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Today in 5 minutes or less you’ll learn:

• Danny Musovski’s resilience against all odds

• The Winning Activation Formula

Q&A With Danny Musovski

Danny “The Moose” Musovski is not only a legend in his own right, but a great human being. I became close with Danny during my time at LAFC because Danny really had a passion to maximize his potential. He would try and take care of his body in all the right ways: morning routines, nutrition & diet plans, strength programs, training and learning the game. He is a great example for the college athlete to see how to start committing to pro habits early in your career.

What are early setbacks in your career that later gave you an advantage?

The biggest setback I had was when I got cut from the San Jose Earthquakes after my rookie season. It took me on a different path in my pro journey. I had to grind for one year in the USL and I was able to get back to MLS with LAFC. That process gave me a mental edge that I use every day in training. Knowing that my road has been more difficult than I planned and seeing the results of my work, gives me confidence that I draw from when times of the season are tough. I know for sure I am meant to play at this level.

What is a perfect evening for you?

I have a basic routine I do. A perfect day after training, I like to roll out and stretch, put on the Normatec boots and read something engaging. Next, I would eat a good dinner and get on Xbox with my brother and my best friend. Finally, I give myself some time without electronics before bed. The more consistently I do these things, the better I feel throughout the season.

How has your understanding of S&C changed since you first started to now in your career?

Early on when I was first introduced to S&C in college, it was more about lifting heavy and a focus on bodybuilding type movements. The longer I was in the league I learned there are very specific exercises that I need to do for myself. For me, I put a heavy emphasis on single leg work to help my strength and balance. Ultimately, knowing my body and knowing what specifically helps my performance is the best route to success. At the end of the day, I am the ultimate judge of my body and accountable for the results on the field.

What are the biggest misconceptions about your job as a pro player?

People might think being a pro athlete always equals a good life and I do believe its the best job in the world. But it doesn’t mean everything in life is easy. There are also misconceptions around natural talent vs hard work. The truth is, every day is a grind and you have to support your talent with a great work ethic in order to improve your game.

What advice would you give to Danny Musovski as a college player, when you first started?

If you truly want to be a professional player, you need to start establishing those habits right now. It is a dedication and commitment to an athletic career. The best athletes find the time to improve their weaknesses whether that is on the field or in the weight room. One more thing would be to really learn about nutrition planning and find the best diet that supports your individual needs and sport demands.

When was a break through moment for your career?

I came from a traditional European household where chasing yours dreams was not prioritized. I took the risk of playing in the USL, which scared my parents who thought I should I focus on getting a degree as a more stable future. Believing in myself and having the will power to pursue my dreams was my driver to continue to push myself. When I came to LAFC and was able to get minutes and start to score goals, it seemed like I finally broke through. I learned that a career path will always look different than originally planned, but that’s just part of the journey and one that I am thankful for how my story has shaped up.

ACTIVATION = PREP WORK

Activation Before Training 

I’ll never forget being on the road with the LAFC and seeing the looks of terror on my athletes faces. I had finally done it, intentionally taken away a safety blanket. I knew it was a risk, but one of the main pillars of the year was to endure and adapt through times of uncertainty. I knew there was one tool that a handful athletes flocked to before every session. Any guesses? Minibands. Small loops of plastics that have made it into every single club in the world. (Disclaimer: I only took them out of the main warm up).

You see, I have seen athletes become overly attached to these plastic loops and I have seen their “activation” routines. The truth is, most of the athletes run through the miniband routine with good form, but no intention of progression or focus. It becomes a mind-numbing routine like driving the same route to work every day. It made me think, “what makes an “activation” session effective?” For this reason, I had to break the mold and add in new ideas to pre-training activation. It doesn’t mean minibands need to be abandoned forever. In fact, if athletes really feel it supports their plan, then I will bring it every time and let them do it before training. It’s more about expanding the toolbox and growing the selections to achieve a ready state.

An activation session is a great idea. However, it needs a purpose and is much more effective when it aligns with the team goals for the day. Creating themes is one of the methods to a high-performance plan that coaches love because it shows a connection to their style of play. After running hundreds of pre-training activations with my pros, I know the exact components needed to drive results.

Here are the 3 keys to successful pre-training activation.

1. RANGE

2. REFERENCE POINTS

3. REACTIONS

RANGE

The first thing we want to address are ranges of movement. In soccer, athletes are exposed to high amounts of sprinting, changing direction and various ball strikes. This means they will need to be able to move in and out of joint extension, flexion, rotation, etc. The truth is that athletes get feelings of being tight and sore and they desperately desire to restore their normal tissue function. They want to restore their body from the stresses that they have experienced on the field and in the weight room. If we can create unrestricted ranges of movement for the athlete, they will be able to perform better on the pitch. Common options to increase range include manual therapy, trigger points, foam rolling and joint mobility exercises.

REFERENCE POINTS

Once we have restored our freedom of movement, it’s time to prepare muscles and joints for the demands to come. Think about strategies that require the body to increase intensity. This can be as simple as including glute bridges or quadruped hip extensions to focus “activation” of a specific muscle group. It can also be loaded multi joint movements: squats, lunges, presses, bridges, etc. Focus on controlling an intensity that is progressive and moves the athlete closer to on-field actions. Activation is really just prep work and is an opportunity to create reference points for future gym and field training sessions. Nothing is in isolation, but in fact, is tied together with other positions we cue in every aspect of our development program.

REACTIONS

The last phase falls under the reactive category and I think it can occur before an on-field warmup or in the warmup itself. The goal here is to increase the rate of actions in preparation for training. I am using the term react because it is an easy connection for sport coaches to make as we move closer to the chaotic nature of the game. We want to create situations for the athletes to process information rapidly and express higher force and velocity movements. Why? Because the game demands athletes to respond to other athletes and a moving ball to achieve positional and team success. Follow a progression of preprogrammed drills —> reactive non-competitive —> reactive competitive. The further along the spectrum you move, the closer the work resembles an athlete competing against another athlete. This is exactly why the best use of activation sessions come in alignment with an understanding of the needs for the individual and the team.

THE PRO LEVEL

Let’s take this to the next level and make the activation more valuable by connecting it to the team demands. Strength and conditioning coaches should create reference points all across their programming. Do this by finding ways to support the coaching staff and their style of play each day. Therefore, we think in terms of themes.

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

For example, large sided exercises will elicit greater volumes of high speed running, which puts higher demand on the hamstring muscle group. When we begin with the end in mind, we work backwards from the great volumes of high speed running. In the warmup we involve absolute speed drills to prepare the players for sprint volume that will occur in the session. In the prep period, we choose exercises that improve the readiness of the hamstring muscle group and the range of movement in the hips and ankles.

Practically, this could look like:

• trigger point work at the hips and ankles

• isometrics for the hamstring muscles and ankle complex

• plyometric for short ground contacts

• movement skill focused on absolute speed mechanics on the field

• curvilinear sprinting at the end of the warm up in preparation for high speed running and random sprints in the games

• large sided training exercises for team training (elicits high speed running volume)

• strength selection of hip and knee dominant hamstring exercises post training

• recovery menu towards posterior hip and ankle regions

Just like that, there is a theme throughout the entire session, which the coaching staff can connect to. It supports the medical staff in understanding potential muscular responses to the training load, as well as informs the strength staff of appropriate strength training days for focused hamstring work. The reference points can be used for future sessions to develop capacities and qualities throughout the season. In the end, you are moving towards a more robust athlete, a long term athletic development program and a foundation for the coach’s preferred style of play.

We made it to the end! Congratulations, you're officially part of the exclusive club of people who read to the bottom of the newsletter.

But seriously, thank you for being a subscriber and taking the time to read my perspective. It means a lot to me that you find the content interesting and valuable. I am constantly striving to bring you the stories and strategies, with a dash of humor and empathy.

I appreciate your support and look forward to bringing you more front row insight into pro training. If you have any suggestions or feedback, please feel free to reach out to me. Thanks again, I’ll see you next week.

-Daniel Guzman-