Javier Acevez English 301 Dr.

Leslie Bruce

Ask any football player how water contributes to their sport and theyll probably tell you pretty much the same thing. Water maintains the fields to keep them nice and green. Water is our source of hydration during breaks. Water spray downs help to cool off the players during the hot summers. Ice water baths administered by the athletic trainers ease the pain of hitting each other during two-a-day practices. But what if I told you that water can be used in a different way and still benefit athletes in a way you may not have thought about. There are innovations happening every day in water resistance training. As a result of these innovations, athletes should consider using water as a part of their training regimen to improve their balance, core strength and lower body strength. We first should consider how we use water in our daily routine to understand some benefits that water provides. We use water to maintain a healthy body, to wash and cleanse ourselves and even as a recreational tool. For example, we all know that we should drink enough water in order for our bodies to remain hydrated. Water has also traditionally been used as a tool to assist and benefit us. During those hot summer days most people look to swimming pools and the ocean Figure 1: Children playing in their pool.

Javier Acevez English 301 Dr. Leslie Bruce to cool off and plus they get to enjoy splashing and playing in the water together. But even though recreational benefits exist, some take using water as a tool even further. Some individuals believe that the benefits of water go much deeper than just splashing and playing in the water. Those individuals see the benefit of being in water. They go as far as taking up water sports like swimming or competing in water polo. Those types of sports require long hours of being in the pool and require a lot of hard work and training. The benefits of training in water are well documented. Dr. Patricia T. Alpert, a program coordinator from the School of Nursing of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, said that water exercises afford the same health benefits such as cardiovascular fitness, muscular toning, and strength building, flexibility, and improved balance (2010). Another study done by Leah Robinson, Steven Devor, Mark Merrick and Janet Buckworth, who are doctors and professors at the Ohio State University, believe that you can get similar benefits from water training as you get from doing those same activities on land (2004). In other words, both studies found doing your workout in water gives individuals the same level of working out as if you were running on land. The water workouts increase your heart rate, work out the same muscles in the same manner and receive the same benefits as if you did those workouts on land. Because of these benefits, its easy to see why athletes should consider thinking outside the box and begin using water resistance as a way to get stronger and as a new way to train.

Javier Acevez English 301 Dr. Leslie Bruce

Athletes arent the only ones acknowledging the benefits of water resistance. Physical therapists have also been using water resistance to help their patients. Nancy Chase, Dr. Xuemei Sui, and Figure 2: A patient in a swimming pool working with a physical therapist. Dr. Steven Blair, members of the University of Southern Carolina staff, stated in their

study that physical therapists use hydrotherapy to improve muscle function, stamina, balance, agility, range of motion, and coordination, as well as increase fitness (2008). Therapists find that patients are able to rehabilitate easier because the water tends to ease them into the rehabilitation process. Working in the water prevents the full load of the body weighting down on injuries of the lower back and lower extremities. Because of the buoyancy factor of water, the patient is floating in water. As a result when patient walks or runs in water, their entire weight isnt working on their joints. Patients that have problems with their knees or backs will be able to participate in physical therapy in a limited capacity but they will be able to do so earlier than if they were to attempt the same movements on land.

Athletes are looking for a better way to improve their craft or train in more efficient ways. Any method that assists the process of building muscle, speed, agility, or strength will be

Javier Acevez English 301 Dr. Leslie Bruce very helpful to them. The natural progression is for athletes to work in water because of the properties of water. Barry Dale, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of South Alabama, stated that water is approximately 800 times denser than air; it provides buoyancy and resistance to movement (2007). The added density assists in the building of muscle because as the athlete moves, the water adds resistance to the entire body. Normally only a small group of muscles work together in order to accomplish the movement on land, however in water, the resistance of the water forces the athlete to use their entire body to accomplish the movement.

Even though physical therapists and some individuals have learned to use water to their benefit, one individual has taken water training to the next level. George Whitfield, Jr. is that individual and he is what most people consider a football guru. According to his biography on his own personal website, Whitfield grew up in Massillon, Ohio and studied football greats like John Elway, Joe Montana and Warren Moon. He played Figure 3: George Whitfield, Jr. quarterback in high school and even played in college for Youngstown State and Tiffin University. After a failed run at arena football, he eventually settled in the San Diego area working in marketing. However he

Javier Acevez English 301 Dr. Leslie Bruce was always lured by football and the perfect throw. His desire to coach quarterbacks drove him to become a private coach. Eventually, with his college playing experience and by visiting with other football coaches, he started his own football training camps (Whitfield, 2013). According to Jordan Conn, a long time writer for ESPN, Grantland, Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, in 2009 Whitfield began coaching his first NFL quarterback prospect, Hunter Cantwell, who eventually signed as an undrafted free agent with the Carolina Panthers (2012). Whitfield would go on to coach other NFL prospects and current NFL quarterbacks such as Ben Rothlisberger, Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, Andrew Luck, Donovan McNabb and Landry Jones. It wasnt until the second time that he trained with Johnny Manziel that Whitfield received national attention (Whitfield, 2013). Whitfield has always been a proponent of thinking outside the box especially when it comes to his training methods. In a recent onsite interview with Ian Berg, a correspondent for Bleacher Report, Whitfield took Berg to a training session that involved quarterbacks getting into the ocean (2013). Quarterbacks play football on the field surrounded by other players trying to rip off their heads. So when Whitfield takes his quarterbacks to train in the ocean they give him a funny look. Figure 4: George Whitfield, Jr. training Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel in the ocean.

Javier Acevez English 301 Dr. Leslie Bruce However when he explains that the water resistance increases leg strength due to friction or that the randomness of the waves causes the core muscles to become stronger, the quarterbacks willingly jump into the ocean. The ocean waves provide the same type of randomness that quarterbacks experience in football games. Hes even added non-traditional tools to his ocean training like tennis racquets to represent tall, big handed defensive linemen and brooms to represent arms swiping at them as they move in the pocket.

George Whitfields innovative ocean training and out of the box thinking helps elite athletes deal with unexpected events that occur during football games. The cutting edge ideas and unique training technique as well as training tools have caught the attention of other trainers. Whitfields roster of future and current NFL quarterbacks proves that his techniques are working and that they are spreading to the rest of the NFL. However, the same type of innovation and training techniques should not be limited to only elite athletes. It should continue to inspire other trainers and coaches to develop innovative ways to train every athlete similar to Whitfield. Athletes should consider adding water resistance to their training regimen to enhance their current skills and help them get to the next level because water resistance has significant scientific support.

Javier Acevez English 301 Dr. Leslie Bruce

Alpert, P.T. (2010). Alternative exercise may be attractive to more individuals. Home Health Care Management & Practice, 22(4), 301-304. Berg, I. (2013, May 16). Johnny Manziel training in Pacific Ocean with QB guru George Whitfield Jr. Retrieved from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1642264-johnny-manziel-trainingin-pacific-ocean-with-qb-guru-george-whitfield-jr Chase, N.L., Sui, X., & Blair, S.N. (2008). Comparison of the health aspects of swimming with other types of physical activity and sedentary lifestyle habits. International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, 2, 151-161. Conn, J. (2012). ESPN: NFL Draft 2012, Perfect Pass. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2012/story/_/id/7821231/nfl-andrew-luck-cam-newtonswear-qb-guru-george-whitfield-jr-espn-magazine Dale, B.R. (2007). Deep water running for injured runners. Athletic Therapy Today, 8-10. Robinson, L.E., Devor, S.T., Merrick, M.A., & Buckworth, J. (2004). The effects of land vs. aquatic plyometrics on power, torque, velocity, and muscle soreness in women. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 18(1), 84-91. Whitfield, G. (2013). Whitfield football. Retrieved from http://whitfieldqb.com/