easier to become a neurosurgeon, odds-wise, than an NBA player. With that, Hess put the boys to work.

The workout started with Hess and his team of trainers leading the athletes through a dynamic warm-up. Designed to stretch and warm the muscles throughout the entire body, many of the athletes saw that they were in for something they had never experienced just by the intensity of the warm-up. The enthusiasm never wavered from start to finish and while there were two teams on the court, all 24 players banded together to pump up and rally each other. Once everyone was loose, it was time to hit the circuit.

Hess set up 24 stations, and each player went all-out for a minute on each one. Stations varied from agility work to power drills, with speed, endurance and will all necessary to get through each station. Whether it was resistance cords hung from the rims, plyo box jumps at mid-court, agility hops down the sideline or whipping a massive rope anchored to the floor, Hess turned the hardwood into the hottest Performance Training spot in the city for 45 minutes.  In between stations, the athletes ran sprints, making this a true test of endurance. Through all the sweat and heavy breathing, each athlete knew they couldn't give up, as this was what they'd need to do to continue to get better daily and make it to the NBA, where this would be the norm.

Once the grueling circuit was complete, Hess and his team demonstrated NBA Combine drills to the team and then put them through those as well. Drills here included the Standing Vertical Jump, Max Reach Vertical (3 steps before jump), Lane Agility Drill, ≤ Court Sprint and Bench Press. The athletes were eager to learn and try the drills, as many of them will soon go through them as they move up the ranks in their hoops careers.

Following the 90 minute session, many of the athletes thanked Hess and his team for the opportunity to learn from him as well as teaching them new ways to train. As Hess said afterward, even in this short of a time, he felt that he was able to give each athlete something that will help make them better, which is the mission of Hess, Under Armour and TNP Performance Training.
 

Todd Durkin, Head of the Under Armour TNP Performance Training Council, has decided today is the day. Its time to issue the challenge to all the TNP New Prototype athletes out there. Are you ready?

Check out this video of TD explaining the 300-yard shuttle and then head out and try it yourself. Think you're one of the fastest, most explosive athletes taking the challenge? Show us. Are you improving, even by a second, on your second shuttle than your first? That's what we're after; show us. Learn, train and get better every time.

Once you've viewed the video and tried it for yourself, post your video or results right here on the comments of this blog, or send your results to our Twitter account. Let's see how many people are up to the Under Armour TNP Challenge!

Watch the UA TNP Challenge Video Here

Check out the UA TNP Training Twitter Here

On Sunday, July 5, over 60 under-19 football players from around the world came to compete in an Under Armour Combine held at the Jr. World Championships in Canton, OH. While Team USA prepared to battle Team Canada in the Championship Game, representatives from Germany, Japan, France, New Zealand and Mexico came out to learn and compete in the NFL-Combine style drills under the mentorship of the Under Armour Combine coaching staff.

Former NY Jets coach Noel Mazzone and Under Armour All-America coach Don Cox led the athletes through a warm-up and the testing drills, finishing the day with a pass-catching competition.

There was no shortage of talent on the field, as members of the five nations became one red-and-black clad army looking to own the moment and measure their potential. The energy level was high all day long and at the end of the day there were results that matched that intensity.

The standout of the Combine was Christoph Waldemer of Germany. Considered one of the players to watch in the entire tournament, Christoph did not disappoint. The six-foot running back had the fastest 40-yard dash of the day, clocking in at 4.55 seconds. He followed that effort with a 7.15 3-cone, 4.1 short shuttle and a 31.5" vertical.

Another German player made his case for top athlete: Mark Nzecho. Mark ran a 4.73 40, and had a 32 inch vertical.

Suguru Matsuzaki of Japan was small in stature at 5'8", but his 10'2" broad jump was one of the days best.

New Zealand brought several high energy players including John Nicodemus and Mitchell Crossland-Scott.

While there were several languages being spoken on the field, everyone was unified by their UA uniform and the universal languages of football and competition. It was truly a fun and competitive day that everyone enjoyed.

FOR FULL INTERNATIONAL COMBINE RESULTS CLICK HERE

Be sure to tune in to the 2009 NBA Draft tonight, where Under Armour basketball athlete Brandon Jennings will be one of the featured athletes in the Green Room, anxiously awaiting to see which team will help him realize his dream of making it to the NBA.

Brandon has been one of the most talked about players in the Class of 2009 after becoming the first high school player to bypass college for a year of professional ball in Europe. Following his season in Italy, Brandon is back in the States and ready to bring his talent to the NBA.

Congratulations, Brandon! We'll all be watching to see where you go. Be sure to check back for a recap of Brandon's draft day and analysis of where he was selected.

UA TNP Training recently got to travel to Denver and watch Council Member Steve Hess of the Denver Nuggets training athletes in their off-season programs. Members of both NBA and NFL teams were filtering in and out of the facility and Steve had them in mid-season form. Here is a sample of a workout Steve provided:

Warm-up:

Basketball court lengths for all exercises

-High knee lifts with a hold

-High knee lift with a cross pull

-Quad stretch

-Defensive Shuffles

Treadmill Workout:

-5 minute brisk walk/jog

-2 minute run at a manageable speed (he used 6mph)

-Hop off treadmill and do 50 body weight squats

-Repeat 3 times, increasing treadmill speed by 1mph if possible each time

Circuit:

-Step-ups, 30 per side

-30 sit-ups

-1-legged hops down the length of basketball court

-Repeat this circuit 3 times

Pool Workout:

-Jog up and backpedal back length of Olympic pool lane

-Run up and backpedal back

-Defensive shuffle up and back with 10 explosive jumps at halfway point

-Repeat this circuit 4 times

-Finish with 10 length sprint

It was a grueling workout and provided a good amount of variety for the athletes involved. Thanks to Steve for taking us through it with his guys!

Under Armour athlete and Baltimore Orioles top prospect Matt Wieters, the 5th overall selection in the 2007 draft, will make his Major League debut tonight when the Orioles take on the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Wieters has been the talk of the franchise since their selection of him and has blazed his trail to the Majors by dominating Minor League pitching. The catcher should see plenty of playing time right away.

For more info on Wieters an UA baseball, check out the Under Armour Baseball Experience here.

Diane Vives, MS, CSCS is currently one of our TNP Trainers and has been an active member of the TNP Training Council since July 2008.  She is the owner of Fit4Austin, a personal training company that uses functional and performance training methodology to get the best possible results for all levels of athletes and fitness clients.  She currently lectures and provides high-energy, hands-on workshops internationally in the fields of strength and conditioning, fitness, and sport-specific training.  She is driven by the passion, knowledge and technical expertise that have blessed her with 12 years of success. During that time Diane has served athletes as a strength and conditioning coach, personal trainer, and co-founder and director of training at the Institute of Human Performance.

Her athletic background includes playing Division I Softball at University of Texas Arlington and has continued her competitive spirit by currently competing in women’s tennis, soccer and multiple endurance sport events. 


Diane also owns Vives Training Systems where she shares her passion for performance training and is the author of SMARTsets DVDs and Manuals, an integrated training system that fuses functional training with traditional science aimed at providing a proven plan of action for trainers and coaches to be more effective with their athletes and clients.  She is also the author of Training the Female Athlete DVD and Manual where she focuses on the specific strategies that can take all female athletes to new levels of performance and resist injury. She co-authored the Speed, Agility, and Quickness book published by Human Kinetics that provides coaches and trainers with a great practical field guide with over 200 exercises and drills.   

Diane currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Strength and Conditioning Association, whose mission statement is “We are the worldwide authority on strength and conditioning, we support and disseminate research-based knowledge and its practical application to improve athletic performance and fitness.”