Ben Shear To Speak At M.I.T. On "Better Golf"
Ben Shear, Director of Golf Performance at Golfer's Edge, will be presenting data at the third annual "Better Golf through Technology" Conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (M.I.T.) Center for Sports Innovation on February 24th and 25th. He will be presenting 3-D biomechanical data and demonstrating in case studies: the effect of lower-body mechanics on the overall golf swing; and how improving faulty lower-body mechanics with exercise and proper movement training can create a positive change in overall golf swing dynamics.

Shear will be joining the golf world's top teaching professionals, technology innovators, researchers, and equipment manufacturers who are all there to discuss what's currently state-of-the-art and where the future of golf technology, teaching and training are headed. These conference participants, along with researchers from elite academic institutions, will present research on various technologies and learning methods, and panel discussions will highlight technology's effectiveness in golf learning. This combination of technology, research, and top professionals will make for an unforgettable event that will reveal new insights about the future of golf. For more information, visit www.bgtt.org.



NJN-TV Focus: Science and Technology Perform Wonders at Athletic Edge

Excerpts From The Show:

There are many cutting-edge technologies that are only recently-available to small-scale Strength and Conditioning coaches. But to exploit the technology, those using it must understand science as well: biomechanics, anatomy, the neuro-muscular connection, kinesiology, etc. And of course, they have to understand the physics involved in an athlete's particular sport...

Michael Cranston is an example of a young, hugely-talented athlete with, hopefully, a long baseball career ahead of him. He came to Athletic Edge injured. Through targeted strength training, conditioning and rehab, he got healthy. But KEEPING him healthy means understanding why he got injured in the first place. 3-D Motion Analysis (showing 240 frames per second and with accuracy to 1/10th of a degree) shows the exact point in a complex rotational movement (like pitching) where the kinetic chain is a) inefficient and b) dangerous...

Kinetic linking is a common term in golf, and Athletic Edge has a large portion of its business in its own Golfer's Edge. The offering marries golf fitness to golf instruction, and science and technology help unearth golfer's weaknesses and problems. Dave Pearce came to Athletic Edge last year with serious back trouble. He was a competitive amateur who, due to pain, was facing the possibility of leaving the game. This past summer, Pearce was playing the best golf of his life, and science helped get him there. Ben Shear used a combination of corrective exercises and manual techniques to re-align, re-balance and re-charge the body...

The same science and technology that's used to correct or prevent injury can be used to enhance an athlete's performance. Due to the "design" of the body and the laws of physics, trainers can use diagnostics, such as 3-D Analysis, to change an athlete's performance for things like maximizing power. Based on the success in other sports, like baseball and golf, Ben Shear searched for information on lacrosse biomechanics; there was none. But with the growing popularity of the game, he felt it had to be the next frontier. He contacted a world-renowned biomechanist to help interpret test data that he had collected from some of the country's top Division-1 lacrosse teams. And like for baseball and golf, he created a physical screen that correlated with the biomechanical demands. For the first time anywhere, this winter, athletes at Athletic Edge will begin a very scientific, technologically-driven program for Lacrosse performance...
Watch It Now!



Revolutionizing Lacrosse Coaching and Training
Ben Shear, Director of Performance Training at Athletic Edge, will be presenting cutting-edge data on the biomechanics of the Lacrosse shot to US Lacrosse at their national convention in Philadelphia in January 2008. Shear had great success correlating physical screens to the biomechanical demands of golf and baseball, both rotary sports whose complex motions relied on the same kinematic sequencing for efficient power production and injury-prevention. When he found no such evidence in the fast-growing world of Lacrosse, he set out to prove that Lacrosse shooting must be similar to those other rotary sports patterns and contacted a world-renowned biomechanist named Chris Welch of welch-e Technologies. Prior to commencing the Lacrosse testing, Welch had done 3-D biomechanical testing on many of the world’s top athletes in numerous different sports.

Shear tested the shooting skills of some of country’s top Division-1 Lacrosse teams, and with that data, they showed the consistent differences between the good and great shots. This data, presented for the first time anywhere, will show the country’s Lacrosse coaches that correct shooting mechanics will translate into faster, more powerful shots. 3-D Biomechanical testing can reveal the instant in which the efficient sequencing breaks down. Then proper targeted performance training can correct mechanical weaknesses, while lacrosse training can focus on subtle errors in technique.

Because the data is ground-breaking, Shear hopes to revolutionize how the game of Lacrosse is approached from testing, training and coaching perspectives. To help satisfy the need for that informed training, “Shooter’s Edge” will become the newest offering at Athletic Edge, revolutionizing the game with science and fitness. In addition to the 3-D testing, Shooter’s Edge has a proprietary physical screen which relates physical weaknesses to various problems with shooting mechanics, and specific corrective exercises geared to eliminating the problematic underlying weakness behind the mechanical errors.



Elite Certification By The National Pitching Association
Tim Laffey, in charge of Baseball Training and Biomechanics, and Ben Shear, Director of Performance Training, were recently certified by the country's top-level National Pitching Association (NPA), making Athletic Edge one of the most comprehensive, high-tech Baseball Performance centers on the East Coast. The pitching certification, held at the NPA headquarters in San Diego, California, incorporated pitching mechanics, position-specific strength and conditioning requirements, nutritional needs, as well as mental and emotional elements of the sports. And while Laffey and Shear will not be coaching pitching technique, they now understand pitching mechanics as well as the top-tier coaches around the country.

The NPA was created by Tom House as a hothouse for cutting-edge information. Known for integrating elite sports science and sports technology with the fitness needs of everyday athletes, House is recognized as one of the world's top authorities on pitching. He pitched in the Major Leagues from 1967 to 1979 with the Atlanta braves, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners. Since retiring, he has been the Pitching Coach for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, and Chiba Lotte Marines in Tokyo. His NPA was formed by leading coaches, athletes and management teams to help all pitchers safely develop to their fullest potential. With the likes of Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Orel Hershiser on the Board, the NPA is constantly gathering and testing scientific data, changing current beliefs and sharing newer and better information with pitchers of all levels.

Laffey is a natural fit for the Athletic Edge Baseball Training and Biomechanics program. Before coming to Athletic Edge, he had a S&C position with the Anaheim Angels baseball team, training both Minor and Major League players from rehab through strength and conditioning programs. Standouts include: Relief pitcher Bobby Jenks (now with the Chicago White Sox), Starting pitcher Joe Saunders, First-baseman Casey Kotchman, Second-baseman Howie Kendrick, Shortstop Erik Avbar, and the 2005 Minor League MVP, Third baseman Brandon Wood. Prior to working in Major League Baseball, Laffey received his Masters degree from East Stroudsburg University. For his Masters Thesis, he studied the effects of training with weighted baseballs on both throwing velocity and accuracy.



Golfer's Edge Co-Founder, Len Siter, Named New Jersey PGA "Teacher of the Year"
The 2007 recipient of the New Jersey PGA Teacher of the Year award is Len Siter, who co-founded Golfer's Edge with Ben Shear. The prestigious award process began with nominations by peers and final selection by a committee consisting of past award-winners themselves. This ensures that the "Teacher of Year" meets the scrutiny of those at the top of the field.

Aside from teaching at Golfer's Edge, one of the most comprehensive Golf Performance centers in the country, Siter is Head Golf Professional at top-notch Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, NJ, a position that he has held for the past seven years. Teaching for 14 years, Siter himself studied under PGA and national award-winner Mike Hebron. In Siter's experience, he has seen that most golfers underachieve, because they don't understand the relationship between the body and the golf swing and how they are interrelated, interdependent, and tied to success. Though his method of teaching appears simple — the club hits the ball, but the body controls the club — it make full use of today's diagnostic technologies and reliance on golf-specific conditioning.

Students who have benefited from Siter's instruction are Frank Esposito, a two-time winner of the New Jersey Playing Professional of the Year award, and Jay Blumenfeld and Alan Small, both of whom have won the New Jersey Amateur Player of the Year award.

Golfer's Edge was created to marry golf instruction with golf fitness. Since the golf fitness takes place at Athletic Edge, a facility just singled out by the Publisher of Men's Health, Women's Health, Runner's World, Bicycling, and Prevention Magazines as one of the top six strength and conditioning centers in the country, Siter's being named Top PGA Teacher rounds out a serious commitment to improving golf performance.



Publisher Of Men's Health Names Athletic Edge One Of The Country's Top Facilities For Strength & Conditioning
Athletic Edge has just been named one of the six best strength and conditioning facilities in the country by Rodale Press, publisher of Men's Health, Runner's World, Women's Health, Prevention, and Bicycling Magazine, to name a few.

Known for its creative, individualized programs and whole-body view into the athlete, Athletic Edge offers the latest diagnostic technologies, the most-recent scientific research, along with a staff with post-graduate degrees and experience with MLB, NBA, NFL, MLL, and PGA athletes. In addition to private sport-specific, and often position-specific instruction, programs like Performance Nutrition, 3-D Motion Analysis, and Muscle/Mechanics round out a very integrated approach to fine-tuning the limits of performance.

Rodale Press has long been a leading publisher on information on healthy, active lifestyles and has a robust presence world wide. For more information on the Athletic Edge citation (and the other five hotspots for Strength and Conditioning in the US), visit Rodale's recently-launched website, FindYourDetour.com.



Ben Shear Goes "On Tour"
As Director of Performance Training at both Athletic Edge and Golfer's Edge, Ben Shear's unique assemblage of qualifications will be bringing him to the forefront of professional golf, starting with the Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas in April of 2007.

Shear will be bringing his expertise in Strength and Conditioning, 3-D Biomechanics, Neuromuscular reactivation techniques, and performance nutrition to the already-broad and impressive golf fitness and rehab services offered by Back9 TOUR Services. Known as an industry leader for golf fitness and performance, Back9 caters only to touring professionals offering services at TOUR® event sites.

The company is known for the personalized hands-on treatments necessary to keep players going from event to grueling event. The company was started by Jeff Banaszak, who is touted for his wide array of manual therapy expertise, including the Graston Technique®, ASTYM™, Active Isolated Stretching: the Mattes Method, and for designing corrective exercise programs based on golf biomechanics. Notable clients include: Zach Johnson, Rory Sabbatini, Sean O'Hair, Michael Allen, Jason Gore, Greg Owen and Pat Perez to name a few. Shear is excited to bring his services to Back9 and its professional clients who are always looking for the best methods to stay on top of their game.



Creating a Golf Training Business Workshop
Ben Shear, DIrector of Strength and Condition at Athletic Edge and Director of Golf Performance at Golfer's Edge, will be conducting an intensive 2-day seminar on "Training for a Golf Performance Business." This will be the debut workshop in a series of educational seminars geared to raising the game of fitness professionals. In addition to emersing trainers in the world of golf, this hands-on workshop will focus on: biomechanics and the importance of proper sequencing (in all rotary sports); a physical screening process that will unearth technical problems in the swing; how the latest diagnostic golf technology becomes relevant to exercise strategies; the proper training progression -- from assessment, to corrective exercises, to transfer training, to achieving strength and power. "Training for a Golf Performance Business" is for trainers who are serious about improving their golf game -- in the gym. More information on "Training for a Golf Performance Business"



The Biomechanics of Golf and Training the Golf Athlete
Ben Shear, Director of Strength and Conditioning at Athletic Edge and Director of Program Design at Golfer's Edge, will be presenting information on golf biomechanics, physical assessments and training the golf athlete to approximately 300 trainers at the Mid-West Strength and Conditioning Symposium in Chicago, Illinois March 17-18.



Linking Golf Fitness to Golf Instruction
Ben Shear has been named a contributing expert on golf fitness and biomechanics for NJ Golfer Magazine. Its sister company, www.njgolflinks.com, will be doing regular video shoots at Golfer's Edge with Ben and Len Siter, PGA Professional at Mountain Ridge Country Club and Golfer's Edge, in an effort to educate web visitors of the importance of the golf fitness-golf instruction connection. Both the publication and the web site are dedicated to NJ golf—its courses, tournaments, players, outings, instruction—anything related to golf in the state. Publisher, Carmel Kerr, cites the unique-yet-powerful marriage of fitness and (high-tech) instruction that Golfers Edge brings to the game.



Titleist Performance Institute: Certified Golf Fitness Instructor
Ben Shear was recently awarded a Golf Fitness Professional Certification by Titleist Performance Institute (TPI), the country's biggest source for golf performance information. The certification includes using TPI's physical screens and protocols to correct physical issues affecting current PGA, LPGA and recreational players. Shear will complete the second level certification in February, making him one of 50 Level 2 TPI-Certified Golf Fitness Professionals in the country.



Athletic Edge Star Alex Hewit Brings Princeton University's Men's Lacrosse Back To Prominence
Lacrosse, while the nation's fastest growing sport, lacks much of the high-tech studies that have helped progress other sports. Not for long. Ben Shear and world-renowned biomechanist, Chris Welch, have teamed up for ground-breaking biomechanical testing of the lacrosse shot. Shear has already begun testing players from some of the country's top Division-1 lacrosse teams. After the initial data is collected, the next phase will look at the effects of different shooting techniques and the depth of the pocket, related to shoot-speed, kinematics, and the speed at which the ball actually gets out of the stick. Final data compilations, the first of their kind, will most likely be presented to US Lacrosse at their annual meeting in Philadelphia in January of 2008.



Advanced Metabolic Typing Offered At Athletic Edge
"Diet" is about to take on a whole new meaning, as Athletic Edge begins to offer Metabolic Typing to its demanding clientele. Not the calorie-counting kind that promises to take off weight, but the type that looks into an individual's unique biochemistry and tries to maximize the body's ability to care for itself. In a nutshell, if cells are nourished correctly, they comprise healthier organs, which fuel healthier systems, which lead to stronger immunity. And, while inadequate nutrition is not the cause of every health problem, virtually every health problem can benefit from making nutrition complete. A true shift in how people will view their "diets," this is a metabolic approach to building health.

Metabolic Typing is the most scientifically-advanced nutritional-needs analysis available today. It works from the belief that no two people have the exact same metabolic/nutritional needs. The fact that one person can go on the Zone Diet, or the Atkins Diet, or the South Beach Diet, etc., and have great success, while others fail miserably highlights the notion that a "one-size-fits-all" nutritional plan is heavily flawed. Metabolic Typing is the by-product of decades of research and the compilation of many doctors' works from the past century. Like many of the diets listed above, each of these independent researchers found a piece of the puzzle. Each could claim theoretical accuracy and a certain level of success, but only as it applied to some part of some group. Metabolic Typing relates the various studies, as their diverging theories actually all lead to the notion of biochemical specificity.

To begin, the Metabolic Typing program tests an individual to uncover what his or her specific metabolic "type" is, since each "type" has different food and supplement requirements. The initial questionnaire touches on subjects from cravings to body composition to behavioral tendencies. Lifestyle variables that can affect metabolism--things like food quality, environmental toxins and physical and emotional stress—are factored in as well. The computer-generated results outline which body system is dominant in metabolizing foods, and the ratio of food groups which must be maintained to help one's body migrate to a biochemically-balanced state. When the body's systems are in balance, it can combat stress, illness and ailments more effectively. Because of the initial learning curve, the program is designed to work optimally with a certified Metabolic Typing advisor who can guide and make program modifications when needed.


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