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Leap Training Exercises - High Jump Tips
By Brian Fender

Leap training is very important for athletes and basketball players and any other sport that involves jumping and getting height off the ground. In order to improve your jumping ability its important to improve strength, speed and power. The following are some exercises that will help you to improve your vertical leap.

First of all, before you start doing any exercise you must ensure that you warm up your muscles. You should do a short run and stretching. Also use a jump rope to condition your muscles, or run up and down the stairs a few times to really get your legs warm.

Next you need to move onto the actual exercises that will aim to work on your leg strength and jumping height. Firstly, try some deep knee bends or crouches. Stand up with your back straight and gently bend your knees so that you crouch down as low as you can. You should look to repeat this exercise for at least 15 reps and then do several sets. As your legs grow in strength you should be able to do more repetitions or else hold weights while doing the exercise.

Next try some toe raises. Stand up and raise your leg so that your are able to touch your toe with your hand. Pull your leg back down to the floor and repeat with the other leg. This is a very simple exercise that focuses on balance during the movement. Repeat it for as many reps as you are comfortable with and do several sets.

These exercises are more focused on conditioning your legs. For exercises that focus on actually improving the power of your jumping thrust, look to do things like bounds and standing hurdles. Bounds simply involve lengthening your stride whilst jogging and leaping further and further forward for as long as possible.

Standing hurdles are when you set up some hurdles in a row and arrange them so they are close together. From a static start, jump over them one by one without breaking stride. These are both excellent in strengthening your legs and improving your vertical and horizontal leaps.

Are you looking for Leap Training Exercises? Visit the author’s website at http://www.verticaljumpguidereview.com where he tells you about the Top 3 Programs for maximizing your vertical jump explosion!

For a limited time, you can also get a FREE Jumping e-course on tips for jumping higher!

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Communication For Young Players During the Match
By Tracy Wallbank

Motivating a junior team during the match needs to be an on going thing. You will find that when the kids start to play, the skills that they learnt in the training session before may have started to go out of the window. Put under pressure from the other team may have made them totally disorganized. They may even forget that inspirational talk you gave them not so long ago.

During the game, kids might start to get a little disheartened or frustrated as things they thought they were doing well in training are not going so well now. So constant encouragement and motivation is needed to keep their spirits high. Try and let the kids make most of the decisions themselves during the game and avoid giving them instructions every step of the way. But at the same time you may have to give them reminders on aspects that might not be going right at the time.

Avoid giving instructions in a negative or frustrated tone or yelling all the time. Try to stand still when giving instructions rather than running up and down the pitch. Whether you are giving instruction or just being a supporter, running up and down the pitch may distract the kids from playing at their best. Children react differently to receiving instructions and feedback in training, so you will have to tailor any instructions to the individuals who you know will respond to you. Some boys do not like to be singled out during a game so be careful with how you speak to some players if any mistakes are made.

In some sports, coaches have ample opportunities to signal their team what to do. As a football coach you rarely have that opportunity as football is a pretty continuous game with very few stoppages so communicating on the run is crucial for success.

It is best to get your players to communicate with each other as to what is taking place. Make sure you monitor what the team is saying, as there will be times when a player is saying they are unmarked when they actually are not. Telling a player where they are can be very productive. For example if a player says they are on the right or they say they have got player No 5 then this can help too. The name of the game is good communication between players and players and coaches that wins the game.

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Ten Tips For First-Time Travelers
By Dan Blacharski

If it’s your first time on an international flight to Asia, things may be a little confusing. Your trip will require a lot more planning than the short flight you took to visit Uncle Joe in Peoria last year. Here’s a few tips for making that long trip go a little more smoothly.

1. Make sure your ticket has the same name as your ID and passport. If your passport says “Daniel” for example, don’t book your ticket under “Dan.” And if your passport has your maiden name, book your ticket the same way.

2. Get to the airport on time. Plan to get to your departing airport at least two hours before your flight leaves. Remember too that airport traffic can be very congested, and it may take you longer to even get to the airport than you anticipated. Confirm that your flight is still on schedule before you leave your home.

3. The comfort factor. You will be sitting in a small seat in close quarters for hours on end. Chicago to Tokyo for example, might be a 12 hour flight. Sitting that long in a small seat is going to be more uncomfortable than you ever imagined (unless you’re lucky enough to be flying first-class). Even under the best conditions, it’s hard to sleep, it’s not very comfortable, and your legs may cramp. It’s important to keep your circulation flowing to your legs by getting up every now and then just to stretch or walk down the aisle. You can even do a little exercise right in your seat if the aisle’s blocked-just move your legs around a bit at your seat, cross and un-cross your legs, and stretch them in and out. Removing your shoes will also increase your comfort factor-but make sure you have clean socks when you do!

4. How many suitcases? The rules are tighter, and not all airlines are the same. Don’t assume you can bring two big suitcases to check in and two more to carry on. Many international airlines now only allow you one large and one small check-in, one carry-on and one handbag or laptop, so check the allowed dimensions ahead of time before packing.

5. What to pack? Don’t overdo it. Basic items like razors, shaving cream, toothpaste or shampoo are available there, too. If you have children with you, a few comfort foods from back home will go a long way. Take into account the local weather-if you’re leaving from Minnesota in January and landing in Kuala Lampur, bring some light clothes and sandals with you, it’s going to be hot. And of course, be aware of the restrictions regarding sharp objects and liquids.

6. Connecting flight confusion. You may need to connect to another flight in a strange airport in a country you’ve never been to before. Typically, these connecting flights are in a major hub, such as Bangkok, Tokyo, or Seoul, all of which have very large and busy airports. Rest assured, there will be signage in English directing you to your destination. Be aware though that not all staff speak English, but if you ask around, you should have no problem finding a staff member who can understand you. Announcements about flights are usually made in multiple languages, but the announcer may have a heavy accent and may be hard to understand-so make sure you have also checked the flight board to make sure you know when your plane is leaving.

7. Review your airport transportation options. When you arrive in a foreign country, finding your way from the airport to your hotel may be a challenge, especially if you are unable to read the signs. Your hotel may have a shuttle; alternately, there is probably a taxi stand at the airport. Be sure to take a taxi directly from the official taxi queue. In some airports, you may find rogue taxi drivers circulating the airport perimeter. These taxis don’t use the taxi stand for a reason-they may be trying to rip you off. They may not have a meter, or they may even have more sinister motives in mind.

8. Get some local money, in small denominations. Major Asian airports will have money exchange booths, some of which are open 24 hours. Some airports, such as Tokyo’s Narita, even have an automated machine for exchanging currency. As soon as you get through customs, before you leave the airport, avail yourself of this service, even if you think you can get a better rate elsewhere. You will need local currency as soon as you walk outside of the airport. Greenbacks, Loons, Euros, or Pounds won’t do you any good if you want something to eat or need a ride. Make sure to get small denominations, as taxi drivers and food stall operators are unlikely to carry much change-and if all you have are thousand baht notes in your pocket, you may be stuck giving your driver a much larger tip than you intended.

9. Getting to your hotel. Once you leave the airport, finding people that speak English may be a little more difficult. Check the web site of your hotel-it will probably have directions and a map written both in English and in the native language. Print out a copy of this, so you can show it to your driver. Airport drivers, even if they don’t speak English, are usually familiar with most of the major tourist hotels.

10. Don’t have a tight schedule. If you’re planning on getting to a meeting an hour after you land, forget about it. Plan on at least two hours to get your bags and go through immigration. Also keep in mind that large airports tend to be quite some distance from the center of town, and your taxi ride to your final destination may easily consume another hour’s worth of time.

Asia.com brings you travel experts that love travel and want to help you have the best trip to Asia. Asia.com has advice for all travelers including the frequent traveler, first time visitor, business traveler, and families. Spend the time to review our expert travel guide tips and articles about the best things to do in Asia. Also while exploring your trip to Asia, we encourage you to use all the Asia.com travel services, especially our flight and hotel comparison service which make it easy for you to compare prices from the best travel companies online. By comparing prices from different suppliers and different dates our users can save up to 70% on their trip. Visit Asia.com Now.

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Winter Festival of Lights - Niagara, Ontario
By Paul C James

Niagara’s Winter Festival of Lights has run every year since 1950 and the two waterfalls at Niagara have been lit in rainbow colours during the winter season most years since 1925, after the creation of the ‘Niagara Falls Illumination Board’. Nowadays, the lights run from November to February with fireworks before, and during, the Christmas and New Year weekends adding to the spectacle.

Light displays used to focus exclusively on the falls. The first occurred in 1860 using Bengal lights (a kind of firework), for a visit by the Prince of Wales. Electricity was used for the first time in 1879, to welcome the Governor-General of Canada, the Marquis of Lorne and his wife, Princess Louise, but the modern festival of lights began in 1983, when Niagara Falls, the local tourism bureau, and local businesses got together to establish it. The lights have steadily spread out from the falls, through the Queen Victoria Park and the Niagara Parkway, and into the city. Where there were once 250,000 visitors, there are now one million.

The weather plays an important part in the falls display. In years when the temperature sits around zero, the falls have more water than ice, which means the American falls, which have much less spray (and face the lights directly) reflect the colors better than the Canadian or Horseshoe Falls.

After a succession of really cold winter days, however, the Canadian, or Horseshoe, Falls are almost frozen over and the light show on the ice is spectacular. In case you’re wondering, the Canadian Falls are the ones most people speak of when they talk about Niagara Falls. They’re the bigger, more impressive of the two. When the winter isn’t quite cold enough, the plume of spray that keeps us all cool in summer blurs the impact of the light show.

On the Canadian side, the place to visit is the Duffin’s Island Park section of the Festival. The bad news is it is a single lane going one way and hence nose-to-tail traffic. The really good news is you’ve time to get out and take photos or just sit and admire the view. Coloured lights reflecting from the snow make great pictures, if you’ve a steady hand or a tripod.

The Queen Victoria Park gardens also shine brightly with displays along the sides of the Niagara Parkway (handy for slow drive-by viewing on cold winter evenings) and also among the trees and bushes designed for leisurely walks on the trails. Wrap up warmly and join the throng, you’ll be glad you did.

While there are many displays that remain the same, there’s always something being added. For 2009-2010, there’s a new ice-rink right on the edge of the Canadian Falls called, appropriately, ‘Rink at the Brink’. Visit the festival’s web site Festival-of-Lights for all the details for this year’s winter season.

Visit my website at http://www.ontario-vacation-destinations.com and my ‘festival of lights’ page to see some of the 2008-9 season displays.

Regards, Paul C James

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Frank Erwin Events Center Tickets - A Texas New Year by Brent Warnken

As the excitement of the New Year dies off, February can often be a pretty dull month. The good news for people in the vicinity of Austin and San Antonio, Texas is that there are a number of great events to attend in February 2010. There are a variety of sporting spectacles and other events to see that should suit a multitude of tastes.

Everyone knows that the biggest sports teams in the Austin area are those of the Texas Longhorns. The University of Texas boasts some of the best athletic programs in the country in a variety of sports, and their basketball team is no exception. As of Dec. 18, the Longhorns are ranked number two in the country. Winners of their first nine games, the Longhorns definitely still have their work cut out for them in the Big 12. The only team ranked higher than them nationally is Kansas, a bitter conference rival of the Longhorns. These teams are sure to be battling it out for the conference title in March.

The two teams will face off for the first time this season in what is sure to be a gargantuan matchup on Feb. 8. Fans will be clamoring to get their hands on Frank Erwin Events Center tickets for that game. Kansas came into the season ranked number one and has not lost a game as of Dec. 18. They’re going to be a tough matchup for the Longhorns, as they’ve got three really good players on their roster.

Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich are holdovers from the National title team of two seasons ago, and both players obviously have a lot of experience playing in big games. If that weren’t enough, the Jayhawks also have a standout freshman in Xavier Henry. Henry is a sweet-shooting guard that is extremely advanced in his game for his age. The Longhorns will need to lock these three guys down on the 8th and hope that Damion James and Avery Bradley can create enough offense for Texas to prevail.

Texas will host Nebraska five days later in another tough game. The Huskers have won seven of their first nine games and will certainly be looking to pull the upset at UT. The Huskers don’t really have one dominant player, but subscribe to a brand of team basketball that can be very dangerous. The Longhorns won’t be able to key in on stopping any specific players, but will have to play a solid overall game instead.

If you’re not a basketball fan but enjoy an exciting time, you might want to check out the San Antonio Rodeo. Over the years, the Rodeo has grown to be one of the largest and most prestigious events in San Antonio. The event is said to draw one million visitors to the grounds each year. See the buckin’ broncos try to shake riders loose in the most exciting rodeo action that you can imagine.

For those that need no more excitement in their lives, perhaps laughter would suit you better. Comedic genius Gabriel Iglesias is coming to San Antonio on Feb. 14. This funny man will have you in stitches before the night is out.
Check out any of these events if you’re going to be in the Austin or San Antonio area in February. There’s something for everyone.

This article about Frank Erwin Events Center tickets was sponsored by StubHub, a leader in the sports tickets, concert tickets, theatre tickets and special events tickets market.

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