Sanford Sports experts supporting athletes during COVID-19 pandemic

The team at Sanford Sports, including Sanford POWER, Sanford POWER academies and the Sanford Sports Science Institute, are offering advice and support for athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This includes insights from experts in strength and conditioning, sports nutrition, sports skills and sports performance. Bookmark this page to stay current, and follow the Sanford POWER channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook plus our YouTube playlist for the latest updates.

We encourage everyone to be safe, follow proper medical protocols – and use this as an opportunity to get prepared to return to the games that you love. At the same time, it’s important to see this as a new era for athletics.

Return to competition

Even as (or when) athletic programs reopen, it’s important for athletes, coaches and parents to realize that de-training will happen and to give serious thought to the road back to performance. Our team of experts in orthopedics, strength and conditioning, athletic training, physical therapy and sports science have put together a four-phase plan mean to guide people through a safe return to competition.

• Here’s the introduction and overview.
• Phase 1: Preparation. Here’s a roundtable discussion of the specific challenges in getting prepared.
• Phase 2: Transition. In this video, our experts break things down.

Coping skills

• Many young athletes have taken to social media to express sadness and frustration. Sanford Health sports performance specialist Andy Gillham explains how parents can try to help.
• We’re all stressed right now. Gillham offers ways that admittedly stressed adults can help their kids deal with unprecedented developments.
• Athletes are not the only ones looking for advice right now. Gillham has advice and direction for coaches by finding new ways to direct their energies.
• Many athletes have lost their senior season due to COVID19, garnering no shortage of headlines. But what about the returning players – how do they try to move forward? Gillham walks through what a 1-on-1 consult might look like with a returning athlete.
• The COVID-19 slowdown has athletes, coaches and human beings in general struggling with procrastination and time management. Dr. Josefine Combs, a licensed clinical neurophyschologist, walks through strategies for dealing with that.
• As we start returning to training and competition, let’s gets our minds right. Here are four things to consider.
• Getting back into sports after the COVID-19 slowdown will likely spark a variety of emotions. Gillham dives into some of the most likely scenarios.
• Coaches and parents are generally looking to do right by their young athletes. And here are some ways that they CAN during the reopening.
• Let’s practice some deep breathing exercises. Physical therapists Melissa Moyer and Joan Hanson run through a few different options that can be good for mental and physical health.

At-home sports nutrition

• Athletes have an opportunity during COVID-19 to adjust their nutrition and start new habits that will help them in the long run. Sanford Sports registered dietitian Lizzie Kasparek offers examples and advice.
• Here are some food (and exercise) suggestions for boosting your immune system.
• Smoothies can make a quick, healthy meal or snack, and are an especially good option when you’re trying to limit your trips to the store and need to make nutritious meals with what you have on hand in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Kasparek discusses different smoothie options in this video. Here’s a complete smoothie guide that she put together, as well.
• What are some of the best at-home lunch options for athletes? One of our registered dietitians sets the record straight.
• Let’s play a game of Fact or Fiction. Is eating past 8 p.m. is bad for your health? Did you waste your workout if you didn’t eat within the next 30 minutes? Do carbs really make you gain weight? Kasparek answers those questions and more. 

Home workouts

• First off, don’t forget to warmup. POWER certified strength and conditioning specialist Mitch Webster walks through a ground-based warm-up you can do before your next workout.
• Let’s get the blood flowing. POWER coach Sam Herauf of Aberdeen has a 15-minute workout you can do at home. Feel free to contact your regular POWER coach via text or email for more tips. 
• DID YOU KNOW: Athletic power fades relatively quickly if you stop working on it. POWER certified strength and conditioning coaches Brad Rilling and Charley Smook walk through a power-based workout that you can do at home.
• We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Athletes need to keep working on maximal speed and maximal POWER in order to retain their hard-earned gains. That’s the idea behind this at-home workout put together by POWER coach Chris Rivinius.
• POWER Strength and Conditioning Specialist Sam Thielen shows you how to incorporate common household items into a great workout.
• Stay active at home by doing this great stair workout led by POWER Strength and Conditioning Specialist Dylan Masloski.
• POWER Strength and Conditioning specialists Randy Martin and Sam Thielen show you how to stay active while at home with this fast-paced ladder workout.
• Working out at home can be difficult, especially without any teammates or coaches there to fire you up. We’ve got you! Try this live workout with two of our high-energy POWER coaches.
• Coaches Rony Sieperda and Brady Bonte walk you through some split-squat holds followed by mobility work.
• Let’s get outside! POWER coach Paul Lundgren has a simple agility drill that you can do anywhere. Feel free to bust out the sidewalk chalk, too! Make it a combo of P.E. work and art class.
• POWER coach Hunter Glascock, who trains the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League, runs you through an at-home leg circuit using a towel.
• Here’s an at-home workout specific to middle school athletes from coach Kaity Soukup.
• Sieperda has a cardio circuit you can knock out in 20 minutes.
• Looking for more of a high-energy live workout? Check out this one, led by Bonte.
• Jesse Haines has a simple single leg progression series you can do at home. Add your laundry or other items around your house to challenge yourself with extra weight.
• Coach Sam Thielen leads you through a mobility circuit that you can do to keep your body moving in some unconventional ways. This workout can be incorporated multiple times throughout your day.
• Here’s at-home workout to target your upper body. Smook shares a couple of exercises you can do with just chairs and a broomstick.
• This at-home workout is all about muscle activation! POWER coaches Jordan Soukup and Webster walk you through an ISO routine to help with performance and to build strength.
• Coach Jim Lloyd works with a lot of swimmers and adult athletes. Here’s an at-home workout intended for those groups, but suitable for anybody.
• Bonte walks you through some exercises to focus on your core stability.
• In this video, Al Kraft leads you through a reverse ladder workout incorporating 5 sets of 4 different exercises, decreasing the amount of reps as you go.
• What are isometrics and how can you do them at home? POWER coaches Dalton Weisz and Candy Vanderwal demonstrate several variations in our latest video.
• Runners should do at-home strength work, too! Smook put one together for you.
• Need to increase the difficulty of your body weight exercises? Randy Martin and Sam Thielen demonstrate some concepts to incorporate in your training to make those home workouts even tougher!
• Ever heard on Myo reps? Coach Masloski breaks down what Myo reps are and how you can include them in your workout.
• Certified strength and conditioning specialist Brett Beil has a home workout to help you improve or increase you fitness when training at home.
• POWER coaches are writing full at-home plans for the schools, sports and groups they work with.
  • Harrisburg High School
  • Sioux Falls Roosevelt
  • Sioux Falls Lincoln
  • Golf

Injury prevention

• Want to learn how to reduce injuries and muscle soreness? POWER coach and athletic trainer, Al Kraft, provides tips on how to reduce injuries and muscle soreness once athletes get back into their workout routine after COVID-19 shutdown.
• Right now, many athletes don’t have access to certified athletic trainers. So we’ve created an at-home program to help reduce common injuries and keep you ready for sport-specific training. This is intended only for those that are not part of a formal rehab program. If you are under the care of a professional, please seek their clearance prior to starting any new exercise program.
• This is a great time for athletes to delve into injury prevention whether in middle school, high schools, college or the pros. Here’s a program our experts put together that’s intended to help reduce the risk of knee injury, while improving overall athletic performance. Check out the video or the written version.

How to keep your mind sharp

• There are so many things athletes can be doing to keep their minds sharp. Sanford senior sports science specialist Dan Poel has the details. Use this time to get better – just like you would try to do under normal circumstances.
• Sanford has partnered with NeuroTracker to provide FREE online cognitive training to our athletes. (POWER and academy athletes – make sure you check your email for specifics; this is a limited-time offer.) In the meantime, Poel explain how NeuroTracker works.

Sport-specific drills you can do at home

• POWER Golf Academy:
  • Director Todd Kolb has two simple ways to improve your putting stroke.
  • Let’s improve your upper body rotation.
  • Here’s a drill that integrates the bounce of the club to improve your chipping at home.
  • You can work on eliminating a slice.
• POWER Basketball Academy:
  • Freddy Coleman of POWER Basketball in Fargo demonstrates a simple dribble drill. Then, he goes into a 2-ball Mikan drill.
  • Shane Hennen of the POWER Basketball Academy at the Sanford Pentagon has a shooting drill you can do in your living room along with a variation of the Mikan drill.
• POWER Volleyball Academy:
  • Former South Dakota State volleyball standout Ashlynn Smith demonstrates a wall-passing drill along with some hitting options.
  • Academy coach Mandy Mercil walks through some at-home setting work.
  • Try “the wall game” to work on arm swings and enjoy a little competition.
• Steve Phillips of the POWER Baseball Academy demonstrates some arm-health ideas.
• The POWER Riggs Premier Football Academy high school combine has been postponed. But here are some videos designed to help football players perfect their drill techniques, along with other drills you can do at home:
  • 40-yard dash
  • Pro agility drill
  • Bench press
  • Vertical jump

Running recommendations

• Needing some fresh air? POWER Physical Therapist Josie Stockland and Certified Athletic Trainer Jenny Dalland lead you through a dynamic running warm up to get you ready before heading out the door.
• Stockland shares insights from her personal experience preparing for the Boston Marathon and how runners can adapt to canceled or postponed races.
• As the weather improves, the outdoor miles can start to pile up. Kendall Railing, Sanford POWER certified strength and conditioning specialist, discusses exercises that you can do to help relieve tight hip flexors and glutes.
• Dalland shares tips and suggestions for runners when building their running programs. Because you don’t do all of the miles at once.
• Stockland and Dalland they lead you through a core workout to supplement your run.

What about recruiting?

We sat down with head coaches from North Dakota State, South Dakota State and the University of South Dakota – in the sports of basketball, baseball and volleyball – to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on the recruitment process. How do they “recruit” when their aren’t any games being played? How can high school athletes overcome this obstacle?

Sanford Sports pros share their experiences

• How are professional athletes dealing with the COVID-19 situation? What advice do they have for younger athletes? Sanford Sports athlete, LPGA golfer and NDSU graduate, Amy Olson shares her experience and thoughts.
• Even Olympic-level athletes are facing uncertainty. That includes South Dakota native, elite triathlete and SSSI intern Tony Smoragiewicz. Read about how he’s been doing research on training, and how he’s trying to continue his workouts.
• South Dakota native and Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert checks in from Irvine, Calif., to discuss how he’s trying to be ready instead of having to get ready.
• NFL prospect quarterback Jacob Eason describes how Sanford POWER helped prepare him for this year’s most unusual draft.
• Minnesota Vikings tight end and Walter Payton Man of the Year candidate Kyle Rudolph has some tips for athletes – that he’s applying to his own situation – in how to handle the mental challenges that go with uncertainty.