STR — Strength & Core (Part 2 of 2)

STR-19 — PALLOF PRESS

Category

Anti-rotation core

Purpose

To train the core to resist twisting. When a goalie drives to one side, absorbs a shot on the edge of the body, or throws a long clear, the trunk must resist rotation to transfer force. This is the most goalie-specific core exercise in the library.

Equipment

A resistance band and a solid anchor at chest height — a fence post, a rail, a pole, or a door anchor

Space needed

Eight feet by five feet

Grade range

6–12

How to do it

1. Anchor a band at about chest height.
2. Stand side-on to the anchor, about three to four feet away, so the band pulls sideways across your body.
3. Hold the end of the band with both hands, fingers interlaced around it, and bring your hands to the center of your chest.
4. Set your stance: feet shoulder-width, knees slightly bent, ribs down, glutes lightly squeezed, belly braced.
5. The band is now trying to twist you toward the anchor. Your job is to not let it.
6. Press your hands straight out in front of your chest until your arms are fully extended. Your torso does not rotate, lean, or shift at all.
7. Hold the extended position for two to three seconds. This is the hardest point.
8. Return your hands to your chest under control. Do 8 to 12 reps, then turn around and do the other side. 2 to 3 sets per side.

Coaching cues - "Do not let the band win." - "Press straight out from the center of your chest, like a laser pointing at the wall." - "Squeeze your glutes. Stay tall. Nothing above the belt moves." - "Slower is harder. Slower is better."

Common mistakes - Standing too close to the anchor so there is no meaningful tension, or too far so the athlete cannot resist at all. - Twisting the shoulders toward the anchor during the press — the exact thing the exercise trains against. - Leaning away from the anchor to counterbalance instead of bracing. - Hands drifting off center as they extend. - Band too heavy, which makes all of the above happen at once.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: step closer to the anchor to reduce tension, or use a lighter band. Hold the extended position for time instead of doing reps. - Progression: step further from the anchor. Add a five-second hold at full extension. - Progression: half-kneeling Pallof press with the inside knee down, which removes the legs' help and doubles the core demand. - Progression: tall-kneeling Pallof press on both knees. - Progression (grades 9+): Pallof press with an overhead finish — press out, then raise the arms overhead and back, keeping ribs down throughout. - Goalie-specific (grades 10+): Pallof press held at full extension while taking two lateral shuffle steps in a goalie stance.

How to measure it - Maximum hold time at full extension per side, at a stated band strength and stated distance from the anchor. Both variables must be logged. - Compare sides. A meaningful difference between left and right is real information about a goalie's rotational weakness. - Benchmark: grade 8, 30 seconds per side. Grade 11, 60 seconds per side at a moderate band.

---

STR-20 — LOADED CARRIES

Category

Total-body strength, grip, and postural endurance

Purpose

To build grip strength, shoulder stability, core bracing, and the plain toughness of holding something heavy while moving well. Carries are the most underrated strength exercise in youth athletics and they require almost no technical teaching. A strong grip also translates directly to stick control late in a game.

Equipment

Dumbbells, kettlebells, water jugs, buckets, backpacks, or grocery bags. Anything with a handle that you can hold safely.

Space needed

A clear path 30 to 60 feet long, ideally with room to turn around

Grade range

5–12

How to do it

1. Farmer Carry (both hands loaded) 1. Place a weight on each side of you. Squat down with a flat back and grip both handles. 2. Stand up by driving through your legs, not by yanking with your back. 3. Stand tall: shoulders pulled back and down, ribs tucked, chest up, eyes forward, arms hanging straight. 4. Walk with normal, controlled steps for 30 to 50 feet. Do not lean, do not shuffle, do not swing the weights. 5. Set the weights down by squatting, not by dropping them. Do 3 to 4 trips.

2. Suitcase Carry (one hand loaded) 1. Hold one weight in one hand only, arm hanging at your side. 2. Do not lean away from the weight. Stand perfectly upright. The opposite side of your core has to fight to keep you straight — that is the point. 3. Walk 30 to 50 feet, set it down, switch hands, and walk back. Do 2 to 3 trips per side.

3. Front Rack Carry (grades 8+) 1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height, elbows tucked in front of you, palms facing each other. 2. Ribs down, belly braced, chest tall. This position makes the core work harder than the farmer carry at the same weight. 3. Walk 25 to 40 feet. Do 3 trips.

4. Overhead Carry (grades 9+, light weight, with a coach) 1. Press one light dumbbell straight overhead with a locked elbow and the biceps beside the ear. 2. Ribs down. Do not arch the low back to hold the weight up. 3. Walk 20 to 30 feet, switch sides. Do 2 to 3 per side. 4. Barbell front-rack and overhead carries belong in this same family for grades 9–12 and should be learned with your school's strength coach or a qualified adult. Form before load.

Coaching cues - "Tall and proud. Walk like you are being measured for height." - "Crush the handles." - "Ribs down, do not lean." - "If your form breaks, the set is over. Put it down."

Common mistakes - Leaning away from the weight on the suitcase carry, which is the whole error to watch for. - Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears rather than keeping them set back and down. - Shuffling with tiny steps instead of walking normally. - Picking the weight up with a rounded back. Squat down to it every time. - Going too heavy too soon. Carries feel fine for 20 feet and brutal at 50.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: lighter weight, shorter distance, more trips. A backpack loaded with books held in one hand works fine. - Progression path: farmer carry, then suitcase carry, then front rack carry, then overhead carry. - Progression: add distance first, then add weight. Distance before load. - Progression: mixed carry — one weight in a suitcase position and one in a front rack position at the same time (grades 10+).

How to measure it - Total weight carried for 50 feet with a tall, clean posture. Log the weight and the distance every time. - Suitcase carry: maximum distance at a given weight without leaning. Compare left and right. - Grip endurance: total time holding the farmer position without walking.

---

STR-21 — DUMBBELL UPPER BODY BASICS

Category

Middle-school external loading, upper body

Purpose

To introduce external load safely, in the grades where the athlete has the coordination for it but not yet the maturity for barbell work. Light dumbbells teach load management, symmetry, and control, and they build a real strength base that makes ninth-grade barbell work far safer.

Equipment

Light dumbbells. Start at 5 to 15 pounds. Optional bench or sturdy chair.

Space needed

Eight feet by six feet

Grade range

6–12. No barbell before 9th grade — dumbbells are the loading tool for grades 6 through 8.

How to do it

1. Single-Arm Dumbbell Row 1. Place your left knee and left hand on a bench or sturdy chair. Right foot on the floor, a stride back. 2. Set your back flat and parallel to the floor. Ribs down. Neck long, eyes at the floor. 3. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand, arm hanging straight down. 4. Pull the dumbbell up toward your ribs, driving the elbow back past your body. Squeeze at the top for one second. 5. Lower slowly over three seconds. Do 8 to 10 per side, 3 sets.

2. Dumbbell Overhead Press (standing) 1. Stand tall, feet shoulder-width. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height, palms facing forward or facing each other. 2. Squeeze your glutes and tuck your ribs down. This stops your low back from arching. 3. Press both dumbbells straight overhead until your arms are locked out and your biceps are near your ears. 4. Lower under control to shoulder height. Do 8 to 10 reps, 3 sets.

3. Dumbbell Floor Press 1. Lie on your back on the floor, knees bent, feet flat. Hold a dumbbell in each hand over your chest, arms straight. 2. Lower both dumbbells until your upper arms touch the floor, elbows at about 45 degrees from your body. 3. Pause one second on the floor, then press back up. Do 8 to 10 reps, 3 sets. 4. The floor limits the range, which is exactly what makes this the right pressing variation for a middle schooler.

4. Dumbbell Bicep Curl and Triceps Extension (2 sets of 10 to 12 each, at the end of a session, if time allows — this is accessory work, not the main event)

Coaching cues - "Elbow drives back past your body" on the row. - "Squeeze your glutes before you press" on the overhead press. This one cue prevents the most common error. - "Three seconds down on everything." - "Both sides get the same number of reps, always."

Common mistakes - Arching the low back to press overhead. Fix it with the glute squeeze, or press seated with back support. - Rowing with a twist of the whole torso rather than the arm. - Weight too heavy, which produces swinging instead of lifting. - Rounding the back on the row. - Skipping the log. Grades 6+ log every dumbbell session — Iron Rule 5.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: go lighter and slow the tempo to four seconds down. Or return to STR-04, STR-05, and STR-10 bodyweight versions. - Regression for the overhead press: press seated on a bench with back support, or press one arm at a time. - Progression: add weight only when all sets look identical for two sessions in a row — Iron Rule 2. - Progression: single-arm overhead press, which adds a large anti-lateral core demand. - Progression (grade 9+): the barbell versions in STR-25 and STR-26, learned with a coach.

How to measure it - Working weight for 3 sets of 8 with clean form, logged for each movement. - Left-to-right check on the single-arm row: the weaker side sets the number of reps for both sides. - Retest at each of the four testing weeks. Expect steady, unspectacular progress — that is what healthy loading looks like.

---

STR-22 — DUMBBELL LOWER BODY BASICS

Category

Middle-school external loading, lower body

Purpose

To load the squat, hinge, and single-leg patterns safely before barbell training begins. These are the exact movements that become barbell lifts in ninth grade. Mastering them with dumbbells for two or three years is what makes that transition boring and safe instead of risky.

Equipment

Light to moderate dumbbells. A bench or low step for the elevated variation.

Space needed

Eight feet by six feet

Grade range

6–12

How to do it

1. Goblet Squat 1. Hold one dumbbell vertically against your chest, cupping the top end with both hands, elbows tucked down and in. 2. Feet shoulder-width, toes turned out slightly. 3. Push your hips back, then bend your knees, and lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. 4. Keep your chest up and your elbows inside your knees at the bottom. 5. Drive through your whole foot and stand tall. Do 8 to 10 reps, 3 sets.

2. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift (the hinge) 1. Stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs, palms facing you. 2. Soften the knees slightly and keep them there — this is a hip movement, not a squat. 3. Push your hips straight back toward the wall behind you, letting the dumbbells slide down the front of your legs, staying close to your body the entire time. 4. Keep your back completely flat. Lower until you feel a strong stretch in the back of your thighs, usually around mid-shin. 5. Drive your hips forward to stand tall, squeezing your glutes at the top. Do 8 to 10 reps, 3 sets.

3. Dumbbell Suitcase Deadlift 1. Place two dumbbells on the floor beside your feet, one on each side, as if they were suitcases. 2. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and reach down with a flat back to grip both. 3. Drive through your feet and stand up tall. Shoulders back, ribs down. 4. Lower under control with the same flat back. Do 6 to 8 reps, 3 sets. 5. This is the safest possible way to teach a deadlift, because the weight sits beside the body instead of in front of it.

4. Rear-Foot-Elevated Split Squat (grades 7+) 1. Stand about two feet in front of a bench. Place the top of your back foot on the bench behind you. 2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides. 3. Lower straight down until your back knee is just above the floor and your front thigh is parallel. 4. Drive through the front foot to stand. Do 6 to 8 per side, 3 sets.

Coaching cues - Goblet squat: "Elbows inside your knees at the bottom." - RDL: "Hips back at the wall behind you, not down." - RDL: "Drag the dumbbells down your legs." - Suitcase deadlift: "Push the floor away. Chest and hips rise together." - "Flat back on every hinge. If the back rounds, the set is over."

Common mistakes - Turning the RDL into a squat by bending the knees. The knees stay softly bent and still. - Rounding the low back at the bottom of any hinge. This is the one error worth stopping a session over. - The dumbbells drifting away from the legs on the RDL, which multiplies the load on the low back. - Goblet squatting shallow. See Iron Rule 4. - Going too heavy on the rear-foot-elevated split squat before balance is solid.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: bodyweight versions — STR-06, STR-07, and a hip hinge practiced with a dowel or broomstick held along the spine, touching the head, upper back, and tailbone throughout. - Regression for the RDL: use one light dumbbell held in both hands, or a single dumbbell held at the chest. - Progression: add weight per Iron Rule 2, then add a three-second lowering. - Progression: single-leg RDL with one dumbbell, which builds enormous balance and hamstring control (grades 8+). - Progression (grade 9+): the barbell versions in STR-23 and STR-24, learned with a coach.

How to measure it - Working weight for 3 sets of 8 on the goblet squat and the RDL, logged. - The broomstick test for the hinge: hold a broomstick along the spine with one hand at the neck and one at the low back. It must maintain contact at the head, upper back, and tailbone through the whole movement. Pass or fail, retested each testing week. - Rear-foot-elevated split squat: reps per side at a stated weight, compared left to right.

---

STR-23 — BARBELL SQUAT FUNDAMENTALS

Category

High-school barbell strength — principles and form checkpoints

Purpose

To give a ninth-through-twelfth grade goalie the language, the checkpoints, and the standards of the back squat, so that when they walk into their school's weight room they can learn it fast and learn it right. The squat builds the leg strength behind every explosive drive in the crease.

HOW TO USE THIS ENTRY. This is not a do-it-yourself instruction sheet. Learn this lift with your school's strength coach or another qualified adult who can watch you and correct you in person. Form before load. Read this entry so you know what they are looking for, what the words mean, and what a good rep feels like. Never barbell squat alone, and never without safety bars or spotters set correctly. No barbell work before 9th grade under any circumstances.

Equipment

Barbell, squat rack with adjustable safety bars, plates, a qualified coach

Space needed

A proper weight room. This lift does not belong in a driveway.

Grade range

9–12 only

The principles

1. The bar sits on your muscle, not your bones. In a high-bar back squat the bar rests on the shelf of muscle across the top of your shoulder blades, not on your neck. If it hurts your spine, it is in the wrong place.
2. Set the rack height before you load it. The bar should sit at about mid-chest height so you barely have to rise onto your toes to unrack it. Set the safety bars just below your lowest squat depth.
3. Brace before you move. Take a big breath into your belly, tighten your entire midsection as if bracing for a punch, and hold it for the whole rep. This is the same bracing you learned in STR-14 and STR-16.
4. Two steps out, no more. Unrack, step back twice, set your feet, and squat. Walking the bar out five steps wastes energy and invites a stumble.
5. Depth is defined, not negotiable. Hip crease at or below the top of the kneecap. If you cannot reach depth with a flat back, the answer is mobility work and less weight — never a shallower squat.
6. The bar travels straight up and down over the middle of your foot. Every technique correction ultimately serves this one physical fact.
7. You do not miss reps alone. Learn to bail safely with a coach before you ever load heavy.

Form checkpoints — what your coach is watching

1. Feet: shoulder-width or slightly wider, toes turned out 15 to 30 degrees, whole foot planted.
2. Grip and upper back: hands as narrow as your shoulders comfortably allow, elbows down and under the bar, upper back squeezed tight so the bar cannot roll.
3. Descent: hips and knees bend together. Chest stays proud. Knees track out over the toes, matching the direction the feet are pointing.
4. Bottom: hip crease at or below the kneecap. Back flat. Heels down. No collapsing forward.
5. Ascent: hips and shoulders rise at the same rate. If the hips shoot up first and the squat turns into a good morning, the weight is too heavy or the brace failed.
6. Top: stand fully tall, glutes squeezed, ribs down. Do not hyperextend the back.

Coaching cues - "Big air, brace hard, then break." - "Spread the floor with your feet." - "Chest and hips rise together." - "Elbows down, upper back tight."

Common mistakes - Knees caving inward under load. Reduce the weight and get after STR-13 band work. - Hips shooting up first out of the bottom. - Heels lifting, which is usually an ankle mobility limitation. - Losing the brace mid-rep, most often by exhaling at the bottom. - Loading before the pattern is solid. See Iron Rule 1. - Training to failure. Goalies train for the season, not for the gym. Leave one to three reps in reserve on almost every set.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: return to the goblet squat, STR-22, or the box squat, STR-06. Both are excellent and neither is a step backward. - Regression: squat to a box set at your target depth so the depth is consistent and the pattern is grooved. - Regression: front squat or safety-bar squat, if your coach prefers them for your body type. - Progression: add load per Iron Rule 2, then add pauses at the bottom, then add tempo, all under coaching supervision. - In-season note: squat volume drops substantially during the March-to-May in-season phase. Maintenance, not building.

How to measure it - Working weight for 3 sets of 5 with clean form, logged every session. - Depth on film. Film one set from the side each month. Depth is the standard, not the number on the bar. - Testing weeks: your coach may test a 3-rep or 5-rep maximum. Goalies do not need to test a 1-rep maximum. There is no benefit that outweighs the risk.

---

STR-24 — BARBELL HINGE AND DEADLIFT FUNDAMENTALS

Category

High-school barbell strength — principles and form checkpoints

Purpose

To build the posterior chain — glutes, hamstrings, and the whole back — which is the engine behind explosive first steps, powerful clears, and injury-resistant hips. The hinge is also the most commonly butchered movement in any weight room, which is why it is written here as checkpoints rather than a how-to.

HOW TO USE THIS ENTRY. Learn this lift with your school's strength coach or another qualified adult. Form before load. The deadlift is safe when it is coached and dangerous when it is guessed at. Read this so you understand what a good rep looks like and what your coach is correcting. No barbell work before 9th grade.

Equipment

Barbell, plates, platform, a qualified coach. A trap bar or hex bar if available — many coaches prefer it for young athletes, and it is an excellent choice.

Space needed

A proper weight room

Grade range

9–12 only

The principles

1. A hinge is not a squat. The hips travel back and the torso comes forward. The knees bend only a little. If your knees are traveling forward, you are squatting the weight up.
2. The bar stays against your body the whole way. Any gap between the bar and your legs multiplies the load on your low back.
3. Flat back is the whole ballgame. Rounding the low back under load is the one error that makes this lift genuinely risky. A flat back is not negotiable at any weight.
4. Set up with the bar over mid-foot. Roughly an inch from your shins at the start.
5. Take the slack out before you pull. Pull gently upward until you feel the bar make contact with the plates and go tight, then drive. Yanking a loose bar is how backs get hurt.
6. Finish by standing tall, not by leaning back. Squeeze the glutes at the top. Do not hyperextend.
7. Every rep starts from the floor with a fresh setup. Bouncing reps off the floor removes the control that makes this safe.

Form checkpoints — what your coach is watching

1. Setup: feet hip-width, bar over mid-foot, hands just outside the legs, shins near the bar.
2. Position: hips higher than the knees, lower than the shoulders. Chest up, back flat, neck in line with the spine.
3. The pull: push the floor away with the legs while keeping the chest up. The hips and shoulders rise together.
4. Bar path: straight up, dragging the legs.
5. Lockout: tall, glutes squeezed, ribs down, shoulders back naturally.
6. The lowering: hips back first, then knees bend once the bar passes them. Control it. Do not drop it if your gym does not permit it.

Coaching cues - "Push the floor away." - "Chest up, hips back." - "Drag the bar up your legs." - "Big brace. Take the slack out. Then go." - "Proud chest, long neck."

Common mistakes - Rounding the low back. Stop the set. Reduce the weight. No exceptions. - Hips shooting up first, turning the lift into a stiff-legged pull. - The bar drifting away from the shins. - Jerking a loose bar off the floor. - Hyperextending at the top, leaning backward to prove lockout. - Ego loading. Nothing in this program requires a big deadlift number.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: dumbbell Romanian deadlift and suitcase deadlift, STR-22. Excellent lifts, not lesser ones. - Regression: elevate the bar on blocks or use a rack pull, reducing the range until the position holds. - Regression: trap-bar deadlift, which keeps the load closer to the center of mass and is easier to keep a flat back on. Many strength coaches use this as the primary version for high-school athletes, and that is a good decision. - Progression: add load per Iron Rule 2. Then add tempo lowering, then paused reps below the knee. - In-season note: heavy deadlifting largely comes out during the March-to-May in-season phase. Light hinges and glute bridges maintain the pattern.

How to measure it - Working weight for 3 sets of 5, logged, with the version specified — barbell or trap bar. They are not the same lift. - The broomstick check from STR-22 still applies. If the spine cannot stay neutral without a bar, it will not with one. - No 1-rep maximum testing for goalies. A 3-rep or 5-rep maximum is plenty of information at far less risk.

---

STR-25 — BARBELL PRESS FUNDAMENTALS

Category

High-school barbell strength — principles and form checkpoints

Purpose

To build overhead and horizontal pressing strength for shoulder durability, contact absorption, and the general upper-body robustness a varsity goalie needs. Covers the overhead press and the bench press as one family.

HOW TO USE THIS ENTRY. Learn these lifts with your school's strength coach or another qualified adult. Form before load. Bench pressing specifically requires either a spotter or properly set safety bars, every single set, without exception. No barbell work before 9th grade.

Equipment

Barbell, rack, bench, plates, a spotter and a qualified coach

Space needed

A proper weight room

Grade range

9–12 only

The principles

1. Pulling volume must match or exceed pressing volume. A goalie who benches more than they row builds shoulder problems. Keep STR-10, STR-11, and STR-21 in the program permanently.
2. The overhead press is the more valuable lift for a goalie. It demands full-body bracing and builds genuine overhead shoulder health. Prioritize it.
3. Ribs down on every press. The most common overhead press error is arching the low back to fake a lockout. Squeeze the glutes; that fixes it.
4. Full range or it does not count. Bar to the chest on the bench, arms fully locked overhead on the press.
5. Never bench without a spotter or safety bars. Never. This is the one lift where a mistake with nobody there is genuinely dangerous.
6. The bar path is not straight on the overhead press. Your head moves back slightly as the bar passes your face, then your torso comes back under the bar at the top.

Form checkpoints — overhead press

1. Setup: bar racked at collarbone height. Hands just outside shoulder-width. Elbows slightly in front of the bar. Bar resting on the front of the shoulders.
2. Stance: feet hip-width, glutes squeezed, ribs tucked, belly braced.
3. Press: move the head back slightly, drive the bar straight up past the face.
4. Lockout: biceps beside the ears, bar over the middle of the foot, shoulders shrugged up slightly at the very top.
5. Return: lower under control to the front of the shoulders. Re-brace before the next rep.

Form checkpoints — bench press

1. Setup: eyes under the bar, feet flat on the floor, shoulder blades pulled back and down into the bench and held there.
2. Grip: slightly wider than shoulder-width. Wrists stacked straight over the elbows.
3. Descent: lower to the lower chest or sternum, elbows at roughly 45 to 60 degrees from the body — not flared to 90.
4. Touch: light contact with the chest. No bouncing.
5. Press: drive up and slightly back toward the face, keeping the shoulder blades pinned.

Coaching cues - "Squeeze your glutes before the bar moves." - "Head back, then through." - "Shoulder blades in your back pocket" on the bench. - "Bend the bar" on the bench, which cues the lats and protects the shoulder.

Common mistakes - Arching the low back on the overhead press to complete a rep the shoulders cannot. - Flaring the elbows straight out on the bench, which stresses the front of the shoulder. - Losing the shoulder-blade set and letting the shoulders roll forward. - Bouncing the bar off the chest. - Benching without a spotter. Non-negotiable. - Pressing far more than you pull across the week.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: dumbbell overhead press and dumbbell floor press, STR-21. Both are excellent for goalies, and dumbbells are often the better long-term choice for shoulder health. - Regression: push-ups from STR-05, loaded with a light vest if needed. - Progression: add load per Iron Rule 2, then paused reps, then tempo. - Shoulder-health requirement: STR-12 shoulder prep runs before every pressing session for grades 9–12. Non-optional.

How to measure it - Working weight for 3 sets of 5, logged, for each lift. - Ratio check: weekly pulling reps should equal or exceed weekly pressing reps. Audit this monthly. - No 1-rep maximum testing for goalies.

---

STR-26 — BARBELL ROW FUNDAMENTALS

Category

High-school barbell strength — principles and form checkpoints

Purpose

To build the mid-back and lat strength that balances all pressing, holds the shoulders in a healthy position, and supports the barbell squat and deadlift. For a goalie, this is durability work first and strength work second.

HOW TO USE THIS ENTRY. Learn this lift with your school's strength coach or another qualified adult. Form before load. The barbell row requires holding a flat-back hinge position under load for the whole set, which is a real technical demand. No barbell work before 9th grade.

Equipment

Barbell, plates, a qualified coach

Space needed

A proper weight room

Grade range

9–12 only

The principles

1. The row happens inside a held hinge. Your torso sets a position and stays there. If the torso rises and falls with each rep, it is no longer a row.
2. Flat back the entire set. Same rule as the deadlift, applied for 8 to 10 continuous reps, which is harder.
3. Elbows lead. The hands are hooks. The back does the work.
4. Control the lowering. Three seconds down on the last set of every session builds more back than an extra plate does.
5. The row is the balance to the press. Program it every week, in every phase, forever.

Form checkpoints — what your coach is watching

1. Setup: feet hip-width, knees softly bent, hinge forward until the torso is at roughly 45 degrees or lower. Bar hanging at arm's length.
2. Grip: just outside shoulder-width, overhand. An underhand grip is a valid variation your coach may prefer.
3. Position: back flat, chest proud, neck in line with the spine, belly braced hard.
4. The pull: drive the elbows back toward the hips, bringing the bar to the lower ribs or upper belly. Shoulder blades squeeze together at the top.
5. The lowering: three seconds, arms fully straightening at the bottom without the back rounding.
6. Torso angle: unchanged from rep one to the final rep. This is the checkpoint that matters most.

Coaching cues - "Set the angle, then do not move it." - "Elbows to your back pockets." - "Pinch a pencil between your shoulder blades." - "Hands are hooks."

Common mistakes - Standing the torso up as the set gets hard, which quietly turns it into a shrug. - Rounding the low back, especially in the last two reps. - Jerking the bar with the hips. - Pulling the bar to the chest with high, flared elbows instead of to the lower ribs. - Skipping rows entirely because they are less exciting than benching. This is how goalies end up with sore shoulders in April.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: chest-supported row on an incline bench, which removes the low-back demand entirely and is an outstanding choice for young athletes. - Regression: single-arm dumbbell row, STR-21, or the table row, STR-10. - Regression: seated cable row if your weight room has one. - Progression: add load per Iron Rule 2. Then add a two-second hold at the top of each rep. - Progression: Pendlay row, where the bar returns to the floor and every rep starts dead — learned with a coach.

How to measure it - Working weight for 3 sets of 8, logged, with a stated torso angle. Film it once a month. - Ratio audit: total weekly pulling reps versus pushing reps. Pulling wins or ties. - No 1-rep maximum testing.

---

STR-27 — THE BASICS BLOCK

Category

Named circuit — grades 5 through 8

Purpose

The standard middle-school strength session for this program. It covers every fundamental movement pattern — push, pull, squat, hinge, carry, and core — in one repeatable block that requires almost no equipment and takes 20 to 30 minutes. When a Thursday email says "Basics Block," this is what it means.

Equipment

A sturdy table or an anchored resistance band; a loop band; optional light dumbbells for grades 7–8

Space needed

Ten feet by ten feet, plus a short walking path

Grade range

5–8

How to do it

Complete the six stations in order. That is one round. Rest 90 seconds between rounds. Do 2 rounds in grades 5–6 and 3 rounds in grades 7–8.

1. Push — Push-Up (STR-04 or STR-05): 8 to 12 reps at your current level.
2. Pull — Table Row or Band Row (STR-10): 10 to 12 reps.
3. Squat — Bodyweight or Goblet Squat (STR-06): 12 reps.
4. Hinge — Glute Bridge or Dumbbell RDL (STR-09 or STR-22): 12 reps.
5. Carry — Farmer or Suitcase Carry (STR-20): 40 feet down and back.
6. Core — Front Plank (STR-14): 30 to 45 seconds.

Finisher, once at the end of the last round: Band Pull-Apart (STR-11), 15 reps, and Monster Walk (STR-13), 10 steps each direction.

Timing: roughly 8 minutes per round in grades 5–6, and 9 minutes per round in grades 7–8, plus 2 minutes for the finisher.

Short on time? Do stations 1, 3, and 6 only. Two rounds. That is 10 minutes and it still counts.

Coaching cues - "Quality over quantity at every station. If a station's form breaks, cut the reps there and keep the round moving." - "Rest between rounds, not between stations." - "Same block, better numbers. That is the whole plan."

Common mistakes - Racing the clock. This is a strength circuit, not a conditioning circuit. If you are gasping, slow down. - Skipping the carry because it seems unimportant. It is one of the most valuable stations here. - Changing the exercises every week. The point of a named block is that it repeats, so progress is visible. - Adding rounds instead of adding quality. Three rounds is the ceiling through eighth grade.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: 2 rounds, easier variation at every station, 2-minute rests. - Progression: advance the variation at a single station at a time — never all six at once. - Progression: add light dumbbells to stations 3 and 4 in grades 7–8. - Graduation: in ninth grade, the Basics Block is replaced by Iron Foundations, STR-28.

How to measure it - Log all six stations every time you run the block. Reps, the variation used, and the load if any. - The month test: compare this week's block to the same block four weeks ago. More reps, harder variations, or more weight at the same rep count all count as progress. - Total block time should stay roughly constant while the work inside it increases.

---

STR-28 — IRON FOUNDATIONS

Category

Named circuit — high school, grades 9 through 12

Purpose

The standard high-school strength session for this program. It is a full-body session built on the six fundamental patterns, run with real load under real supervision. When a Thursday email says "Iron Foundations," this is what it means. Same structure as the Basics Block that came before it, grown up.

This session happens in a supervised weight room with your school's strength coach or another qualified adult present. Form before load. Never lift alone.

Equipment

Barbell and rack, dumbbells, bands, bench, a qualified coach

Space needed

A proper weight room

Grade range

9–12

How to do it

Part A — Prep, 6 minutes 1. Band Shoulder Prep Series (STR-12), full series. 2. Monster Walk (STR-13), 10 steps each direction. 3. Bodyweight squats and glute bridges (STR-06, STR-09), 10 each.

Part B — Main lifts, 25 to 35 minutes Choose one lower-body lift and one upper-body lift per session, alternating across the week.

1. Lower: Barbell Squat (STR-23) or Barbell Hinge / Trap-Bar Deadlift (STR-24) — 3 to 4 sets of 5, leaving one to three reps in reserve.
2. Upper: Barbell Overhead Press or Bench Press (STR-25) — 3 sets of 5 to 8.
3. Pull, always: Barbell Row or Chest-Supported Row (STR-26) — 3 sets of 8. The pull is never the lift that gets dropped.

Part C — Accessory, 10 to 12 minutes 1. Rear-Foot-Elevated Split Squat (STR-22), 3 sets of 6 to 8 per side. 2. Single-Arm Dumbbell Row (STR-21), 3 sets of 8 per side. 3. Loaded Carry (STR-20), 3 trips of 40 to 50 feet.

Part D — Core finisher, 5 minutes Run The Core Four (STR-29), one round.

Total: 50 to 60 minutes off-season. In-season, run Part A, one main lift from Part B, and Part D only — roughly 25 minutes.

Short on time? Part A, the lower lift, the row, and Part D. Thirty minutes.

Coaching cues - "The row never gets cut. Ever." - "One to three reps in reserve on every working set. You are training for March, not for today." - "If your coach changes something in here, your coach is right. They can see you and this page cannot."

Common mistakes - Dropping the pull work when time is short. Cut a main lift before you cut the row. - Training to failure. Goalies do not need it and it costs recovery that belongs to skill work. - Running the off-season version during the in-season phase. In-season volume is 40 to 50 percent of off-season by design. - Skipping Part A because it feels like it does not count. It is why your shoulders will still work in April. - Chasing a maximum. There is no 1-rep max testing in this program.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: run the entire session with dumbbells (STR-21 and STR-22) instead of barbells. This is a complete and legitimate version of Iron Foundations. - Regression: two working sets instead of three or four. - Progression: add load per Iron Rule 2. Then add a fourth set on the main lift. Then add pauses and tempo. - Phase notes: highest volume in the Winter Build phase, weeks 14 to 22. Lowest in the In-Season phase, weeks 31 to 43. June is a genuine deload — bodyweight and carries only.

How to measure it - Full training log every session: lift, sets, reps, weight, reps in reserve, and one word on how it felt. Iron Rule 5. - Working weight for 3 sets of 5 on each main lift, reviewed at each of the four testing weeks. - Monthly film check on one set of each main lift. - Weekly push-to-pull ratio audit.

---

STR-29 — THE CORE FOUR

Category

Named core circuit

Purpose

The program's standard core block, used from third grade through twelfth. Four exercises, four directions of resistance: resist extension, resist side bending, resist rotation, and coordinate the limbs. Five to eight minutes, no equipment beyond a band for the last station.

Equipment

A resistance band and an anchor for the anti-rotation station. Substitute a side plank variation if no band is available.

Space needed

Eight feet by six feet

Grade range

3–12, with the variations scaled by grade

How to do it

Run all four stations back to back. Rest 60 seconds. That is one round.

1. Anti-extension — Front Plank (STR-14) or Dead Bug (STR-16). Plank: hold for time. Dead bug: 8 to 10 reps per side.
2. Anti-lateral-flexion — Side Plank (STR-15). Hold for time, both sides.
3. Anti-rotation — Pallof Press (STR-19). 8 to 10 reps per side. Grades 3–5 substitute Bird Dog (STR-17), 8 per side.
4. Coordination and posterior chain — Bird Dog (STR-17) or Hollow Hold (STR-18). Bird dog: 8 per side. Hollow: hold for time.

Grade scaling

Grades	Rounds	Plank hold	Side plank hold	Station 3
3–4	1	15–20 sec	15 sec per side	Bird Dog
5–6	2	30 sec	20–25 sec per side	Bird Dog or light-band Pallof
7–8	2	45 sec	30 sec per side	Pallof Press
9–10	2–3	60 sec	40 sec per side	Pallof Press
11–12	3	60 sec, long-lever	45–60 sec per side	Half-kneeling Pallof

Short on time? Stations 1 and 2, one round. Ninety seconds. Still counts.

Coaching cues - "Four stations, four directions. Your core's job is to say no in all of them." - "Breathe through every hold. If you cannot talk, you are bracing wrong." - "Stop the clock when your form breaks, not when your timer ends."

Common mistakes - Turning it into a race between stations. Rest is between rounds, not stations. - Chasing longer and longer plank holds instead of moving to harder variations. See STR-14. - Skipping the anti-rotation station because it needs a band. Use the substitute rather than skipping. - Uneven side plank times. Match the weaker side. - Adding crunches and sit-ups on top. This block covers the core's real job; volume is not the missing ingredient.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: one round, easiest variation at each station, longer rests. - Progression: advance one station's variation at a time, then add a round. - Progression (grades 9+): run all four stations for 40 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest, continuously, for two or three rounds.

How to measure it - Log the hold times and rep counts at all four stations every time. These numbers rise slowly and steadily, which is exactly right. - Left-versus-right comparison on the side plank and the Pallof press at every testing week. - Retest the same round configuration each testing week so the numbers are comparable.

---

STR-30 — THE HOTEL TEN

Category

Named circuit — ten-minute travel and no-equipment session

Purpose

For tournament weekends, hotel rooms, family trips, and any day where the plan falls apart. Ten minutes, no equipment, six feet of floor. This is the entry that protects the streak. A short session done is worth infinitely more than a full session skipped.

Equipment

None. None at all.

Space needed

Six feet by four feet — the floor space beside a hotel bed

Grade range

4–12

How to do it

Ten movements. Forty seconds of work, twenty seconds of rest. Move straight from one to the next. The whole thing takes exactly ten minutes.

1. Bodyweight Squat (STR-06) — steady, full depth.
2. Push-Up (STR-04 or STR-05) — at your level.
3. Reverse Lunge (STR-07) — alternating legs.
4. Front Plank (STR-14) — hold.
5. Glute Bridge (STR-09) — two-second squeeze at the top.
6. Side Plank (STR-15) — right side.
7. Side Plank (STR-15) — left side.
8. Dead Bug (STR-16) — slow and controlled.
9. Bear Crawl in place (STR-02) — knees hover one inch, step in place if there is no room to travel.
10. Hollow Hold (STR-18) — or a tuck hold at your level.

Grade scaling: grades 4–6 use 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest. Grades 7–12 use 40 and 20. Grades 10–12 can run two full rounds with a two-minute break between them.

Rules for the road - Do it barefoot or in sneakers, not in socks on a slick hotel floor. - If you are sharing a room, tell your roommate you need ten minutes. They will survive. - Do it before you shower, not after you have gotten comfortable. - On a tournament day, do half of it — stations 4 through 8 only — and save your legs for the games.

Coaching cues - "Ten minutes. No equipment. No excuses that hold up." - "Full range even when it is short. Especially when it is short." - "This is not a lesser workout. It is the right workout for today."

Common mistakes - Skipping it because it seems too small to matter. Consistency is the whole product of this program. - Running the full version on the morning of a tournament and arriving with heavy legs. - Rushing the reps to fill forty seconds with volume instead of quality. - Doing it on a slippery floor in socks.

Progressions and regressions - Regression: 30 seconds of work and 30 of rest, easiest variation at every station. - Progression: two rounds, harder variations, or 45 seconds of work and 15 of rest. - Progression: add a 30-second hollow rock and a 30-second wall sit as stations 11 and 12 for grades 11–12.

How to measure it - Count reps at stations 1, 2, 3, and 8 and log them. It is a legitimate fitness check you can run anywhere in the world. - Compliance is the real metric. How many travel days this season included the Hotel Ten? That number is the score.

---

LAX Goalie Hub — STR Strength and Core Library. Cross-referenced to MOB, PLY, CON, DRL, WAL, JUG, and MEN. All strength work is governed by STR-01, The Iron Rules. No barbell loading before 9th grade.