Staff from Body Dynamics, a Falls Church gym whose mission is to integrate physical therapy with complementary medicine, health promotion and wellness services, gave an eight-week strength and conditioning clinic to George Mason High School’s student-athletes.
Members of the Mustangs’ baseball, basketball and football teams were trained by Patrick Suarez and Alex Argueta, a physical therapist and personal trainer with Body Dynamics, respectively, to improve what Suarez called their “athletic intelligence.” The student-athletes focused on form and technique while working on their speed and agility, strengthening and injury reduction. “We see a lot of repetitive injuries [in high school athletes], so this clinic is designed to reduce those injuries,” Suarez said.
The student-athletes started with diagnostic testing in the 40-yard dash, the pro agility run and vertical jump in week one. Then they worked on ladder, two and three cone, sprinting and plyometrics drills for seven weeks before retesting in week eight to chart their improvement. Sagar Dayal, a senior offensive and defensive lineman on George Mason’s football team, attended all of the sessions and added 3.8 inches to his vertical jump and knocked .13 seconds off of his 40-yard dash time.
